Thanks to a fired up Richmond...and an insipid third quarter.

Fremantle at times played on...and kicked to teamates.
Unfortunately at other times they were playing it safe...and not playing with confidence.
If they had pinched the win, as they almost did, while it would have been nice, they would not have deserved it.
Richmond tried hard all night, and with Freo missing too many good players, the Tigers deserved the win.

I do like what Harvey is doing though. Experimenting, playing all the young players.
Lets hope Palmer gets back fit and firing next year, and with our new players like Hill and Mayne back...we do have a lot to look forward too.

That is the question.
And the person?
Ben Cousins.

For the affirmative
1. He used to play for West Coast
2. He now plays for Richmond
3. He is impossibly talented and good looking
4. If we don't boo him, he wont know how to react

For the negative
1. He no longer plays for West Coast
2. He has (self inflicted or not) had a rough trot
3. His coach is about to get sacked

I will leave it with my readers...to boo or not?

Amazing...awesome!
Hillsong United's New Album has hit number one on I-Tunes....
Story....

"A circus act in Romania ended in tragedy on 23 January when fire-eater Vlad Cazacu, 43, belched in mid-performance and was blown to bits. Incredibly no one came to his rescue as stunned onlookers assumed this was part of an amazing illusion. Consequently this unfortunate man, who probably could have been saved, was allowed to just lie there and die.

"In the first part of the performance," said fellow circus performer Nicole Antosu, "Vlad held a flammable cocktail in his mouth to spit fire at a burning torch. Somehow, he must have swallowed some of the liquid, because when he burped he triggered an explosion." The Parrot (Accra, Ghana) - 2-8 June 1998"


There is something significant about your life. You have it…right now…and at this moment you are choosing what to do with it. God has given us a choice on how to live our life…right up to the point of death…it is only at that point that control is then taken off you….

"I doubt that anyone becomes a Christian because they lose the argument"
(Phil Cooke)

At the moment as a church we are working out how best to do our seating.
There is a large influx of people at 10.01 am...which makes life difficult when you are trying to get the seating right.

We generally don't put out all the seats until closer to 10am ...so as to encourage people to sit in the seats nearer the front....my breath does not smell...honestly!

But because a significant portion of our church is children (about 45%), when they leave for their kids programs half way through the service, the place can feel a little 'drafty'!


Maybe this is the answer....a 12 seat chapel a husband built for his wife, because their church is too 'crowded'.
"Mr Richards, a retired watch importer, said: "I built it for Muriel because she's really passionate about her religion but the local church is often too busy. "

More...

No expert....just a bit of fun....but it did taste good!

Some might say...there but through the grace of God go I... :)

"Wests Tigers fanatic Mark Edwards jumped a fence, sprinted across the pitch and tackled whistleblower Jared Maxwell to the ground after a controversial Brisbane Broncos victory over his side at Campbelltown Stadium on Friday.

Edwards, 25, was later charged with common assault and entering and remaining on a playing field without authority."
Story

Thanks God!
Great crowd in full of joy and energy today.
A few laughs, some inspiration, and some great music from the biggest worship team we have probably ever had....so blessed in this area at the moment!

Also had a guest musician/singer join us for some items... Martin Jones. You probably dont know him, he aint famous...but the man can sing. He has good reason to sing the blues, been through a lot, but is now at a happy stage in his life. He shared a little this morning, and God inhabited the praises.

I shared what I thought was a challenging message, it challenged me! lots of comments afterwards...

Sometimes you just need to be thankful and reflect that it is gooood to be with Gods people. If you normally come to Inglewood Church and you missed today, you missed out. Today provided energy and joy for the week. Maybe thats why God created the Sabbath!

Freo should have not let this game slip against the Roos.
With a 26 point lead at the first quarter...and a host of good players...we should have won.
However another disgraceful display from the men in orange, did not do our cause much good.
More than once the commentators commented on the patheticness of the frees paid against the Dockers.
The free paid againt Tarrant just before half time was disgraceful.
Sigh....there went any chance we had of making the finals.

This is what I am speaking about this Sunday....
But we have to understand that if we start to use our money and time and gifts for God….there will be pain…there will be a trade off…there will need to be something we let go of.
If I gave you a million dollars under the proviso that you could only use it for kingdom…Gods kingdom purposes…there would be no problem, there it is, use it….
But if I come to you and say…you need to help out in this ministry area…financially…then you need to count the cost…

On Sunday I am talking about trade offs....everything new we want to ad to our lives is a trade off....In other words, in order to ad something, something needs to be taken away. This is true in ministry, money and life.

Russ Olmon from Ministry Advantage (Willow Creek) talked about this at Leadership Link this morning....

Write down the ideas you want to implement, then turn the sheet over so you can implement ideas you have thought off. On the other side, write down everything you will stop doing in order to implement those things you want to ad.

We dont think of what we will stop, declutter, simplify.....we need to say no to non-essentials,
Losing one thing to gain something of greater value, like in a game of chess, you might need to be willing to lose a piece to gain something else.

This is hilarious....


(Don't let Driscoll see it!!!)

Rapidly becoming a crowd favourite with the Freo faithful. Came off to warm applause, and encouraging words....
Harvey has put him down back in an inspired move. Interestingly Harvey himself started off as a forward, but ended his career as a backman.

Tarrant seems a lot happier down back. It enables him to be the team man that he is. Grover and Tarrant have been two reasons why teams have not been able to get a massive run on us lately, along with Steven Dodd.

But Tarrant in particular has given us flexibility, allowing McPharlin to go forward when needed.
So good to see him punching the ball away, beating the defender to best position, and generally making them look ordinary.

Leigh Matthews agrees....

There is a bloke who brings his kids along to our childrens programs....
He shares work with his wife...and he looks after the kids at times during the week.

Lovely guy...but not easy to talk to.
A couple of weeks ago we caught up at one of our church's community events, and I just prayed that I might be able to talk to him...about something, anything...connect somehow.

Somehow...I dont really know how, we started to talk about his footy team, the Swans. Turns out he is a passionate Swans supporter. We had a good laugh about the 2005 GF...and for the first time ever, his face just lit up...and we had a connection.

How to connect with the 'religious/spiritual' nature of the average Aussie male? You need to not only be able to talk about sport, but to really have a passion for it.
We can't be like some Indian Call centre worker briefed in the local lingo so as to make some sort of false connection with the caller. We have to resonate with our local culture...in a real way.

I am not saying that 'sport' is the only way. Another friend I have could not care less about sport, he is into his art and music. So that is something I can connect with him about, another guy loves his coffee....

Either way, in making and keeping friendships, we have to make connections with people.

But this is a great song...performed well....

As I have continued on in my faith journey, I have been amazed at how instead of becoming more certain of some things, I have become less certain of them.
And while the essentials are things I believe even more strongly in, those things which are not as essential, I have come to appreciate the greyness that God has allowed in the Bible.

In fact when I encounter someone who is strongly holding onto a practice which is clearly interpreted in different ways by good people, I find myself asking the question, why?

"Some experienced commentators are coming over to the view that the 211 centimetre giant from the West is towering over the rest of the competition not just in height, but now in effectiveness........"
Roar Article

Everywhere I go, people are talking about Mark Driscoll.
Ross Clifford talked about him at the pastors conference.
All my pastor mates are talking about him.
He has a lot of detractors....what he says is strong, some might say...at points divisive.
Either way, he wears the coolest shirts....but you cant be his Facebook friend, he has hit his limit of 5000.

About four weeks ago I was ready to pack in the season. I am not saying we are going to make the finals or anything like that....but it sure is nice to be on 12 points...along with a stack of other sides.

We are every chance to beat Hawthorn this week...and I am still not quite sure why.
Palmer, Crowley gone for a long time....5 new players...rebuilding year, first year players playing.

It does not make sense to me how we got over Carlton, West Coast and Sydney with such a young bunch.

A bit of positive risk taking footy goes a long way. The goal is to move the ball in the direction of...and eventually go through the posts. The Freo boys are not playing stop start footy at the moment, they are moving it on quickly, kicking to contests, and backing their teamates to win it, quite amazing really.

And Sandilands is the best ruckman in the contest at the moment, bar none.

I put together a task list for today. Along with some meetings, and a appointment or too, the day is not looking too rushed. Also have set aside some time to think about the theme for the next month, and start preparation for Sunday.

It is an interesting thing having more people at church. It pushes you to think more about your messages...maybe it shouldn't, but it does.

Seeking God in prayer, seeking some fresh insights from His word. Its fun!

Oh yes......

Today was a great day in church. Good crowd in...some good prayers and thoughts....Some more visitors...
Yesterday was a great Artisan Markets...Met lots of people, shared about our church, talked with lots of people we have contacts with
Monday through Wednesday was a great Pastors Conference. 200 Pastors came from all round WA...It was good time....

But all this comes at a price...I organised a lot of the conference, Artisan Markets and off course Church.

Too much in one week...as well as some draining from lots of quarters I cant talk about on this forum.

I am so looking forward to tommorow and some time off...I am actually too tired to enjoy a break tonight...

The pastors conference and events surrounding it have forced me into contemplative mode...hence not much activity here.

I have just found out some awful news about a good friend, which I did not know about.

There are some issues going on which I cant talk about publicly, and I don't like that

Some friends are really having to deal with some church stuff and conflict (in another church setting) and I dont know how to help them, in fact me helping would not be help at all.

I am too busy, but need to get through this weekend...

God is good, and things will work out for good for those who love Him....I believe that.

5 years ago...Malcolm Rule and myself had the crazy idea to combine our two denominations Pastors Conference....

Turns out it was not so crazy.
For the past five years our denominations have enjoyed the fellowship, joy and impetus to put on some fantastic retreats together.
I have enjoyed and been blessed greatly as I have worked with Church of Christ Pastors....become friends with them...and enjoyed working together for the Kingdom.

Today was the last day of the great experiment...next year both denominations go back to their own conferences.

We have had a great conference over the past 3 days at the 2gether Pastors Conference.
This is the conference of the Baptist and Church of Christ Pastors in WA.
Our speaker this year was Ross Clifford...

He was a exceptional speaker, probably the best, most inspiring, relational, enjoyable and stimulating we have had for a while.
The notes are below...he followed the theme of the conference, half full or half empty.
Ross emphasised the need for pastors to have time out to reflect, pray...be refreshed and go to the footy! Ross is a huge Sydney Swan fan...and talked about how going to the football is the closest you can get to a spiritual experience in secular, sports mad Australia.

On Tuesday we followed his advice and went lawn bowling...that is a whole other post about how Australians find community...but as you wait for that, he is a picture of Bob, the guy who organised it all...a great bloke!




What Ross said...
Churches can be places where we perpetutate the 'Non people status' people get in society.
Genesis unpacks what it means to be a non person...rejection of people
Number one mark of a well lead church...no non person status
Women as non persons?
Children as non persons...
Genesis 28
"Its not that my father does not love me..its just that he loves himself more
When we move away from God we move into treating people as non persons....
In christ the church has no non persons...
Genesis finishes with healing reconciliation15 21
Pastors can involve themeselves in Senseless activity
A profound moment (mowing the lawn at 10pm on Saturday night...who would want to be a Christian if that is what it means)
Real aussies find themselves in leisure
John Grisham is a strong Baptist
Australians work for the weekend
The non loved child keeps his trap shut and keeps his dreams to himself
Generation Y will not commit themselves to endless activity

The more we focus on ourselves...the less time we have for the community
Theology of leisure
The Lord is my shepherd...makes me lay down to...
Mark 6.30
Luke 10.38.....
Churches measure themselves by activity
In my sheer busyness I squeeze in activity

Drawn to timidity...not boldness
We dont go to church anymore because it does not stand for anything
Church that is bold..has not status
Royal law
Will not favour wrong people
When we play favourites...we fail
Model justice
Some are not
3. Models persevering patiently
4. Model being people of integrity
Speak truthfully
Tell them to their face
Speak truth with gentleness and respect

5. Model a pastoral heart
Pastoral observation
Public confession
Righteous men
Care for others salvation

6. Model the gospel of grace
Person of Christ

7. The church and pastoral ministry
Centrality of the resurrection
Heresy is to talk about one or the other
The central linchpin of the christian faith is the resurrection
How does it impact us?
A christian is someone who believes in the resurrection
Scott Peck discovered that i have a problem with sin...only one faith deals with sin...and what the remedy is...
Care for the whole person...
Christianty...the whole person is raised up
Whole of me is raised up
God is concerned that the whole of me is raised up
Am i a person who is resurrection focused?
Messages of wholeness and hope
Look at the things you stand for
Where are your strategies to show the resurrection?

The internet is amazing...
thanks to Dave Quinn who sent this link through....From the medic who treated Angus Buchan

"No sooner do we reach out tent when a marshal rushes over with the news that we are needed urgently at the main stage for a patient who had collapsed. We make our way back through the endless crowds, eventually reaching the stage, only to find one of our ambulances already there. I find it strange that the patient is under the stage, but push through anyway. Maybe they needed the shade for the patient. Near the entrance I find an elderly gentleman lying on the floor. He is covered in sweat, already has a drip up, and has an oxygen mask on. I kneel down next to him to asses him, and discover it is Angus......."
More

A beautiful gift for my birthday...superb! Chilled the bottle and the glass in the freezer....lovely citrus fresh taste....
Knappstein Lager
More

To beat the Eagles
What a meritorious win...and I have to admit...a great game
I had resigned myself to an Eagles victory at half time. They had most of the play, and were intense around the packs...and tackling with ferocity.

But...
They ran out of puff....and Hasleby and Hill stepped up to the plate.

What a game....my heart was racing...it hurts so much to lose to the Eagles...but it is so good to beat them.

Thank goodness really...I dont think I could go to the Pastors conference next week if they had lost!

The Qld Baptists are proposing this motion...
"The new ‘Interim Registration Guidelines’ for Queensland Baptists were sent out by e-mail today to pastors and a shock was in store for those who read all the way through. They discovered in Section 11 ‘General Guidelines’, the following:
11.5 Registered Ministers should be total abstainers from the use of alcohol"

According to some, the culture of Queensland means this has a good chance of passing.

Even an occiasional reader of this blog will know that I enjoy a social drink.
But taking aside the easy target this makes the Qlders....to call them wowsers of puritans or pharisees....I actually think this is seriously bad news.

It says something about us that we would want to regulate or forbid our pastors from enjoying a social drink with their neighbours and friends.
I seriously think it goes against scripture to try and stop a preacher do what Jesus did...and what God commanded His people to do...from the parties in the Old Testament, to the parties in the New...with Jesus making sure there was enough wine, to being accused of being a drunkard by the Pharisees....

I want to have a drink with my non church mates...I want to be their mate...I want to be a part of their life. I think this is what Jesus wants me to do.

I don't want to be a drunk
I do want my kids to have an example of a responsible drinker
I do want to be friends with those who don't yet know Christ.

In a sad way, I am sort of ashamed of this decision by Qld Baptists...I hope they reconsider.