Just a Mission Al

Oh, in case you didn't know..

2009-12-02T08:37:00.001+11:00

..my new blog is out of beta and is alive and kicking. Head on over to http://www.readeral.com

Hello Old Friend

2009-10-31T16:19:00.000+11:00

You may have been wondering what I've been up to the past few months,
without a blog in sight. It's been interesting I must say! I know I've
left a few blog series' in the middle of nowhere, but it's not all for
nothing!

Hopefully by the end of this weekend I will have a new blog up and
running at www.readeral.com. I've been working on it for a few months,
building it myself from the HTML tags upwards, and although it's still
a work in progress, I think it's ready enough to unleash on the world.

So why?
In the middle of this year I had a discussion with Mikey Lynch about
life in general and MTS and I came to the conclusion that next year
(2010) was the go for beginning MTS.
I decided, alongside that, to begin a new blog detailing what I'm up
to and what I need prayer for, what I'm learning, and what I'm
reading. I also wanted to have links to things I liked and support,
and photos videos and audio clips.
My current blog just wasn't going to cut it.

So what about all I began on this blog?
I'll be looking at transferring this blog onto the new one, dropping
out some kindof useless stuff and continuing the series' I have
already begun. So hold onto your hats and scarves and I'll let you
know when the new site is up. I'll be blogging regularly (every two or
three days) from then on!

Hope to see you there,
Alan

I met a friend today

2009-07-21T22:56:00.001+10:00

I met one of my friends today.
That may not sound to you unusual, it's fairly common to meet with friends on a day to day basis. But as much as I did meet with them, I also met them for, most likely, the first time. At least, who they are now.

My friend has been suffering for the past few years as a cocaine addict. And over an unplanned coffee, they shared with me their struggles. They told me about the social circles they moved in, the jobs they sought, the life they lived, in order to maintain their fast growing addiction.

Against their better judgement, they took the risk of being rejected by me to share with me where they had failed in life to maintain their own moral convictions at the hands of the ever increasing clutches of cocaine, and how they lied, stole and slept their way to the next high.

They talked about why they stopped their study, how the demand for money meant they couldn't afford to remain at Uni but needed to work. My memory brought up conversations we had had where they were lamenting the fact they were living from house to house as they couldn't afford rent.

My friend also shared how their mother, their partner and their doctor had been working for their recovery over the past weeks, how the mood stabilisers they took for their bipolar symptoms stopped them from finding much to smile about. They talked about their recent engagement, their thoughts for the future, and at the end of it all, they talked about faith.

At no point had my Christian faith been a secret to this person, and on many occasions we had discussed religion, and Christianity, and hope in Christ. They weren't so keen for the 'church' stuff, but were open to discussion of a faith nature.

They identified the bizarreness of our relationship, the fact that we barely had anything in common except for the fact that we both enjoy a good, solid and deep conversation, and after our brief hanging out, I felt a lot of sorrow and compassion for my friend. I had never considered that I would be the friend a drug addict.

My hope and my prayer is that we can continue to hang out, as we intend to do. They said that one of the higher times of the past few years was when we watched a movie together, so that's what we are planning to do. In doing so, I pray God might grant me the opportunity of sharing with them again the hope of the Gospel.

Please pray for my friend. And pray that I might be to them a light.

You need to be there..

2009-07-21T20:28:00.000+10:00

A recent blog post by Mikey Lynch got me thinking about church attendance, and how we can better serve new people coming into our churches.
Mikey gives 3 points as to why people stop coming, I won't list them here, but there was one thing that I came to realise after reading his blog, something that is so incredibly obvious, yet I'd never even thought of, that is so important in facilitating a solution to the points he shares.
And it was this:
We need to be attending church in order to recognise who is actually new. This might seem like a no brainer. And it is. Yet, I hadn't thought about it with such intention before.
If we're not actively participating in our church community, we have no hope of recognising new faces, and run the risk of alienating people by assuming they are either not new, or thinking they are newer than they are.
And it goes further into no-brainer land:
We need to be ensuring we are attending every week, so not only can we recognise new people, but serve them.
For example, to a gathering like TBT, a service of Crossroads Church Hobart, this is not only obvious, but one of integral importance. The community is specific and small, so in order for new people attending to have the familiarity that comes from seeing the same faces and further developing new relationships with those people, I would dare to say the members of TBT need to be sure of their responsibility to attend every week.
This is something I think they do really well, and it's very encouraging.
But for larger church services like Wellspring's Resonate, and for parachurch meetings like UFC, the issue is a lot more subtle, and returns more to the points Mikey makes.
Attending church is not just about our attendance as an end in itself, fulfilling our religious obligation, nor is it how we feel about attending or what we are getting from our attendance, as much as it is recognising that whether we like it or not, we are part of a community, and that community thrives and grows with our participation and commitment to serving one another, and serving those new to our community..
The best way we can ensure we're doing that.. is to be there.

Shifting Community pt 2 - The challenge of growth

2009-07-19T16:03:00.006+10:00

In my previous post I started a series of reflections on my church community, especially with regard to our evening service at Wellspring, called Resonate.

This is my second post in the series.

As a church body gets bigger, certain things are obviously going to change. It gets more difficult, at a leadership level, to enquire and address the needs of the individual churchgoer (be they Christian, or visiting), and at the other end of the spectrum, as that individual, it gets more difficult to get to know the church leaders and other members of the community that you call your local church.
Where your church used all go out and enjoy a meal together, at one or two different locations, instead there are groups that regularly meet and hang out after church together. Where feedback on the music style or choice of songs used to be simpler because everyone knew at least one of the musicians, now it's up to the leaders of music teams to be perceptive and seek out that feedback from the congregation.

The way we experience community shifts as a church grows.

I'm not saying that growth is bad, on the contrary, a growing church community can very often be a reflection of God's blessing during that season and the work that God is doing through those that are being faithful to the word and serving the church. But with that growth comes challenges. Pastoral, stylistic, financial and stewardship, preaching, training and leadership challenges. These and more are all things that Wellspring currently faces.

And we know that in order to function as a church community we need to do more than set out more seats...

Shifting Community pt 1 - Reflections on prior years

2009-07-07T00:45:00.001+10:00

Wellspring's evening service, Resonate, has grown a lot since I first turned up at the church. My first experience with Wellspring's young adult service was when we were called BayWest, and the service was called Sunday Night Live, it was a service of about 40-50 regular attendees (can someone refine this? John, Chris?). After the initial 2 weeks, and the hard slog of fitting into a church community as a newly committed Christian, I was finding myself getting to know many of the members, and after summer Camp and joining the praise and worship team, almost everybody.

The service has, over the years, experienced a few changes, and as we migrated into the hall adjoining our church building, we have gradually begun to fill the 200ish seats we have there.

But as the service style has changed, and the numbers have grown, our model of ministry has also changed.
Where there used be a volunteer 'ministry team' whose job it was to ensure they knew who was a part of our service, there has been a shift to a more traditional anglican model of service, but maintaining the style of our previous years.

This has resulted in a massive shift in community - something I'll reflect on over the next few weeks and blog posts.

Ephesians

2009-07-07T00:26:00.001+10:00

It seems to be rather a topical book at the moment. We recently looked at it (chapters 3-6) at MYC, and at Wellspring we have just begun it as a series, playing tandem with our current series of 'A book a week' in the old testament.
So, in addition to all these, my Bible study will start a parallel series looking at Ephesians. We'll be playing a bit of catch up as we're already two weeks behind, but hopefully the intermittent books of the old testament will do us well to get back on track.
I'm hoping as an individual to get a lot out of the study as I prepare for a sermon on Eph 4:17-5:2.
Good times.

Tidbits of the week 1

2009-06-24T22:59:00.002+10:00

Here are some 'tidbits' from Sermons I have been listening to.

"Devious people don't lie, it's too risky. They deceive with the truth.."

"..In the atmosphere in which we live, this is incredibly prevalent in our day. Some people know they are doing it and others are so conformed to the spirit of the age, they don't even know they are doing it. They don't even know there is such a thing as use of language that has integrity. That's the age we live in.."

"..Language is a game by which we conceal what we don't want known, and reveal what we want known, even if it's false. And we are good at it."

This is from his sermon The Tragic cost of her Cavernous Thirst preached by John Piper this past weekend, and it was once again an illustration founded in the story of the woman at the well. He raises the issue of truth by reflecting on the woman's response to Jesus telling her to get her husband. and the above comments were the crux of his reflections.

Secondly..

"We pray and pray and pray for our city, and we believe that as we pray, though God may not answer quickly, he does answer. That's why I think prayer is so hard, because.. so many times it's hard to see a tangible result is it not, and so it's easier to just go do it yourself, 'cause then you can go 'look what I did'. But if it's based on you, I have to wonder how long it'll really last."

This is from The Village Church, for those who know Matt Chandler, his church. This sermon was by Beau Hughes, entitled Loving Our Neighbours. It convicted me of my attitude toward prayer, and my person struggle of faith for God to provide and to act. And in the greater context of the sermon, convicted me of my lack of prayer in my personal evangelism and 'loving of my neighbour'.

Just some awesome stuff.

Desiring God part 1

2009-06-24T22:34:00.002+10:00

well really it is part two. but whatever.

So, reading Desiring God. So far, so good.

The book really lays itself out in a way I'd describe as a Systematic Theology of Worship. It begins, rightly I believe, making the premise that God is the object of our worship, and glorification of Him is our chief end. It then sets about showing the implications of this in our lives, moving from topic to topic, from Worship through Love and Scripture and Prayer, to chapters on Money, Marriage and Suffering. I'm into chapter 3 at the moment.

Out of the preface and introductions and the 3 chapters I've read so far, two chapters have really struck me. The one I previously posted about which was chapter 1 - The Happiness of God, and chapter 3, that is the chapter on Worship. Piper takes the passage of the woman at the well in John 4 to describe worship in spirit and in truth, worship of the heart and of the head. I won't summarise him here.

So far, I'm enjoying reading. It's liberating in a way, being given permission to enjoy God.

I'll keep you posted. The next chapter is entitled: Love - The Labor of Christian Hedonism.

I must say, I really don't dig that term.

2009-06-17T23:13:00.003+10:00

The Sola Panel reviews "Why Johnny can't preach" here, and as an introduction they summarise the first chapter of the book. All in all, sounds an interesting read, but a particular part stuck out at me. I quote Sola Panel:

"So what's wrong with the culture? In a word, society has become ‘aliterate’. That is, people are able to read, but choose not to.
The result of this is that people are not in the habit of reading texts, constructing written arguments, or composing prose with clarity and artfulness. So when a culturally shaped aliterate candidate arrives at seminary to be taught theology, Greek and Biblical studies, he needs to be taught how to read and write as well, for being able to preach in a careful and nourishing way requires an appreciation of literature, argument, style, composition and delivery—all characteristics that fall by the wayside in an aliterate society."

Incidentally, that whole second paragraph is a single sentence - but I digress.

'Aliterate'; I'd heard the word before, but hadn't done enough reading to know what it meant, until now.

And I recognise in myself, and dislike the fact that I have a reduced capacity to be able to engage with literary styles and writing. So I ask the blogsphere - what are some ways to avoid becoming 'aliterate'?

A low view of God's sovereignty

2009-06-14T13:46:00.002+10:00

My view of God's sovereignty, all in all has been low - and I've questioned his sovereignty along with something that Piper raises in Desiring God, that is, the eternal happiness of God, and I've feared for my own existance. Will at some point God get bored and destroy all he has created to start over again?

My fears are completely unfounded - the Bible paints God so differently. My fear is not stemming from any real notion of the instability of God - but rather my ignorance and distrust of scripture.

I wonder how often this happens to other people?

Reading

2009-06-14T13:34:00.002+10:00

I've been doing some reading lately - a bit intermittent, but I'm getting better at it.

I finished the first book a few weeks back, Don Carson's The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God - I'll post some reflections on that eventually, I've lent it out to nearly everyone I know along with my notes in it! I've just started reading Desiring God by John Piper, and will be posting about that the next few weeks and next I'm getting into The Sovereignty of God by A. W. Pink. So I'll try and keep you posted.. at least as intermittently as my reading is.

Back in the blog seat..

2009-06-14T13:29:00.001+10:00

I'm back.

"Surely God's love isn't that difficult?"

2009-05-05T20:57:00.005+10:00

Well, Carson gives what he feels are at least 5 reasons for difficulty in understanding the love of God:

1. We no longer have a prevalent Biblical framework with which to understand the love of God

2. Culture won't retain the Biblical framework, it purges any uncomfortable characteristics of God for a sanitised, pop understanding of His love.

3. Postmodernism and it's inherent pluralistic view of the world doesn't allow for an expression of this Biblical framework.

4. We can no longer grapple with how God's love and God's justice are related, and in rejecting the biblical understanding resort to a reductionistic view of the love of God.

5. God's love is often depicted as easy and obvious, by overlooking some of the distinctions the Bible makes in it's own depiction of the love of God.

All of these reasons resonated with me.

Carson only expressed 5, he implied there were more. In the ten years since this publication, I wonder, have any others become obvious?

Reading Carson

2009-05-05T07:24:00.002+10:00

For quite some time, I've had intentions to read some of Don's work, and have got part way through his books before study or work or some other thing distracted me from my time for reading.

So I've resolved to start again, and blog about it.

Over the next few weeks I'll be reading:

- The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God

- How Long O Lord?

- A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and his Prayers

I don't know how the format of this blog will look like. I might just post reflections, or tell you about a chapter I like, or maybe just say something that I thought about that is pretty much abstract from the book's topic. See how we go.

Reflections on Preaching

2009-04-29T21:45:00.004+10:00

So, I preached my first sermon last Sunday, and I thought I'd post some dot-point reflections and some things I heard and learnt preparing, and some feedback I've been given so far.

1. Preaching a whole book of a Bible is hard.

2. Yet, preaching the Psalms is a joy in the future I will always look forward to.

3. Mannerisms are welcome.. My friend Nick told me he was scared to hear the 'Preacher Alan' so when it turned out 'Preacher Alan' didn't exist, he was glad.

4. Mannerisms are not welcome.. when it is putting your hand in your pocket.

5. Preaching with Mic in hand is not ideal for me. If I don't have both hands, I can't communicate with them very well at all. Hence the hand in pocket.

6. Mikey says that newbies either tend to be over-prepared.. or under-prepared. I learned I'm one of those under-prepared sort.

7. Preparation - "Spend more time in the text!" - Thanks bro ;-)

8. Memorising, heading out for a day/half day, and meditating on the scripture you are preaching is invaluable. God taught me much when I was trying less to be intellectual and more prayerful.

9. Visuals (Powerpoint and Video) are not necessary for a sermon. Well it seemed that way.

10. "Once you've got up there you'll love it, you'll be hooked."

11. Preaching to your pastor and two of his kids in their living room seems like it could prepare you for any mid-sermon situation. (This is but a theory, I'm yet to have it tested on me)

12. Full script does in fact work for me. Eventually I suspect it will be a hybrid of full-script and dot points, but there is something real cool about expressing something with full intention.

If you're interested, the sermon can be found here - I would love any feedback (all forms of constructive feedback), you can share in the comments, or drop me an email.

If you're wondering about the 'sans-baby' comment - a mum at the church was speaking prior to me beginning, and her bub was particularly drawn to the black toy mummy seemed to be trying to eat, and wanted a try too. ;-)

Doing this first sermon was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life! It is certainly something God willing I would like to do more of, and really desire to improve at, and grow in. I was blessed to have this opportunity, thank you God, Wellspring and the Resonate team. :-)

Not everyone can plant the trendy church..

2009-04-11T22:16:00.002+10:00

Australia needs more churches.

Australia has an ageing population (eg. no. of old people > no. of young people).

So, who's planting the churches in the retirement villages?

Only a little sin

2009-03-23T00:31:00.003+11:00

The strength of accountability..

..and the lie of the little sin.

No sin is too small to seek support from a brother/sister in Christ, as no sin is too small not to, in some way, affect the body of Christ.

Hearing a brother say to me today "I heard nothing from you about that, so I stopped praying after time" was quite profound. We need always be sharing with one another, so we can be encouraging and praying for one another.

readeral took the plunge less than 5 seconds ago..

2009-03-19T20:29:00.001+11:00

..from web

So I jumped to my death from the internet.

or not.

but I might as well have done.

I just joined twitter.

Some thoughts on engaging my generation.

2009-03-11T22:02:00.005+11:00

My generation is highly visual.
1. We use our eyes as our dominant sense, as our ears tend to be full of iPod.
2. For the same reason, our eyes are all the more important for communication, be it with Internet chat, or seeing a friend or acquaintance in the street.

My generation is also over stimulated.
1. Video games and Cinema experience are designed to engage many senses, and technology is growing in this area.
2. I read somewhere recently that young people tend to watch TV and use the internet at the same time. This is now the norm.
3. In order to catch our full attention, much entertainment or information must have that Cinema experience.
4. Making the effort to sit down and read a book has become much more difficult in my life time, as the internet has grown. This, I would argue, is because the internet provides the opportunity for a 'deeper' engagement through video/audio and graphical/text based information all at once.

Some questions:
1. What does this mean for the preacher? Does he adapt these growing mediums? Or does he provide an alternative to the trend?
2. What does this mean for the worker charged with Pastoral care? Must something change to allow proper relationships to develop?
3. What does this mean for leaders of praise and worship in our church? (recognising that this is broader than music, I in fact am intending to ask this more as a focus on singing praises to God)
4. What does this mean for the evangelist? What mediums should they be using to spread the good news?
5. How can we encourage our young people* to spend the time in the Bible, with full attention?
6. How can we encourage our young people* to spend time in prayer, with a proper focus on God?

*yes, I am 'young people', and I struggle with these.

A lesson in patience.

2009-03-11T20:23:00.007+11:00

A year ago, when I started this blog, it was with the hope of recording my thoughts and gaining support for a trip to Cambodia, as part of my home church's desire to serve our brothers and sisters in another country, and to voice some things related to faith, and blog my thoughts before commencing an apprenticeship in Ministry.

In the year just passed, much has changed, and I have spent a lot of that time in uncertainty.
The major effect of all of this is that 4 months ago, I decided to put my trip to Cambodia on hold. I felt that God was no longer directing me down that path, at least not in the interim.
This was backed up by the fact that I left my job in September and was not finding work to raise the money.

I couldn't understand what on earth God was doing - my finances were in a quandary, my personal relationships were changing, everything I was excited for was falling out from under me, and my passion for sharing the Gospel was proving difficult to maintain. Somehow I felt I had lost all direction and drive for anything. Applying for jobs was anything but encouraging, and as the papers reported more and more job losses and worsening financial conditions, I found myself almost giving up.

But God's grace was still evident to me.

I was given the opportunity to pay off debt through volunteer work over the summer. At a very crucial point a brother and sister in Christ, with the purpose of using what they had for God's glory, generously shared with me and supported me financially. People were letting me know daily that they were praying for me. There was no way God was going to let me forget that He was exercising His will in my life.

Eventually, I came to the realisation that God was teaching me patience, and joy in patience. I found myself one afternoon, reading Matthew 6 and 7, and really resonating with what Christ was speaking of, and fighting off suggestions of doing this TAFE course, or that school-cleaner job, I stuck to what I firmly believed, that God was going to provide the job that he had for me.

God provided a job opening through my brother.
3 weeks before the ad was put out, I got a heads up about 5 positions being made available in a department at AAMI. I spent a day praying, preparing my documents, and hand delivering them.
I waited.
and waited.
I heard that the job applications were above 200 people. I waited. I got a phone interview, and felt encouraged.
Then I heard 350 people had applied. I had resigned to the fact that if it was not what God had intended for me, then I would return back to University, intending not to be idle for the year.
The day after I went in to speak to the education faculty, nearly 6 weeks after my application went in, I got a phone call and was invited in for a face to face interview.
The interview was fantastic, and encouraging.
I heard the day before uni started that I had the job. I was ecstatic.

Through those months, I had learned a few things:
- I realised that God had a season for me of unemployment and that it was a gift that I could rejoice in.
- I learned much about humility, and accepting gifts from others.
- I learned that patience doesn't mean stopping, but in accepting the delay, continuing to seek and pursue God's will.

I know there will be seasons like this in the future, and this was just the first of many.
There is much more to the story which I will happily share over a coffee, but this post is already beyond a Tim Challies post, and getting through it has probably been a test of patience for you too.
But may God be glorified. I know that His promises are true, and my trust in Him is growing daily.

New Years Resolution

2009-01-06T00:58:00.001+11:00

Be bold, go for it and try follow a plan to read the bible in a year.
That's what I'm gonna do.
Find some plans Here

They have a web link that updates every day, you can get the readings in RSS feeds, via email, it can give you an iCal upload, Mobile phone (presumably only in the US) and you can print them out.
A few different plans to go for, check it out.

EDIT: What's more, for those using iCal, it starts the plan on the day you upload the iCal files.. so no catching up to do, and no unmotivation to start just because you're starting halfway though a plan.. neato!

Somehow I deleted this post.. It's back now :-)

Nothing beats a 12 bar blues..

2009-01-06T00:35:00.001+11:00

.. ..so nothing beats the credit music to Boston Legal. You didn't know it was one did you?

Enter box set of seasons 1, 2 and 3.

Aside from being a show that contains 'Moderate themes', 'Moderate violence', and kindly labelled to have 'Moderate sexual references' (enough, take note, that the characters themselves get fed up).. ..I've found it to be a show that makes constant references to God.

As an American legal drama/comedy it confronts many MANY ethical questions, and often finds itself alluding to, or directly referencing the existence of the God of Christianity. Criminals explain their new found commitment to God. Creationism, intelligent design, is held up as important in a court of law. Lawyers question their own faith, and purpose for living. And it is brilliantly juxtaposed against a worldly view of justice and success, which, even if only for the purpose of entertainment, is portrayed as less than desirable.

I dislike television, I don't watch it probably for the purpose of avoiding much of what Boston Legal itself includes, but it's good to know that God's truth prevails even in the thickest of it all. And if it's being able to find God in the gaps, knowing that God reveals himself in the darkest corners of the world, and to be able to discuss the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people from the instigation of a TV show, then I might swallow my pride and at least mildly engage again with the world of television..

..and anyway, I've only seen season one.

It is right to fear the Lord

2009-01-02T20:40:00.002+11:00

Psalm 2 was in my reading list today and it has this to say in v12:

"Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in
the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled
Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
(ESV)

The IVP New Bible Commentary has this to say about it, quoting Derek Kidner:

"There is no refuge from him: only in him."

Proper fear of the Lord leads us to seek our safety in Him, because we have no need to run from Him. His word says that we are blessed when we take refuge in Him.
We should become humble; "Kiss the Son", in the NRSV it says "kiss his feet". A big act of humility, and a reminder of the reverent fear that God is due.

It is right to fear the Lord.

"Over-against us"

2008-12-26T09:35:00.002+11:00

Don Carson says "God stands over-against us in wrath"
I like that. I think I'll use it.

Reading biographies

2008-12-24T22:04:00.005+11:00

I am really bad at reading biographies.
The majority of biographies I have read have been of musicians.
In fact, I haven't read a single biography of any of my favourite Christian authors, and just realised this was a poor oversight.

The other day, I heard an interview between Mark Driscoll and Don Carson, and hearing that really put Carson's writing into a much more illuminated context for me.

And I realised that where we as Christians need to be discerning of what we read, and testing it against the Bible, we can have a better understanding of authors and their motivations if we read their biographies.

So, I'm gonna get stuck into some soon.
Wish I had realised this earlier.

Reflections at Christmas time

2008-12-24T21:10:00.004+11:00

Christmas is going to become more and more important as the years go by, as the Emerging church gets more popular (Or is it dead? Sorry, just touching some nerves :P), and similar liberal view of Christian spirituality permeate our culture.
As things like the virgin birth get called into question, the deity of Christ, the authority of the Bible, the historicity of the Bible, Christmas will become a time where the two views, that of Biblical Christianity and of extreme liberal christianity, will need to ask again and again these questions.

While the whole world looks on.

It will become a time where we can speak of Christ the way the Bible speaks of Christ, and where we can share with those who think they know the Gospel the real truth and weight of what it means to believe in a humble Saviour, divine yet human, took sin for us yet exalted, gave us the gift of new life by faith yet deserves all our praise by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Christ, born The King of our lives.

Some helpful things I just read:
C. J. Mahaney looks at the disturbing nature of the Birth of Christ, and why it's important to see it this way here

Albert Mohler revisits why the virgin birth is important to Christian belief here

"Here's a big idea: Everything belongs to God"

2008-12-23T21:07:00.001+11:00

Mars Hill is currently doing a series on Generosity, in 4 parts from 2 sermons.

I've been finding it excellent, and really helpful to refocus my understanding of money and generosity.
And it's really encouraging to be reminded that I have the ability to be generous, and that I can be excited about it, rather than ticking the checkboxes and feeling like I've filled my moral responsibility.

I really liked how he described tithing.

You can find the video podcast Here

'Cultural relevance'.. or cultural snobbery?

2008-12-18T23:30:00.001+11:00

Often this passage is used to justify a new expression of church, in the name of cultural relevance:

1 Corinthians 9:19-23
For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

And it's a fair call, I myself subscribe to a modern church methodology. But are we at risk of becoming the new cultural snobs?
I can't help but think that hip music, no robes or rites, 'missional' language and preaching to the postmodern persuasion is alienating many from the Gospel.

I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Are we possibly becoming too much of a Gentile to the Gentiles at the expense of becoming a Jew to the Jews?

A page a day..

2008-12-18T23:03:00.001+11:00

I am about to embark on an adventure of writing to encourage me to look more deeply into the Scriptures.

To set aside some time in each day, maybe as little as 30 minutes, to reflect and write only a page on what I have read in God's Word, and how this can apply to my life.

I don't intend to blog these reflections, at least not in the interim, but to put pen to paper, engage the body in writing as well as the mind in thought and spirit in prayer.

The thoughts also won't be as well rounded as a blog post either, I've come to the conclusion that loose ends don't always need tying off, at least not when simply reflecting for personal reasons, as opposed to preaching or constructing a topical paper.
I'm hoping this might help me to allow scripture to speak more into those blank spots, and I get to make revisions of my writing.

In any case, I'm looking forward to it.
Any thoughts?

I'm back..

2008-12-18T22:49:00.001+11:00

Well, it has been some time.
And at Pryderi's prompting (in the encouraging fashion) I am again writing blogs.
Please assist me in keeping it up, comments are kind of like the scriptures as described in 2 Timothy 3:16..

"..useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness"

and being the wretched sinner I am, I need all the help I can get!

Sadly, unless your comments are quoting the Bible, claiming 'God breathed' may not be what I'm encouraging here.. But don't be put off, comments are still welcome!

Glad to be back :-)

Completion?

2008-11-07T21:06:00.003+11:00

Well I've blogged about my lists, and I've blogged about my need for direction, now I'm going to blog about getting things done.. or more accurately, not getting things done.

Tim from my church shared something with me when we were discussing leadership and leading groups, to help me lead a group in moving forward with goals. It's called 'The Experiential Learning Theory' and the basic idea is that we learn by Experiencing something, Reflecting on that experience, Theorising about the Experience, and then Applying that Theorising, which then becomes another experience.
I've just done a botch job of explaining it, there is better explanations here.

The secondary part of the theory that I found particularly helpful, was that people tend to excel in one of these four areas, as Activists, Reflectors, Pragmatists, and Theorisers. None of these groups are mutually exclusive, as the theory dictates we need all in order to learn.
Within a group working together, there tends to be a mix of these, and there is a tension between them. As the leader of the group, it would be my job to ensure we didn't get stuck in one area, but let the cycle continue.

I tend to gravitate toward the area of being a Theoriser. And will sometimes need the assistance of a Pragmatist or and Activist in order to achieve something, otherwise I tend to be happy to remain in my theory land. But sometimes the theory is just so exciting, you have to try it out, give it a whirl.

Attraction

2008-11-07T00:52:00.005+11:00

I was talking to my mate Mike recently. We have fairly candid discussions. The other day I found myself discussing with him what I found attractive in a Christian woman. He reckoned it was worth blogging about. So here it is I suppose. I hope you believe me! :-P

The biggest thing for me, and probably the first thing I notice about someone, is their servant attitude. And sometimes, this hits me for six.
I find that there is an inherent beauty in someone who has a servant heart. Someone that is willing to be the one that helps out preparing or cleaning up, someone who will go out of their way to give you a ride, someone that will always look for an opportunity to bring a bit of light into someone else's life.
Coupled with quiet humility and joy, and I just lose it. This is probably why:

Where someone humbly serves another, it's a beautiful example of following the two greatest commandments. The humility, avoiding glory for ones actions or intentions brings all the more glory to Christ. This is an example of loving God, and not seeking their own glory.
The act of service itself is a response to Christ's commandment that we love one another, and shows Christ's Lordship over their life, and to do it with Joy.
And if a girl shows that to be an important part of her life, I just can't go past it! I can't help it.. I guess God has granted me the appreciation of the work of this nature he does in his servants. Other considerations follow.. so no, don't worry, I don't fall for every girl on the planet.. :-D

But for all those people, male or female, who have shown me such love, I want to say thankyou, and I praise God for your gifts, and I encourage you to use them in every opportunity you get.. Thankyou for being a wonderful example to me.

Beach Soccer

2008-11-07T00:30:00.004+11:00

It's coming up to the summer holiday season, and it's about the time when people start pulling out the BBQ, hitting the Gym, going to Music festivals and eating too much Icecream.

An initiative of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Hobart is the 'Endless Summer of Love' (Their brochure is here and here)
This is an excellent encouragement to actively seek to use those summer months for the furthering of the Gospel.

Along independent but similar lines, I am looking to begin somewhat of a Beach Soccer mission or ministry.
I don't know how it's going to take form yet, there are many ideas going round in my head, but here are a few currently in focus:
- Provide regular (weekly) game/games of soccer on a Sandy bay beach. (local for most)
- Provide an opportunity for Christians and non-Christians to mix in fun, team based, but completely informal sport. Extending to potentially a few games running simultaneously.
- Potentially Christians can provide food or drinks weekly for those attending and spending time after playing sharing a meal together.
- Prayer time before and after our games, and seeking opportunity to invite our friends along to church, or where our model of church may not resonate with them, invite them to a different church!
- Actively initiate healthy discussion on issues of faith amongst those attending.

My difficulty is in knowing how far to go. This is essentially 'pre-evangelism' (not so much a fan of that concept, as pre-evangelism is still evangelism in my mind) and will depend on the individual to use the opportunity to expose their friends to the Christian community, and seek the support from fellow Christians to talk about topics of faith.

Any thoughts, suggestions, critiques? Feel free to pass on this blog if you feel others can contribute to the discussion, I'd appreciate the input!

Edit: I must give much credit to my friend Hannah, who got 'the ball rolling' and had all the enthusiasm!

Small Groups II

2008-11-07T00:15:00.005+11:00

Our system at Wellspring is not without flaws, and in its initial form, was difficult to operate in.
One casualty was the Live Music Missional Team.
This was my team.
Where the system failed was in community. The focus was very external, the object, to reach people with the Gospel. The method, to go out and be community. People were invited to join missional teams where they felt they shared a common interest, and engage with the team's general direction
The idea was sound, the execution, not so sound. We may have wanted to be community, but in fact had never fostered a growth of community before setting out. We lacked a lot of direction, and were not sure of the way forward.
This, at least in the Music team, is in large part my fault, and a difficult lesson to learn.

I am grateful for the recent refining of our small groups. It allowed for the pruning of some of our old ideas and the introduction of new ideas to include and encourage the natural desire of some of the quiet leaders of our service. The result is a healthy and growing interest in joining small groups, studying with one another in community, where we can invite others in. The live music team can still have life, but to be successful, it's basis needs to be in Christ, community with Christ, community with one another, and then the extension into the community large.

Direction

2008-11-06T23:54:00.006+11:00

I have previously blogged on my love of Lists.
I have similar feelings about Direction.

I am definitely a directional man. I love taking directions, and I love giving directions. Often I won't embark on a project unless it is clear to me the aims of the project and often also its expected outcomes, in other words, I like whatever I am doing to be driven with a direction in mind.
This includes baking cakes.
When working with others, I have a tendency to demand some form of direction be set, and often roles to be designated. I guess it's a mannerism of mine. I like to be organised in this manner.

Sometimes I like to 'see how things go', but often, and to be honest, I struggle with this idea.

Small Groups

2008-11-06T23:35:00.004+11:00

I know Mikey loathes the word Missional. But the title of my blog contains the word, so I shall use it. Now I've conceded that, I will go on to talk about 'missional stuff' :P

At Wellspring Resonate, we have a desire to equip members of our church to live a life of witness in all areas of their lives. One way we do this is through our small groups.
The model is changing, developing, and our recent expression of it is called 'Communities'.
Communities is designed to serve both those inside the church, and outside the church, with bible-based studies, prayer, support, accountability, and the most important and obvious thing: true community.

In our small-group model, we have a system, where a member of the church will step up, or be invited to lead a small group. Some of these small groups have a focus in a particular part of our culture, eg. Live music, Outdoor/Adventure, Book Clubs, Mentoring. Others are simply called 'Tuesday Night community group' or 'Monday Night community group'. All these groups were previously called missional teams, as the focus was and is one of mission. Now there is greater focus on building one another up, we have adopted the much more inclusive name of 'Communities'.

Wisdom and Youthful ambition

2008-10-29T23:18:00.003+11:00

About the quote, bear with me. I felt it important to quote it before commenting (sorry there isn't the greatest context for the passage):

1 Timothy 4
"¹¹Command and teach these things. ¹²Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. ¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ¹⁴Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. ¹⁵Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. ¹⁶Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers."

I had a conversation with my friend today about churches that are falling by the wayside, and specifically she was talking about her Gran's church. She spoke of a young pastor who came into the church and set about changing everything. Many of the elder members of the congregation left, until it was just my friend's Gran remaining. And her only reason to stay was out of a sense of duty, in essence to be a reminder that the older members of the church needed to be pastored as well. The church community is suffering the loss badly.

And I had a think about that.
And I thought it was concerning and important to think about.
In my youthful ambition, I can have ideas, and they may be good ideas, but without proper spirit-filled wisdom, and bad timing, and most likely a feeling of self-importance, I can find myself hurting Christ's church.

Paul writes to Timothy to set an example to those that are older than he is, through the way he speaks, the way he acts, and the way he loves. But primarily, Paul reminds Timothy to preach the Gospel, and this example is what will come if he applies it (the gospel) to his own life too.

This passage is both an encouragement and a warning.
We may be young and passionate, and we shouldn't be held in contempt because of this, but we are also under the Gospel, the message we wish to preach, and it is just as relevant to us.
Let us be wise, with a wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit, to teach the word setting an example through our actions, and our attitudes.
If our heart is on the Gospel, I would suggest that it wouldn't result in the migration of the older generation.

The Christian/Atheist debate

2008-10-26T22:22:00.004+11:00

I am becoming increasingly tired of the Christian/Atheist debate.
Below I made mention of the Dawkins-Lennox debate, but I'm not just thinking of that, I'm thinking closer to home.
Recently I have been having a few discussions with Atheists via facebook. Mainly I have been acting as an arbiter, or simply discussing the Bible on it's own terms. I'm not into the Philosophy, and neither am I qualified to answer. Plus it can be a little dry.

But all this makes me wonder.
Is Christianity engaging the Atheistic community helping, or is it increasing the problem?
Are we simply giving tools of rejection to those who might otherwise accept the Gospel?
It seems the more we defend, the more voices that become educated in atheistic thought and come against us.

I'm also finding that in discussion, when coming back to the Bible, so much more gets discussed and considered. I don't think I'll become an apologist. I just want to preach the Gospel man.

"he will simpy be remembered as wrong"

2008-10-26T21:39:00.005+11:00

I was having a conversation with my Dad today, about the Dawkins-Lennox debate. (Thanks Jolly) My Dad and I have a lot of interesting discussions, as he is a self titled Christian evolutionist, as he's a background in extensive but incomplete education in most areas of tertiary science and medicine. (I don't feel that puts him in a box) And I'm a Creationist as far as the bible takes me into the scientific discussion. (Neither, I feel does this put me in a box) and we differ on things that are not Gospel issues.

My Dad has a lot of Dawkins' books, and as I spoke to my Dad today, he was telling me that it is apparent to him that Dawkins wants to be remembered as much as Darwin:

"But I feel he will simply be remembered as wrong,"
He went on, after a pause that is so Characteristic of my Dad's conversation style,
"not in the Christian/Darwinism debate, but purely in evolutionary science."

Blogfast: partial failure.

2008-10-26T21:14:00.005+11:00

I know, a week early.. I wasn't doing very well keeping away from the blogsphere. I found myself not only returning because you hear about what's going down in the blogsphere from people in the real world, but also because I would search the internet for things, and interestingly enough, most of the world is running their own blogs, not websites anymore! And people posted bloglinks on facebook.. I think next time both need to go, and not for as long a time.

But having made the (not so good) effort, I have noticed and learned a few things:

- It is unsettling that there are certain things that have become or are becoming designated blog discussion only, like talking about sexual issues, pornography and politics. I am glad it's being done, but is it easier done on blogs? And is it adequate?
Back in primary school, before blogs and the internet in fact, there were a lot of 'special books' and people brought in who didn't know you to discuss untouchable subjects. Why will it never be a personal thing?
-My current main source of written Theological influence is a blog. A corporate one, but a blog nonetheless. Is this a worry? Will books be better?
-The world is becoming segmented into bite sized pieces. I'm labelling it neither good nor bad, just interesting. But in light of this, what does this mean for educational blogs? Are we getting holistic information? Are we also adding to the simplifying of everything?
-We are spending our time talking more than ever, as everyone has an opinion, and will develop there own online opinion. Does this mean we listen less?

Just some thoughts and reflections.

I am going on a Blog fast..

2008-10-01T22:30:00.005+10:00

I spend such a long time with my head in the blogsphere.
This isn't always a bad thing, but to a certain degree it distracts me.
I read I write I learn, but more often than not I just waste time, because I am reading opinions rather than hard facts.
So I am going on a blog fast, starting tomorrow, until November the 1st, and taking all that time I enjoy in the blogsphere, and making it extra time I spend in the bible.

The next challenge is to take on facebook. *gasp*
See you in a month.

Mission update #1

2008-09-30T00:11:00.005+10:00

Well..
This is the first of many MANY posts that are my mission updates.

At the moment I'm in my very early stages of preparation..

My current preoccupations:
- Needing to find a full-time Job so that I can save for the trip (My current guess-timations are sitting at $10k).
- Working with Tim on where I will be going and what I may be doing.
- Trying to understand the complicatedness that is going overseas.
- Reading reading reading and learning about Cambodia.
- Setting dates to aim for.

If you feel like praying for me, these are the things I need prayer for at the moment (plus some other things I guess!)

Quick to listen..

2008-09-29T23:53:00.003+10:00

A conversation I had today:

"I don't think he would listen, 'cause I'm new [to church]."
"It's the new people we want to bring in.. so it's the new people's opinions that matter most!"

How often do we listen to the voice of the new-comer or the visitor?

Bother..

2008-09-25T23:25:00.001+10:00

And here I was thinking I was being original..
other people have been Imagining* about the 'Hymn of the Atheist' too.. check it out:

http://str.typepad.com/weblog/2008/09/imagine-no-sill.html

*pun wholeheartedly intended

Losing freedom..

2008-09-25T15:32:00.003+10:00

"Christianity's claim to being the truth takes away my freedom.. all truth is relative"

"Post-modernism's claim to relativism takes away my freedom.. to believe the Gospel"

Listening and Blogging.. Mutually Exclusive?

2008-09-23T10:37:00.001+10:00

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.."

I think James wrote this knowing that some time in the future there would be people blogging on the internet.

Imagine..?

2008-09-22T22:43:00.004+10:00

"Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today"

This is the reality of so many people, living life for a 'heaven' in which Jesus doesn't exist.
Where Christ's atoning death counts for nothing as we live our daily lives pretending the biggest moment in recorded history was simply an unfortunate event for a man and his family.
Lennon describes the Atheist's heaven, which becomes the ultimate Hell. Separation from God.

I don't need to imagine John, I can see the people living for today all around me.. and it makes me sad.

Lennon's song was supposed to be one of hope.
The reality is probably better reflected in the cover by A Perfect Circle.

Spurgeon Quotes #1

2008-09-22T17:43:00.004+10:00

This is a bit of a funny one..

"Well," says one, "I like to be my own master." Yes, and that involves two things - first, you have a very bad master; and, next, your master has a fool for his servant! But he who takes the Lord Jesus Christ as his Master will be rightly and wisely guided - and hence arises the comfort of such a relationship. - A King Sent in Love (2760)

A bit of Driscoll controversy..

2008-09-19T20:02:00.003+10:00

Tim Challies makes comment on Mark Driscoll..
He brings a voice of reason to the discussion on Driscoll's style.
Love or 'Hate' MD it's a good read.

A bit of Controversy..

2008-09-17T00:48:00.003+10:00

The chorus of a popular and much anticipated rock song* of 2006 goes like this:

"I need to watch things die
From a good safe distance
Vicariously, I
Live while the whole world dies
You all feel the same so
Why can't we just admit it"

In context, the song is talking about watching death on the television, via the news and other programs: "Stare like a junky into the TV"

But having a listen tonight for the first time in a while had me thinking, is this not true of our experience as Christians if we aren't getting out there and spreading the Gospel?
You might react and see this as harsh.. but if we aren't actively seeking to share the Gospel, are we just living while the whole world dies?

*the song is Vicarious by the band Tool. If Maynard knew I was linking his music to sharing the Gospel I think he'd be sick, many times.

Gospel according to..

2008-09-15T20:09:00.004+10:00

Second hand information can be good.. but sometimes it's really helpful to get back to the source.

This has never been more true than with the Gospel.
In the big bad world of evangelism so many people have their own idea of the Gospel, and preach it daily..:

"Jesus was just a man"
"The Gospels of Mark, Mark 2.0 (Luke), Mark 2.1 (Matthew), and John are all literalist revisioning of a Pagan Mystery religion."
"There was no literal Jesus."
"The Good News is there's a sale on Mormon ties and hoodies"

In our present post-christian society (anyone got a technical term for this?), we have the challenge of preaching and ministering the Gospel to those who have already "heard it" today..
They'll accept anything as Gospel..

..without reading it themselves.

How can we be challenging the secular world to be opening the Bible before creating their own version of the Gospel?

The Ps, the Es, and a little Irony

2008-09-15T01:09:00.002+10:00

I just can't dig politics.
Nor economics.

I just don't quite understand them.
I know their value, and I know, in a sense, we need them both.

And as a Christian it's certainly something I need to be mindful of.

But I could never blog about it.
This is ok, because One Salient Oversight covers it. (I can't pretend to understand most of what he talks about.)

If he blogged about NIN or Rage Against the Machine (bands in his favourite music list that I am known to be a little fond of), then I would understand the content.. Ironically enough, both bands bang on about politics and economics..

Edit: if you rearrange P(s) E(s) and I(rony) you get PIE.. not related, but yummy.

A quote to ponder..

2008-09-11T20:13:00.004+10:00

John Piper at the Resurgence National Conference 2008 - Text and Context

"I think the way to be faithful to John Calvin, insofar as he was true, is to stay faithful to his book, which is right here [the Bible], not the institutes. And so the way to push the truth of any system that you think has got some truth in it, is not to wave the banner of the system, but to wave its foundations here, talk about [the Bible]"

any thoughts?

EDIT:
Taken from a live Q and A with American Pastors John Piper and Matt Chandler. Full vid here

"In the world, not of the world.."

2008-09-10T18:38:00.000+10:00

A common phrase.
But what does this really look like?

How much should we be removed from the world?
To what degree should we involve ourselves in the activities of this world in order to win people to Christ?

There are the extremes.
The Exclusive Brethren are at one end, our 'lapsed' brothers and sisters at the other.

We are called to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), and shine like stars in a depraved generation (Philippians 2:12-18). We are also called to do all things to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:23-33).

Does this define our behaviour in certain contexts, or, does it define which contexts we place ourselves to behave?

Are we to witness in every place, or is there places or contexts that we cannot witness?

Can we also participate in the world, for necessity (say our Jobs), being witness to Christ to the best of our ability?

Lists

2008-09-10T18:29:00.001+10:00

I'm a guy who loves lists.
I'll list anything if it helps me grasp a concept or a requirement sooner than it takes to write the list.
Often they don't function as a checklist, but more a 'know list' things to be aware of. Keeps me a little more aware.

The other day I started a list, but, more of a checklist, for all the costs and other time consuming things involved with going to Cambodia.

It's huge!! And sobering..

and getting bigger.. :-s

A call to Ministry?

2008-08-09T09:39:00.001+10:00

It's all well and good to want to go into ministry, but a challenge set to me by a close friend of mine today was to ask the question: "Is God truly calling me into ministry?"

And to be honest, the question floored me.

My desire is to see people saved, by the one whom saved me, Jesus Christ my Lord. I also feel that God has gifted me to minister about Jesus to those who are lost, as I also feel he has equipped all of us to minister in our own ways about Jesus.

But does this become an answer to the question? Is God truly calling me into ministry?
On the surface, and in part, yes it does. As Jesus, in what is famously called 'The Great Commission', has instructed us to go out and make disciples of all nations.

But what about life service? What about actually becoming a pastor of a church, a leader of the flock?
How can you know?

I'm not sure, but a few things that were made clear to me:

Firstly

John 12:24-26 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."

It needs to be a daily commitment. Death to yourself, follow and serve Christ.
My friend said that each day is the same prayer 'Lord, that you might use me for your good and perfect will, and not my own will."

Secondly
God's call to ministry starts yesterday. Generally speaking, There is no starting point, there is no defined beginning and end to someones ministry, but it is something they have a desire to do, and ministry is the natural progression from that, by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Thirdly
There will be refinement, and there will be challenges and trials.

2 Timothy 4:5 "As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

Any thoughts?

Moving toward mission..

2008-07-20T00:36:00.000+10:00

Hey There!
Welcome to my mission blog!

I guess this blog is a space for me to share some thoughts about mission and ministry in the lead up to my mission trip to Cambodia in 2009, and heading toward starting an MTS apprenticeship in 2010, plus some general thoughts on some general things.. Generally..

I'll be updating this with small and large updates, please keep returning to see how things are going!

Al