'Cultural relevance'.. or cultural snobbery?

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..

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..

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?

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

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

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

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.