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Will be a good year to see these players develop...if nothing else.
(Thanks to Freo 1995 for uploading these)
and I have just thought of a ripper theme and graphics for it all.....
more to come!
For those long suffering readers of this blog you will know I recently got a new laptop, Acer Aspire 5735Z..... What you may not realise is that I have been trying to render the Mighty Mens Conference video on it...and on my PC....to try and get this laborious and time consuming job done.
The Laptop had 2 gig ram...you would think that would be enough, apparently not. The thing was running like a dog..... I have now installed 2 more gig ram, bringing it up to 4 gig, along with its dual core processor.....lets see if that helps.
The last few weeks have been nothing short of frantic...but this week just gone, it has slowed down considerably.
One new aspect of my life is Monday mornings with my wife. We both have the morning off from any structured responsibility, so after dropping the kids off at their respective schools, we have about 3 or 4 hours to ourself. It is so nice!
This morning we headed off to look at a piece of furniture Melinda was interested in and then headed to Mnt Hawthorn for a coffee and a wander....
It is really nice there along Scarborough Beach Road, lots of interesting shops....
We stopped in at the New Norcia Bakery, which I have wanted to visit for a while. It did not live up to the hype! The coffee, while it came out of Synesso Machine, and was Five Senses, was too hot, and lacked body....the crossaint came well after Melindas food, and was burnt and dry....sigh.
Not too worry though, it was so nice to just have some time together. Next week we are probably going to visit 'Lush' which is across the road.....
Kim Hagdorn in his typical style nailed his colours to the mast...yet again. In todays Sunday Times he had to come up with a reason why his precious Eagles lost to the Dockers again.
This times excuse? The umpires were to blame.
Look up the dictionary under "Dockers Bunnies" Kim, there will be a photo of the West Coast Eagles....Thats why the lost...that and the superb efforts of Sandilands and Crowley, surely one of the most underated players in the AFL.....does everyone realise that he kicked the winning goals while playing on the Eagles best player, Kerr?
It is just so bias.....sigh....but then, who am I to talk? :)
Spent this morning at Jam Central, and then this afternoon rendering videos for the Mighty Mens Conference. Watching the videos is flooding back memories to my heart and mind.
There is one scene which occured on Saturday night where the crowd screamed for more....2000 men chanting and letting the worship team know that they were not ready to stop yet. The sound quality is shocking, but because I was there...and I can hear the clapping...in time....in unison...with the clear message...it brings back the sense I had when I was there.
I was chatting with my brother in law this afternoon and he was telling me how different men from different parts of his life were also full of expression about this time.
But, as much as I am happily rendering these dvd's and blokes who were there will 'get it'....its pretty hard to bottle. If you were not there...you missed out.
Its a bit like the miracles of Jesus. There were plenty of people in Jesus' day who did not get healed. They were not in the right place at the right time....or they did not want it badly enough.
I am sorry if you were not there.....dont miss it next year, if it happens. I can't guarantee it will be the same, but if you do not place yourself in the position, if God does bless us again with such a tangible sense of His presence, you wont want to miss it.
You may not believe me, you may be cynical, fair enough. But don't forget how much faith it took for the man's friends to take him to the house, bust open the roof, and lower him in. Maybe a much better option would be to take the little mustard seed you have....and be there next year, God willing.
"An idea without implementation isn’t creation.
It’s imagination.
By definition, being creative requires that you create something.
True creative people don’t just dream it-they do it…or oversee the strategy to get it done.
True creativity results in a product. Not just an idea."
(Source)
Woh.....well said Steven.
An idea or a thought posted on a blog does not make a revolution, changed lives do that, people having their worldview changed through the power of God...thats a revolution.
He does a great job of responding to the questions....and challenging the interviewer to consider Jesus.....
"“The world for which we were trained no longer exists.”
Pete Briscoe
Aint that the truth. The theological training I recieved had some merit. There were things there that I really appreciated. It gave me sound good theological basis for ministry.
But to say to prepared me for ministry would be grossly overstating it.
Conflict resolution, leadership, missional development of leaders, organisation skills, leading a board, leading a meeting, inspiring, vision casting....
uh...no.
Those were things I desperatly sought once I was in the ministry, and quickly realised how inadequetly prepared I was.
Angus Buchan said something on the weekend which resonated with me....he said that "he might be accused of emotionalism.....but what is wrong with being emotional?"
Who gave us emotions, and who tells us not to use them?
Certainly not the bible, nor the Judeo roots of our faith. Have you read the scriptures? Do you not read about the celebrations, the feasts, the passionate emotion charged worship of the priests, kings and prophets?
Think about those who tell us off for being too emotional, are they the sort of people we should emulate?
Consider these contrasts....
David.....Michal....
Jesus....Pharisees....
One issue though is that of let down, or as musicians might say, "monday morning blues'. But even this is recognised in the scriptures. We cannot be on a continual high, we need to have times of rest, solitude, silence, contemplation. But those are times to celebrate as well....celebrate the quietness...just as we celebrate the noise.
The noise of 2000 plus men chanting for more worship songs is something that resonates within me even today, three days after the event, as I sit in the quiet of my study.
Watching Rove tonight, the band 'The Living End' came on and sung this song.
Extraordinary lyrics....
Lyrics to Raise The Alarm :
Wo-oh! [x8]
I do not believe in God
That doesn't mean I'm a lesser person
I still have a heart
And I know what it feels like to be broken
I may not believe in Jesus
But I do believe in sacrifice
Life does not always stand reason
No one ever gets a chance
'Til they're out of time
I'd rather risk my fate
Then lose my faith
The lovin', the hatin'
The consenceapating
The chaos that comes
Raise The Alarm
We mean it
We'll die
Consence Denied
The Chaos that comes
Raise The Alarm
I may not believe in regrets
But I believe in self assurance
Some things I'd rather forget
We see what we choose and
We choose what we see to believe
In the name of the father,
the son,
and the holy ghost
I'm not concerned with religion
After all that whats inside
That is Smoke
(etc...)
However I must note this incogruity on their website when they say this in relation to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal,
"our thoughts and prayers.... etc"
(Link)
(note to self, control yourself when posting this...so many comments....)
I was speaking to Phil Baker recently and he told me that John Worsfold is the guest speaker at this weeks "Bloke"....it is a great event put on by Riverview Church.
The title of this months 'Bloke"?....mmmmmmm well it is entitled, "when leadership goes wrong".....BIG MMMMMMM....and another note to self....stop typing before you get all those Eagles fans upset!!!!
But...if you are a bloke, this event is great.
The Bloke
So said Angus....in his bellowing South African Accent....
There were so many highlights...here are the key points for me.
1. Hearing 2000 plus men sing....I mean farmers, electricians, tradies, and all the city blokes....Saturday night....you had to be there to know it. I have NEVER at any conference, including Hillsong, whatever....heard a crowd demand to sing more worship songs. unbelievable And the people doing this were blokes. All the nay sayers out there who reckon Aussie blokes wont sing...know squat. Yes it may go against our culture, but it is not against God's culture. These blokes were men, tough strong blokes....and it was probably the most inspiring worship I have ever experienced.
2. Being involved. I worked my butt off for this conference, but with responsibility and work also comes privileges....it was fantastic to see hard work pay off as the blokes were crying, laughing, repenting...and many came to know Jesus for the first time.
3. Angus led a session just for Pastors. This was just incredible. What he said to me was perplexing, and I am still working through it...but it was quite different to what he said to others. After he had anointed me with oil and prayed for me, I sat down and just listed to what he said prophetically to other blokes, he has the supernatural gift of discernment and prophecy. Prophecy done as it should be, with real love and concern.
4. Cathing up with old mates, and some I have not seen for a while, and some new ones. Great!
What a great night....a few highlights...
hearing 2000 men sing...wow....resonance, bass, power....awesome.
Angus has not changed, challenging, direct, funny, nothing left unsaid...
Multi media went well...no mistakes, had to work quick as worship team made last second changed....they sounded great!
Camera was okay...slight delay annoying, but without a $2000 scaler, what do you do?
A great night...cant wait for tommorow.....
This is amazing...wow....I am not much into the whole financial news happening at the moment, but I know enough to know that we should have been listening to this guy a couple of years ago!
I think these pictures tell a great story....
chocolate pancakes with berries and maple syrup....oh YUM!
Want to read this one......
Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!
http://www.logos.com/
Very busy at the moment getting ready for Mighty Mens conference.....the registrations hit 1560 make that 1600 ...and still climbing.
I have been responsible for marketing..so we are pretty happy with the result. The website Q developed is very good...and has handled the load well...with most registrations being done online.
Now I have switched my attention to the multi media....and I have worked out how to feed live video feed through my laptop onto the screens....should be an awesome conference!
Lets pray that Angus is inspired...and able to deliver the message from God to the men that come....that they and our state need.
Wayne and myself have re-launched Australian Pastors Blog...check it out.
http://australianpastors.blogspot.com/
It seems the eagles photos I posted on facebook are creating a fair bit of interest....
this comment from Dave Fallon was the best....
"hating the weagles is quite a healthy and satisfying pasttime"
Yes....I concur...it is.....
A reflection on the year, and a look forward to this year....Something I put together for our AGM....
Someone left this doll on my desk tonight...so it needed to suffer.... :)
It was a good day in church today...good crowd in, some visitors....
We took some time out of our communion time to remember the bushfire victims, a minute silence.
We have also been raising money for the appeal, will total it up and let you know how we did it this week.
I shared the story about how Jesus responded to a natural, and a unnatural disaster in His day. He did not explain why it happened, but he did clarify to people that it was not because people were being judged, bad stuff does happen in our world....
Our worship leader reminded us to pray for those who were left behind, they are the ones suffering now, the initial shock is gone,and they are ones who have to go on with living, without the ones they loved and knew with them.
Someone who went through the Cyclone Tracy distaster said something profound to me today as well, "no one compares houses when they are all piled up together at the rubbish tip".
One of my best mates has this on his church website...presumably to attract people to the service.
"We have air-con!"
That is so funny...so does the local pub mate..and other places!
Ha ha ha ha ha!!!
You know who you are!!!
Remember Ra'ah? Well Wayne and I are going to ressurect it, in a new format, name etc....and possibly some new posters...stay tuned.
Very busy at the moment...
getting ready for our church agm....will post a highlights video shortly....
preparing church vision document....meeting with leaders...our church is a very exciting place to be at the moment.
also getting ready for the Angus Buchan conference, should be an awesome time...with close to 1300 men already registered, we are stoked...the worship time with that many guys will just be fantastic....praying that God chooses to reveal things to men, challenge and inspire them...
But with so many blokes coming, the pressure is on to make it good...pray for me, pray for Eliot as he leads the worship time, and pray for Angus and his team, that the Holy Spirit will empower, direct and give him discernment.
Had one of the best beers I have ever had today, snuck away from the office (should not have, no time to waste, but a good mate needed to chat...so down to Freo we went)....at the Little Creatures brewery.... a 'bright ale'....straight from the tap...cold....absolutely superb.
This from Rowland Croucher....
"Where is the pressure coming from? The survey indicates that it is not the members or the church board. It is the ministers themselves. The pastors show a consistent inability to set reasonable limits on their workload. More than two out of three respondents say that they expect too much of themselves. A little over half say that they love what they do so much that they don't know when to stop.
The typical pastor spends about 14 hours planning and attending meetings or services. Another 13 hours is invested in sermon preparation and teaching. Pastoral care and counseling take some nine hours. Six hours are spent in personal devotions and prayer. All types of administrative and budget tasks, advanced planning and the like absorb 13 hours."
Source
Okay...the 2009 season is upon us...
After watching an experienced and determined Richmond defeat Freo by 3 points....and my third cup of coffee...I am ready for my 2009 predictions.
I got at least one right last year, Palmer did indeed pick up the Rising Star. Unfortunately most of the others were wrong after the Dockers suffered a pretty dissapointing season.
I was right about Hawthorn....they did well...and I was right about Woosha Wiperblades....he did say nothing, but was fawned over by 6peagle....
Unfortunately neither Freo nor the Saints gave the finals a shake....maybe this year...find our below.
1. Stephen Hill is a gun, better than Rich, and will win the Rising Star
2. Chris Mayne will develop into a more consistent player
3. Tarrant will repay the faith showed in him
4. Pavlich will start to dominate games with his mate Hasleby
5. Hawthorn wont maintain their form, and will dissapoint
6. Geelong will continue to fade
7. Port Adelaide will implode, and Mark Williams might face the sack
8. Richmond will dissapoint their fans, and yet Wallace will be re-signed
9. Port Adelaide will collect the spoon
10. North Melbourne will be the big riser
11. Freo will make the top four, but miss out on the big one
12.West Coast will still suck
I have not met a Senior Pastor yet who is worth his salt that does not get the whole 'seating' thing.
How...where...in what format a room is set up...is important!
We only have to look at God's complicated instructions for His house of worship to know this.
At Inglewood we have been having real issues with seating....too many people, not enough room.
Okay....there is enough room if we are all squished in.
Last week, just as the service finished, I got up and gently encouraged/asked the folk if they could possibly get to church early...and sit down the front, I even said I would put lollies on the front two pews!
This week we moved all the musicians onto the stage, with just the leader and singers down on the level part. I debated whether to put them up high on the stage, but the crowd is still not large enough to have to do this, and I don't like being up high looking over people, I like to look them straight in the eye, be on eye level with people. We may have to change this at some point.
Anyhoo.....I put some Fantails on the front two pews, and they did fill up. Because we had moved everyone foward, we had some space at the back.....at least until everyone came in. Then we were full again. Its amazing. We truly are experiencing sustained growth.
It felt full this morning, but not uncomfortably full.....whew! We needed to make space. I am believing that very soon we will need to make more space....there are new friends coming and staying every week.
ummmm...lets think about that for half a millisecond.....no.
Bad things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad people.
The rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Indiscriminate, awful fire, killing innocents...is not how God operates.
Why did it happen? Don't know. Why did Soveriegn God not intervene? Don't know.
It is amazing to see how people are helping, it shows the image of God within us when we reach out in love and mercy to those who are struck down. That is God at work.
Judgement will come, at the right time, in the right way, but the posturing of some, the attempt to claim it as some moral high ground victory seems to me to have much more in common with the pharisees of Jesus day, rather than Jesus Himself. In fact its wicked.
fascinating, chilling, interesting.....provoke one to prayer...
"We were all human beings united by a tragedy, equal in the face of suffering and walking the path of recovery together...."
(more)
.....has put some good thoughts together on a way to think through the whole 'revisiting' church issue.
"In our rush to reject the consultant paradigm, there is a real danger that we embrace the house of sand approach that the bartender represents. The truth of the matter is that Jesus has a lot to say about how people, and the world is living......"
The consultant and the bartender walked into a church....
Here is an excellent little video from an atheist....you may have seen him on Penn and Teller.
He makes the following points....
How much do you have to hate someone...to not share your faith?
If I believed without a shadow of a doubt that you were about to be hit by a truck...and did not say something to you, what would you say about me?
Having now become a church that uses temporary locations.....spaces rented off others who own them....I am keenly aware of some of the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Using a community owned and used space has helped us to grow, interact and communicate with the community so much better than what we used to. People know where we are, they see us, the interact with our programs...we are part of the community.
Downside is that we dont own the place! We get told off for this that and the other....even if we have done nothing really wrong. There has been a distinct period of the other people using the place getting used to us....One person in particular......(say no more!)
The person who runs the centre is great! Nothing but helpful, know that we know her and have been there a while.
But not being able to do whatever we want there...is a downside.
Ultimatly moving has been the right move for us. There is certainly pain. We have a lot of stuff to set up each week (3 times a week actually)...and not a lot of space to put it in.....but the upside is....we are starting to feel like a mission organisation, not a club.
This is great.
Looking for a biblical justification for cursing that driver that just cut you off, the Barrista who made you a bitter coffee...or even the sales assistant who seems more intent on talking to their boyfriend on the phone rather that serving you?
The problem is that as Christians we are meant to be nice to each other....this curse generator is full of great comebacks for a multitude of situations....
This is one that took my fancy,
"May you go on a diet of crunchy, unsweetened locusts, thou whose name is but dung!"
Biblical Curse Generator
H/T David Wilson
Well well.....Maybe Barra has been listening to his wife (a keen dockers member)....
It just seems that everything is coming together at the moment....there is this synergy as God's hand of blessing is over us. We had 67 kids at Jam Central this morning...but about 40% of them were new to the group! How does that happen when you do ABSOLUTLEY NO ADVERTISING. Seriously...none. And 95% of them don't come to church.
We did not even do a massive mail out this year like we have before....and it was at a new location....
Looking over these parents, observing their parenting styles....and their great spiritual needs, we are so blessed.
But it comes with great responsibility and great work.
We need to make time to form relationships and friendships.
We need to share Gods love with them, and a purpose for living.
God is good and His mercies and blessings are abundant, but we cant sit down, there is no time for deciding what we should do....He has shown and told us what to do.
A prayer....God continue to give us the passion, power, discernement and wisdom we need to be about Your business. Protect us from the evil one...who must be hating what You are doing at Inglewood....
And thanks God...what a privilege!
Watching a bunch of overpaid wimps running around with oversize pillows on their shoulders to protect their fragile egos made me a little bit excited about the real footy season ahead.
The Fremantle Dockers have a pre season scratch match on tonight, and it will be interesting to see how it goes. Press have been reporting that the Dockers have had a very hard pre-season, with the impetus being the need to redress the last quarter fadeouts that plagued us last year. If we had been able to turn a few of those 10 points or less losses into wins...anything could have happened..... (sigh)
Unusually for the press at this time of year, we are not installed as pre-season favourites along with other much more qualified teams. Maybe thats a good sign.
Tarrant is not injured, Hasleby is back, Pavlich is a superstar, and likely to play a more 'James Hird midfield fix it" type role.
Grover is the leagues most underated defender, and hopefully has put the emotional and personal turmoil of last year behind him. Mr Pharlin is awesome.
With the best ruckman in the AFL (Cox is heavily overated)...and the best first year player of 2008 at his feet, Hasleby picking up the spoils, Hedland fit and firing.....who knows?
I have my new membership card...I am ready....
Biggest crowd we have had at 'regular' church yesterday.....approaching the size of the crowd we had at our launch.
A lot (lot) of new folk...coming back and staying.
We ran out of communion elements....we had to open up the back doors.....
It does make you feel overwhelmed. I have always been a pastor of a church hovering around the 80-100 mark, and I have known everyone.....well.
I still make it my business to introduce myself to new people, and to shake hands at the door.
But we are actually utilising the systems we have put in place now. Pastoral care leaders etc.
A loss of feeling like I know everyone and what is happening in people's lives.
But as we grow, and continue to grow, this is only going to become more so. Interesting times ahead.
Number one son.....has turned eight.
Late last night Melinda and I were reminiscing about his birth. It seriously seems like yesterday, now he is growing into a fine young fellow...and my mate.
I pondered long and hard about what to buy him. He is developing his own personality and interests. He is not going to be a sportstar....although I am hoping he will enjoy exercise and being outdoors...and he does, he loves the beach. I suspect if we lived closer, and he had more of an oppportunity, he would be a surfer...like his dad 'pretended' to be when he was young. I use to have a thruster on the back of my bike, and was regularly found down at Triggs and other beaches, near North Beach...often. Even.. and especially on Fridays...when I should have been at high school.
I settled on a digital camera. I know he is young...but they are cheap. 8 megapixels, 3 times optical zoom, face recognition and stability....all for under $100. If he breaks it...it is not a tradgedy. So far.....he has taken around 100 pictures. He loves nature, little creatures...and computers. I reckon this interest may be something he pursues. A love of computing, photography and design....something good.
Another thought to consider as I work through emotional intelligence.
No one fits the mould. No one is exactly what or who some test says they are.
The heart is deciteful above all things.
It lies to us...about ourselves.
Who we think we are, may be totally off.
How we operate under stress may be totally different....we may operate under a different set of personality/emotional traits.
"put your head up and face the world head on son...."
So I say to my son as he and I walk from his classroom.
I believe that knowing Jesus gives us the courage, curiousity and passion to approach life with a positive, frank and loving attitude.
This article from an avowed athiest is fascinating. I don't quite agree or understand why his atheistic views gives his observations more credibility, but they seem too.
"Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers - in some ways less so - but more open. "
H/t
Article
Its an interesting and challenging concept for leaders, and studiers of people.
How much emotional intelligence someone has will invariably determine the length and severity of interpersonal conflicts they experience. We will all undergo conflict. But often, not always, the depth of it can be determined by our reaction, how we approach and deal with the personalities involved.
Understanding someone's motivating factors...even words that trigger alarms for them, are all part of your emotional intelligence, your discernment of the other person.
One issue is this though....someone who has low EI....can very often be someone who is not aware of it. This sort of person fills out personality tests and gets a totally wrong reading, because they put the answers down for who they think they are...they honestly think things about themself, which an objective outsider can clearly see are simply not true.
Once again he displays wisdom in the public forum. He fails to embarass the Christian community, instead, without compromising his own values and beliefs, he reaches across the religious and racial divide, while still declaring, that Jesus is my Lord.
Three key points.
1. There are echoes of the most important aspect of his life work, the "purpose driven life" in his opening statement,
"Almighty God, our father, everything we see and everything we can't see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story."
2. He then, without compromising his own beliefs, reaches out to those of different faiths in his use of scripture. He quotes from the Christian bible, yet he uses scripture which Jewish people revere, often using this piece of scripture at special events, the second part of it can be found in the Koran, and is a common Muslim expression....(wise and CS Lewis like in my view)
"The scripture tells us , Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one. And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made."
3. Finally, he does use the name of Jesus, which some might say is exclusive, and it is, and the Christian faith is exclusive when it comes to Jesus, He is the only way. But Warren does it in the sense of saying Jesus is my Saviour, this is what He has done for me. No one can deny that, it is his experience of Jesus. Also, he uses the English, Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew names for Jesus.
He says,
"I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus, Jesus (hay-SOOS), who taught us to pray,"
Discern for yourselves.....
How many surveys do we find in the New Testament?
Lets get all biblical for a moment.....If we are to learn from the New Testament as a model of church government, the closest we find is in Acts 15...where 'it seemed right to them and the Holy Spirit"
Yet even in that context, James had to stand up and say something...someone has to lead, and take responsibility for that decision. You cant spend a weekend away, and then not decide anything! That is a horrible waste of the time God has given us.
In a church context I have often see a consensus model hijaked by malcontents, those with hidden and unspoken power agendas....that does not work. Some might say, we need time to come to a consensus, what a joke...redeem the time, the days are evil.
Some might say, a pragmatic approach does not leave time for reflection, maybe. Maybe we spend too much time reflecting, and not enough doing.
I once took a survey of my church, a few years ago. I had a positive response, which told me little really. I have two scathing reports, which also told me nothing.
At the conclusion of the matter, church growth will rise, fall or stagnate on the basis of leadership. You need to trust your own leadership, and if you cant, let someone else lead.
Inspired in part by John Kinkelde's leadership series and Tony Morgans' post 'Consensus Sucks
Melinda has taken her mum away for a few days to Cervantes......
I don't know how to feel.....
I love that place....yet after two weeks away....there is no way I could go.
She needed to take her mum away for a break..some stuff going on there.
But waving her and the kids away...while Clem begged me to come so we could go diving together....pretty tuff!
Mind you...there is a silver lining...she made me two days worth of lasange...and she makes the best lasange in the world!
ablutions...and it was a relaxing time spent exploring Denmark, climbing trees at Walpole and enjoying some excellent coffee at the best coffee shop I found down South, they served 5 Senses.....
On holidays....away from computer for a while...also...and here is a tip from my wife for pastors...
recorded a temporary message for my mobile...which asks people if it is church business to contact my offiders...or if for me...leave a message. I will turn it on at the end of the day and check in case of urgent messages.
Hope everyone has a great couple of weeks!
To all who signed the petition requesting a new logo for the Baptist Union.....it is on its way!
Rod Benson reports....
"The BUA has commissioned a well known graphic design company to recommend a new logo, and the BUA National Council has agreed to sign off on the final design in May 2009 (it meets twice a year). "
When people from both sides of politics are villifying you, its probably a sign you are doing the right thing.
Rick Warren is clearly a biblical/conservative minister....yet Obama has picked him to pray a prayer of blessing on his presidency. I doubt Warren voted for Obama......
This quote from Warren from the LA Times speaks volumes for the wisdom of the man. I am so glad he is representing us in the media...
"I happen to love Democrats and Republicans," he told the gathering. "And for the media's purpose, I happen to love gays and straights. . . . Who ever came up with the idea that you have to agree with everybody on everything in order to love them?"Warren added: "And you know what my attitude is: You don't have to see eye to eye to walk hand in hand, and you can disagree without being disagreeable" (Source)
A few years back a few good friends and I went to Sacremento to study the incredible ministry of churches under Paul Borden's leadership.
After the 14 day study tour, Wayne Field, Peter White and myself went on a driving tour, including such spots as Vegas, Yosemite National Park, Las Angelas, and a lot of the US in between.....
When I got to Vegas, and Wayne and I went on a tour, in our rented Chrysler Convertable....at 2am in the morning, I turned to Wayne and said,
"After seeing what God created for our enjoyment in Yosemite it's a disappointment to see what man created for our enjoyment in Vegas."
Wayne told me that U2 filmed their clip, "I still haven't found what I am looking for" there....which just about sums it up.
"The source of confident joy and joyful confidence originates in the fundamental acknowledgement that "the Lord, he is God. It is He who hath made us and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Turning from divine praise to human dignity, the Psalmist celebrates the good news that we are neither alone nor autonomous. He confesses that God fashioned every single person, and that therefore every human being enjoys an inherent worth that can never be earned or even lost, and that therefore we enjoy His bountiful care. Many people, of course, do not view the world or people this way, and herein lies a great divide between two very different ways of experiencing life itself."
This is a really good post.
Pastor Mark Driscoll had a really bad attendance at Mars Hill Church, a mega church in Seattle. He is a edgy young pastor, with a influential ministry. He writes on his church blog about a recent service when it snowed heavily in Seattle (you may have seen it on the news) and it affected attendance negatively....
"I preached to 80 people at the first service in a room that seats 1300, and the best attended of the four services today was about 250 people....."
He has some pretty frank things to say... (Driscoll frank? Who would have thought!)
"Those who see it as a job are the first to call in and cancel their duties, not show up, dog it, or leave early. Those who see their service at Mars Hill as a calling go beyond the call of duty to cover for everyone else"
You can read the rest here
John Finkelde mentioned on his blog that he loves the 23rd of December....and wondered if he is the only one...he isn't...I do too!
Isn't the anticipation of something just as good as actually obtaining it?
Has not God designed us to be dreamers...to desire...to chase after?
I believe He has.
Last night I took the family to the 'Nativity' scene/drama in the city. It was awesome. Geoff Woodward (spelling?) from Metro Church and the evavenscent (spelling2?) Michael Battersby led the thousands of people gathered there in carol singing...I am friends with Colin, Michael's brother, and we often joke that despite their obvious similarities, Michael is the outgoing one...he is! Colin is an awesome worship leader, but their style is quite different.
Michael and his team did a great job.
Then Ted Bull (ABC) basically read the story from the bible, interspersed with drama, real camels, and carols.
Seriously....no mention of Santa....candy canes or anything else.
Just the beauty of the nativity story, presented in a contemporary manner to thousands of non church folk...
What a blessing.....
There is a lot of 'Grinchness' around this time of year, let us not be among the green headed monsters....Let us instead celebrate this awesome time of year, an opportunity to reflect, to share our faith, to share our lives, to celebrate with famiy.....
I believe in a God who is exuberant, creative, fun, positive, visionary, celebratory...a God who commands His people to party...COMMANDS THEM!!!
Let us throw off those things that bind us..and Celebrate the King's Birthday.
I miss my dad.
He was a non communicative, dysfunctional father.....who I hardly knew.....
but I miss him like crazy.
I wish I could ring him up and ask him about how to change an oil filter, even though I know how.
I wish I could play squash with him, and go easy on him, because when I started thrashing him, he no longer wanted to play.....
I wish he was here to give presents to my kids...because he was GREAT at that.....
If your dad is still alive, no matter what he is like...don't take him for granted.
This is an interesting blog....
here he defends Rick Warren and makes some good points.....
"No stranger to getting flamed by church people indignant over his writings and methods, Warren is now getting flamed by some very vocal supporters of President-elect Obama because he (Warren) is pro-life and against gay marriage. Shocker, I know."
"Here's the thing: Warren is not saying anything outrageous for a Christian minister. He is simply, as most evangelical Christians do, saying that babies should get to live and that homosexual behavior is sin. That he is getting branded a radical hatemonger for these things should tell us a lot about the culture we live in, which -- PAY ATTENTION HERE -- doesn't care if you're a cool, goatee-sporting, social justice loving, Obama voting Christian. If you simply follow the Bible's counsel about life and sin, you're Hitler." (Source)
It was really interesting to me that Obama mentioned 'gays' specifically in his presidential speach.
This is not a gay bashing site....there are plenty of them around, and this is not one of them.
But a Christian minister should stand up for something, namely that the Bible is true...and God does not like sin........Rick Warren is probably one of the sharpest Christian minds of our generation, and when interviewed, I have not seen him slip up. I dont think he did in this context either....but what he said may very well be offensive.
Why do we make this statement, "I rarely watch TV but I saw this show on how Brooke split up with Taylor etc etc...'
What is it within us that makes us apologise for watching TV...or feign guilt about it?
You don't hear people say, "I rarely go to the movies, but I just happened to catch Hugh and Nicole and she was so wooden...."
All things in moderation I reckon.
At present, with the non ratings rubbish on, thats pretty easy! But there is still some good stuff on. For me, Prison Break and Heroes. Lately I have got addicted to both of them, sometimes recording them when I am too bombed to stay up that late. Also 'Top Gear' (the UK version) on Monday nights.
And....with the 'Spicks and Specks Christmas Special' being essential viewing...enjoy your zone out time...in moderation.
I have an excellent Church Leadership Team...I suppose if they were terrible I would probably not post about them, but they are great...so I can.
Last night we held our first ever Leadership Team Meeting for our new church, and it was a significant time. We decided on some key things, which reflect our inherant values as a church.
I was so encouraged.
I shared with the leadership team that I need three things from them.
1. That they keep pushing me to keep my eye on the big vision, and give me freedom to lead.
2. That they be my chief set of cheerleaders.
3. That they set good boundaries and keep me accountable for what I achieve
There have been years gone by when things have not been so good. Our church is already experiencing some fruit from good leadership, and this team is setting us up for more health.
Well Richmond Football Club have drafted Ben......(after saying there is no way they would)
I actually am glad. I hope that he is aided in his journey back, and does his parents proud.
All of us have made mistakes, its just that Ben got caught...and he continued on with it....
But ultimately I suspect it wont be his much vaunted issues with drugs that bring him down but his hamstrings....and the feral Tigers fans.....
We had a great day at church on Sunday.
Some things I can tell you about, some things best kept from huge public audience that read this blog (!)
A great time of worship, the band sounded great, and their was a real sense of freedom there, led ably by Eliot, who allowed space and freedom....great!
A good story of two told...and a good message on meditating on scripture, you can download it from our church website www.inglewoodchurch.org.au
About 10 visitors, including some real special people, which I can't go into here....but I am hoping they stick around, because together, we could make some awesome differences in our community....
The air conditioning kicked the 38 degree day out of the park...something we have not had the luxury of before....
Its not all bad you know.
Blogging has given me a great outlet, it has introduced me to a whole heap of people and also ideas that have helped a lot. It has been an avenue to internet resources, mult-media, the latest thinking and good books.
Facecrack....ooops...I mean Facebook...has given me access to relationships with a whole heap of people. The most valuable aspect of it is when I also have a 'real world' relationship with those I am interacting with online. In some notable cases it has actually really helped as I have tried to share and deepen relationships and conversations with people that although I see them 'face to face' we dont always get the chance to talk about spiritual matters. This has been really valuable even in the last 24 hours as I was able to articulate something concillitory which may have actually been a problem with someone who is on a faith journey.
I think the key with healthy online relationships is that they have some basis 'offline' as well. It may be too easy for there to be little accountability or reality undergirding the relationship if it only takes place in internet forums or blog comment lines. I am not saying this is always the case, but even those friendships I have developed with some overseas pastors, formed on the basis of mutual experiences, are relationships I have an innate desire to develop 'offline' as well.
While I don't like anonymous comments on this blog, because I think if you are going to say something, take accountability for it, I do allow them, because I hope the interaction can grow to the point where it allows for a certain vulnerability.
As our society and culture is already well and truly 'online', Pastors, those in the relationship and influence areas, need to have an online 'web 2' type presence. As people work more, and have less time free, Pastors need to be available (within their own boundaries of course) to interact with people, as people today are interacting.
(This post was formulated after a discussion with my good friend, Michael Bullard)
How would it be if you put on a beautiful birthday party for your son.
All the trimmings....you invite his friends, you wrap his presents, you prepare wonderful food.
Then after the day is finished, you turn to your son and you say, "I hate your birthday, its such a hassle".....
enjoy the day....enjoy Jesus' birthday...its fantastic!
Here is the multi-media I have done up so far for the Christmas Season, feel free to use it....let me know if you do.
Nativity Loop
Nativity Countdown
The Word Came (illustration on Jesus's coming)
Merry Christmas Countdown
The bottom two you can find on this blog, if you want to preview the top two, I suggest you go to http://markedwards.blip.tv/
to see the others.....
After his fellow journalist at the Sunday Times, Jay Clark, was compelled to apologise in this weeks Sunday Times for making a mistake last week about Mark Harveys contract length....
(Bad journalism) one might have thought that Kim Hagdorn would get it right.
Apparently even though he is paid full time, and apparently studies and knows both West Aussie footy sides, you would think he might get the players numbers right, especially when talking about those numbers specifically!
"Other attractive numbers on offer to Fremantle's eight new recruits include Matthew Carr's No.9 and departed ruckman Robbie Warnock's 21, made more famous by respected former big man Justin Longmuir." (source)
mmmm....good one Kim...you dork.
There is a lot of great things about being a pastor and involved in a church.
One of them is Sunday afternoon, relaxing after the glow of a great church service. The band did a great job this morning and we kicked off our new series, "how to enjoy Christmas"....I spoke on the 'Relly Bash"...how to enjoy Christmas with your relatives...My two main points were to create margins for yourself (boundaries) and also to invite Jesus to the party. Jesus first miracle was to turn 160 gallons of water into the best wine available....at a 7 day wedding party. He wants to be invited to the party....
Then...after that...back home with number one son as wife and daughter are off to a birthday party and we did what dads and their sons do...ate some smallgoods and a good loaf of bread....he is playing 'sponge bob' and I am reading the paper...aaah.
Lot on this week...hence not many postings.....
Getting ready for Christmas, January and AGM in February.
Budgets, multi media, Angus Buchan, Christmas services, holidays, fixing car...(oil, coolant, sparks, tyres)
and that is just the last two days.....
Has the 'missional movement' been given enough time to produce fruit?
Dan Kimball appears to be getting impatient as he writes,
"Small, indigenous churches are getting lots of attention, but where's the fruit?
I hope I am wrong. For the past few years, I have been observing, listening, and asking questions about the missional movement. I have a suspicion that the missional model has not yet proven itself beyond the level of theory. Again, I hope I am wrong"
The article he writes appears to me to ask some serious and compelling questions, comparing the growth of 'attractional' churches with the apparent lack of growth of those pursuing alternate methods of church.
"We all agree with the theory of being a community of God that defines and organizes itself around the purpose of being an agent of God's mission in the world. But the missional conversation often goes a step further by dismissing the "attractional" model of church as ineffective. Some say that creating better programs, preaching, and worship services so people "come to us" isn't going to cut it anymore. But here's my dilemma—I see no evidence to verify this claim."
I wholeheatedly agree that the measure of a method of 'church' needs to be, is it growing and seeing people move from non Christ follower to fully devoted disciple. Maybe I am a late adopter, or maybe its time for some serious re-evaluations of those who are the self appointed 'evaluators'
Article
Here is a shortish presentation I have made up based around John 1 and Philipians 2
You can download a quality copy by right clicking here
Please let me know if and how you use it.
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