and for some of the other women in my life...

Last Saturday (23rd) was a great day. I admit it, in the past I have had a, shall we say... sceptical? view of women's events. All to often I find that they are some what on the fluffy side - that they've talked about how be a 'nice godly gal' rather than reaching into the robustness of scripture and grappling with God; who He is and who we are to be as His daughters in light of His sovereignty and our redemption.

And so it was with a little dubiousness that I went along with some of the female leaders of Credo to the eQuip conference but I loved it! Somewhat providentially I decided to go through the book of Esther with these girls in January and so it was great that this was the book that the speakers were working through this year. I was impressed by how much content of the book they were able to include in two talks as well as the creativity that was used in the reading of the text and setting the context of the book in light of Israel waiting for a deliverer. Visually, the organisers set the platform up as a larger than life chess board - reminding us as we were listening that the book of Esther has players in the game, and the one Sovereign hand that is controlling the action throughout.

A summary of 4 things to take away from Esther that we were given at the end was:

1. We are to be humble - to accept the position that God has given us
2. We are to be excited - to expect that God will use us in His plans
3. We are to be purposeful - to be activley using our position and lives with wisdom (we're not waiting around for a script!)
4. We are to be courageous - to be willing to risk our position for His glory

The last point in particular struck a chord with me - courage is something that I have been thinking about quite a lot lately. Where it comes from and Who do I draw any I have from?

What I especially treasured about the day was that I got to spend it with 7 out of the 8 leaders that disciple and spend time with. These truly are some of the other women in my life and I treasure each and every one of them. To you girls, I want you to know how proud and delighted I am in each of you - for who you are, more than for the things that I get to see you do (although I do love seeing those things too!). I'm humbled that you let me share in your lives and I can't wait to be able to look back with you and see all the ways that God has worked in and through you over the years.

Only a slightly different note - this is going to be a good, and a big, week for me. I get to spend time with some friends (good coffee and corn fritters at Bills are on the agenda for tomorrow morning) and it's the last week of term on campus and with Credo. I'll be speaking at public meeting this week - mostly based on 1 Cor 16 hopefully mirroring some of Paul's goodbyes with a few of my own...

The Women

During my enforced couch/sick time this week I had a little flick through the movies and came up with "The Women" with some of the actresses being Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Debra Messing... it was a good cast but a pretty average movie. It covered the themes of love, betrayl, adultery, loyalty and - of course - the incredible bond that women can share. Despite it being an average movie it got me thinking - a lot actually - about the women that are in my life, and in particular some of the extraordinary friends that I have and the blessings that they are to me.

I am so thankful for each of my close girlfriends... there are about half a dozen women who I would drop anything from anywhere in the world to be with (and I know it's vice versa) and this weekend I got to spend time with two of them

Naree


and Anna


For different reasons we each shed a few tears together today - and I love that we're there to wipe them away for each other. To you girls, and the others, I love ya!!! And I'm thankful that distance doesn't lesson love and significance in each others lives.

All good weeks involve cupcakes - and other sweet things

Do you have those places in your life, physical places that you've spent time, that you've made your home in, that have become such a part of your history that whenever you step back onto the ground that you just seem to breath a little more comfortably and freely? For me, Sydney Missionary and Bible College is one of those handful of places.

I was a student here for just two years, but they were two years that helped to shape guide and direct the person that I am and the ministry that I have today. So you can imagine that I've been looking forward to heading back there this week just gone for a week long preaching conference. The four main speakers were Jerry Bridges, Bryan Chappell, John Woodbridge and Kanishka Raffel and it's so worthwhile getting the dvd's or the mp3's so that you can listen to their collective wisdom.

Here are some of the rebukes and challenges that I felt coming out of the conference:
* I don't pray enough (or have big enough prayers) because ultimately I don't believe that God will, can or wants to answer them
* We should never try and limit what God can do
* I'm neither 'good' nor 'bad' because of my actions - grace, in all of it's sovereignty means that I am either or purely because of where I stand before the Cross

I've also just come back from the Blue Mountains with about 50 of the Credo students on the IDEAL getaway which is a combination of (mostly) the design arts and humanities students with the engineering and IT faculties. Last year we looked at relationships and this year we tackled spiritual warfare. It was just great to sit and watch some of the students sitting in the morning sun, reading their bibles, pointing out things to one another and asking each other questions. I was able to have a couple of really good conversations that I wanted to have - and each time I walk away humbled that students allow me to speak into their lives in any degree. For those who let me speak a little more strongly, who battle their way through my reflective questions (I can see them grimacing now) I thankyou the most, and I trust that they know that I do it with a whole lot of love.

Driving back down the mountains I have to say I was a little sentimental. It's now just over 6 weeks until I go and so I can't imagine that I'll get back there for a year or so. I think similar to SMBC, it's one of those places that I will always associate with good times - good conversations over hot choc's or a meal at the Carrington pub... or breakfast at ziggys's or one of cupid's cupcakes! (mmm - there is a running theme - but they usually involved at least one other person!)

It's been a pretty intense few weeks and so I'm looking forward to a bit of down time this week. I think the highlights will be seeing my Nanna tomorrow... and maybe a cupcake or two on Wednesday....

From the North Island and back to the North Shore

You know you might not be looking your best when you get on the plane, the stewardess automatically asks you if she can get you some water, you sit down to have the sweet (but still a stranger) little old lady just pick up your hand and start stroking it, move a stewardess to share a sympathetic tear too and have another passenger in the seats on the other side of the aisle pop up after the plane's levelled out to come and pat you on the shoulder and say "it's ok to be sentimental sweetheart".

mmm....

The comment about sentimentality came after the stewardess asked me if I'd 'left someone special behind' to which I mumbled "no" (well that's not entirely true because there were several special someones I left behind!) but that I was just being overly sentimental. This trip to NZ was always going to leave me a little sentimental. I knew it would be a great time of catching up with friends, of meeting families and developing new relationships as well as having some significant conversations. It was all of those and more.

The more was in long drives through the countryside, on the way out to wineries, walking along beaches or sitting in cafes eating breakfast at 2pm.... Life Is Good.

NZ is a spectacular country (why have I not been there before now?!) and it was great to have spent a little time exploring the north island while leaving me waiting to discover the south. Having started in Auckland for the Northern Region Easter camp for TSCF students and then a preaching day conference (more reflections on both of them later though), the Pollocks took me on a journey through Rotorua, Napier and then into Wellington where I got to spend the rest of the week with them and some others - particularly Ben and Val (also TSCF).

I'm uploading a bunch of new photos onto flickr so have a peak and read some more descriptions of some of the areas we visited if you're interested.

As one friend there said, it was a time away from Sydney that I wanted but also what I needed. I think it was needed to help me clear my head a little and refocus on the bigger picture of the next few months, rather than just getting caught up in too many details. It was a time that I needed, to be encouraged, challenged and supported and I'm thankful to each of my friends there who did that in various ways.

The highlight was spending time with the Pollocks, especially getting to know Ailsa and the boys. I was touched at just how warm and welcoming they all were and how easy it was just to hangout whether it was while we were exploring, having all sorts of conversations while driving, mucking around on beaches (even if they were laughing at me when I mistook a seagull for a kiwi - it was a brown bird though!) cooking in their kitchen or playing on the Wii (gotta master that skiing or soccer head-butting one for next time!).

On my last night, the Pollocks and Val gave me this koru which is a pendant made out of green-stone that you can only get in New Zealand. According to Maori tradition, you can't buy a koru it must be given to you by someone. Or perhaps a better word than 'given' would be 'entrusted' because a part of the gift of the koru is that it means that the pendant (and thereby you!) must go back to the ones who have given it to you one day. The one given to me is the triple infinity twist which symbolises the inter-twining of two cultures, people and stories for an eternal purpose... very appropriate that my NZ friends gave it to me then considering the road ahead. I was touched, and a little teary then as well as on the plane.

A part of the emotion on the way home may also have been that I knew this trip to NZ was the first in a series of markers, my own countdown if you will before I head back to the Gulf. It was probably fitting therefore that as my plane was rolling into the gangway, an Emirates plane was pulling out and heading for the runway - next time I'm at the airport for a flight, that'll be the one I'm on...

A bientot.

ETC is pretty much always a highlight for both students and staff so it’s no wonder that I’ve just had a great weekend. A little tiring (mentally and physically) but so worthwhile to spend from Thursday night to Monday lunch with the students thinking through “Amazing Grace” and the Doctrine of Salvation. We had record numbers this year – with the peak being grads coming back on Saturday to see 120 in the hall singing, praying and learning from God’s word. The amazing part for me was walking in on Thursday night and realising that there were a bunch of people that I had never met who are involved in some way with Credo. It’s a catch 22 – we want to be a community that shares and grows in Christ together, but as we grow it means that there will be people that some of us don’t know! But it was great to actually start to get to know some of them better over discussion groups and meals. I think a highlight for me was seeing 18 first years ready to be involved with Credo and think about what it will mean to be a Christian at uni for the next however many years.

Here are some reflections/summaries that I typed up as the days went on to give you an over-view (DVD’s/talks etc will be available sometime soon)

Friday morning session: we looked at the ideas of salvation: how salvation is communicated in a variety of ways in Scripture and how we then need to be thinking creatively (and in ways that speak to a variety of cultures) to share the Gospel. It was particularly helpful because I find that so often we become comfortable, complacent or confined in the way that we think about talking to others about Jesus. We have ‘tracks’ that, although can be helpful to get us thinking, some people often come to rely on in a mechanistic kind of way – the gospel = a + b + c…. and so become unstruck when someone injects a ‘but what about xyz that are what’s going on in my life?’.

One example that Sam gave was imagine being in a country or culture that feared spiritual demons or attacks – it would be ludicrous to share the gospel without saying “I have good news for you – Jesus is more powerful than any Spirit – in fact he conquered the spirit that you’re most afraid of…” Similarly looking at the way that Jesus himself ‘contextualised’ the Gospel in the different ways that He talked with Niccodemas, the woman at the well, the Pharisees or the rich young man… each is different. Each points to Christ but is done in very different ways based on the lives of those who are coming to Him.

On Friday evening we were reminded of the Lords supper from 1 Cor 11. There was this great moment when 120 people were sitting in 5 groups around a pile of flatbread, hommous and large cups filled with juice. Rather than the way we normally do the Lords Supper (you know, tiny piece of white bread, crusts cut off and a thimble full of juice that looks more like a little shot glass?) it was great to be able to have a hunk of bread to chew over the things that we are thankful for with the physical sacrifice of Jesus and then to wash it down


I was in Rome a number of years ago, and like most people stopped to look through some of the great works of art throughout the city. The Sistine chapel paints an amazing scene for us – it’s the interface between God and us at the point of creation… It’s the Creator and the created and how they can interact. On Saturday morning we looked at how outside of Eden this is now done through calling, regeneration and conversion – we can come back to the Creator through the Cross. We also saw how in the bible there are many different ways that people are ‘converted’ or come to have faith in Jesus with a few of them being:

o Someone whose known about Jesus, walked away from faith and then come back (the prodigal son, Luke 15)
o Someone who has always been against Jesus and against Christians coming to see the truth of who He really is
(Saul/Paul, Acts 9, 22, 26; Gal:1)
o Someone whose grown up in a Christian home and has been taught the gospel from birth
(Timothy, 2 Tim 1:5, 3:15)

It was really encouraging to look at actually because it reminded me that there is not set way in which someone comes to understand, know and love Jesus. It’s not that there is a formula, or that one way is better than another – what matters is that you come to the Cross not the way in which you get there.

Sunday morning we hit the topics of justification and sanctification, imputed and imparted righteousness

Isaiah 6 sees God on His throne and Isaiah recognises that he is a man of unclean lips – that he as an unrighteous sinner and yet can stand before a Holy God is something that is hard for us to comprehend today in our own lives too. So often I look at myself and am fully aware of ways or things that I do that are displeasing to God – and yet I can still come before Him in prayer and I know I will in Heaven. It’s humbling to be reminded that this will never be because of any of the ‘good’ things we do, but because Jesus has justified us. Justification is God declaring us as right with Him, innocent and not guilty. This isn’t the Sunday school answer of ‘just as if I’d never sinned’. It recognises that we have sinned, we were unable to stand before God but not that sin has been dealt with and through Jesus we’ve been set free from our guilt.

On Sunday afternoon I did a session on arrogance, pride and humility and if nothing else one thing that really stood out to me was that when we come before the cross – when we remember that Jesus was there, broken, bruised and bloodied (for me) this is no room for pride or arrogance. There’s no room for arrogance in anything I can do or accomplish in the shadow of the cross. But more than this we looked a little at how God feels about pride, arrogance and humility; for those who were there (or those who weren’t and want to look up some verses) then I’d encourage you to look at again Is 66:2, James 4:6, Prov 6:16-17, Prov 8:13 and 1 Peter 5:5.

On Monday morning (today) we looked at adoption and reconciliation. I was really struck as Sam was talking about our need for adoption, both as children as God as heirs with Jesus and our adoption into a community of brothers and sisters. Grace is never an individual thing – it’s offered communally (God to His people) and is shared and experienced communally – both here on earth and in Heaven to come. As a family we share in a banquet. It’s an image that as westerners we don’t often get the imagery of because we just have our nice little 2 or 3 course dishes – and yet in most other cultures the idea of a banquet is feasting that you can never get through! There is a lavish abundance that we share in – and we get to share in it with God! Can you imagine the scene? A banquet in the company of God…. food, gifts and good things from God with an abundance more than we could ever imagine – so lavish that we could only ever touch the surface of it…

One of the things that was fun was Joel and I setting up an espresso machine to sell all things caffeine related to raise some cash for our short term teams (ok, let’s face it, Joel was doing the hard work, I was doing the talking and selling and the one time I tried to use the machine it wouldn’t work and I burnt my hand). Capitalising on peoples growing repulsion to ‘instant coffee’ (seriously? IT”S NOT COFFEE!!!!) we found that a flood of people came to make some purchases over breaky or after the morning sessions. And thankfully, it was worth it because we raised around $750!

I had some truly amazing conversations over the weekend – and I’m always touched by how students are so willing to honestly share some of the things/issues that they’re struggling and thinking through. Even more so how some will allow me to invest in them and their lives and challenge them, some times in daunting as well as exciting ways about how God could be working in their lives and how they can be bringing Him glory. It’s a blessing to be a part of their lives at a stage in life when they’re thinking the most about who they are, who God is, and how we can relate to Him.

It was great just to spend some more time with them and invest in ‘deepening Grace’. As a staff team we had the aims for the week of the talks ‘extending Grace’ and that though our conversations and seminars we wanted to ‘deepening Grace’ in the way that students esp saw and understood God’s goodness to us in all areas of our lives.

For those who haven’t already - meet Kirby! She’s one of the students who’ll be coming back to the Gulf with me and it was great to see her (and the rest of the team!) interacting and getting to know each other better and as well to officially introduce the teams to the rest of Credo for them to be praying for us and supporting us as Credo as a whole sends the teams OS.

So all in all, a little tiring (to be expected!) but yet another great ETC where we were blessed to see God working powerfully through the talks, sessions and just hanging-out-on-the-soccer-sidelines or sitting around with a cuppa conversations….

And now I’m off to do it all over again! Any minute now I’m going to be racing out of my place to head to the airport and over to New Zealand to join the TSCF students on their Northern Region Conference (Tues-Fri) and then spend some time after seeing a bit of the north island - I’ve never been to NZ before so I’m looking forward to seeing it! But more than seeing the island, I’m looking forward to spending time with the people that I’m going to se it with.

I was blessed at SPRTE in December to make some great new friends in the brothers and sisters that work with TSCF. I didn’t know at the time just how important they would come to be to me – so it’ll be wonderful to just hang out… to meet the rest of their families and kick back with a glass of wine and watch the world go by.

Back on the 25th – I’m sure stories and pics will come then
x j.

Going Going GULF!

Um - have I mentioned yet that I'm going back to the Gulf? Maybe, maybe not - I'm sure many of you will know because I've been so excited in telling many people!

This year, Credo is taking two international teams - one to Vanuatu (led by Joel Atwood) and then I'm taking another group of students back to the same region of the Gulf.

We had our first team meeting at my place yesterday (Saturday) and it was such a great afternoon. The plan for the mission meetings is that both teams will meet together for the most part and then break off into our separate teams for a little while to consolidate things. We're meeting together because Joel and I have recognised that there are plenty of things that we can learn together about cross cultural mission, good ways of communication and learning how to relate well to each other and support each other as teams.

On saturday we just did some fairly basic get-to-know you things over a bbq lunch. A little look at some personality tests clarified where some of the differences are, and allowed the teams to see that there are always going to be very different perspectives and different ways of communicating. We also spent time reading through chapter 1 of 2 Timothy (we're going to be reading through 2 Tim over the next few weeks).

It was a great reminder of why we do the things that we do. We share the gospel that has been entrusted to us and we get to share the gospel, not with a spirit of timidity but with the power of the Spirit through the grace of Jesus. Over the coming months, when there will no doubt be many times of uncertainty and confusion - God's word to us in 2 Tim will be a great encouragement to persevere in the Gospel work that God has entrusted us to do and for the need for us to be intentional and most importantly - prayerful!


(Here's a pic of me - in one of the mosques last time... I just thought I should have something other than words for you!)

Also - in case you didn't know (and this one you probably wouldn't have know because I haven't been talking about it too much) but, God willing, I'll be staying on for a little while longer after the team comes back to Sydney. I'm not exactly sure how long for (I do have a return ticket!) but it looks like there are some significant opportunities that God has had His hand on to prompt, prod and sometimes pull me into being obedient to doors that He is opening. I fly out on June 23rd and, although daunted, I'm so excited and looking forward to getting back to the region.

Feel free to shoot me an email to ask more questions (which I'll be more than happy to answer!) because I don't think that I will be writing too much more about it on this blog...

Crumbs. It's been almost a month since my last post. I apologise because I distinctly remember 'promising' not to let it go this long between posts. But such is life.

And, as is usually the case when it takes me a while to get my butt into gear, 'life' has been delightfully full as I'm well and truly into the routine of another semester with Credo. God has been incredibly good to us with giving us great encouragement in having about 270 people in small groups this year with many of them coming from a bunch of new first years or sign up's from O'day and stalls weeks.

Whenever I meet a new batch of first years I always find myself wondering what they're thinking as they approach the start of a new phase of life. Are they excited? Nervous? Confidant? Hopeful? (and if so, hopeful for what?). It's been great getting to know a few of them over the last month - but a little harder to sit back and realise that as Credo grows, and as my ministry changes this year, there will be many that I wont get to know or names that I wont even remember, and that's ok - there's a generation of young leaders who are looking out for their 'littler' brothers and sisters.

But as I've been thinking about 2009's 1st years, I've been doing some more reading on culture and what this generation is facing. I came across one article (which I've quoted a chunk of below) and would like your thoughts on:

Twenge and others argue that young people today are narcissistic in a way that previous generations were not. The notion of narcissism, or looking outside one’s self to validate one’s own identity, goes back to the Greeks. But Twenge argues that the relentless focus on building children up as individuals has led to an inflated sense of empowerment and a diminished sense of responsibility. Individualism “may cause people to not value close relationships.” The combination of being pushed to develop as individuals and cynicism about adulthood, leads many teens to live adultesque lifestyles, despite their being unequipped to do so.

As a result, they live in a world where the yearning to be liked and to be fulfilled leads to a more mercenary approach to things and people. Narcissists favor short-term relationships, which may contribute to the “hooking up” culture of FWBs, Twenge says. Narcissists also have unrealistically high expectations, which may lead to anxiety and depression resulting in self-medicating through exploitative behaviors.⁶

Using things and people is certainly not new. It is the casualization and institutionalization of it within youth culture’s hall of mirrors that is troubling. Looking to other people or cultural expressions such as film, TV or magazines to grow in self-understanding is not a bad thing. It is, though, when it becomes more or less the main or even the only thing. The Internet reflects back, but often it does so in ways that diminish and exploit. Facebook and other networking sites have no product to sell except for exposure to other users. After all, the slogan of YouTube is “Broadcast Yourself.”

A wonderful amount of good happens on these sites. However, in cyber networking world, young adult attention spans and desires are commodities. Also, as the “private is the new public” and “kiss and blog is the new kiss and tell” discussions point out, cyber gut spilling and exhibitionism often have costs.

Years ago, when I was a media studies professor, a story a student told made a strong impression on me. There were two women who shared vulnerable details of their lives online. This happened despite the fact that they never met and apparently never spoke by phone. (This was pre-Skype and pre-iChat.) Later, without each other’s knowledge, they attended the same college. When one young woman ran up to the other and jubilantly introduced herself, the other woman was outraged. The other woman said she wanted nothing to do with her former bosom/detached friend. She said the other woman knew too much about her, but that she did not know her at all.

For the woman who did the rejecting, the Internet had served as a safe space because the beings in it existed through a monitor, across wires, somewhere else. For her, the autonomy and privacy of accessing cyberculture involved a shortcut somewhat similar to having an FWB. The technology created the opportunity for a transaction supposedly without consequence, or at least with much less baggage than a real world encounter.

As a result, she was able to get what she needed from the encounters, dig a cave in her soul and bury the memory of the experience there. The experience erupted upon meeting the person who co-facilitated it. Apart from the obvious dangers of disease and unwanted pregnancy, is cyber identity promiscuity so much less harmful? After all, how does the medium affect the communicator, his or her audience and the nature of relationships in general?

Remembering what an unstable transition adolescence is under the best circumstances, I can only imagine how it feels to yearn for significance and to want to know and be known in today’s disenchanted, young adult world. It’s easy to appreciate the appeal of shortcuts. No one who is older should feel superior. This generation is in no way inferior, but they do seem deprived. Though fallenness is a constant across generations, the aids that facilitate its extent and intensity are not. Challenges today are worse. Likewise, young people today seem to be left more to their own devices. Obviously, it is understandable that, on their own, they might handle their freedoms in a manner lacking maturity.

One of the sayings I did not mention earlier is “hope is the new rebellion.” This seems to argue that the malaise pervading youth culture is so widespread that hopefulness is a radical stance. Given the timeless connection between youth and rebellion, hope stands a good chance of reviving.

The gospel offers the ultimate reason for hope and a view of life that makes it real in everyday life. As I consider the detachment and transience in contemporary youth culture, I think of the physical presence of the church, flesh and blood people who care and who are committed to each other and a common Savior. What a balm for disenchantment and retreat.

Likewise, faith and taking short cuts are opposites. Faith is harder. However, it can re-enchant the world. As we live in relationship with a loving God, things like sex and self-discovery can regain a sense of wonder. The fishbowl of contemporary teen culture, as alluded to by What’s the New What, screams for grace, wisdom and strength. This series may not provide clean data, but it does something better: at least partially, it maps the heart.

Reactions?

Agree?

Disagree?

Lily on Life

The song "The Fear" from Lily Allen has been playing on the radio a fair bit lately and, I have to say, that with all it's cynicism I really like it. Have a look at the words:

I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don’t care about clever I don’t care about funny
I want loads of clothes and f***loads of diamonds
I heard people die while they are trying to find them

I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
‘Cuz everyone knows that’s how you get famous
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah I’m on to a winner

Chorus
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When we think it will all become clear
'Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear

Life’s about film stars and less about mothers
It’s all about fast cars and passing each other
But it doesn’t matter cause I’m packing plastic
and that’s what makes my life so f***ing fantastic

And I am a weapon of massive consumption
and its not my fault it’s how I’m program to function
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah I’m on to a winner

I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When we think it will all become clear
‘Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear

Bridge
Forget about guns and forget ammunition
Cause I’m killing them all on my own little mission
Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner
Now everything is cool as long as I’m getting thinner

I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When we think it will all become clear
‘Cause I’m being taken over by fear

I was so curious about her take on some of what's happening in our Western culture/generation that I went to you-tube to check out her film clip.

I think it's brilliantly done. In the opening scene everything (even though it's as simple as some plastic chairs, a caravan, some underwear and a teddy bear on a clothes line) is still accessible - it's real and life size so you can get your hands on it to use and enjoy. But as she moves into the castle that is ornately decorated and has others at her beck and call (whom she barely acknowledges) everything that you could 'want' becomes more remote and less available. There's the vanity mirror that she stares into blankly while products go unused; children's toys that wont have any little ones scratching them (or her life) up as they play; cupcakes that will never get savoured to keep her thin; gifts of consumption that are not being opened and only take up more space (interestingly the only time that she seems to smile in the clip is when she's pushing the consumerables out of her way); and towards the end as she walks out of the castle you're struck by how alone she is (as is her precious building filled with goodies).

No one interacting, no one enjoying all of the delights that are on offer because she's constantly moving on to the next part of the house or 'thing'.

What do you think? Are we/the world really that superficial? Do we care more about film stars and less about mothers? Are our lives more or less enjoyable when they're filled with plastic? What "mission" are you on?

O week shenanigans...

It has been an incredible couple of days with Credo and around UTS. This is usually the time of year that the staff refer to as 'sprint time' in the marathon of the year. There will always be times in a marathon that you need to push a little harder and a little faster - where everything seems to be in a bit of a blur but it's vital to keep our eyes on the goal! Hopefully that might give you a little idea of the last few weeks.

Many of you would know about staff/student retreats that we've been on in the last month and much of that time away has been focused on planning for what we've been doing on campus in the last 48 hrs. For those without a uni background, it has been "Orientation" /O Day for the first years students at UTS where the main tower has been awash with a lot of stalls from various student groups/societies or companies that want to get the students business.


Each year we wonder how many contacts we'll get - which first years will either stumble upon our stall or (more encouragingly!) seek us out and give us their contact details to follow up. Last year we had 85 contacts (which we were excited by) and this year we were praying for 100. So it was with a little trepidation that I walked onto campus for O Day (on Thursday) with the rain coming down. In my cynicism I was pretty sure that it would mean that less people would turn up and therefore less contacts for us... oh the folly of under-estimating how much God wants to answer our prayers! We has an unprecedented 125 students give us their contact details because they're either interested in knowing more about Credo or want to join a small bible study group.

One of the ways that we made some contacts, and made some 1st years feel welcomed was to run the "Credo Cafe" for the first time where people could come and grab a (rather expertly made) coffee and some baked goodies and just chat with people. It was a huge hit and most of the comments that I heard from strangers were along the lines of "this is so nice!" or "I'm surprised that people do this sort of thing". It was great to see that many newcomers felt welcomed enough to hang around long after they'd gotten their free coffee and were able to ask questions of the Credoites who were there and happy to chat.

As Paul reminded us last night, it is of course no coincidence (nor should I have been surprised) that O Day was such a success and that we had so many contacts this year because for the first time this year we had a constant day of prayer. Just near Credo 'Base Camp' (where we did a whole lot of admin etc) there was a room that we set aside and had a roster so that, literally, from 830am - 5pm the was continuous prayer for new students, new contacts, thinking about the Credo community as a whole, praying for individual names as we were given them as well as praying for the faculty networks that they would grow together as a group but also that they would be outward focused in their relationships. Thanks to all of you who were praying for us as well.

Out of everything though, one of the thing that excited me so much was seeing the ownership that the Credoites were taking throughout the day as they worked so hard, but with so much energy and delight in what they were doing in their various jobs. It was so encouraging to see their passion for connecting with and reaching out to new people and for the opportunities that they took to just walk up to complete strangers and just start talking to them; whether it was about campus, credo or Christ.

If yesterday was about contacts and meeting people, then today was all about thinking about how to care for them as we love each other as a body. As I mentioned in my last post I've been thinking through, and this morning spoke from 1 Cor 12:12-27 to look at how this shapes how we are to be treating and looking out for one another. As I did some reflecting (and as others helped me with some of their ideas!) it occurred to me that the Corinthian world is much like our facebook world of today. What matters in facebook world is how others see me, who has the best profile pic, do i have more friends than them, can I join that group... etc etc - and although facebook can feel like a community at times, it's really a false one because there's very little accountability (I can even stop being 'friends' with someone without their knowledge!). The world believes in community as long as it is convenient – we believe in community in a way that reflects our commitment to Christ and to each other.

What Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, is that we need to be completely counter cultural and to see the 'weaker' as worthy of more honour/attention and to cultivate and encourage the different roles, gifts and abilities that we have because we all need one another. Paul uses a lot of 'body' imagery and speaks about how a body is supposed to function. It struck a cord with me because of my addiction to the "Biggest Loser" TV show. Here you see people competing to lose weight because although their bodies are technically 'functioning' they're not necessarily healthy and their definitely not thriving. As one of the trainers, Shannan, said in the first episode here are a group of people who are broken, physically, emotionally and spiritually and who need to be rebuilt from the inside out. Its exactly the same for us as a community and it's the radical nature of the love that Paul describes in 1 Cor 13 that is going to help us do it. Well, that, the Spirit and God! (1 Cor 12:7, 24-25).

I don't know what this year has in store for us on campus - no one but God does. And yet I feel like we're starting on a great track because our goal is to be transformed and renewed by the radical love that Christ enable us to have for one another. And that's something to be pretty darn optimistic about isn't it?

let lips be lips (they're very handy for eating)

I admit it, I have a problem. For about 6 hours a day, my brain is wrestling with one particular topic - something that sustains me, keeps me in wonder, delight and perplexity as I ponder the problem of what will I eat next? I simply love food in a way that borderlines on a bit of a fetish (so it's probably a good thing that my love for exercise is also growing).

In particular at the moment I'm delving into the world of blue cheese and so was quite happy when Dad told me he'd like a cheese and fruit platter as a part of his 60th birthday dinner tomorrow night. It gave me the perfect opportunity to wander into a deli and say 'yes' when the charming old Italian man asked if I'd care to try any as I made my selection.

Oh the tantalising tension of trying out a favourite combination! Does quince paste go better with the stilton, blue or bring out a softness in a vintage cheddar? Should you nibble on a dried apricot before or after your favourite tipple to bring out the best flavour? Should the grapes be in a separate bowl or does their fresh green-ness come out best when artfully scattered bunches are placed between the cheeses, apricots, tamarind almonds and occasional celebratory piece of dark chocolate?

As I ponder these questions (and have my salmon marinading in a delightful blend of fresh ginger, corriandar, lemon grass, soy and the barest hint of paprika) I'm also thinking through 1 Cor's 12:14-20. Can you imagine the scene at my banquet if the parts of the body tried to subvert their roles? What if the eye demanded that the blue vein was rubbed into it instead of being able to see the rainbow of colours? Or if the ear suddenly wanted some quince paste rubbed in it for good measure, instead of being able to hear the joyful noises of smacking lips? Or if the nose wanted a couple of grapes shoved up the nostrils for good measure (interestingly most creatures, esp dogs don't eat when they have a cold because the sense of smell is so closely linked to appetite)? Oh the tragedy because nothing would get eaten!

It's ludicrous isn't it - and yet how often do we try and do that in simpler ways? Do we feel that something is our right, that we should be involved or doing something rather than that other person? Do we encourage and delight in the differences between one another so that the whole body is working well and supporting each other?

I simply cannot imagine living in an inferno for 4 days.


I can't imagine walking past burnt out wrecks of cars, knowing that people perished in them.


I can't imagine having to hold someone in a pool for 36 hours while fires raged around - to see them come out of it with no lips or hands


I can't answer the question of why one persons home is destroyed while another remains untouched.


I wont pretend to comprehend the grief of someone who is waiting to be told the fate of a loved one, one of the 100 or so, who is still missing


I applaud, praise and am humbled by the heroism shown by so many volunteers - who have served others in the midst of their own pain and grief


300 (300???) is what the government is now predicting might be the death toll - started at the hands of arsonists. Justice can not be brought too swiftly in my mind. But in this sort of suffering, who can judge what will be justice?

As I sit in the comfort of my living room, far away from Victoria and the 27 fires that are still burning it's all to easy to feel removed - but perhaps that is the numbness that comes from the shock of the images that we're seeing on our TV's or the agony in the voices of those who are telling their stories on the radio.

maranatha

Can you hear His voice?

Argh - Christmas and New Years have been and gone and I'm sad to say that all of my best made plans for reading through all those books sort of fell by the wayside in a lovely and relaxing summer break. Most of the time was spent with family and friends (pictured here with my too cute niece at Christmas - and for those who care my hair is now cut as short as her's!) and revolved around the complex routine of getting up, going to the gym, selecting a friend to have breakfast with and then coming back and lying by my pool or going to the beach. Yep, life is tough sometimes.


But I did get through some of the books and one of them has been Walking With God by John Eldredge. Although there were a few things that I was left questioning, and sometimes just downright disagreeing with (especially towards the second half and end of the book) in the opening chapters I came across a section that I thought might spark some interest. It interested me because lately it's a topic that I've been thinking through, because of things that I've been challenged by and as I try to discern some areas and directions that He might be guiding me towards. Here goes:

Now, I know, I know - the prevailing beliefe is that God speaks to His people only through the Bible. And let me make this clear: He does speak to us first and foremost through the Bible. That is the basis for our relationship. The Bible is the eternal and unchanging Word of God to us. It is such a gift, to have right there in black and white God's thoughts towards us. We know right off the bat that any other supposed revelation from God that contradicts the bible is not to be trusted. So I am not minimising in any way the authority of the Scripture or the fact that God speaks to us through the Bible.
However, many Christians believe that God only speaks to us through the Bible.
The irony of that beliefe is that's not what the bible says.
The bible is filled with stories of God talking to His people (Abraham Gen 24:7, Moses Ex 33:11, Aaron Ex 6:13, David 2 Sam 2:1, Noah, Samuel, Gideon...)
I can hear the objections even now: "But that was different. Those were special people called to special tasks." And we are not special people called to special tasks? I refuse to believe that. And I doubt that you want to believe it either, in your hearts of hearts...
Now, if God doesn't also speak to us, why would He have given us all these stories of Him speaking to others? "Look - here are hundreds of inspiring and hopeful stories about how God spoke to His people in this and that situation. Isn't it amazing? But you can't have that. He doesn't speak like that anymore." That makes no sense at all. Why would God give you a book of exceptions? This is how I used to relate to my people but I don't do that anymore. What good would a book of exceptions do you?
... No, the Bible is a book of examples of what it looks like to walk with God. To say that He doesn't offer that to us is disheartening. It is also unbiblical. The Bible says that we hear Gods voice:

He wakes me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught (Is 50:4)
For He is our God and we are he people of His pasture, the flock of His care (Ps 95:7)
Today if you hear His voice do not harden your hearts (Ps 95:7-8)
John 10:2-4, 14-16

...An intimate, conversational walk with God is available. Is normal even. Or, at least, it is meant to be normal. I'm well aware that the majority of people do not enjoy that... yet. But it is certainly what God desires and what He offers. My assumption is based on the nature of God and the nature of man made in His image. We are communicators. My assumption is also based on the nature of relationship - it also requires communication. It is based on the long record of God speaking to His people of various tasks in all sorts of situations.
And finally, it is based on the teachings of Jesus, who tells us that we hear His voice.
p's 13-18

How does this fit in with your understanding of the character of God and your reading of Scripture?

For now I'll leave you with an experience of my own. It was a few years ago now and I was with a team of students at a local church doing some things with them after NTE. It had been a long week, I was tired, certainly grumpy and seriously doubting myself and my own 'abilities' in ministry and whether I should be doing what I was/am. I was feeling the weight of my own sinful impatience with things and certainly didn't want to be up the front of the gathering leading the service but at the last minute I had to fill in for someone and do it. At the end of the service I had no less than 6 people come up to me and say something along the lines of "Thanks for doing that, we were really encouraged, you're obviously where God wants you to be..."

In the confused mindset that I was in I thought to myself "God, perhaps you're trying to speak to me through these people. I'm going to just sit outside and pray for a bit to discern if you're using these people to communicate with me."

On my way outside though I noticed a member of the church, Malcolm, was just sitting on his own. Now, what you need to understand is that Malcolm is in a wheelchair with quite severe physical and mental handicaps. His communication throughout the week was limited and stilted at best. But as I was walking outside I thought "Well, I can't just leave Malcolm sitting there on his own - I'll pray later" and sat down with him. Within a minute or two of a few words Malcolm turned to me and in the clearest voice I'd heard him use all week said "Isn't it great how God uses others to speak to us sometimes?".

It was, to say the least, unnerving and I still get goose bumps when I think about it. I've had other experiences similar to this one recently - things that cannot be explained away as 'random' or 'coincidences' which is what my sometimes cynical mind would like to do.

But you tell me - what does it say about the character of our God that He deigned, with all of His love and sovereignty, to communicate with us, His little creatures, in such a way?

Summer reading

I must confess, I'm a bit of a lazy thinker sometimes. It hasn't always been that way because as a kid I would love to squirrel away with a book but these days I'm usually keener to chill out in front of the TV at the end of a long day. But I've been a bit convicted lately about the things that I fill my mind with so this wont be the laziest summer ever.

So I have about a gazillion books that I've been planning to read all year so here's the list for the next couple of months to hopefully challenge, inform and inspire me for 2009. Good thing I'm a fast reader and I've been able to get through a couple already.

Post SPRTE and listening to and speaking with Lindsay in person, I sort of felt compelled to read this one first... and it's brilliant! If you haven't read it, check this out to get an over-view.

If you have read it, then why not drop a line in the comments and share what encouraged and challenged you the most?

One of the other books that I read last week was The Relationships Revolution which had some challenges that I liked so much I thought I'd share chunks of them with you:

The challenge that faces the church is to be the community that God has called us to be. Hypocrisy and selfishness too readily characterise our life together and our relationships. Too many churches seem to value families over single people, children over the elderly, people who fit in and are easy to get along with over the marginalised and distressed. The subtle tones and harmonies that make up the music of Gods community are muted by every act of thoughtlessness and selfishness. Too many people have come into our churches and have not been welcomed, included or valued. The key question that faces all of us in our church involvement and relationships is whether we are going to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. It is far easier to point out what is wrong, and to complain from the sidelines, than to work for positive change wherever we have the opportunity. The tragedy is not just that we fall short of God's standards, but that we accept and perpetuate this state of affairs so uncritically.

and

The history of the church is the story of a revolution, starting with a small group of ordinary people, and turning the world upside down. Christians should be the most radical people on the planet! Today, society desperately needs revolutionaries who will take a stand against its norms, who will sacrifice all in the service of their Lord and of the people around them. The cost of the battle is great; hardship is unavoidable. Yet when people's eternal destiny is at stake, to remain silent is betrayal. To walk the path of indifference or self-satisfaction is not to follow in the footsteps of Christ.