Christine...
17 September 2006
Is coming to Australia... WOOT*
*(Ask Nikki (here) for a defination of "woot")
tags christine, linkage, pictures
This weekends progress...
16 September 2006
This week I have been working hard. My blog has slowed a little, as has my traffic which has allowed me to breath a little more freely. I spent a large ammount of time working on the talks for the camp in October and I'm very happy with the progress.
I also soldered these very nice cables together for my little home theatre system. Here's how I did it...
If you would like any hints and tips on how to DIY I am now a master craftsman and happy to take questions.
For your complete cable needs supportMIKE is your local home theatre wire soldering specialist. (say that three times fast)
tags pictures, shameless self promotion, thinking
How to be better at Evangelism Part 3*
15 September 2006
If you start by praying for deeper relationships, if you start actively getting to know people better, you will end up loving them more, desiring their salvation more, praying for them more often and praying for them more passionately.
If you have deeper relationships with Christians it will be more natural to pray with each other for one another's friends and family. In doing so you will end up growing in your relationship with God and your brothers and sisters in Christ.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism for the final time. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, rant
Stop. Look. Listen and speak...
10 September 2006
Most people would know about Steve Irwin’s death earlier this week. Fewer people will know about Peter Brock’s untimely death. For my international readers "Brockie" was the most popular and well known Australian motor sport identity.
What I noticed was the level of public grief for these two celebrities. Their deaths shocked us, left us numb. This shouldn’t surprise because we convince ourselves that death has no part in everyday life. We spend stacks of money on the anti-ageing cream and hair dye to cover the fact we’re slowly dying. Death rarely enters our suburbs, let alone our streets or homes. It is a stranger—an unwelcome one.
When death does break into our circle of celebrity or family, it comes as a rude shock. It's unfair, it's not time (it's never time) it's too soon, it's too much, it's more than we can bear. Seeing a celebrity die reminds us that we are truly fragile that even power wealth health and prosperity cannot protect us from the final realities of this life.
As I walked around this week I noticed society struggles to come to terms with these deaths. I over heard this just yesterday.
“I mean what can you do or say... I guess he went out doing the very thing that he loved.”If doing the thing you love most is life is all there is, it is the pinnacle of your existence, then I’d agree that is definitely it is the best way to die… But is this all there is? It seems to fall short and is… well inadequate. My feeling is that people comments (for example my mate’s) show this. It just doesn’t explain the pain, the death, the finality of it all.
At this point I want to say affirmatively that there is a point. There is far more to life than just the here and now and the pursuit of what I love. God exists and he himself gives life, meaning and purpose. He gives me the reason to live. It is him I live for not the endless pursuit of enjoyment and doing what I want. It’s him to whom I owe my life in this world and the next. Now what about you?
tags christian, rant, thinking
How to be better at evangelism... Part 2*
09 September 2006
Have deeper relationships with those inside the church.
The more your church is your family, not just on Sundays, the more your friends and family outside the church will get to know that family. As you yourself get to know your Christian brothers and sisters better, you will probably end up meeting and befriending more of their friends and family as well. A relative who might never have been to church on a Sunday may end up having so much contact with Christians that they begin to see the body of Christ in action all the same. Don't segregate your church family from the rest of your life, let them overlap and intertwine.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, pictures, rant
How to be better at evangelism... Part 1*
08 September 2006
Have deeper relationships with those outside the church.
The better you know someone, the easier it is to pray for them, to care for them, to understand them, to love them. The more you are driven by love, the more you accident prone you will be when it comes to accidentally evangelising.
If you have a deeper relationship with a person, discussions of faith will hopefully become inevitable rather than uncomfortable. Friends want to know how each other tick, and they naturally share their lives with each other. Whereas it would be strange to talk about God with a work colleague or your boss, it would be natural in context of friendship. More meaningful relationships often lead to evangelistic opportunities that are not even initiated by the Christian.
Another accidental side effect will probably be an increase in your circle of friends - as you get to know your friends better, you will get to know the important people in their life better as well - and vice versa. On one hand, you will have more people to show Christ's love to. On the other, you will have more Christian friends who know your non Christian friends to help you do it.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, pictures
Writings on the wall
06 September 2006
My friend Benny has a poetry exibition at the Nourish Cafe in Elizabeth Street. On till the 31st of September. My other mate Nick did the graphics which are equally cool.
Drop in and have a read of all the poems like this one...
Beach Horizons
And God said, “Let the waters under the Heavens
be gathered together in one place
and let the dry land appear.”
Genesis 1:9
dad said
lets go find a rock
spots of sun to dangle rods -
flathead signal when they're ready.
mum said
have a careful look
under clouds and under grit -
cowries follow children home.
she sat quiet on the sand
passed her toes
through water cool
smiled at all the meeting.
Tiny Teddy mega shoot
02 September 2006
Things on my blog have been more serious lately so today I set this up (see below). I’d like to rebuke myself for being silly and childish… but I enjoyed doing it ohhhh soooooo much. I hope you do to.
"Welcome to Happy's house, a place where the sun shines in and out."
The box says there are six houses to collect... hmmm
Christine supervised me as I did the cutting out (she's a teacher).tags pictures, shameless self promotion
Men should lead…please. Further reflections
01 September 2006
As promised I thought I’d post about my own struggles to apply these clear Biblical principles to my life.
There were many excuses I had for not being a leader. I didn’t like putting forward my opinion publicly where it could get shot down. I was and still am particularly sensitive to criticism. Similarly I used to lack the confidence in myself and my own abilities in spite of the fact people told me otherwise.
To make matters worse the male leadership models I grew up with in weren’t particularly styled in a way that I wanted to imitate. Consequently when I became a Christian I was heavily influenced by the blokes around me at the time. We were by all accounts fairly extreme and took what the Bible said seriously.
This was certainly the case with the roles of men and women. I was a bloke and it was my job to lead. However in an earnest sense to apply these principals and correct against the prevailing feminist view of relationships, I and many others ended up over correcting. Consequently many of the girls at our church were crushed, some left and we began to get a reputation for being ultra-conservative.
In my own life I had begun to date a girl. Things initally went well however once we were engaged and began looking at marriage the problems began. I tried to the best of my ability to lead her, asking her to submit to me in areas I thought were important. I asked for her to submit to me in areas that didn’t matter and wound up being incredibly selfish and unloving.I made many mistakes. The relationship unsurprisingly broke down and while it wasn’t totally my fault, I still bore ultimate responsibility for what happened.
So what has changed you ask? I wouldn’t say that my theological conviction has changed nor my certainty that men should lead in God’s created order. The application of it however has changed a great deal. I have spent the last two years thinking carefully about the whole issue, sorting out what battles are worth having. More importantly what battles aren’t worth having. I have been greatly changed and humbled. I have sort forgiveness from my ex and from God. I believe that I’m far better person for it. Our church has also undergone a time of repentance for the mistakes we made.
What does this now look like practically in the future? By God’s grace I won’t seek to crush my wife* into submission. Rather seek to earn her love and respect and engage in selfless action (just as Christ did for the church), laying down my life. I would seek to put my wife’s needs first, putting aside my wants, investing time, surrendering money and effort to work at the relationship. I would treat her with great tenderness, sensitivity not misusing my position to abuse, frustrate and embitter.
There would be an acknowledgement of equality in our relationship, at the same time recognizing the different roles we each have to play. My responsibility as the leader would mean ultimately I am accountable to God for the decisions we make together as a couple.
May God help all godly married men to be like this.
*More about single blokes leading later.
tags christian, rant, thinking
Men should lead...
... but not like this...
smooth work fellas.
tags christian, pictures, thinking
Posts
