Napier Baptist

Napier Baptist website

2012-01-03T17:23:00.005+13:00

Better late the never, we finally have a real website! Amble on over to napierbaptist.org.nz

My Last Week

2009-04-21T15:16:00.003+12:00

This week is my last week as Pastor of Napier Baptist Church. It is and will be a hard week - goodbyes to people you love and care about are hard. I'm sure there'll be hugs, laughter, memories, tears and thankfulness to God to what God's done amongst us over these last 4 and a bit years. I'm sure it'd be easier to slip away quietly without having to do all the hard stuff of saying good bye, but we wouldn't have it any other way...

Not long after resigning someone said to me "you'll know you're ready to go when you pack up your books." It's probably saying something that I got to the point of having to pack up my books. Now, it's time to go.

Tough as Nails

2009-04-08T10:25:00.002+12:00

Speaking of being "tough as nails" at Easter (see post below), go and have a read of Stu's story of how for pastors, the show must always go on...

Thank God it's Friday

2009-04-03T16:10:00.003+13:00

The following is a reflection for Good Friday from my favourite preacher William Willimon:

...if you, God Almighty, won't stand up and act like God, well, then we'll have to get organized and do it for you. It'll teach 'em a lesson. So when they attacked us we attacked them. Bomb Baghdad. That'll teach them. Evil for evil; it's all they understand. We'll teach them the joy of democracy, the preciousness of human life, the value of a free market, if we have to obliterate every grain of sand in their desert to do it. It'll teach 'em a lesson. But then, when we had done our worst, you looked down from your bloody cross where we had nailed you and with your last breath worked your justice, saying, "Father forgive 'em. It'll teach them a lesson."

Your lessons are hard as nails.

Amen."

From Willimon's book Thank God it's Friday

Smokin'

2009-03-19T09:53:00.002+13:00

Here's a clip for Mike and our youth...

Hat tip Stu

Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

Sermons Updated

2009-03-13T09:06:00.002+13:00

For anyone who's interested, our online sermons have been updated.

Towards a Kiwi Made Preaching

2009-03-05T15:27:00.003+13:00

Paul Windsor is organising a preaching forum for experienced and emerging preachers. He's got a group of preachers (both old hands and up and comers) to give presentations on topics relating to preaching in the Kiwi context. He's got so short on speakers that he's roped me into this! The details are below (you can click on it to enlarge the image). If you're from Napier Baptist and you're interested in going to this even, please let me know. If we get a group of 5 of us we can get a discount...

Our Christmas Dinner

2009-03-03T09:22:00.015+13:00

I'm now catching up on 2 months of posting! So, here's some photos of the Christmas Dinner we held at Napier Baptist on Christmas Day. We put it on so that we could share Christmas with people who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day. This was the 2nd year we've done this and it was nice to see some familiar faces return. It was also nice to share meals with people who pop in and out of our church throughout the year for various reasons. We put a real emphasis on removing any sense of "us" and "them" so that the focus was on all of us sharing a meal and time together. This year we had people from other churches and organisations who thought it was a great idea and wanted to join us and help and any who wanted to help were welcome to (from doctors to mental health patients). It was great for about 80-90 of us to share a Christmas meal and time together.

Community Gardens

2009-02-26T10:58:00.011+13:00

Last year we agreed as a church to make some raised bed gardens out the back of our church in an area that was a dead space. We intend to grow seedlings and vegetables to give away to those in need or wanting to grow their own vegetables at home. I was amazed at the response of our people. Someon donated wood to build the gardens, another donated as much soil as we needed, another had sold a car and donated $500 towards costs, another donated polythene to line the beds, and others donated their time and energy in creating the gardens:

The Building:

The Soil:

Things Coming Together:

The Finished Product - including irrigation:

When I first posted the idea of a Community Garden, Sheree posted a comment about having grown up in Maraenui and recently becoming a Christian. She saw on the Harry Findlay on the news highlighting the gardening initiative in Maraenui and was moved. Sheree got in touch with me via e-mail and we talked about what we were up to. She then spoke at her church (Windsor Community Church in Invercargill) about the initiative and our Community Garden. She left a box at the back of her church and encouraged people to put seeds and other things that might help our project. When I got back from my holiday at the end of January this parcel awaited me:

When I opened it up, its contents of seeds, trough and food vouchers spilled out along with the desire to keep up to date with being involved! What an amazing gift from some amazing people! Thank you very much Sheree and thank you Windsor Community Church for your gracious gifts and for wanting to partner with us. I am amazed at Jesus' ability to unite people in Napier and Invercargill together to make God's Kingdom Visible. I never expected this would happen via a simple blog. Since then, I've had a local councillor who encouraged us in our Community Garden project pop in to see how things are going. She was touched by the story and she is going to print it in the local community newspaper. I got her to contact Sheree and she agreed to allowing the story to print. Today I had another news reporter contact me and she wants to print the story in her newspaper too! It's great for the church to be getting some good press...

I'm Back... But Not For Long

2009-02-19T10:42:00.004+13:00

I'm back after a long break in blogging. Part of that has been due to a long holiday and part of that is due to change. The change part is that after 4 years at Napier Baptist I announced my resignation as Senior Pastor to the church 2 Sundays ago to take up the role of Director of Community Life at Laidlaw College (formerly Bible College of New Zealand). It is heart-breaking to be leaving Napier Baptist. We love the church and they love us and things are going very well. But, we feel that God has opened an exciting door of opportunity at Laidlaw College for us to walk through. It's come earlier than we expected and if we could write our own script we would have liked longer at Napier Baptist as there's more that we'd like to be part of. We will carry with us the sense of loss of not sharing further in the life of this brilliant church. However, Jesus is the Lord and Saviour of the church and not me and I reckon he's got things in hand...

I'm excited about the role at Laidlaw with its focus upon shaping the commuity life of the College to be congruent with its vision of equipping men and women to renew their communities
with a faith that is as intelligent as it is courageous. They have a brave 'whole of life' vision at the College and want to form intelligent, articulate, discerning and mature graduates who have integrated their learning and can make a renewing difference in ministry, mission or marketplace. The role brings together my 2 great passions of theological study and pastoral ministry. In saying all that I have to be honest and say I'm more than a little freaked out by it all but I guess Jesus has that in hand too...

Calling....

2008-12-24T17:52:00.001+13:00

What does God's call feel like? Look like, sound like, taste like, smell like?

Does it sometimes feel like a weightless certainty, and at others as urgent as two labrador puppies on a leash - busting to get going but not 100% sure which direction, just away, just acting, not standing still!

Is it sometimes a burden,and other times a joy? Sometimes almost clear, other times a mystery? Sometimes close and other times all-enveloping?

I have a call, an insistent, not always pleasant call.

'Feed my sheep, travel if you have you, but feed them! I don't need another pew-warmer. Time is short. GET MOVING!'

'But how, Lord? Alone? Do I need innoculations, a passport, a degree, a church to sponsor me? Could you tell me a bit more? Perhaps make some aspects clearer? Should I stay here, work in the community, feed the lambs whose language I speak and know?'

'You will know when you're doing it right, just DO IT. Time is short, the flock is hungry. Move!'

Or do I imagine it? Is this insistent urge just a fantasy, a hope that God finds me useful enough to speak to and encourage and whip into shape?

Meantime I squirm in the pew, pray for guidance, look at all the options, feel like I'm not doing enough. And the call, the insistent, urgent, GET OFF THE TRACKS call... help me to decipher it.... please.

Please help me in praying for guidance, and for clarity. I would have said patience too, but I feel the impatience does not come from me...

Community Garden

2008-12-16T11:37:00.001+13:00

As a church we have agreed to go ahead with the community garden project. We are going to build the gardens this Saturday morning. We have already had many kind offers of help. Someone donated $500, others are donating compost, untreated wood, seedlings, others soil and still others their skill and labour.

We decided in the end that we will split the plots - we will predominantly grow veges to give away as food but we will also grow seedlings to give away to encourage others to grow their own gardens. We figured the old saying of "give someone a fish you feed them for a day, teach them how to fish and you'll feed them for a lifetime" must also apply to veges. However, the reality is also that some of the people who come to or through our church do not have the land space or the physical, mental or emotional capacity to maintain a garden and therefore we will also need give away produce as well as seedlings. Our local area has a market that runs on a Tuesday morning and could be an ideal place to give away seedlings to encourage gardening. It is also possible that we could supply seedlings and food to some of the local networks who are part of the gardening initiative. We'll figure that stuff out as we go, but at the moment all eyes (and hopefully hands) are on building the plots.

Promises, not answers

2008-12-12T09:03:00.002+13:00

Please go and read Ruth Gouldbourne's wonderful Advent post about a very difficult funeral within the Bloomsbury Baptist Church community. Having had to lead similarly difficult funerals, I especially loved her reminder that the promises of the Christian hope are promises and not answers.

Movember at NBC

2008-12-10T08:58:00.012+13:00

Okay, so a few of us at NBC grew mos for Movember to raise money for our Relay for Life team. We are looking for the most stylish mo - not necessarily the bushiest but the most stylish. So, I'm wanting readers of this blog to tell me which mo they think is the most stylish. Write the number of the mo you think is the best into comments and feel free to suggest a name - e.g. I've called 5, 6, 12 "The Chopper" 13 "The Raurimu Spiral" 3 "The Coffee Stain":

4.
5.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.
15.

Just a season...

2008-12-08T16:07:00.000+13:00

In the drought we long for mist; in the cool months, long-past summers fuel our dreams.

We live in a world in-between: forgetting to delight in the now. Forgetting to be present to the beauty that exists today.

This day.

Every day.

It's so hot and dry: the hills baked to the colour of ginger-crunch, the lake a desert oasis, the strange mist of a few mornings-ago a cool blessing.

The mist rose early, so deep that the world disappeared in its moist white embrace.

It pressed its damp cheeks to the house, repelling the sun that would disperse it.
We were all alone, marooned on an island of cloud.

Gone was the lavender outside the bathroom window; gone the burned grass bank behind it. Gone the rabbits, the pukekos, the hunting cat. The lake and ponds gone - erased from the canvas while we slept.

The mist pressed a cool compress to the baked earth. It smothered the sighs of the wilting olive trees, it caressed the dried arrangements that once bore fruit. It whispered to the land that one day the drought would end.

The quiet, shrouded earth rested, recovered a little.

The bell-bird who sips each morning from the flax flowers stayed in its nest. The tui in the gum, no more, no more.

No magpies gargled. No frogs creaked. No plants tap-tapped against the side of the house.

The morepork slept, his head pillowed on his chest, dreaming of the hunt just finished.

The clock ticked, time shuffled its weary feet, light imperceptibly slipped through the muffling mist.

The lavender - usually bee-buzzed by now - ghosted silently, empty against the window.
The trees tiptoed back into place, trailing cottony shrouds behind them.

Soft glints of sky peeled off the lake, the parched world was reviving.

The birds ran quiet sound checks before one by one rediscovering their voice, and they hailed the bright, hard sky as it returned.

Drought, broken for a brief time, is so much easier to bear. A promise glimpsed eases our pain, allowing us to appreciate anew the beauty here and now.

It's just a season: its time is limited.

The world will return to rights.

Relax, wait, enjoy.

This time too, will pass.

Possible Community Garden

2008-11-26T10:17:00.004+13:00

We are floating the following proposal at our AGM on Sunday:

PROPOSAL OF NAPIER BAPTIST COMMUNITY GARDEN:

PROPOSAL:

“That the church make use of the secure space behind the church by turning some of it into a garden to provide food for people in need within the church and the wider community.”

INTRODUCTION:

Our church is looking for ways in which we can “Make God’s Kingdom Visible” in our local community. The location of the church is in a very deprived area of Napier. Maraenui is rated 10 on the NZ Deprivation Index (the scale is 1-10). Our current financial climate is difficult and many think it will get worse before it gets better. This situation impacts the entire country but is especially difficult for low income families. They are the most vulnerable in situations of financial stress as costs and unemployment spiral upward and income spirals downward. To highlight this we can note the dramatic increase in the number of people making use of our church’s foodbank. As a result we are running low on stock and we are struggling to receive more stock from our suppliers. At the moment, supply is exceeding demand with our small foodbank. This year, the Maraenui Urban Renewal Trust has begun a project to encourage residents to plant gardens. This is sponsored by people like JJs Organics and Napier City Council and was highlight on a TV3 News Bulletin (you can also watch the clip at this link). We can therefore link into an already existing community project that is donig good things. In response to these realities, we thought of ways we could support the foodbank and serve our local community. We noticed that the large area out the back of the church (approx. 183 m2 excluding the area behind the auditorium where the trucks come for the paper recycling) was something of a “dead space”. The idea was floated of turning some of this area into raised gardens where we could plant and grow vegetables to give away to those in need of healthy and nutritious food. It is also possible that we could use some of the produce to make pickles, cutneys and other produce to give away.

WHAT WOULD IT INVOLVE?

Gathering a group of passionate people who are able and willing to look after and maintain the gardens. My idea at the moment is to float this idea past some of our many passionate gardeners and gauge their interest. I would like to form a group of 10 or so familes/people who are willing to look after the gardens for one week out of 10.
Finding people who are able and willing to build the raised garden beds. This will involve getting the materials at the cheapest possible price. It has also been suggested that some people would be willing to pay for the cost of the materials.
Some top soil.
A plan of where to place the gardens so that people are still able to access the different entrances and exits and have appropriate walkways. We will have to allow trucks to get to the paper bins etc.
Seeds to plant. Some of these will be available through some of our many gardeners and we may also have to buy some.
Possibly partnering with Napier Family Centre or local social services to ensure the produce gets to people in need.

BENEFITS:

Converting a dead space in our church into a fantastic ministry opportunity whilst maintaining access and walkways.
Provide healthy and nutritious food for families in need.
Ease the burden of supply for our foodbank.
The joy of children being involved in the building, sowing, growing process of the gardens.
The joy of serving people who are vulnerable and extending our vision of “Making God’s Kingdom Visible” in Napier.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS:

Security. The area is very well fenced all around with fences ranging from 5 foot to 8-10 foot (see pictures below). However we cannot guarantee that people will not jump over the fences and raid or ruin the gardens. In saying that, there are easier gardens to raid than these! We would address this if needed.
Loss of momentum and people willing to be involved and the gardens turning to ruin. There would need to be clear leadership, vision for the church to see this as a genuine way of serving the community and a group of passionate people maintained. I believe that with the right leadership and the gathering of many people to be involved (once every 10 weeks is doable), this is a sustainable project. It would be great to involve the children and the youth in this.
Loss of access. It would be very important to ensure that access and walkways are maintained – especially in terms of fire exit routes. This is simply a planning issue and making sure that the beds are placed in a way that takes this into account. The reality is that this areas is almost never used.

THE AREA WE HAVE IN MIND:

Life Together

2008-11-19T11:21:00.003+13:00

The significance of what God's doing in a local church can often fly under the radar - I think God quite likes it that way. It's not until it's brought front and centre that you realise the significance of what's going on under your nose in a local church. Last Sunday we welcomed 14 people into membership at Napier Baptist and dedicated 7 children to God.

In membership we covenanted together:

As Baptist Christians we covenant together as a community of the disciples of Jesus Christ. Baptised into his name, we share the joys and responsibilities of fellowship: we gather for worship and to discern the mind of Christ; together we seek the kingdom of God through prayer, witness and service; and in the power of the Holy Spirit we seek to build one another up in love. Will you share with us in this common life and service, and will you walk together with us before God, in ways that are known and yet to be made known?

And importantly in our church we covenanted to "walk in the ways of the Lord, together, no matter what and to watch over one another in love."

It was great to see publicly what God has been doing under the radar for a long time.

My Bibliography on Revelation

2008-11-11T10:47:00.006+13:00

Simon Jones is an English Baptist Minister who's contemplating a series on the book of Revelation. He asked for people's recommendations in terms of books on Revelation. That sparked me to think that I'd put up a bibliography of the major resources I've used in this series on Revelation. All of the books are books I own and the majority of the journal articles are available online if you google them. I didn't read every page of every book but these were the major sources I used. There are some notable omissions - Aune, Fiorenza and Collin's commentaries. Very simply, in weekly preaching there's only so much reading you can do!!

MY BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR REVELATION:

Bandy, Alan S. “Word and Witness: An Analysis of the Lawsuit Motif In Revelation based on the Witness Terminology.” Essay Presented at the Annual Meeting of the ETS 2005. Valley Forge, PA.

Barr, David L. Tales of the End: A Narrative Commentary on the Book of Revelation (California: Polebridge Press, 1998).

___________. ed. Reading the Book of Revelation: A Resource for Students (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2003).

___________. ed. The Reality of Apocalypse: Rhetoric and Politics in the Book of Revelation (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006).

Bauckham, Richard. The Theology of the Book of Revelation. New Testament Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Beale, G. K. The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text. The New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.

DeSilva, David A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

______________. “A Sociorhetorical Interpretation of Revelation 14:6-13: A Call to Act Justly toward the Just and Judging God.” Bulletin for Biblical Research 9 (1999): 65-117.

______________. “The Social Setting of the Revelation to John: Conflicts Within, Fears Without.” Westminster Theological Journal 54 (1992): 273-302.

______________. “The Strategic Arousal of Emotions in the Apocalypse of John: A Rhetorical-Critical Investigation of the Seven Oracles to the Seven Churches.” New Testament Studies 54 (2008): 90-114.

Koester, Craig R. Revelation and the End of All Things. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.

Friesen, Steven J. Imperial Cults and the Apocalypse of John: Reading Revelation in the Ruins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

_____________. “Satan's Throne, Imperial Cults and the Social Settings of Revelation.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 27.3 (2005): 351-73.

______________. “Myth and Symbolic Resistance in Revelation 13.” Journal of Biblical Literature 123.2 (2004): 281-313.

Guy, Laurie. The Book of Revelation. Class Notes from MB 638/738. Carey Baptist College, 2004. (Laurie was my lecturer at college on Revelation. He has a book on Revelation awaiting publication in the Regent's Study Guides Series.)

Keener, Craig S. Revelation. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Maier, Harry O. Apocalypse Recalled: The Book of Revelation after Christendom. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002.

Neufeld, Dietmar. “Under the Cover of Clothing: Scripted Clothing Performances in the Apocalypse of John.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 35 (2005): 67-76.

Osborne, Grant R. Revelation. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002.

Peterson, Eugene H. Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination. New York: HarperCollins, 1988.

Rossing, Barbara R. The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. Colorado: Westview Press, 2004.

_______________. “Prophecy, End-Times, and American Apocalypse: Reclaiming Hope for Our World.” Anglican Theological Review 89.4 (2007): 549-63.

Rowland, Christopher C. “The Book of Revelation.” Pages 501-743 in vol. XII of The New Interpreter’s Bible: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

Spilsbury, Paul. The Throne, The Lamb and The Dragon: A Reader’s Guide to the Book of Revelation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Witherington III, Ben, Revelation. The New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Some useful online websites:

Bernard Bell's Series on Revelation.

Online non-canonical literature.

Revelation Resources.

Craig Koester's Cities of Revelation.

Dr. Loren L. Johns website.

Mark Bilby's website.

Phillip Harland's website.

Baptist Assembly

2008-11-11T10:47:00.003+13:00

I was away on Sunday for NZ Baptist Assembly. In terms of my enjoyment, it was a bit of a mixed bag. The highlight for me was hearing from our great friends Paul and Barby Windsor as they reflected on their years serving NZ Baptists (Paul is finishing as Principal of Carey Baptist College early next year). It was very moving to hear from people you love and admire and to hear the tributes of some of those that they have impacted over their many years serving NZ Baptists. It struck me on the weekend how much I am going to miss them firstly when Paul finishes at Carey and then especially when they (likely) move overseas in a few years for Paul's new role at Langham Partnership.

If you want to listen to any of the speaking sessions from Baptist Assembly (I'd hugely recommend listening to Paul and Barby's reflection), then go here.

Supersizing the doorway

2008-11-04T11:30:00.004+13:00

My mate Alistair has been downloading the sermon series we have been doing at Napier Baptist on Revelation (you can access our sermons here) and listening to them. This had been freaking me out a bit because Alistair and I went to Bible College together and he was a very smart cookie who loved to exercise his mind in service of God. Then I read this that he wrote on his blog:

When it comes to the book of Revelations…
…this is the best series on the book I’ve heard. And yes, I’ve listened to DA Carson’s Revelations messages.
Andrew Picard is the Pastor of Napier Baptist (see my links to NZ Blogs). He and I went to Bible College together and I’ve always liked his commitment to intellectual rigor in all things Christian while at the same time not coming off (to me) as an egghead. He approaches Revelation by trying to understand what the original readers heard through the genre of apocolyptic writings, and then applies that message of that highly symbolic writing to today - and he does so without watering down the truth that God’s word is God’s word.

Wow! It's not always easy approaching Revelation from a very different perspective than what is often espoused in popular Christian circles and it's great to get encouraging feedback. Thanks for the high praise Alistair - and he's not even on the payroll. We will now have to make some alterations at home so that my head can fit through the door!

UPDATE: If anyone's interested in reading an excellent article that I drew on a lot for Revelation 13 then go here to read the article by Steven Friesen. It's not an easy read but persevere because it does an excellent job of putting Revelation 13 into its context.

Do Men Hate Going to Church?

2008-11-04T09:57:00.004+13:00

I was given an article this week to read from the Challenge Weekly on why men hate going to church. It argues that the world's largest unreached people group are men - apparently a young single man between 18 and 35 is the person least likely to show up in church! David Murrow, who also authored the book Why Men Hate Going to Church blames (among other things) the feminisation of the church and gender neutral bible translations. I don't agree with a lot of what he says (which seems to be to design the church to be alpha male) but it raises an important point. I did appreciate his thoughts on developing a band of brothers who mentor and support each other in discipleship but it's got to be more than chest beating, alpha male, tarzan talk. What are your thoughts? What could we do differently without making the church baptise a white alpha male culture? Go here and check out his website and let me know your thoughts, because I'd love to hear them whether you agree or disagree...

Policy Comparison

2008-10-31T13:53:00.001+13:00

The Decison 08 website has a helpful page where you can compare and contrast the different policies of the different parties. Go here.

Bailout for Wall St – What about the Poorest?

2008-10-31T10:44:00.002+13:00

With elections looming in NZ and around the world I'd encourage you to consider what it means to live and vote as global Christians (i.e. not Christians narrowly focussed on what you're going to get out of this election). The Tearfund website has some very helpful material about voting as global Christians available online here. So too does the Micah Challenge website here. I especially enjoy Jim Wallis' article on Faith Priorities for this Election.

The following comes from the Tearfund website and raises critical issues for the world's economy and focus at the moment.

WITH the meltdown of international banking and credit filling investors with dread, developed nations are using the crisis to legitimise backing away from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), said TEAR Fund Executive Director Stephen Tollestrup.
The MDGs signed by 189 nations promised to halve poverty for the poorest of our planet’s people by 2015 and increase aid to 0.7 per cent of their countries GDPs.
“The truth is”, says, Mr Tollestrup, “the MDGs go well beyond a handout. If we dare to think outside of the square we will find that we need to see productive and growing economies in the developing world to help us move out of this current mess and bring long term economic stability.
“Rather than simply throw a trillion dollars at failed Wall Street financers, perhaps it’s time to think clearly about an economic shot in the arm for the two-thirds world. This will strengthen the global economy and counter the poverty where over a billion fellow human beings languish and die, and fundamentalism and terror incubate.”
Micah Challenge advocates for governments to honour their commitment to the MDGs, TEAR Fund, as a member of this international Christian campaign, is urging New Zealand voters to make honouring the MDG promise an election issue.

Sermons Updated

2008-10-28T14:55:00.003+13:00

I've had a couple of e-mails asking me when the sermons are going to be updated - they have just been updated here. We have someone who's a very busy professional who takes it upon himself to record the sermons, convert them into mp3s and host them on his webstie - and all he does all of this in what little spare time he has as a global executive! So, please be gracious and patient.

Rees, if you read this, thanks so much for all that you do for our church...

An Update

2008-10-23T15:03:00.004+13:00

I'm back from Auckland and back into things at Napier. The book of the trip was a bit of surprise because I didn't go there planning on reading it. I picked it up off the shelf and browsed through it briefly and I was hooked. The book of the trip was From Midterms to Ministry: Practical Theologians on Pastoral Beginnings and I'd recommend that anyone who has or is or is going to make the transition from Bible College/Seminary to local church ministry read it. It was one of the highlights (especially the article by Thomas G Long) of my reading spree.

I also notice that Real Live Preacher has posted his second video on his series on hell here.

I know that with elections looming many pastors get cornered about who people should vote for, or even worse, you get cornered asking about who you're voting for (with the less than subtle subtext that it should be the same party as the person who's asking you!)? Another useful website to have a careful snoop around is the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services. It represents 6 denominational Social Services networks, one of which is NZ Baptist Action. They work on the front line of social service and their vision is to work for a just and compassionate society in Aotearoa New Zeland. They provide some excellent information and articles on some of the pressing social issues that I think one should consider before deciding who to vote for.

RLP and Hell 1

2008-10-16T16:18:00.002+13:00

Sorry for the low output of the blog from my end, I'm up in Auckland with some study leave - geeking out in the library. Will do a proper post soon but in the mean time BAndy has given me a heads up that Real Live Preacher has issued the first of three videos on his series on hell (which I mentioned here). You can go here to watch the video.

A VOTERS GUIDE FOR THINKING EVANGELICALS

2008-09-25T10:19:00.002+12:00

With elections looming here and in the US, I thought I'd link you to a post by Ben Witherington III. He is an outstanding biblical scholar and thoughtful evangelical and has written a post on a "A VOTERS GUIDE FOR THINKING EVANGELICALS " I'd encourage you to go here and read it before voting.

New look

2008-09-15T00:19:00.004+12:00

Thought the old design was ugly so changed it again. Sorry if you don't like blue! To begin with, regulars might find that the old design still displays when following links you had gone to before the update. Just click refresh to fix it.

I feel more like part of the body than an attendee when I go there.

2008-09-10T09:12:00.003+12:00

I have just read a brilliant "must read" post by Julie R. Neidlinger on why she walked out of a church she attended as she seeks a new church in a new area (hat tip to Stu). It is brilliant! One part of it reminded me of a conversation we had at a recent Family Forum at our church about how we can be hospitable to the many new people coming to our church. Do we organise or roster someone(s) to "be nice to the new people" (as if being nice to new people is a ministry!) and plug them into some group, or do we just actually try being Christians and be welcoming to new people like we would a visitor who came to our house? (We went for the latter and not the former)

Christian Celebrity Culture

2008-08-29T09:16:00.010+12:00

1 Cor 4:13 - "We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world (another translation - the scrapings from everyone's shoes) - right up to this moment."

Wow, what's going on with the Christian worship and leadership scene? There's the fall of Todd Bentley, one of the leaders of the supposed "revival" in Florida, and the outrageous fall of Mike Guglielmucci (of Hillsong and Planetshakers fame), who wrote the song "healer" as an outflow of him supposedly learning he had terminal cancer - he was lying! How sick is that? What's going on in the Christian worship and leadership scene?! I have good friends who have family that have gone to Florida to "catch the fire". We have an amazing young Christian man in our church who has cerebral palsy, his favourite song is Healer because he felt that the guy singing that song (Mike Guglielmucci with his terminal cancer) could identify with him. This week he found out that Mike Guglielmucci's terminal cancer was a lie (this guy even sung with an oxygen tank as part of the charade!) when in reality this was part of how Guglielmucchi was dealing with his addiction to pornography! What the hell is going on in Christian circles!? I'm not into shaming him (him and his family must be going through hell right now), but asking what's going on in our church circles that someone would want to do this? I'm sure the answer to that is very complicated, but I'm immediately struck by one aspect - the Christian celebrity culture. So many of our leaders are obsessed with becoming some sort of celebrity that they'll go to any length to get there. And we can't remove ourselves from responsibility when we are often the ones fueling, encouraging and idolising this ugly obsession (going to conferences, concerts and buying cds and dvds). The Christian celebrity culture and leadership obsession in the West is very ugly. It comes with tantalising promises of fame, success and triumph that are NEVER promised in scripture.

The church in Corinth also had a leadership obsession, connecting themselves around superstar leaders - "I belong to..." (put in here your favourite superstar preacher, singer, whatever) and the churches wanted a superstar leader, just like the superstar leaders that secular gatherings had, who would look good and wow the crowds. They were embarrassed by Paul and some of the other Christian leaders who didn't fit the superstar leader style (1 Cor. 10:10 "For some say "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.""). In 1 Cor 4, Paul defends himself and his humble, self-effacing leadership style as being what specifically Christian leadership really looks like. To do this, he uses irony and satire to mock the Corinthian desire for high status and high rank (Christian celebrity culture) as being totally UNCHRISTIAN. The point that Paul makes in 1 Cor 1-4 is that Christian leadership is NOT meant to look like secular leadership or celebrity culture because it has been redefined by the cross:

1 Cor. 4:8-13: "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign - an that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena (this is an image of captured slaves who were dragged around at the rear of a Roman victory parade as the spoils of their victory before they were slaughtered). We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! (celebrity secular leaders boasted of their wisdom and hated foolishness) We are weak, but you are strong! You are honoured, we are dishonoured! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands (something disgusting to any civilised Roman leader). When we are cursed, we bless; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world (or another translation - "the scrapings from everyone's shoes") - right up to this moment."

Here's a clip of an interview with Mike Guglielmucci:

Stem Cells

2008-08-21T07:27:00.003+12:00

I'm doing a 'Bioethics' paper through Carey and need to get Christian responses to stem cell research.

What is 'a Christian' response to the use of human embryos to obtain stem cells for research?

What of the use of adult stem cells?

Are there situations where the deliberate death of an embryo for stem cells is justifiable?

Does the age of the embryo make a difference?

Where should the line be drawn??
Lots of responses please...

A Study on Hell

2008-08-20T09:39:00.002+12:00

Real Live Preacher is doing a study on hell in the New Testament. If you're interested in engaging in a debate about what the NT says (or doesn't say) on hell, or just trying to learn more about what the NT says, here would be a good place to go.

Broken

2008-08-16T09:49:00.003+12:00

I once wrote a book called "Bent Not Broken".

The title was a lie.

I was broken.

Broken, broken, broken.

Like an old-fashioned thermos flask that had been dropped - I was okay on the outside but the slightest shake revealed the shimmering shards inside.

Broken.

Not the pretty kind of broken, nor the wee chip that elephant glue would mend, but ugly, nasty, dangerous, mixed up broken.

Broken like a box of crystal glasses that has been drop-kicked then gift-wrapped. Don't hug it too hard to your chest - the gift is broken, and dangerous.

Broken like a heart, like a vow, like a bone.

Broken like the psalmist who wrote:

I am poured out like water,

all my bones are out of joint;

My heart is like wax;

it is melted within my chest;

My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death. (Ps 22 14-15)

And still broken.

Still smashed up inside, still trying with the help of God to straighten my bends, to heal my brokenness, to fix me up from the inside out.

No more plastering over the cracks, no more smoke and mirrors but bare raw broken wounds that weep for divine healing.

Heal us God, give us guidance, for the ways of the world are broken.

Broken.

When God is Silent

2008-08-14T13:29:00.003+12:00

I'm preaching in a few weeks and I'm exploring the issue of "when God is silent".

I'm interested in what others think about whether God chooses not to speak to us and why (is it him not speaking or us not hearing - or something else). What is your response if/when you can't hear God - how does it make you feel? How does it affect what you believe about God? What impact does it have on your faith?

David Upgraded

2008-08-08T14:29:00.005+12:00

I got this in an e-mail this week (sorry of it upsets any Americans who might read this blog!):

After a two year visit to the United States, Michelangelo's David is returning to Italy . . .

Barbara Rossing on the Rapture

2008-07-29T09:32:00.003+12:00

I came across Barbara Rossing's book The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation a few years ago and bought a copy for myself. Whilst it can be provocatively polemic in parts I found it to be an excellent book to debunk some of the strange and speculative views of Revelation (e.g. Left Behind) that dominate many of our churches and give a much broader, healthier and more faithful approach to Revelation Here is a clip of an interview of Barbara Rossing talking about (against) Rapture theology:

Definately Not the Earth!

2008-07-29T09:03:00.006+12:00

Thank you Lauren! She has spotted the obvious that I hadn't - the globe on the coin with Domitian's son on it cannot represent the earth as the ancients thought the earth was flat (see Rev 7:1). I've been looking forward to finding out more on this one since you raised this on Sunday Lauren. As you say, the globe definately does not represent the earth. I think Janzen's words are "The globe represents world domination and power" rather than the globe as the earth. I might have been misleading in my comments on Sunday's 1st service (I was clearer in the 2nd service that it was the seat of authority but I will clear it up this coming Sunday). If anyone can shed further light on what the globe represents please share it with us! There might be a lolly in it for any NBC people and an online hug for others... It's easy to access info online about it by googling "coin" and "domitian" and "son" another useful word is the technical word for this sort of study - "numismatics". Be careful where you read because not everything online is trustworthy. But if anyone comes across anything good or are a scholar that can help us out, please share it with us.

Coins

2008-07-25T09:30:00.004+12:00

As I've been reading through various commentaires and journal articles on Revelation I've come to realise how significant coins are in comprehending some of the images of Revelation. Coins were a big part of the propaganda machine of the Roman Empire and played a big part in promoting the Imperial Cult. If you're interested in reading more about coins and the Imperial Cult go here or here or here.

The coin above is a coin minted during the reign of Domitian following the death of his young son. The following comes from here. On one side it has the bust of Domitia (Domitian's wife) and on the other it has their infant son sitting naked on the globe with his arms outstrectched surrounded by 7 stars. It has the inscription DIVUS CAESAR IMP DOMITIANI F which means "the divine Caesar, son of the emperor Domitian". Ernest Janzen in an article called “The Jesus of the Apocalypse Wears the Emperor’s Clothes” in Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers 1994 writes “The globe represents world dominion and power, while stars typically bespoke the divine nature of those accompanied. … the infant depicted on the globe was the son of (a) god and that the infant was conqueror of the world” How significant is it now that John, in his depiction of the glorified Jesus in Rev 1:12-16, describes his as holding the seven stars in his right hand. From the title of Janzen's article I've entitled Sunday's sermon as - "The Emperor has no Clothes!"

Cities of Revelation

2008-07-22T11:06:00.003+12:00

We're underway in our series through Revelation at NBC (you can download sermons from the series here - the date it started was July 6th). I'm planning to post some helpful online resources for people to access as we journey along. If you're looking for a really helpful resource for the letters to the 7 churches in their historical setting, have a look at Craig Koester's page here.

Sermons Online

2008-07-22T10:55:00.003+12:00

I'm back after a break away on holiday. It was great! While I was away one of my good mates from church found out how to record sermons and convert them into mp3 files. So, if you're interested in accessing and downloading some of my sermons (and other guest preachers) at Napier Baptist go here. A little disclaimer: I am nervous about putting anything of mine on the www, so please respect the fact that these sermons are formed within the life of a local church and are for forming that local church in its life of love and witness to God. They're not delivered as something for TV, nor are they essays or theological treatises. They are my puny words (often still needing refinement) which I believe the living Word promises to take and use for his purposes.

How Can We Save the Church? A Response to a Mate

2008-06-19T17:13:00.003+12:00

I’m holed up in bed at the moment with a bronchial virus (think disgusting green phlegm everywhere). One good thing about it is that it’s given me some time to respond to my mate Stu on the future of the church. Stu was interviewed by someone on this very topic and he wondered what my thoughts might be. So I thought I’d better respond.I wrote a dissertation that touched on this from a Baptist perspective (if anyone wants a copy just leave your e-mail in the comments):

Trying to predict the future of the church is fraught with danger. There is a randomness about history that has a habit of biting us in the bum. Who would have predicted the growth of millions of new Christians in the last 30 years in Asian nations while their political regimes actively suppressed Christianity? However the continual reality of the church in NZ (and in the West) for at least the last 40 years has been decline – not just in terms of numbers but its influence and role in society. Newspapers used to publish the resolutions passed by denominational Public Questions Committees. Even if they disagreed people still listened to what the church was saying. Today, at least for Baptists, there is no Public Questions Committee because no one cares what the church says – no one is listening. As Michael Jinkins says the only thing that seems to be growing in mainline churches is more and more literature about its decline.

In my mind the best commentator on the trends of the church in New Zealand is Peter Lineham. He’s written 2 recent articles – “The Current Status of the Church” and “The Shape of the Future Church” in the recently published New Vision New Zealand Vol. III (Auckland: Tabernacle Books, 2008). It seems likely that that the church will continue to decline (Lineham projects that the total rate of Christian profession could easily fall from currently being just below 50% (it was 90% in 1956) to 35% in the next 20-30 years unless the church can win back 20 and 30 somethings) and it will have a very different make up. There will be less Europeans in it, hardly any Maori (whose young people appear to be less interested in what seems to them to be a European religion), and more and more Pasifica and Asian people. The New Zealand predictions follow well the evidence that Phillip Jenkins has shown in his work on the coming shift in the balance of power in the global church – the days of European domination of Christianity are numbered. I’m not going to predict whether mega churches will keep growing or if micro niche churches will start popping up all over the place. As a side note, Lineham shows how the movement towards mega churches mirrors the trends in wider consumer society and retailing – the decline of the family operated shop and the rise of shopping malls, franchises and large chains. I wonder if the niche churches represent the organic shops or the boutique Mediterranean supplier? Lineham also notes the decline of the 80-200 member suburban church and the rise of the mega church and that instability is a big issue for mega churches - 66% of people attending churches have attended their church for less than 5 years! If you want to read more about the likely future reality of the church is trends continue, have a read of New Vision New Zealand Vol. III.

What I am especially interested in is how the church should respond to all this – how can we save the church? The decline of the church creates a significant fear within it and its leaders, what Jinkins calls thanataphobia – a fear of death. We are dying, what can we do to survive? Whether it’s mega this or emerging that, churches are doing what they’re doing in order to appeal to prospective religious clients and therefore survive. In this vision of things, the church must save itself. For Stu this means that the church needs to become more appealing by doing the things that people want to be part of because as Stu says “The onus is on us – not God – us.” Whilst I agree with Stu’s heartbeat (a desire to see the church be all that it could and should be), for me I see things a little differently. For me, I’m not so comfortable with the idea that it’s all up to us and, being an anxious person, the ideas I come up with when my anxiety is heightened (we must save the church!) are very different than the ideas I come up with when I soothe myself and consider things a little less anxiously (and I'm sure this is true of the church and its leaders). So what follows is me trying to help soothe the church's amygdala (the part of the brain that plays a significant role in emotional functions and fear reactivity). I’m always open to critique and engagement and what comes next comes in the context of adding to a good conversation:

I worry that the idea that the church has to save itself detaches the Risen Christ from the church and makes him to be an absentee landlord. John Webster notes how much church life is predicated on the on the assumption that God is only real, present and active in so far as the church’s moral action or spirituality makes God real, present and active. He says the idea that the church is now responsible for its own future “is a miserable burdening of the church with a load it cannot hope to support.” Webster is hugely helpful in pointing out that the gospel is independent of the church, precedes it and calls it into being, the church is not in its creaturely capacity the primary bearer of responsibility for witness to the gospel. God is the first witness to the gospel whose sum and substance is Jesus Christ. “In the power of his resurrection and in the energy of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ goes ahead of the church and testifies of himself in the world… He – not the church – is the true witness. He – not the church – is the light of the world.” The primary agent of the church’s witness is God in the Risen Christ through the Spirit’s power. “God’s own witness does not dissolve into that of the church; the church does not replace him, but simply witnesses to the witness.” I think this is so crucial and yet so missing in all the churchly talk about the church’s future. The future of the church is with God in Christ by the power of the Spirit.

Michael Jinkins sees the church’s decline and possible death as a gift, giving the church an unparalleled opportunity to comprehend and to render its life. “When the church faces death, in point of fact, it encounters a critical moment when it may know the power of the resurrection.” The church is not called to save itself, it’s already got a saviour and he knows his way from death to life pretty well! As G. K. Chesterton wrote: Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it has a Saviour who knows the way out of the grave. The church’s life does not depend on its own competence, expertise, planning or relevance, the “church’s life depends on the power and faithfulness of God to raise the Body of Christ from every death, because its life is a continuing participation in the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

In the book of the Revelation John the seer writes to the 7 fragile churches in Asia Minor who are facing significant problems externally and internally. Externally there is pressure to conform to the ways of Rome and worship the Emperor with the likely threat of violence or death (see the martyrdom of Antipas Rev. 2:13) or economic exclusion for Christian traders who did not have a seal indicating that they had sacrificed to the Emperor and therefore no one would buy, sell or trade with them (see Rev. 13:14-17). Internally some were leaving the church, others were denying the faith and others were significantly compromising the faith. John begins by offering them a vision to sustain them (Rev. 1:9-20). The vision is not about the church simply pulling its socks up (although that is part of it!), it is primarily a Christophany, a magnificent vision of the risen and glorified Jesus Christ. He is said to stand among the seven golden lampstands (Rev. 1:12-13) and later we read that he walks among the seven golden lampstands (Rev. 2:1). The seven golden lampstands we are told by John the seer are the seven churches of Asia Minor and with seven representing wholeness it must also refer to the whole church throughout time. The image is of the Risen Christ standing with his church and moving in and through his church. And his first words to the church are: “Do not be afraid.” I think there’s a good reason that these are his first words – thanataphobia is not new in the church! “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and Hades.” This is an image of the Risen Christ, standing with his church and moving amongst it, who holds the keys to life and death for the church. The church is nothing without the immanent presence of the living Risen Jesus Christ by the power of his Spirit.

If Christ rules and reigns over the church and he really does hold the keys to life and death for the church then the church can stop farting, fussing and obsessing about its future. We have feet of clay and he has feet of burnished bronze, let him bring the church through to his future and we can get on with serving the world. I remember hearing someone say of the church and its growth – the tide will come in and the tide will go out. You can’t make the tide come in by throwing a bucket of water at it (e.g. our programs or alternative this or mega that or Missional this and emerging that) nor can you make it go out by taking a bucket of water out of it (e.g. our screw ups and mistakes). The tide will come in and the tide will go out, if you’re there when the tide comes in, lucky you, make the most of it. If you’re there when the tide goes out, hang in there!

When I was inducted into the ministry my mentor Brian Smith gave me Herbert Butterfield’s “principle” from his book called Christianity and History. This last weekend I offered it to Mike our new youth pastor as the ribbon of steel I think we need for ministry. Butterfield, a Cambridge historian, surveyed Christianity throughout history and noticed the randomness that exists in history. History is always changing and going down paths you never expected. Butterfield searches for some solid ground to place his feet on but notes that it can’t be historical realities because you can’t trust them, they’re random. In the end he finishes with one principle that is a ribbon of steel for me in ministry – “hold fast to Jesus Christ and to all else be totally uncommitted.”

I love what Michael Jinkins says about the church trusting in the power of the resurrection. Jinkins asks, can we not imagine announcing in word and deed the gospel of Jesus Christ to a culture held captive by consumerism? Can we not imagine proclaiming the good news that people are neither consumers nor products to be sold? It will be very difficult for the church to proclaim this gospel convincingly if it too gives in to the temptation to repackage itself as just another commodity. Finally, Jinkins asks, can we not imagine a church that is attractive to others because it does not desperately need them for its institutional survival? A church living in fear for its own self-preservation does not draw others to it, but a church that courageously holds up the cross of Christ in its corporate life and that trust in his resurrecting power has, as St. John tells us, the power to draw all humanity. It is when the church, unconcerned about its survival, recklessly gives itself over to Christ and trusts in his resurrecting power to bring it out of all deaths that it is most attractive. I think the future of the church is with God in Christ by the power of the Spirit and therefore the church needs to be a lot more reckless and a lot less interested in survival…

Favourite Punctuation...

2008-05-29T08:58:00.003+12:00

Ok so I reckon that ... is THE best punctuation to use in any correspondence. An exclamation mark was my favourite punctuation for its drama but it doesn't have the mystery and suspense of ... What do you think is the best punctuation...? (It's very addictive...)

Here's Your Cake

2008-05-23T09:03:00.002+12:00

We've had a swag of children's birthdays in our church recently and lots of parents working hard to host parties for little munchkins. So this one is for all our hard working parents who I'm sure can identify with this...

Revelation

2008-05-22T14:47:00.003+12:00

I'm starting a series on the book of Revelation in a month or two and I've spent a lot of time reading books and articles on it. I thought I'd post some of the helpful things I come across from time to time to do with Revelation. So far the best pithy quote comes from David L Barr and his book Tales of the End. He helpfully says about the use of numbers in Revelation that they (the numbers) are "qualitative not quantitative"; they signify qualities not quantities. If people who were trying to read Revelation remembered that there'd be a lot less hurt in the world (seriously!).

If you're looking for access to good scholarly material on Revelation your first stop should be Revelation Resources.

Church But Not as We Know It 2

2008-05-20T09:31:00.004+12:00

BAndy has a great post below that I hope sparks lots of discussion. He's asked me for some "quotes" from Sunday's sermon. The problem is that I don't use many notes so I'm not sure if the quotes he means are mine or someone else I quoted (let me know BAndy). Sunday's sermon was on Acts 15 and the reality that Christian faith is not a bounded set (with lots of rules and cultural traditions to abide by in expressing faith) but a centred set (centred on the grace of Jesus - Acts 15:11) and therefore looks and tastes very different in different contexts. Instead of giving lots of quotes I'll post a few you tube videos of what worship can look like in other parts of the world:

Church But Not as We Know It

2008-05-19T00:33:00.004+12:00

I have been saturated in the European church scene my whole life. Surrounded in funny little rituals like bowing my head when someone prays, dressing nicely on a Sunday and holding hands when saying grace. There are so many more that I wouldn't be able to name because I don't see them as cultural rituals but Christian rituals. The things that Christians do.

I wonder what our church would look like if we stopped trying to make "European" Christians. What does a church for "Maraenui" Christians look like? I have a feeling if we were serious about providing a comfortable environment for the locals then the process is that we change and then then come, because if it were the other way around I think we'd be waiting a while. Like, forever.

What are some other cultural rituals that we as European Christians perform? What things could we do in our churches to make certain minorities (in the church attendance sense) feel more comfortable?

Pentecost

2008-05-09T09:43:00.003+12:00

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday - the celebration of the birth of the global church through the gift of God's Spirit to everyone. I stumbled across a blog post by Karl Fisch (of Shift Happens fame) on Pangea Day - a global event trying to bring the world together through film. It has some really sweet utube clips where people from one nation singing another nations national anthem. I thought "I will borrow (read - steal) that for the blog for Pentecost". These clips remind me of God's vision to redeem one great humanity from every tribe, language, people and nation (Rev 5:9) and that this was manifest at Pentecost.

Australia sings for Lebanon:

Kenya sings for India:

Japan sings for Turkey:

France sings for the United States:

The United States sings for Mexico:

The United Kingdom sings for Argentina:

Shift Happens

2008-05-09T09:33:00.002+12:00

We're currently exploring the theme of Colliding Worlds and last Sunday in my sermon I made use of some stats of global trends (our world today colliding with the world of tomorrow) that some people were interested in. These stats have been around on the web for a while but they still make you think. I first came across them through Alan Jamieson. Below is the u tube called Shift Happens:

Swords into Ploughshares?

2008-05-01T08:53:00.004+12:00

Yesterday 3 Christian protestors broke into the Waihopai Spy Base and deflated one of the large domes covering one of the satellites. Their actions came out of their Christian convictions about peace and Jesus Christ being the Prince of Peace. One of the activists said they felt they were just being faithful as to how they understand the Gospels and their faith in terms of peace-making and following Jesus. How does this sit as an expression of Christian faith for you?

Below is the statement that has been issued from the protestors. You can read more at the Ploughshares website along with the The New Zealand Herald.

STATEMENT OF THE WAIHOPAI ANZAC PLOUGHSHARES (from the Ploughshares website)
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation; and there shall be no more training for war. Isaiah 2:4

Waihopai Spy Base Penetrated

This morning, 30 April 2008, we entered the Waihopai Spy Base near Blenheim. Our group, including a Dominican Priest, temporarily closed the base by padlocking the gates and proceeded to deflate one of the large domes covering two satellite dishes. At 6am we cut through three security fences surrounding the domes - these are armed with razor wire, infrared motion sensors and a high voltage electrified fence. Once inside we used sickles to cut one of the two 30-metre white domes, built a shrine and knelt in prayer to remember the people killed by United States military activity. We have financed our activities through personal savings, additional part-time employment and a small interest-free loan from one of our supporters. We are responding to the Bush administration’s admission that intelligence gathering is the most important tool in the so-called War on Terror. This war will have no end until citizens of the world refuse to let it continue. The ECHELON spy network including Waihopai, is an important part of the US government’s global spy network and we have come in the name of the Prince of Peace to close it down.
The base is funded by New Zealand tax payers and located on New Zealand soil which makes New Zealand a target through our association with the UKUSA intelligence cooperation agreement. Five years ago the Clark government opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq. Yet at the same time the Bush administration was using the National Security Agency’s ECHELON system, of which Waihopai is an integral component, to spy on UN Security Council members so it could more easily swing them in favour of an invasion. There have been over 100 Ploughshares actions over the last twenty years around the world. Ploughshares direct actions are linked through the common factors of: entry to locations connected to military activity, Christian prayers and most involve some form of property destruction.

Mike Sandbrook

2008-04-22T09:43:00.002+12:00

Over the last year our church has been searching for a new youth pastor (with some associate responsibilities). It has been a good process if a little long. However, it is with excitement that I can announce that the church issued a call to Mike Sandbrook for this role and he has accepted. Mike comes to us from Avalon Baptist in Wellington with a lot of experience, gifts and wisdom. We can't wait for him and Jess and Dylan and James to join our church community here at Napier and walk the journey with Jesus together. Mike will be joining us in June.

Please Pray

2008-04-18T16:42:00.002+12:00

This week has seen a horrible tragedy in New Zealand. 7 people from the Elim Christian College in Auckland lost their lives in an Outdoors Pursuit disaster at Mangatepopo. This has had a significant affect on New Zealand and especially on the New Zealand Christian community. There are many who have connections with the college or those who attend the college. The teacher, Tony McClean, who died trying to save one of his students is the son of Baptist pastor John and Jeanette McClean at Eastview Baptist. Following Steve Taylor's lead, we will have 2 cards for people to sign on Sunday morning - one for John and Jeanette McClean and the other for Elim Christian College. Please pray for those affected by this tragedy and the agony, pain, anger, guilt and fear that will be raw at this time.

Making God's Kingdom Visible

2008-04-09T15:25:00.002+12:00

We've begun a series at Napier Baptist on "Making God's Kingdom Visible" because I believe that is the call to the church. This week the sermon text is Lk. 4:16-30. This text has probably impacted me more than any other when it comes to understanding something of the mission of Jesus. I believe this passage (epecially the quote from Isaiah) is the key to understanding Luke's gospel (as well as who Jesus is and what was his message in the gospel of Luke). I came across this prayer in my reading this week - it seems to hard and unrealistic for me to pray. What do you reckon...?

Prayer for the Gift of Poverty:

Lord Jesus, I ask you for a new fullness of the charism [gift] of poverty. I ask you to reveal to me my inordinate attachments, my holding on to things or to persons, my 'richness' that keeps me from saying a more complete yes to you.

I surrender to you my excessive search for material comforts, and whatever material goods I have that I do not really need to serve you.

I surrender to you my excessive need for attention, for acclaim and applause. I surrender my selfish ambition, my search for honours, my vain glory and my pride.

I surrender to you my possesiveness of those whom I love. Teach me to love freely, leaving others free, teach me to love with an open hand. Teach me to love more and better.

Give me the interior poverty that depends on you and not on the world's acceptance. Teach me to enter by the narrow gate that leads to life. You are that gate, Lord, let me follow you, taking up my cross.

For you alone, Lord, are my portion. I have no inheritance, for you are my inheritance; I want no possessions, for you are my possession (Ez. 44:28).

- Robert Faricy in John Fuellenbach, Proclaiming His Kingdom: Meditations for Personal Recollection (Manila: Logos Publications, 1994).

George Wieland's Visit

2008-04-08T08:22:00.005+12:00

George Wieland was my NT lecturer at Carey. He started there around the same time as I began my studies. George had a massive impact on my life as a Christian and a pastor. I majored in NT and Systematic Theology and so I had George as a lecturer many times. I can remember being new to teriary study (I had been a mechanic and my highest qualification was 6th form certificate that I only scraped through on) and talking with George about my insecurities associated with study and academia. George is one of the best listener I have ever met and he graciously listened to me and encouraged me. I've just completed a BTh (Hons) degree and managed to get 1st class honours and now I can look back to those many years ago sitting in George's office and see how much his gracious encouragement impacted me. George is among those people I turn to when I want someone I trust to speak into my life on significant issues.

To go with all that, George is an amazing NT lecturer, scholar and a brilliant preacher. So it was a thrill when I asked George to come and spend a weekend at Napier Baptist that he agreed. George is with us on Saturday 19th April and Sunday 20th April. He's going to lead a weekend on the Missional Church, drawing on huge amount of research he's done on the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2nd Timothy & Titus). The weekend's title is:

Mission Insights from Titus: Telling and Living the Good News.

Saturday 19th April 3pm – 5pm:
Telling the Good News - George will set the scene of mission in the challenging context of the island of Crete in New Testament times. He will then look at how the first generation of Christian missionaries found ways of connecting with the beliefs and aspirations of the people they were trying to reach.
Sunday 20th April 9am and 10:30am:
Living the Good News - George will show how Paul expected the grace-trained lives of those who had become believers to impact their families and communities.

George is Scottish and holds a PhD in New Testament from University of Aberdeen on the topic of "The Significance of Salvation in the Pastoral Epistles" and published a book in 2006 through Paternoster Press on The Significance of Salvation: A Study of Salvation Language in the Letters to Timothy and Titus. Before lecturing at Carey Baptist College George spent many years in Baptist ministry in the UK and in cross cultural mission in Brazil. George recently lead a cross cultural mission trip to India and is on the Tranzsend (NZ Baptist) Mission Council.

If you're in the Hawkes Bay area, please feel free to come and join us (it doesn't cost anything).

Jesus' favourite subject

2008-04-02T08:49:00.005+13:00

It was a total shock to me when I went to Bible college to learn that Jesus' favourite subject wasn't heaven or how to get me there. Here's a list of Jesus' favourite subjects (broken down into how often they occur in Matthew, Mark and Luke) from an article by Howard Marshall on the Kingdom (or reign) of God (Jesus' favourite subject):

Kingdom of God (or Heaven): (Matt: 50 Mrk: 15 Lk: 39)

Believe, faith: (Matt: 24 Mrk: 20 Lk: 26)

Father (used of God): (Matt: 44 Mrk: 4 Lk: 17)

Love: (Matt: 12 Mrk: 8 Lk: 16)

Parable: (Matt: 17 Mrk: 13 Lk: 18)

Son of Man: (Matt: 26 Mrk: 14 Lk: 24)

Holy Spirit: (Matt: 12 Mrk: 6 Lk: 17)

Jesus' favourite subject is the Kingdom (or reign) of God and yet most Christians don't seem to have a clue about it! If you're interested in learning more about the Kingdom of God, I'd recommend starting by downloading some of the lectures or articles by Tom Wright here.

Aroha tetahi ki tetahi

2008-03-28T15:34:00.000+13:00

NZCCSS has released a programme aimed at raising public awareness of social justice and compassion issues, under the theme ‘Let Us Look After Each Other – Aroha tētahi ki tētahi’.

Thank God!

Go here to find out more.

To fail here is to fail everywhere

2008-03-27T16:40:00.002+13:00

I'm starting out on my attempt to read a whole volume of Barth's Dogmatics (Volume IV Part 1) - The Doctrine of Reconciliation. I found this quote in the foreword that Barth wrote for this volume that I thought was timely at Easter:

"I have been very conscious of the very special responsibility laid on the theologian at this centre of all Christian knowledge [the doctrine of reconciliation]. To fail here is to fail everywhere. To be on the right track here makes it impossible to be completely mistaken in the whole."

What an enormous responsibility and urgent demand it is for preachers to grapple with Easter and atonement! Ironically, some would argue that Barth was mistaken here. I will reserve my judgement...

Good Friday?

2008-03-18T11:30:00.003+13:00

I'm after your help for Friday's sermon - what is "good" about Good Friday? I suspect it has something to do with the fact it's not called Nice Friday...

I stumbled across this image from Sean the Baptist and his link to an excellent sermon by Kim Fabricius. Go and check it out here.

Who downgraded God??

2008-03-13T18:47:00.004+13:00

Just an observation and question. When I was at Sunday School 35 - 40 years ago (my how time flies...) God had a capital letter (still does) and so did His works and His son. He always assumed capital proportions.

Now God and his works and his son have undergone a downgrade. In my blogs and assignments I still use Capital H - and feel hopelessly old-fashioned compared with the little h of almost everyone else.

When was he down-sized? Why?

Guido Rocha

2008-03-12T09:10:00.002+13:00

In the comments of the last post BAndy asked what this image is about. I tried to answer but the answer was going to be too long for comments so I thought I'd post what Hans-Ruedi Weber says in his book On a Friday Noon: Meditations Under the Cross because that's where I got the image from. It's quite long quote because I want to add the context that goes before Weber's description of Rocha's sculpture.

"What are the main characteristics of Jesus on the cross in present-day Latin America? First of all, he is a political Christ. He stands on the side of the poor and exploited. This is a favoured theme of several Latin American cartoonists, for instance the Brazilian Claudius Ceccon who shows how the fat and powerful ignore the cross, be they politicians, military or clerics. Similarly, the Mexican Rolando Zapata, in his scene at Golgotha [which I couldn't get a copy of to post], contrasts the brutal power of police terror with the power of love and innocence. The cross is not visible, but the presence of the crucified Jesus has been discerned by a little child. The suffering country of Chile has been drawn in the form of someone nailed to the cross, and in a song by the Uruguayan poet Daniel Vigietti the death of Cailo Torres is seen in the light of the Golgotha event: "In the place where Camilo fell there grew a cross, not of wood but of light... They nailed him with bullets on a cross, they called him a bandit like they did Jesus." The crucified Lord is seen as the one who turns things upside down, the true revolutionary. In a painting by Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco, the risen Christ is even shown with an axe cutting down his own cross. For centuries in Latin America the cross was a;most totally identified with the crown and the powerful. With similar exclusiveness many contemporary Latin Americans now link the crucified Jesus with those who struggle against the military power establishment.
Secondly, for those who are involved in this struggle for change and justice Jesus on the cross becomes the pioneer, the one who has preceded them into the torture chambers. He is the tortured Christ and therefore the brother of those who now suffer cruelly. No one has expressed this more strikingly than the Brazilian sculptor Guido Rocha. Suspected unjustly of being a member of a subversive group, he was tortured in Brazilian prisons. Only a few months before the military take-over in Chile he sought freedom in that country, where he was soon imprisoned again. Now he lives as a political refugee in Switzerland. During the cruel torture sessions in Brazil, when hovering between life and death, the person of the crucified Jesus gradually imposed himself on the artist. Since then he has modelled one tortured Christ after the other. Under the modelling fingers of Rocha the face of Jesus takes on quite unconsciously the features of one or the other of the artists former fellow prisoners who died in the torture chambers. Rocha does not think of Jesus as the Son of God, the sacrifice offered for our sins or in any other such classic Christian dogmatic ways. "The characteristic of Christ is that his life was totally coherent, so coherent that the world could not stand him." This is what Rocha wrote under one of his sculptures of the tortured Christ. When crying out in pain Rocha remembered the cry of Jesus on the cross, and this cry of Golgotha became for him a great promise: here was a man who passed through the deepest of human sufferings and nevertheless remained fully human, fulfilling his mission of love, being a man for others, until the ultimate hour of truth. There was no gap between his message and his life and death. Therefore the almost unbearable face of the dying Christ, possessed, it seems, by evil spirits, is not an image of abhorrence for this Brazilian artist, but an image of hope."

Obviously as a Christian I'd want to say more than Rocha about the cross, but I'd never want to say less than Rocha.

Easter and Barth

2008-03-07T10:38:00.004+13:00

"God is his [sic] own decision" - Karl Barth. Barth means that in freedom, God defines who God is. What does easter (the death and resurrection of Christ) tell us about who God is?

Reading material

2008-03-07T10:26:00.003+13:00

I've finished 3 years here at NBC. I now understand the rhythms of ministry much better and it makes planning much easier. As part of my planning for the year, I've compiled a list of non-sermonic books that I plan to have read by the end of the year.

The ones I haven't read before are at the bottom and end with Richard Bauckham's Bible and Mission. The others (predominantly books on preaching) I've read before but want to go over again. Throughout the year I'll post some quotes and reflections on the books I'm reading. I have a few more to add to the list (one is at home and others are coming from Amazon.com). I've pecked around Barth on specific topics or sections but I've never sat down and read one of his volumes of Church Dogmatics (the fat ones at the bottom). I'm going to give it a go this year (wish me luck)...

A Long Break

2008-03-07T10:00:00.003+13:00

To the wide readership of this blog (hi Margaret), I'm back after a long and much needed break. Over the break I managed to finish my BTh (Hons) dissertation: Be the Community: Baptist Ecclesiology in the Context of Missional Church, have both our families come over Christmas, hold a massive free Christmas Day meal at church for anyone who's alone at Christmas (including an amazing lamb on the spit), a holiday in Tologa Bay, catch some fish, go to a family wedding in Australia and have my hair shaved off at church. Not a bad break!

Here's some photos to sum up the break...

Love Your Neighbour

2008-02-04T08:39:00.001+13:00

We all have neighbours.

Whatever the size of our property or nation, there is someone who abuts our boundary, or overlooks our clothesline, someone we drive or trek past to collect the mail, someone who knows a little more than we might like about the hours and the company we keep and about our own comings and goings.

Some neighbours act as watchdogs for us; their presence in our lives can be comforting and give security. The watchfulness of others is a burden and embarrassment.
Sometimes we end up with neighbours from hell who breach our boundaries with unwanted noise, roving animals and free-range children.

Some neighbours arrive in our letterbox or on our TV. Starving, displaced people with empty eyes and bloated bellies. Children with flies on faces where their tears have long dried up. Neighbours who make our conscience weep and our wallets twitch.

‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
Of all the commands the Bible hands down, this is the one that causes many to stumble. We who wouldn’t murder, deceive, commit adultery, dishonour God or our parents can still struggle to love our neighbour.

When asked to name the supreme commandment, Jesus ran two together: ‘Love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might, and love your neighbour as yourself.’

To love our neighbour is as important to God as loving Him.

We are called to love them as we love ourselves – even the neighbour whose dog fouls our lawn, even the neighbour who smashes bottles over his partner’s head at 2 in the morning bringing the screaming of ambulances and the wake-the-dead march of police, even the one who lives in a nation whose politics we don’t understand, who speaks languages of sorrow and loss, who we would never know if we locked the mailbox and turned off the TV, and demanded ‘no more junk mail’.

Love your neighbours… even the ones who murder your tranquillity, even the ones you just don’t like.

Who is our neighbour?

Jesus tells us with a story, so familiar to us that it no longer has first century impact. The good Samaritan – the man from a race despised by the Jews who aids a man beaten by the wayside. The religious men kept a holy distance, not wanting to contaminate themselves with his despair, yet the despised Samaritan, acting as a neighbour, brought comfort and healing to a damaged stranger.

The broken, bleeding, bypassed world is our neighbour.

Paris Hilton, the Mongrel Mob, the widower next door, Helen and John, the orphans of Darfur and the displaced in Timor, prisoners and pop stars are all our neighbours.

The kids who tag the church and vandalise the cross outside: they are our neighbours.
The Scottish tourist beaten to death in Taupo, and the young man who killed her: our neighbours.
The sporting teams who beat us – we are to love them as we love ourselves.

It’s a lot easier to obey the ten commandments given to Moses – but Jesus says this is NOT enough – we must also love our neighbour – as ourself.
No wonder the way to the Kingdom is narrow and overgrown.

I find it hard to love my neighbours. It’s struggle enough to love my family at times. Yet in loving our neighbours we stop just ‘doing good’ and start ‘being good’, as Jesus asked us.

The Pharisees were professionals at ‘doing good’. They followed the letter – but not the spirit – of the law. Jesus had no respect for that, and continually told them that they would not be a part of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus urges us to be good – to love our neighbours, just as much as we love ourselves.
Nothing less will do.
I have got a lot of work to do to be good, but I’m trying.
How about you?
Let’s go out into the world and love our neighbours.

.

Christ?mas

2007-12-30T18:49:00.000+13:00

A few days ago I received an email from an online shopping site. It said something that I thought was very telling about how New Zealand society views Christmas...

"With Christmas gone, get down to the real celebration with our Boxing Day & New Year Specials...!"

I knew that Christmas had become very commercialized but I didn't realise it was this bad!

God with Us

2007-12-21T14:45:00.000+13:00

Wishing you all a merry Christmas. May you know the good news that God is with us, not just in the clean superstar Beckhamised world. But God is with us in the muck and mire of real human life, with saving grace.

"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them..."

THE MIRACLE OF DREAMS

That night when shepherds heard the song

Of hosts angelic choiring near,

A deaf man lay in slumber's cell

And dreamed that he could hear.

That night when in the cattle's stall

Slept Child and mother in humble fold,

A cripple turned her twisted limbs

And dreamed that she was whole.

That night when o'er the newborn Babe
A tender mother rose to lean,
A loathsome leper smiled in sleep
And dreamed that he was clean.

That night when to the mother's breast
The little king was held secure,
A harlot slept a happy sleep
And dreamed that she was pure.

That night when in a manger lay
The Holy One who came to save,
A man turned in the sleep of death
And dreamed there was no grave.

--Author Unknown

Christmas Service

2007-12-09T19:48:00.001+13:00

What a beautiful service today, Andrew and team.

The music, the sermon, the choir, the children, the violinist - it all came together beautifully.

Thanks. :-)

Advent Devotions

2007-12-06T13:45:00.000+13:00

How are your Advent preparations going? I've been making use of ReJesus daily prayer. I also normally make use of d365 but it keeps coming up "undefined"...? Goshen College also have some brilliant daily reflections that they e-mail to you for the season of Advent.

I thought I'd post some art that captures something of the Advent/Christmas season. The painting below is painted by Jean-Leon Gerome and is called "The Age of Augustus, the Birth of Christ". It's held in the Getty Museum and I love the way it contrasts the "Peace of Rome" with the "Peace of Christ". Getty writes this blurb about it:

At the apex of this theatrically arranged study, Augustus Caesar sits in front of the Temple of Janus and touches the shoulder of a man personifying Rome. Surrounding him are scholars and statesmen while foreign tribes gather below. The Nativity scene in the foreground illustrates the coincidental moment of world peace under Augustus when Christ was born. In 1852, Jean-Léon Gérôme received a state commission to paint a large mural of an allegorical subject of his choosing. In selecting this subject, Gérôme perhaps sought to flatter Emperor Napoleon III, whose government commissioned the painting and who was identified as a "new Augustus." In preparation for his large mural, Gérôme traveled all over to find the appropriate ethnic types to portray the different peoples of the ancient world. When The Age of Augustus, The Birth of Christ was shown in 1855 at the Universal Exposition, his skill in depicting various nationalities led some to remark that Gérôme gave a lesson whenever he painted a picture.

Not so 'Free' Will...?

2007-11-26T16:34:00.000+13:00

Okay, so the onther night at youth group, BAndy, Viv, Buzz and some other people were talking about free will and predestination. The same thing that they happened to be talking about, has been bugging me for months. When we finished the conversation, I was more confused than before! So, what better place to get some answers?!
My question is: God has given us all free will, right? We can choose to follow Him or not, what to wear each day, where we go etc. But, He has also mapped out our life for us. He knows what we are going to say and do before we even think about doing it. So, if God knows what we are going to choose, does free will really exsist?? I mean, how can we have to free choice to do something if God already knows what we are going to choose. Like, whats going on here, God??!!!

I decided to put it down to the fact that God has such a big understanding of things that we cant even imagine, so its not in our 'mind capacity' (or whatever!) to be able to understand it all. BAndy reckons I'm just trying to find a way to bail out of figuring out the answer!
So, what do ya'll think?? BAndy might be able to explain a little better what I mean....?!

LOOUUVVEE

2007-11-08T10:12:00.001+13:00

I'm preaching on 1 Corinthians 13 on Sunday. It's all about love. We use the passage at a lot of weddings (we had it read at ours) but I think it has a bigger picture of love than just wedding days and bouquets. So, what do you think love looks like....?

Too Predictable

2007-11-07T09:00:00.000+13:00

I've just come back from Baptist Assembly. Like any assembly, it had some ups and some downs but I really enjoyed this year's assembly. I loved hearing from Kerry and Annie who lead Freeset in North India, giving freedom to prostitutes - Kerry was profoundly challenging when he preached to us about the poor. The other person I loved hearing because he was so challenging was Mick Duncan. Mick summed up Jesus' ministry as loving the people no one else likes (lepers, women with a blood flow, Zaccheaus...). And he said so much talk about being outward focussed and missional is still focussed on the people we (and everyone else) like. Jesus' ministry was to the people no one else liked. Something else Mick said really struck me. Mick said Christians are way too predictable. He gave the example of the doctor in Northland who turned his practice into a brothel and Mick said how the Christians responded predictably - protesting. He said Jesus was completely unpredictable and something a little less predictable was needed in Northland. Why didn't any of the Christians invite this doctor over for a meal? What would it look like for Christians to be less predictable? I have wondered what an unpredictable response to the level of child abuse and family violence in our society. What if we sat in Clive Square with placards that read "How can we help?" and "We don't know the answers but want to be part of the solution..." instead of our predictable placards...? I think Mick is right, we are way too predictable - anyone who's read the gospels will see what a travesty it is to Jesus that his followers are so predictable. How can we be less predictable?

The Gathering

2007-10-31T09:10:00.000+13:00

I'm off to Baptist Assembly today and back Sunday afternoon. It's a good chance to catch up with mates and hear what God is doing in churches around the country. I was encouraged by some of the hints Rodney Macaan gave in his annual report after his first year as National Leader of the NZ Baptist Churches. Rodney's major question for churches is "what of our character/conscience?" Studies on the character of Christians today suggest there's little discernable difference between Christians and anyone else. Rodney suggests this is exemplified by the phenomenon of consumer church:

"(Recently I have been interviewed twice about the phenomena of Christians on the move between churches, looking for the next best thing, the ultimate Christian product. It was suggested there could be 10,000 in Auckland alone [!!!]). I believe we have a vision and there is an encouragement to be adventurous but our [NZ Baptist] statistics over recent years show that most of our growth is because Christians like our brand and why shouldn't they - we're great wuth children, have fine youth work, we're reasonably contemporary (in our own way) but what about our character?

Were not bad at meeting our culture but what about the places where we stand against our culture and say through the way we live - 'this is what it means to be a follower of Jesus' and let me hasten to add I don't mean that we stand on street corners and heap judgement on unengaged passers-by, but rather we reflect a true biblical world view which will almost always mean surprising those who don't know Jesus with our capacity to love."

I'm looking forward to hearing what it might look like for us to surprise people who don't know Jesus with our capacity to love - any thoughts...?

Does God have a sense of humour?

2007-10-25T20:09:00.000+13:00

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police had to round up a cluster of crayfish after the crustaceans broke out of an Asian food shop and scuttled down the street, police in the southwestern city of Stuttgart said on Monday.
A surprised pedestrian notified authorities after seeing the crayfish crawling down the road early on Sunday, a local police spokeswoman said.
They had escaped by squeezing through gaps in the grating on their tanks and leaving by the store's front door, which had been left ajar.

I think that this story (and of course the design of his other weird and wonderful creatures - including humans) proves that God must laugh a lot . What do you think?

Would you still follow?

2007-10-22T15:54:00.001+13:00

If tomorrow there was absolute, incontrovertible proof that Jesus was not the son of God, just a great man who lived a long time ago, would you still follow Him?

Would you stick to his ideals of truth, grace, peace and love if there were no eternal reward for doing so?

I have been reading some Philip Yancey, and one of the men he quoted pondered this same question.

After much consideration I feel such deep and overwhelming love for Jesus that I would follow Him.

Would you want to join us???

Context

2007-10-19T15:47:00.000+13:00

On Sunday I'm preaching from 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. It's a bit of a contentious passage for some. I've found Bruce Winter hugely helpful for understanding some of the context for the passage. He gives a lecture on it here (go down to access the files). BAndy, if you're interested in learning more about the historical context of the New Testament, Bruce Winter would be well worth listening to...

God stuff

2007-10-18T13:57:00.001+13:00

So, theres been 2 things that have really spoken to me lately and i thought i'd share them with you.....................
As some of you will know i am soon starting my new job after 6months of 'hanging in there' at my old one, and I had felt kind of guilty for celebrating my new job and thanking God for it, cos lets be honest, i didnt exactly 'rejoice in all circumstances' when things werent great, so what right did i have in rejoicing when they were good? Well i was listening to The Lads song "Call my name" and in the middle Mark reads out Romans 8:38 about how nothing can separate us from Gods love that is in Christ Jesus, and it was like God was saying, 'Not even your lack of trust or not seeing my hand at work will separate you from me or the fact i still love you and you can still rejoice.' Its cool to know that literally nothing will separate us from God and his love.

Before youth group last week I was feeling a little burned out, and really wished i could stay at home, pretty much feeling sorry for myself, but of course i had to go anyway, and when we got to Thirsty Worship there was a song with the line that goes "Im taking up my cross, I'm laying down my life, all for the glory of your name...." and since im on this new 'Think about what im singing instead of just getting caught up in the atmosphere etc' buzz, i was thinking what that would actually look like, in real life, today, like what does that mean for me, and God was like 'Duh, you being here tonight when you dont feel like it, when you'd rather be somewhere else, when you feel like you're not having an impact, that's taking up your cross and laying down your life for me, right there. When you put me or something/one else infront of yourself thats what it looks like.' (Not meant to come across as self righteous as it did, sorry! Just meant to be an encouragement to people in the same situation)

Culture and the Bible

2007-10-16T22:07:00.000+13:00

So at Young Adults the other night, Hannah and I were discussing the impact that cultural issues of the day have on the bible. Unfortunately, Dad overheard us and challenged me to lead a thing on it one study. Hannah said she would give me a hand, but after about 2 seconds, we realised that it was a enormous undertaking with a crazy amount of things we could go into. So what better place to ask for help than the Internet; the best source of truth in the universe*!

Anyone have any suggestions for specific things we could look at and talk about that won't take the rest of the term/a team of rocket scientists to get something out of? Maybe a book I (Hannah) could read to get some sweet tips?

I realise that this might be a topic we leave for later (or never) but still, even if it was just for personal reading or thinking, input would be appreciated.

* NOT!! (hat tip: Borat)

Luke 10 vs 15

2007-10-16T15:59:00.000+13:00

I was reminded of a verse the other day. I hope Andy P doesn’t mind me saying this, but his daughter, Olivia really opened my eyes to something.
On Sunday afternoons a group of people from church play netball at the Indoor sports centre, and I look after the kids while the parents play. Olivia and some of the other girls were playing this pretend game. I really don’t know what was going on – Micah and Kiana were Olivia’s dogs and they were in the audience at a show Livs was putting on. I think it may have actually been at church…..I really don’t know!
So, Anyway – In the middle of the indoor sports centre, Olivia started belting out one of the songs we sing at childrens church... “Jesus is the way –WAY! Jesus is the truth – TRUTH! Jesus is the life – LIFE!” She was doing the actions and everything for this ‘show’ she was putting on for her ‘dogs’.People were all around us – some of them were watching. Olivia’s little 6 year old mind didn’t care about who was watching. In fact, I doubt she really noticed anything going on around her. With a huge smile on her face, she continued to dance and sing, and her ‘dogs’ applauded her.
I sat there watching this, amazed. I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself, because something in me was embarrassed of Livs. I would never have the guts to sing that song with such gusto in a public place…And yet every Sunday I help teach that song to the kids.
I realised what Jesus meant in Luke 10 vs 15, when he said “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The world needs more G and T

2007-10-14T00:01:00.000+13:00

If there was more G and T in the world there would be...

more love
peace in abundance
less violence
happier communities
heaven on earth

There once was a man sent from God, and born a Palestinian Jew.

As Christians we bear His name.

He was full of G and T - Grace and Truth - exactly what the world needs now :-)

That was fun...

2007-10-09T10:29:00.000+13:00

I'm glad to be in Auckland after using the pulpit to rib John (a South African in our church) about how they were going to lose to us in the final! How many readers of this blog weren't born when the All Blacks last won the World Cup (1987)?

With French ancestory (Picard is very French) I say GO THE FRENCH!!

More on "The Essay"

2007-10-03T16:42:00.000+13:00

Ok, so some people have asked me what my essay is all about. I'll try to tell you without it sounding like a cure for insomniacs. Basically it's about how the church can be faithful in mission today from a Baptist point of view.

I thought I'd post some interesting quotes from what I'm reading. I'm aware that what's interesting to me could well be the cure for the above stated condition, so I will tread with care!

This is the benediction I was trying to remember on Sunday but basically forgot it and made something up... We had a family forum on how we are called to make the kingdom of God visible and how we cold be more outward focussed as a church. The benediction I wanted my tired little brain to remember was this one from Keith Jones (a Baptist theological lecturer):

"In my view, the very best worship services do not end with a blessing "Sit down you faithful community, enjoy your rest". Rather, with a word of dismissal - 'The feast has ended, the world is waiting. Go in peace to love and serve the world.'" - I really like that...

Word Count

2007-09-27T17:15:00.001+12:00

I have just completed a draft of a major chapter of my dissertation. This section is meant to be 6,000 words. Current word count: 9,500. Some major editing to do tonight!! Tomorrow, I'm hoping, to start on a new chapter where the aim for the word count is 6,000 more words!

Where does our worth come frm?

2007-09-27T09:46:00.000+12:00

I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a new friend last night :)

During the night, we got talking about our worth, and they way we place such important on the things that certain people in our lives say, particularly our husbands. For example, they could comment that we look good that day, and that could set us up for a great day, feeling really good about ourselves. In the same way, if they make a comment that is less positive (!) we could take it hard and it would set us up for a bad mood all day.

As we continued down this track, we realised the following: Yes, our husbands(/wives) are important, but should our value really come from them? If we truly have an understanding of who we are in Christ, and the value He has placed on our lives, should it really matter what others say about us?! Yes, they're always gonna be a big influence, but God should have the ultimate and final say, and He's alreay said that we're perfect!

Enjoy the rest of our week, knowing that God made you exactly as you should be, and that in His eyes you have immesurable value!

PAndy said we had to blog, so here you are......

2007-09-26T10:01:00.000+12:00

I heard this quote while at Capernwray last year and remebered it recently and thought i'd share it with you.....
'Don't let your thumb eclipse the sun' - Your thumb, in comparison to the sun is a relatively small object, but if you hold your thumb infront of your face while looking at the sun, and focus on your thumb, and not the sun behind it, your thumb seems huge and you can effectively block out the sun. This analogy is true for our lives, if we hold our problems, fears,doubts, etc infront and focus on them instead of the sun or 'Son' behind them, they seem imensely bigger than they are. However, if we keep these problems, fears,doubts etc in persepective, focussing on the Son instead, they seem to pale in comparison.
So remember, just like the sun is so much bigger than your thumb, the Son is so much bigger than whatever you are going through, just dont let your thumb eclipse the sun!!

More Study!

2007-09-20T08:54:00.000+12:00

I'm on annual leave at the moment, trying to complete this dissertation. So, blogging will be a little more sporadic over the next few weeks. I'm relying on a few of my fellow Napier Baptist bloggers to take up the slack. If you didn't get that, this is a not so subtle hint to some of them to get blogging!

I will post now and then but at the moment it's head down, tail up trying to get this thing done...

Some amazingly generous people in our church have gifted me a place to get away and study for a while - it's amazing (see the pictures above) Go and check out Stillwaters... (thanks Murray and Lauren and John - you're legends!).

The Hi-5

2007-09-12T17:29:00.000+12:00

Okay, so some of you may thing I'm completely insain for even having this thought in my head, but Its been bothering me for months and I need answers!!!

Who invented the High - 5 (Not the cheezy Australian little kids group, but the act of slapping hands together,) And where did it come from??!!
For the past couple of months, whenever someone gives another person a high5, I have just been thinking "Why on earth do we slap our hands together as a 'Congratulations' or 'Well done'?"
Like, pretend you were an outsider to this world, imagine how weird it would seem when you saw A Dad give his kid a high-5 because she got a 10/10 in her spelling test.....

Am i actually going insain or do other people understand what I'm saying??!! Dont leave me hanging here guys, help me out!! =)

RIP Stu McGregor

2007-09-12T11:07:00.000+12:00

Stu McGregor has killed his blog and left fickle, loyalty based blogging to we lesser mortals.

The reason: "Blogs are fickle and loyalty based. two things that really don't do much for me really." Thanks for those kind words of encouragement to us bloggers "Pastor Stu", I don't at all feel insecure about being involved in a fickle loyalty based industry ;-)

May he RIP and can others of us hope in Stu's resurrection...?

(grinning)

A question for ya.........

2007-09-11T20:14:00.000+12:00

I've been thinking about the whole worship thing Kina brought up quite a few blogs back, and my thoughts have come down to a question that i'd be keen to hear your answers on, cos i dont know the answer! If you are not going to worship in truth, like if you have ulterior motives, or are not meaning what you are singing/doing, is it better to not worship at all? Like what's worse - Worshipping untruthfully or not worshipping at all (which you are atleast being honest about) ???? Any thoughts?

God, Us and Sex

2007-09-08T13:40:00.000+12:00

I've been a Christian for 10 years, 4 1/2 of them were spent at a Bible College, and not once in those 10 years have I heard a sermon on sex or sexuality. In those ten years I've gone from drinking so much alcohol in one sitting that I'd black out and not remember entire evenings - memories that I've never regained (I did this about 3 times a week), smoking drugs, staring at porn and pre-marital sex to becoming a Christian, having a relationship, getting engaged and married, having children, learning to be a father and a husband. These weren't any 10 years they were the incredibly formative years between 20 and 30, and in all that time I haven't heard anything from the churches I was part of to help me understand what it means to be Christian and to be sexual. When you've come from a background like mine, some input about what it means to be Christian and created as a sexual being by God (and that God saw how God created us this way and said that it was 'very good') is crucial because I have a lot of poor images of what good sex and sexuality is. But, the only thing I've heard (other than the silence) was 3 words before I was married - "don't do it" and 2 words when I was married - "do it"! Is this the beginning and the end of a Christian sexual ethic - 2 or 3 words?

We're working our way as a community through 1 Corinthians and we're up to chapter 7 (the sex stuff). We've decided to pause and consider seriously what it means that God created us as sexual beings and said that he's chuffed with it (God saw what he'd created humans to be and said that it is very good). We're doing a series on "God, Us and Sex". I've taken it as an assumption that the biblical view for sex is within the confines of marriage. Some may disagree that this is the direction the biblical witness points (let's be honest, you can mount a pretty good case for polygamy from the Bible), but it is an assumption of mine that this is the assumption of Jesus and the earliest church.

So, I thought as I was doing a lot of reading on this topic, I'd share some of my favourite sources and quotes.

By far the best material I've come across so far is the work of Lauren Winner If you only get your hands on one book on sex, get her book Real Sex, it's a gem. You can also listen to a couple of her lectures here and a sermon series she did at Jacob's Well here (the dates of her sermon series were June 30th to July 2nd).

A couple of favourite quotes:
"If we learn to talk about sex better, we might be able to talk about it less." - Lauren Winner.

"The fact that sex is public does not mean it is mature and healthy. The fact that there are thousands of ``how to do it'' books on the subject does not mean that we know how; in fact, it means the opposite. It is when everybody's pipes are leaking that people buy books on plumbing!" - Peter Kreeft here.

Friday vrs Monday

2007-09-04T09:30:00.000+12:00

Lauren e-mailed this to me - it's hilarious! BAndy warned me not to put too many u-tube videos on the blog. But this is too funny...

Ethical Eating

2007-09-04T09:26:00.000+12:00

Frank has finished his two weeks of eating 1 bowl of rice a day. The reason and the best thing that came out of it was: "I feel like the best thing I gained from the experience was a bit of a rebuke about how I conduct myself with food when I support causes directly related to the ravages of poverty. It was also good having a direct two week focus of intercession in this area."

Have a read of his journey, I think it's very challenging.

Fear 2

2007-08-31T09:19:00.000+12:00

I don't know who does or doesn't read this blog. So, here's an open question for all readers and browsers of this blog. It follows on from my post on fear (see below).

Finish this sentence:

"If I wasn't afraid, I would ................"

n.b. BAndy wondered what the picture above had to do with the topic: what's the opposite of fear? Freedom - hence the image

Mother Teresa was human too

2007-08-26T10:05:00.000+12:00

It's nice to be reminded that some of the people we look up to are/were human too. The piece can be found here.

"She was easily one of the most recognizable women in the world. She was seen as a living saint by many. And she was a particular inspiration to Catholics.

But a new book about Mother Teresa, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light, based on the many letters she wrote to her spiritual counselors and confessors over an almost 50-year period, show a spiritual life that was, as she described it, dry, dark and lonely.

Three months before she accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, she wrote to a spiritual confidant: "Jesus has a very special love for you ... [but] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand.""

Fear

2007-08-24T13:23:00.000+12:00

n.b. I'm going to come my haunting question for you, but you'll have to read on and be patient....

"A healthy desire to do well can spill over into a less than healthy need to achieve and a need to be liked." This was a comment made about me by a staff member in an annual review of me when I was training for ministry. Of all the things I was told at college I think it was the most accurate and the most helpful I recieved. It's opened up a massive can of worms for me that I'm still working through, but it's a hugely helpful comment for my own self-awareness. I am someone that puts an unhealthy value on what other people think of me. I'm working through it, but sometimes, out of fear of what people think of me, I do what's popular or take the path of least resistance so that I'll remain well liked instead of standing tall and doing or saying things I believe in. It is a crippling cycle of constant anxiety over whether I am liked or disliked, whether decisions I make, things I say are popular etc. It is an impending disaster for my ministry if I don't learn to unplug from this anxiety and make my peace with myself and God. I shared this anxiousness I have with a group of pastor friends on a weekend away. We had a college lecturer leading us for the weekend (the same one who had made the earlier comment about me when I was at college). The lecturer, someone I admire and totally trust, said that when he feels that sort of anxiety that stops him from doing or saying the things he believes in, he asks himself - "what would I do if I wasn't afraid?" and then he does that. That question has haunted me now for 3 months - "what would you do if you weren't afraid?"

So, what are your fears that are stopping you from doing or saying the things you believe in? And, what would you do if you weren't afraid?

Jesus and Fluffies

2007-08-23T10:49:00.000+12:00

We had Donna Dinsmore with us last weekend. She is superb! What a gracious and amazing woman! So gifted by God and a huge gift to us on the weekend.

I'm going to share some of my favourite "Donna" quotes from the weekend as she lead us to reflect on God, Us and Worship.
Upon asking 'who is God?', Donna said "and give me the real answer, not the right answer. We don't live out of right answers." I love that quote, "we don't live out of right answers." Donna went on to say what would you say to your neighbour who's dying of cancer if they asked who is God?

Then in terms of worship and Christian life, Donna asked is our Jesus fully human as well as fully divine? Are we fully human with Jesus? She used an analogy for worship of going to have coffee with Jesus - "If you had coffee with Jesus do you think he would want you to be real with him? Or would he want you to sit across the table saying 'Jesus you're high and lifted up. I glorify you. I love you. You are great.'" Would Jesus take delight in having his ego stroked? Or would he prefer that we were real with him, sharing our joy and pain, troubles, fears and victories with him? Donna used the analogy of parents with their children. Taking your child for a fluffy, do you want your kid saying 'I love you mummy and daddy. You're so awesome. I love you so much.' Or do you do you want to see your children loving the fluffly, enjoying life, talking with you about the great things of life, sharing their worries and concerns, even sharing when they're angry at someone or even you their parent!' She used the quote from Irenaeus - "The glory of God is humanity fully alive" What does it mean to be fully alive? And what are the implications for worship?

Steve Tollestrup on the "Peg" Campaign

2007-08-17T09:22:00.000+12:00

Here's an interview with Steve Tollestrup (Executive Director of Tearfund) about the "Peg" campaign (Hat tip Servant):

Why has an international development agency like TEAR Fund, launched a campaign about domestic child abuse?
For a start we are not out looking for more campaigns or issues. Right now we have so much to deal with in places like Dafur and the current monsoon floods in Asia. These are huge international issues we are dealing with. When we first heard of the Nia Glassie abuse case our immediate thought was to leave it alone and let other campaigners with a focus on New Zealand pick it up. But then it occurred to us, isn’t that just the problem? Isn’t it always left to others? We believe that justice is a seamless issue from Bangladesh to New Zealand, Calcutta to Wellington. Other International agencies like Save the Children and UNICEF have this view and we applaud them for it. Also one of our mandates is child rights and poverty, I believe through the Peg Campaign we are being congruent and aligned with that intention.
Can I also be clear, that this is not a TEAR Fund campaign. We’ve launched it and tried to give it legs, but hope this will catch on and become something of a public movement.

Why a peg?
Much of the abuse reported has happened in the home. Our homes should be safe places for our children. The peg is a clear symbol of the home and the need to ensure it is safe place for kids. It also is a clear reminder of the abuse Nia Glassie suffered. This campaign is not about Nia alone, but all the children who have faced abuse.
The peg makes the campaign simple to organise locally as well. You don’t have to go out and buy a peg, or be stopped on the street to purchase one. They are easy to get as well as attach to clothing. The idea isn’t original. I noted while watching TV news a young guy protesting in Rotorua covered in pegs. At first I was amused, then I saw what a powerful symbol it was.

How should the Peg be worn?
We are requesting that only one peg in an obviously visible place be worn- and with dignity: . Shirt, jacket, lapel, handbag strap, hat. We do not support children wearing the peg.

The Peg has had a negative response from some media, saying it is morbid and ineffectual, how do you respond?
It was never intended to be morbid or crass. In fact it never occurred to us that as a symbol it was. I am getting loads of email in support and very little negative feedback. But I will concede that looked at from one perspective, the peg is a troubling and disturbing symbol. But isn’t child abuse disturbing and shameful? Why hide this fact? I would argue that those who find it disturbing or shocking, are not so much offended by the peg, but the very reality of the abuse that it brings out into the open.
Also in New Zealand we have other disturbing symbols and campaigns Consider the Christian cross, as well as graphic ad campaigns to bring down the road toll or drink driving.

There has been a series of photographs circulating via email showing the injuries from child abuse on a dead child. Isn’t the peg sort of the same?
I was sent the photos and as soon as I saw them I shut down the email. They were ugly and disrespectful. Some images are just too damaging and almost paralyzing. It is for that reason, TEAR Fund doesn’t use exploitative images in fundraising campaigns. The peg never comes close to crossing that line.

Isn’t it an ineffectual campaign though, aren’t you just jumping on the bandwagon of the present hysteria?
There is no one simple solution to this problem of our appalling rate of child murder and abuse– the third highest in the developed world. There is a wonderful saying in India, that drop by drop a bucket is filled. The peg needs to be seen in this light, as part of a wider movement and outrage. I believe emphatically in the goodness and power of ordinary people to change things. What are we to do? Simply sit back and do nothing, simply trust the system? My observation is that people want to do something. This is a simple but powerful gesture. Also the peg carries a pledge to speak out. Our pledge, those of us wearing the peg, is to become more informed, and our web link points to resources for that. It also is a pledge to speak out and be advocates for the children in our sphere of influence. That is our responsibility – no one else’s.
If the bandwagon is about people in this country saying enough is enough then we are definitely on the bandwagon.

You mentioned that this was originally conceived as a specifically Christian campaign, what did that mean ?
Originally the idea was that the peg would be a symbol, worn by Christians as a sign of national repentance and recommitment to action on behalf of our nation. Jesus calls Christians to be salt and light in the world around us. The church and Christian community because of its pervasiveness is in a unique position to educate itself, speak out and intervene where and as appropriate. Christ said, “Let the Children come to me.” As his disciples we are all child advocates.

The campaign carries on until September 21st. Why that date?
The attitudes, values and pledge of the campaign don’t end September 21st but continue on. However the 21st marks the first day of spring and represents new beginnings and seems an apt time to remove the pegs.

What would you like to see happen?
I’d like to see everyone wearing the peg, getting this out into the open and discussing it publicly and resolving to be in some small way, contributing to and being part of the solution.

Campbell Live

2007-08-16T13:56:00.000+12:00

Did anyone watch Campbell Live last night and see the item about Christians and the internet? It was very good!

What do you reckon about this quote from the show?

Think of the internet and you think of many things - but probably not God. And yet think of missionaries, whose calling was to spread the word to unchristian peoples wherever they might be. Two centuries ago, it was remote pacific islands... now, it's online.

Go here to watch the segment (you'll need broadband).

Pegging Protests

2007-08-16T13:39:00.000+12:00

Tearfund have begun a campaign for people to protest about the shocking rates of child abuse in our country (go here to read more). To join, you simply wear a peg (read below to see why). I think this is a very significant issue that Christians should be involved in.

This is what Tearfund say:

THE PEG PLEDGE WEAR THE PEG AND SPEAK OUT.STOP THE VIOLENCE OF CHILD ABUSE

New Zealand is the third worst killer of children in the OECD.TEAR Fund is calling on people to show their outrage about New Zealand’s appalling record of child abuse by wearing a clothes peg and pledging to stand-up, speak out and stop the violence. The first campaign runs until the first day of spring on September 21st.The symbol of the clothes peg confronts us all with the national shame of Child Abuse and the memory of three year old Nia Glassie who among other things, suffered hanging from a clothes line before her death.Wearing the Pledge Peg ( we don’t sell them, just get one from your laundry ) provokes people to ask why are you wearing a clothes peg. That’s your opportunity to talk openly about our crisis of child abuse in New Zealand and explain that we are all advocates and need to accept responsibility for protecting our nation’s children. Almost every conversation with the Pledge Peg will end with the other person asking for a peg and joining the movement. The Pledge Peg can be a chain reaction. Carry some spares in your pocket.Take the Peg Pledge – Remember the VictimsEnd the AbuseBe informed 1. A UNICEF report has accused New Zealand of having one of the worst levels of child maltreatment in the developed world. OECD has listed New Zealand as the third worst killer of children among its members.2. There are 20 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect in New Zealand every day.( ref: Ministry of Social Development report 2005 )3. Between 2002 and 2006 there were 88 child deaths in New Zealand.48 were Pakeha, 28 were Maori, 12 were ‘other’ . (Cindy Koro Children’s Commissioner quoted in the Sunday Star Times August 5th )Further information

NZ Children’s Commission www.occ.org.nz/

UNICEF www.unicef.org.nz

How did Jesus the Christ view children? He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me (Mark 9:36-37).

Then the people brought little children to Jesus for him to pace his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there (Mat. 19:13-15).

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. (Lk. 18:15-17)

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No - its a baby!

2007-08-10T16:32:00.000+12:00

A while ago there was a big argument because a couple wanted to call their baby "4real," after seeing the ultrasound scan and realising the baby was actually for real. They were regected though, becase the registrar said a name had to be a sequence of charecters.
So, they have now decided to call their baby Superman, but refer to him as 4real.

What are peoples opinions on this?! I think its pretty awesome; like having a really different name. But i dont know how realistic these parents are being....?!
Your thoughts.....

AFFLUENZA

2007-08-08T13:56:00.000+12:00

Perhaps here is another topic....

Hat Tip to Servant.

Micah Challenge

2007-08-07T09:17:00.000+12:00

Go check out Micah Challenge New Zealand and especially the Millenium Development Goals. In terms of things our young adults could get passionate about, I'd put these goals very high on the list...

Hat tip to Servant.