You know this work caper has been quite invigorating in many ways. I have enjoyed the challenge of trying to pick up a job and figuring out how it works best for me and the Kingdom. I have been trying to work out to use the hours available and the best routes to work.
Undoubtedly there are 2 things that stand out so far.
Firstly, it has been a wake up call as to what God is doing in the world. Day after day I come across something else fantastic that has happened to further the kingdom. I hear of a visa that has been granted, a relationship formed out of the blue, the most unexpected response to the gospel. Even today, I heard of a man from Nepal, living in Sydney, who became a Christian just 3 weeks ago. His wife and family are back in Nepal. After speaking with her husband over the phone, she wants to become a Christian too! When you think things may be slow in your neck of the woods, God is still at work in the most unexpected ways. We must keep faith and rejoice in what is happening elsewhere. We need to open up our horizons and not limit God.
Secondly, I have had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people. These are people who have either just come back from missions overseas or are enquiring about going overseas. They have been touched by God in such a way that they are prepared to not worry about what the cost may be; to not worry about what others may say; they’re not looking back, but looking forward.
I have been challenged and humbled as I speak to them. They are not concerned about their superannuation or job promotions. A new car is just a waste of money to them. They have taken Jesus at his word. In Luke 9 when Jesus ask a man to follow him, we get this recorded for us: 9 Jesus said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Very challenging words indeed. Rick Warren says that we in today’s society should replace Jesus' words in v61 to say something like – ‘first let me get my kids a good education’, or ‘first let me get my super up to date, or buy a house, or finish my degree…’
There is a seriousness to Jesus’ words that cut right to the bone don’t they?
It would do us all good to reflect on what are we holding onto that is keeping us from mission. This is not necessarily talking about mission in some hard place overseas, but rather what is stopping us from serving in mission in our street, in our job, or in our home. Waiting doesn’t seem to be something on Jesus’ agenda. Today is the day of salvation.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
National Traing Event (NTE)
Before I start, I must apologise for my slackness in not doing an update sooner.
I successfully negotiated the exams in November at Moore College and received the good news that I passed all the exams...though I did have to wait an extra 4 days because of an unpaid $4 library fine...such a rebel!
I am now into my 4th week of working at Interserve and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
www.interserve.org.au
At home, we received some exciting news at the end of November that Kate, our eldest daughter is getting married! Wow, I am way too young to have a married daughter and I'm a bit scared as we go into a new faze of life but that's life! Kate is marrying Andrew Dryburgh in May next year. He is a really nice Christian guy which is fantastic!
Now, last week, I had the privilege to be in Canberra for the National Training Event (NTE) run by AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students). What a great time to see nearly 1400 students there to praise God, the learn how to study the bible and to hang out with kids their own age from all across Australia.
I was down there as one of the mission organisations in my new role at Interserve.
There is some great work being done on University campuses. There were many testimonies given in the main meeting time, however I did meet a young man from China. I will call him 'D'.
I got to meet D at the Interserve stand I was manning. D came to Australia to from China to study at University in Melbourne.
He was an only child. While he was in Melbourne studying some young people asked him if he wanted to talk about Jesus. He had never heard of Jesus so he said ‘ok’.
After some weeks there was some confusion because he had grown up be believing there was no God. Now he was being challenged about the claims of Jesus. He said that he knew God didn’t exist but what these people were saying about Jesus had to be investigated. He said to me, 'I thought Jesus must be very important, but not God because he didn't exist.' The more he investigated the more he found the accounts of Jesus not only to be true, but that he was in fact God.
For D, this came together in a very logical way. He investigated and logically through reading the bible came to put his trust in Jesus.
I asked him when he was going back to China and if he had told his parents about his conversion. He was going back at the end of 2010 and he hadn’t yet told his parents. He was aware of their complete unbelief in God. He knew of their expectations of him. They were members of the Communist Party.
He was worried that he quite didn’t have the right way to tell them. That his words would come out wrong. That even though he logically came to the conclusion about Jesus, he wasn’t able to explain it clearly to the people he wanted most to understand it.
I was able to explain to D, that when he came to the Lord, it was actually the Lord who came to him. That even though he logically mapped the whole God thing out, it was actually the Holy Spirit that showed himself to D. It was the Spirit that caused his mind to come to that conclusion, something that was completely foreign to him months before.
I said that he should pray that the Spirit would do the same thing in his parents lives as He did in his. That the Spirit would take his words and open up their hearts and their minds to Jesus. No matter how well he speaks, no matter how logically he explains it, unless the Spirit was there to take away the blinkers and the hardness of heart, they will not believe.
He looked at me. He put his head on the side, puzzled, as he tried to work all this through. I could see him trying to take this all in. He then said to me, ‘you have taken a great burden from me, I thought it was all up to me, now I know that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to change my parents.’
What a relief for us in our ministries that the work that we do is not dependent on our brilliance (or lack of it), rather the working of the Holy Spirit to prepare the words spoken and to prepare the waiting hearts and minds.
What a great ministry is happening in our universities and schools, with minds who are willing to discuss and debate the claims of Jesus. It is on these claims that Christianity stands or falls. Please keep in your prayers those who work in these institutions as they help raise up the next generation of believers.
I successfully negotiated the exams in November at Moore College and received the good news that I passed all the exams...though I did have to wait an extra 4 days because of an unpaid $4 library fine...such a rebel!
I am now into my 4th week of working at Interserve and I am thoroughly enjoying it.
www.interserve.org.au
At home, we received some exciting news at the end of November that Kate, our eldest daughter is getting married! Wow, I am way too young to have a married daughter and I'm a bit scared as we go into a new faze of life but that's life! Kate is marrying Andrew Dryburgh in May next year. He is a really nice Christian guy which is fantastic!
Now, last week, I had the privilege to be in Canberra for the National Training Event (NTE) run by AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students). What a great time to see nearly 1400 students there to praise God, the learn how to study the bible and to hang out with kids their own age from all across Australia.
I was down there as one of the mission organisations in my new role at Interserve.
There is some great work being done on University campuses. There were many testimonies given in the main meeting time, however I did meet a young man from China. I will call him 'D'.
I got to meet D at the Interserve stand I was manning. D came to Australia to from China to study at University in Melbourne.
He was an only child. While he was in Melbourne studying some young people asked him if he wanted to talk about Jesus. He had never heard of Jesus so he said ‘ok’.
After some weeks there was some confusion because he had grown up be believing there was no God. Now he was being challenged about the claims of Jesus. He said that he knew God didn’t exist but what these people were saying about Jesus had to be investigated. He said to me, 'I thought Jesus must be very important, but not God because he didn't exist.' The more he investigated the more he found the accounts of Jesus not only to be true, but that he was in fact God.
For D, this came together in a very logical way. He investigated and logically through reading the bible came to put his trust in Jesus.
I asked him when he was going back to China and if he had told his parents about his conversion. He was going back at the end of 2010 and he hadn’t yet told his parents. He was aware of their complete unbelief in God. He knew of their expectations of him. They were members of the Communist Party.
He was worried that he quite didn’t have the right way to tell them. That his words would come out wrong. That even though he logically came to the conclusion about Jesus, he wasn’t able to explain it clearly to the people he wanted most to understand it.
I was able to explain to D, that when he came to the Lord, it was actually the Lord who came to him. That even though he logically mapped the whole God thing out, it was actually the Holy Spirit that showed himself to D. It was the Spirit that caused his mind to come to that conclusion, something that was completely foreign to him months before.
I said that he should pray that the Spirit would do the same thing in his parents lives as He did in his. That the Spirit would take his words and open up their hearts and their minds to Jesus. No matter how well he speaks, no matter how logically he explains it, unless the Spirit was there to take away the blinkers and the hardness of heart, they will not believe.
He looked at me. He put his head on the side, puzzled, as he tried to work all this through. I could see him trying to take this all in. He then said to me, ‘you have taken a great burden from me, I thought it was all up to me, now I know that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to change my parents.’
What a relief for us in our ministries that the work that we do is not dependent on our brilliance (or lack of it), rather the working of the Holy Spirit to prepare the words spoken and to prepare the waiting hearts and minds.
What a great ministry is happening in our universities and schools, with minds who are willing to discuss and debate the claims of Jesus. It is on these claims that Christianity stands or falls. Please keep in your prayers those who work in these institutions as they help raise up the next generation of believers.
Friday, October 23, 2009
A Change of Direction
I didn't intend these blogs to be a personal but I feel this is a good opportunity to break my intentions.
As most of you know, I have been studying at Moore Theological College, intending to complete my studies at the end of next year and then minister in a church in Sydney somewhere.
In a very short time this has all changed.
Around August both Gail and I were very tired. I was going through a patch where there seemed to be a lot of 'pie in the sky' lectures, Gail was working a lot and I just thought, 'can I really do this for another year?' So we took it to God in prayer, just trying to get some direction.
We very soon started to think about perhaps finishing this year with a Bachelor of Theology and working in a church in 2010. However, this really didn't seem to sit well with us either. The thought occurred to us, that even though we had committed to parish ministry, that perhaps we should look at something else.
We started to get excited about the idea of being able to go into a church and help out the team with whatever needed doing without actually working there.
To cut a long story short, last month I was offered the role of State Director NSW\ACT for Interserve. I gladly accepted this as an answer to our prayers. We are both very excited about the opportunities this position brings as we see the work that God is doing in the Asian and Arab countries of the world with less than 1% Christianity. You can look at their website to see some of the exciting things that this organisation does. www.interserve.org.au
My role will be helping promote the organisation and help look after those who are serving with Interserve in these countries, as well as looking for new people who are keen to serve in mostly long term roles(3 years. These are professional people who are placed in a particular country in a role where they can use their skills in a wholistic type mission.
I start on 30th November. First things first, 7 exams in 2 weeks. Please pray I can have the necessary enthusiasm to study and retain my knowledge to be able to pass my exams and get on with what's got to be done.
This has certainly been one of the issues of being at College, a sense of treading water, waiting to go and do something. Now I just want to do it.
I'd be more than happy to come and talk with anyone who might be interested in some of the work that Interserve are involved in. There maybe some out there who are thinking of mission overseas, in that case, I'd love to to talk to you (after 30th Nov!) Interserve is also involved on the ground trying to help local churches connect with the foreign cultures that are changing our suburbs and churches so rapidly.
My first job is to find someone to fill the position of 'Office Co-ordinator' at our St Leonards office. If anyone comes to mind, please forward them to the website and look for 'Employment Opportunities'. Or maybe you might be interested. Get in contact with me gjdibley@gmail.com.
As most of you know, I have been studying at Moore Theological College, intending to complete my studies at the end of next year and then minister in a church in Sydney somewhere.
In a very short time this has all changed.
Around August both Gail and I were very tired. I was going through a patch where there seemed to be a lot of 'pie in the sky' lectures, Gail was working a lot and I just thought, 'can I really do this for another year?' So we took it to God in prayer, just trying to get some direction.
We very soon started to think about perhaps finishing this year with a Bachelor of Theology and working in a church in 2010. However, this really didn't seem to sit well with us either. The thought occurred to us, that even though we had committed to parish ministry, that perhaps we should look at something else.
We started to get excited about the idea of being able to go into a church and help out the team with whatever needed doing without actually working there.
To cut a long story short, last month I was offered the role of State Director NSW\ACT for Interserve. I gladly accepted this as an answer to our prayers. We are both very excited about the opportunities this position brings as we see the work that God is doing in the Asian and Arab countries of the world with less than 1% Christianity. You can look at their website to see some of the exciting things that this organisation does. www.interserve.org.au
My role will be helping promote the organisation and help look after those who are serving with Interserve in these countries, as well as looking for new people who are keen to serve in mostly long term roles(3 years. These are professional people who are placed in a particular country in a role where they can use their skills in a wholistic type mission.
I start on 30th November. First things first, 7 exams in 2 weeks. Please pray I can have the necessary enthusiasm to study and retain my knowledge to be able to pass my exams and get on with what's got to be done.
This has certainly been one of the issues of being at College, a sense of treading water, waiting to go and do something. Now I just want to do it.
I'd be more than happy to come and talk with anyone who might be interested in some of the work that Interserve are involved in. There maybe some out there who are thinking of mission overseas, in that case, I'd love to to talk to you (after 30th Nov!) Interserve is also involved on the ground trying to help local churches connect with the foreign cultures that are changing our suburbs and churches so rapidly.
My first job is to find someone to fill the position of 'Office Co-ordinator' at our St Leonards office. If anyone comes to mind, please forward them to the website and look for 'Employment Opportunities'. Or maybe you might be interested. Get in contact with me gjdibley@gmail.com.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
What do we do with 'fallen' sports stars?
It would seem that every week there is a new ‘scandal’ involving sports stars. What has happened this year that makes it any different to past years? Is it that people now understand that the media love these stories as they sell papers and help the TV ratings? Are there more people out there who have access to cameras through their phones and know there might be a quick monetary reward for the luck?
What should our response be to the events that continue to swamp us through all the media channels? Well, we shouldn’t be shocked. Why would sports stars be immune from temptation? Last time I went out in public, there was no one patting me on the back telling what a great player I am, there was no one buying me drinks, there were no girls throwing themselves at me, I had responsibilities and a family to get home to, and the last time I checked, I don’t seem to have a lot of time to just do what I want. This is the environment our sports stars find themselves in. We could even be a bit sympathetic. Often, we don’t even know the full story. Shock horror, sometimes the media get it wrong! But then it is too late. Our opinion has already been formed. We seem to somehow want to forgive a sports star but sack politicians for the same behaviour (but then again, poor analogy, we find it hard to like politicians, and they very rarely bring in any joys to our lives, unlike sportsmen).
Then there are the fans. Many of them, not all, but some, are willing to excuse some behaviour as long as the player in question plays for their team. Earlier this year, a leading sportsman was involved in an alleged sexual assault. The next week, when his team was playing (he wasn’t), a supporter’s sign summed up the attitude of many. The sign said, ‘I’d trust you (alleged player) with my daughter any day’. I’ve got a feeling this supporter had never met the mentioned player. Is it any wonder many of our sportsmen find it hard to understand the attitudes when things go off the rails!
Many will cry, ‘ah they’re paid very well, they should know what comes with the territory’. Really? Does a lot of money all of a sudden keep your sinful natures in check? Does it stop you believing that you are a champion in your field? I would like to suggest that the opposite may actually happen. That is, the extremely high salary gives a sportsman a much higher opinion of themselves and actually deceives them into thinking that their behaviour is excusable because of who they are. What club has not in the past tried to cover up immoral behaviour? Rather that stop the behaviour it has unwittingly swept it under the carpet and the green light is given to the wayward player.
I believe our response should be like that of the Apostle Paul, who says in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 12 ‘What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?’ Who are we to judge those that do not belong to the church? We don’t excuse the behaviour but rather, we should positively use the opportunity to talk about such behaviour with those around us. It’s always a talking point. And remember, what we would be like in that same situation?
Finally, Moore College hosted Ashley Null for its Annual Lectures last month. Ashley has served as a chaplain for the last 2 Olympics for the U.S. track and field team. He spoke to a small group outside the lectures about sport chaplaincy. Among many interesting things he spoke about was the great need for chaplains within the sports in general. He spoke of the Olympic village being full of people who had their dreams smashed. Their life was a mess because they weren’t able to deliver. He spoke of the depression that falls upon the medal winners the day after the events. There is a sense of ‘is this it?’, ‘what do I do now?’ All the partying you see is not really what it is like, it is just hiding the truth.
It was also interesting to hear how many of the athletes do not cope when they come back to the normal lives. They feel that people only want to know them because of their achievements. Perhaps we should think a bit more deeply about this. It only goes to prove that we all desire something and that desire is not met fully until it is met in Jesus.
The great void that elite sports people feel when the competing finishes is immense. Prime example was that of Scott Miller, who this week was sentenced to 100 hours community work (a lucky boy, I think) after being found guilty of supplying ecstasy. He said he turned to alcohol and drugs to "numb the pain of being finished" after winning a silver and bronze medal for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
So, perhaps we should be praying more for those who are involved in sports chaplaincy. We should be praying for ourselves as we have contact with those around us because sport is one of those subjects that many will relate to (warning: not everybody, so be tactful) and is often a great starting point for conversation.
What should our response be to the events that continue to swamp us through all the media channels? Well, we shouldn’t be shocked. Why would sports stars be immune from temptation? Last time I went out in public, there was no one patting me on the back telling what a great player I am, there was no one buying me drinks, there were no girls throwing themselves at me, I had responsibilities and a family to get home to, and the last time I checked, I don’t seem to have a lot of time to just do what I want. This is the environment our sports stars find themselves in. We could even be a bit sympathetic. Often, we don’t even know the full story. Shock horror, sometimes the media get it wrong! But then it is too late. Our opinion has already been formed. We seem to somehow want to forgive a sports star but sack politicians for the same behaviour (but then again, poor analogy, we find it hard to like politicians, and they very rarely bring in any joys to our lives, unlike sportsmen).
Then there are the fans. Many of them, not all, but some, are willing to excuse some behaviour as long as the player in question plays for their team. Earlier this year, a leading sportsman was involved in an alleged sexual assault. The next week, when his team was playing (he wasn’t), a supporter’s sign summed up the attitude of many. The sign said, ‘I’d trust you (alleged player) with my daughter any day’. I’ve got a feeling this supporter had never met the mentioned player. Is it any wonder many of our sportsmen find it hard to understand the attitudes when things go off the rails!
Many will cry, ‘ah they’re paid very well, they should know what comes with the territory’. Really? Does a lot of money all of a sudden keep your sinful natures in check? Does it stop you believing that you are a champion in your field? I would like to suggest that the opposite may actually happen. That is, the extremely high salary gives a sportsman a much higher opinion of themselves and actually deceives them into thinking that their behaviour is excusable because of who they are. What club has not in the past tried to cover up immoral behaviour? Rather that stop the behaviour it has unwittingly swept it under the carpet and the green light is given to the wayward player.
I believe our response should be like that of the Apostle Paul, who says in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 12 ‘What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?’ Who are we to judge those that do not belong to the church? We don’t excuse the behaviour but rather, we should positively use the opportunity to talk about such behaviour with those around us. It’s always a talking point. And remember, what we would be like in that same situation?
Finally, Moore College hosted Ashley Null for its Annual Lectures last month. Ashley has served as a chaplain for the last 2 Olympics for the U.S. track and field team. He spoke to a small group outside the lectures about sport chaplaincy. Among many interesting things he spoke about was the great need for chaplains within the sports in general. He spoke of the Olympic village being full of people who had their dreams smashed. Their life was a mess because they weren’t able to deliver. He spoke of the depression that falls upon the medal winners the day after the events. There is a sense of ‘is this it?’, ‘what do I do now?’ All the partying you see is not really what it is like, it is just hiding the truth.
It was also interesting to hear how many of the athletes do not cope when they come back to the normal lives. They feel that people only want to know them because of their achievements. Perhaps we should think a bit more deeply about this. It only goes to prove that we all desire something and that desire is not met fully until it is met in Jesus.
The great void that elite sports people feel when the competing finishes is immense. Prime example was that of Scott Miller, who this week was sentenced to 100 hours community work (a lucky boy, I think) after being found guilty of supplying ecstasy. He said he turned to alcohol and drugs to "numb the pain of being finished" after winning a silver and bronze medal for Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
So, perhaps we should be praying more for those who are involved in sports chaplaincy. We should be praying for ourselves as we have contact with those around us because sport is one of those subjects that many will relate to (warning: not everybody, so be tactful) and is often a great starting point for conversation.
Monday, August 10, 2009
August 2009
It’s hard to believe that half the academic year has passed but I am still not feeling academic. I thought this month I would share some of the issues that we have been throwing around at Moore College and a couple of other things on my mind that I hope you might be interested in.
Marriage and Singleness
Ethics classes this semester has seen some really great discussions on Marriage and Singleness. As someone who has been married for 23 years, I am learning a great deal about what the Bible has to say about this subject and perhaps I may be biased and still don’t quite understand singleness in relation to church.
Of particular interest to me was that many in today’s world, both Christian and non-Christian, hold marriage up as the ultimate in human relationships and look at those who are single are just not up to where they could be. I was shocked to think that there are many who have had the ‘don’t worry you’ll find a nice boy or girl soon’ comment from someone who thought they were being quite caring. Or their sexuality has been questioned because they were not yet married.
Unfortunately the church has been at fault in these areas at times. Even solid Christian marriages can fall into a big trap. We can easily make marriage and\or family into an idol. We exalt our family and exclude not just other singles but other families. We become exclusive and are an idol unto ourselves. Rather, the purpose of marriage and family is to be inclusive and the serve god together.
For those who aren’t at college and would like a good resource, I suggest a book by Christopher Ash ‘Sex in the service of God’.
What if church had to change?
There was a really interesting small piece in the July edition of ‘The Briefing’ (Mathias Media, Page 6). Tony Payne presented the following scenario: 'What would happen if due to the swine flu pandemic, all public meetings we banned for at least 12 months, what would you do?' Imagine the time that would be ‘freed up’ for the pastor. He proposed that the pastor would start to meet with key men in groups of 2 or 3 and train them intensely. Then repeat the process but also have the first group work with another 2 or 3 men. This training would involve how to read the bible with others and their children. Support would be through email and phone as best as possible. There would be a lot of one to one meetings and personal contact.
There would be no rosters to prepare, no sermon prep, no weekly news to print, no mens' breakfast or outreach events. While extremely hypothetical, he poses the great question, ‘If the ban was lifted, would you go back to the old way?’
It does beg the question whether we get our ‘bang for our buck’ through our Sunday services. Is the amount of work they we put in to a church service actually paying dividends? Often we can’t tell, sometime we can, but it is often worthwhile to sit back and think that maybe we have become so entrenched on what we think church is and how it must work, that we often miss the point. I'd be keen to hear any thoughts on what you'd do. Something to think about anyway.
Persecution
The 1st week of this sememster saw Mission week at college. Through this week, each chapel service highlighted the plight of the ‘Persecuted Church’ throughout the world. This led to some discussion in our small group the next week. Some of the things we discussed were ‘if we are Christians, why aren’t we being persecuted like these people, and is it because we have got it all wrong?
Helpfully, we found that persecution will look different in different places.
We questioned that many times persecution does not come because Christians in the west often aren’t any different to those who aren’t Christians.
What causes the persecution – is it cultural, or a minority problem not just a Christian issue, or is the persecution caused by foolishness (outdoor preaching in a country where this is forbidden).
What about this - am I worthy of persecution?
There is no doubt that in many churches there is a high focus on the work of mission over the world. Conversely, there are many who show little interest in mission outside their ‘patch’. One of the problems I see is that lots of churches have information tables with advertising featuring 20 different mission organisations. No one ever seems to take any of the newsletters. It’s the old ‘too many so I’ll choose none’ syndrome. Why don’t we make a concerted effort to just feature 1 or 2 different organisations or even look at one persecuted country a month? What have you got to lose? Let’s look out beyond to those who need our prayer. Always interested to find out what is working or not working where you are.
Next time, I'm planning to write a piece on sportsman behaving badly and what should our response be
Marriage and Singleness
Ethics classes this semester has seen some really great discussions on Marriage and Singleness. As someone who has been married for 23 years, I am learning a great deal about what the Bible has to say about this subject and perhaps I may be biased and still don’t quite understand singleness in relation to church.
Of particular interest to me was that many in today’s world, both Christian and non-Christian, hold marriage up as the ultimate in human relationships and look at those who are single are just not up to where they could be. I was shocked to think that there are many who have had the ‘don’t worry you’ll find a nice boy or girl soon’ comment from someone who thought they were being quite caring. Or their sexuality has been questioned because they were not yet married.
Unfortunately the church has been at fault in these areas at times. Even solid Christian marriages can fall into a big trap. We can easily make marriage and\or family into an idol. We exalt our family and exclude not just other singles but other families. We become exclusive and are an idol unto ourselves. Rather, the purpose of marriage and family is to be inclusive and the serve god together.
For those who aren’t at college and would like a good resource, I suggest a book by Christopher Ash ‘Sex in the service of God’.
What if church had to change?
There was a really interesting small piece in the July edition of ‘The Briefing’ (Mathias Media, Page 6). Tony Payne presented the following scenario: 'What would happen if due to the swine flu pandemic, all public meetings we banned for at least 12 months, what would you do?' Imagine the time that would be ‘freed up’ for the pastor. He proposed that the pastor would start to meet with key men in groups of 2 or 3 and train them intensely. Then repeat the process but also have the first group work with another 2 or 3 men. This training would involve how to read the bible with others and their children. Support would be through email and phone as best as possible. There would be a lot of one to one meetings and personal contact.
There would be no rosters to prepare, no sermon prep, no weekly news to print, no mens' breakfast or outreach events. While extremely hypothetical, he poses the great question, ‘If the ban was lifted, would you go back to the old way?’
It does beg the question whether we get our ‘bang for our buck’ through our Sunday services. Is the amount of work they we put in to a church service actually paying dividends? Often we can’t tell, sometime we can, but it is often worthwhile to sit back and think that maybe we have become so entrenched on what we think church is and how it must work, that we often miss the point. I'd be keen to hear any thoughts on what you'd do. Something to think about anyway.
Persecution
The 1st week of this sememster saw Mission week at college. Through this week, each chapel service highlighted the plight of the ‘Persecuted Church’ throughout the world. This led to some discussion in our small group the next week. Some of the things we discussed were ‘if we are Christians, why aren’t we being persecuted like these people, and is it because we have got it all wrong?
Helpfully, we found that persecution will look different in different places.
We questioned that many times persecution does not come because Christians in the west often aren’t any different to those who aren’t Christians.
What causes the persecution – is it cultural, or a minority problem not just a Christian issue, or is the persecution caused by foolishness (outdoor preaching in a country where this is forbidden).
What about this - am I worthy of persecution?
There is no doubt that in many churches there is a high focus on the work of mission over the world. Conversely, there are many who show little interest in mission outside their ‘patch’. One of the problems I see is that lots of churches have information tables with advertising featuring 20 different mission organisations. No one ever seems to take any of the newsletters. It’s the old ‘too many so I’ll choose none’ syndrome. Why don’t we make a concerted effort to just feature 1 or 2 different organisations or even look at one persecuted country a month? What have you got to lose? Let’s look out beyond to those who need our prayer. Always interested to find out what is working or not working where you are.
Next time, I'm planning to write a piece on sportsman behaving badly and what should our response be
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The First Edition - July 2009
1. Introduction
Welcome to my first blog entry! I have no idea who might be reading this and I’m hoping you might get past the first sentence. I intend to update about once a month but will be more often at times. Hopefully this will be interesting and thought provoking and look forward to any feedback you might have.
I understand that I might say things at times that you might not agree with. That’s ok, I hope you don’t agree with me on some things but overall hope we can have some stimulating conversation and might as the writer of the Proverbs says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another’ (Proverbs 27:17 NIV)
2.
I am currently studying at
Through my monthly blogs I intend to update some of what I have been learning or should I say trying to learn.
I am just starting 2nd semester on July 20th.
This semester will see New Testament studies on Luke-Acts, Old Testament looking at Psalms and Job, Ethics will include subjects such as abortion, marriage and sex, IVF and other such subjects, Doctrine and Congregational Ministry.
1st semester has been good and no exams at the end which was nice seeing every other year had them. This will mean though a heap of exams at the end of the year.
I am currently working on an essay on the role of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life in 1 Corinthians. Hoping to get a lot of this done before semester starts.
3. Candidates Conference
From the 28th -30th June, I went away with all other people at College who intend to work in the Sydney Anglican Diocese. It was a very encouraging time away. We enjoyed some great challenges from God’s word as we talked about what it means to be in full time paid ministry. We looked at 2 Timothy 3-4 and one thing that I found interesting was that from the last National Church Life Survey it was found that in churches where the gospel was preached there was more men but where the gospel was not preached, there was more women. This is something I’d like to look more into as I’ve been doing some reading about what makes a church strong and there does seem to be some strong evidence of preaching at a man’s level will attract both men and women. More to come on this in the future.
One other thing to stick out to me was that we should be very cautious about being liked by everyone. Praise from those around us, especially those who are not believers, probably means that we aren’t declaring the gospel very clearly. The Christian message is offensive, especially in these times.
This time away was also useful in training us to be able to train future leaders. How to identify them and then what is involved in training them to become full time workers for the gospel.
I came away from this weekend with an excitement about getting out of college and working in a parish. 18 months to go and a lot of work in between!!
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