Monthly Archives: January 2005

Short List – Your Opinion Appreciated

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Last night at our team meeting we were discussing a possible ‘name’ for our missional community.

After a year of being ‘that mob in Brighton’ we felt it was about time we cemented some sense of identity.

The criteria for a team name were:

…·         Describes us accurately in terms of identity and mission

…·         Resonates and captures us well – we can own it

…·         Calls us to something that inspires us

…·         Not tacky, cheesey, easily misconstrued

…·         Longevity – not faddish

…·         Will give us a talking point with people

We developed a short list which we will be praying about until we feel ok with one of them, or until something better emerges.

Here they are. I’d be interested in hearing some outside thoughts as we chew this one thru. What resonates with you? What jars with you? What sounds like us?

Option A: Branches / The Branch or some permutation of the branch idea/image. It is an organic image, that depicts us as just one branch on the tree of the church. It has links to the trunk… It allows for multiplication…

Option B: Upstream This image ties into the notion that our calling is to live counter culturally as disciples and to call others to swim upstream with us. The notion of upstream is also about returning to the source.

Option C: Crossfire This idea picks up on images of adventure/danger but also the centrality of the cross in our concept of Christ and the fire/passion we have for him.

There wasn’t a strong sense of one being the preferred option last night. I’m not actually sure we will find a word that fits perfectly or that feels just right. Every word has a variety of connotations and people’s experience will determine their response.

I’d like to know what others feel as they hear those words and see the associated images

Which one?

Or maybe none of the above?…

Maybe Brighton Baptist Church?… (Inc)

Its All About Discipleship

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Crap like this happens because we don’t take discipleship as seriously as church attendance.

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Its a long article and there are few surprises – which ought to disturb us in itself – but here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

Scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most "Christians" regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment.

Today’s evangelicalism, Wolfe says, exhibits "so strong a desire to copy the culture of hotel chains and popular music that it loses what religious distinctiveness it once had." Wolfe argues, "The truth is there is increasingly little difference between an essentially secular activity like the popular entertainment industry and the bring-’em-in-at-any-cost efforts of evangelical megachurches."

"American Christianity has largely failed since the middle of the twentieth century," Barna concludes, "because Jesus’ modern-day disciples do not act like Jesus."

Pretty damning stuff, but if we want to see change then we need to start by facing the brutal facts (to quote Jim Collins)

Found via Steve

Outa Here!!

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Tomorrow is Danelle’s big scrapbooking day… All day and then tomorrow night we have girls coming to sit in our lounge room and ‘scrap’.

While the scrappers do their thing I think I might head out and do a bit of study.

This year I’m teaching a course for ACOM on biblical ethics and values, a course I have never taught before and (truth be told) feel a bit out of my depth with. I nearly backed out, but the more I thought about it the more I like the thought of actually learning it again and then teaching it. Its stuff that I love exploring so I don’t think it’ll be ‘hard’ work, so much as enjoyable work.

So tomorrow while the scrappers do their thing I’ll be heading down to Leederville where the new Trinity college have their library to do some study in the area of ethics. I figure if I can get a number of ethical frameworks clear in my head then we can discuss issues within those frames and explore different conclusions.

With no teaching this year I am looking forward to having more time for study and reading. I like the Leederville area as I can get there and back by train for a measly $3.00 and its got some great cafes!

If you’re down that way today then give me a call – I’d love to have lunch with someone.

Face to Face

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If there is anything that frustrates me as a leader in what is being called an ’emerging church’ (I don’t call it that by the way) its the suspicion I often seem to encounter from those in more established churches, especially, (but not only) big churches.

I have hit it a few times recently and it disturbs me. I understand people have had bad experiences with those who may have cast their lot in new expressions of church, but to say we are all ‘anti-church’ is utter nonsense. To stereotype us as rebellious finger pullers is myopic in the extreme. It makes no more sense than me bagging all established churches for their various problems.

So I’m looking forward to this event:

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Postcards_3 threat of exposure dvdrip Scott Vawser is pulling it together with Steve McKinnon and we’ll be using Steve Said for some input. At this stage I think I’ll be on the panel that is getting ‘interviewed’, (but I think that could change)

The idea is that we get a bunch of people who do church in different ways in the same room and we talk about what is really happening… what is actually going on… we don’t stereotype and we don’t throw just throw rocks. We listen, talk and learn from each other.

I am hoping we’ll have a few of big church guys willing to give their time to it, so that we can actually engage in some serious debate about the questions that are floating around out there.

I sense that while we will defintely have differences, we will also have a lot in common and it will be great to celebrate that rather than suspiciously ‘wondering’ about each others motives and practices.

Bliss

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Today Danelle went to a Creative Memories workshop, from 9-9… so I have had the kids.

I don’t know how that expression makes you feel, (‘had the kids’) but I love days like this with my kids. Brekky at McD’s, a movie, wander the shops, veg at home, down to the park… so it goes on.

Right now I am chilling while they are splashing like crazy in the bath. Hey what’s a bath for if not splashing?! I can mop it up in 10 seconds and they lovvvve it.

Ellie said to me today ‘Can you play with me?’ just as I was finishing my glass of wine. I said ‘honey I have been playing all day’, and then it snuck up on me… I have been doing what I love to do with them (ah yes they love it too), but now she wanted me to enter her little world and roll around the play room doing things I have little if any interest in. Building lego towers, playing schools…

How could you say no?…

Days like these I remember how priveleged I am

Hopeful

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Today after taking some kids fishing in the morning I replaced the brake rotors on my car. When we had the brake pads done on holidays the mechanic told me the the rotors were ‘totally rooted’. I don’t think this is a technical term, but I understood what he meant…

So today I spent the afternoon removing and replacing them, bearings etc. Despite my fairly lame mechanical skills it was all going very well until the final bolt… it took me 40 mins to get that bolt in… what a bugger!

Still hopefully all is done for a while.

I have just returned from a neighbour’s barbecue – its 8.45 and I am ready for bed – sun, sand, and hard work (as well as two glasses of red wine) are enough to make a man want to sleep…

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz……………….

Presumptious?

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Matthew 13:47-14:12

"Or, God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That’s how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won’t do any good."

Of course we are the good fish… aren’t we?…

Politics

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Kim Beasley for PM?… How many attempts can one bloke have?… Crikey…

Mark Latham with pancreatitis… would he have had pancreatitis if he were PM? Would he have wanted to quit politics and give time to his family if he were in the top job?

Colin Barnett… why does this guy always come across so self righteous?

watch crooked aka soft target in divx I had no idea who to vote for last election. It just gets harder

Planning for Availability

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One of the top priorities for all of us here in Brighton is to be available to connect with people in the community in a whole heap of different ways.

Last week I ‘planned my year’ and allocated times to do different tasks related to Forge, our Brighton team and the coaching job. I figured if I blocked time out then I would not avoid the difficult tasks. I knew it would not be easy to keep to it…

Yesterday AM was scheduled for Forge prep and planning, but the opportunity to go fishing and diving with some of the guys came up… With a 39 degree day scheduled and a lot of fun to be had with a couple of guys from round here how could a man refuse!? It waWater_1s a great time although I had a very small breakfast at 6.00am and we didn’t get home until 3.30pm… How hungry was I?…

Today was scheduled for coaching work, but James has taken a day off work to finish his backyard. I reckon he could use a hand as they are getting ready for an ‘inspection’ tomorrow to become a registered child care centre. Fortunately (or unfortunately…) the coaching job hasn’t started yet, so that’s where I will be this morning – moving dirt.

Maybe this afternoon that Forge prep will get done – maybe something else will ‘pop up’. I think part of the life of a missionary is to be available to spend time with people when they are available. In our busy world that can be difficult because my life is as full as anyone’s. Perhaps its a matter of establishing what are top priorities and what are secondary.