Monthly Archives: March 2005

NUI Stuff

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Now that the Feb onslaught is finished I can get back to the NUI stuff. You know… the non-urgent important stuff – the stuff that always get neglected because there is too much pressing or because its just plain hard work.

Its the stuff of planning and dreaming and exploring – the stuff that really matters – all things I love, but also things that can easily get swept away in the hustle of life.

Today I have been thinking thru what our ‘core practices’ will be as a team. It is a challenge to ask what will we commit to doing as a team that will help us become the people and the community we really want to be?

You see any time you put things like these in place they require a level of disciple and intentionality that is sometimes beyond what we normally give. They also require a degree of accountability otherwise they are just words on a page and count for nothing.

We have a leadership meeting this coming Tuesday to discuss them and see what others are thinking on this front.

I am keen to ‘set the bar high’ but not so high that none of us can jump it. It is actually quite a challenge trying to articulate practices that maybe ought to flow from the heart but we know all too well we struggle to do. I don’t think it will be an easy task to implement these – in fact there are times when I reckon it could get very messy…

But, I am also sick of lame, ‘near enough is good enough’ discipleship so I’d like to try and travel with a bunch of people to some different experience of following Christ.

Only a missionary knows the feeling…

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A couple of days ago I sent out our latest ‘backyard missionaries’ newsletter to people who like to stay in touch with what we are up to. (Drop me an email if you’d like a copy)

It was interesting that two of the first responses were from other ‘missionary’ friends around the world.

When I got home yesterday there was an email from a guy I went thru Uni with who is now a missionary in Malawi. He wrote at length about how much he appreciated what we are doing and told us he and his wife wanted to support us by praying for us and by giving us quite a significant sum of money.

I didn’t know what to feel at first… humbled is probably the word that comes to mind. Don’t you need it more than us?…

Last year in September I approached 5 churches in regard to supporting us as we live as missionaries. So far three have said ‘no’ and 2 are still considering. I have a sense that if we were overseas missionaries it would be a bit easier to raise that support.

And then out of the blue I hear from my friend… he ‘gets it’. There was an old slogan that Billabong used to put on their surf shirts – ‘only a surfer knows the feeling’.

I have a sense that in this regard maybe only a missionary knows the feeling

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. We are very grateful for people like him who listen to God and share their stuff with us as we serve.

Does he need it more than us? Maybe.., but it seems as hears the spirit he is wanting to give to us.

One thing I have learnt in this adventure is that God looks after those who trust him. The old saying ‘God helps those who help themselves’ doesn’t carry a lot of weight biblically. In fact if anything the biblical idea is that God looks after those who help others.

God will look after my friend as he looks after us.

When Rest is Difficult

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I often find that when I have been going hard for an extended period of time it is very difficult to slow down. I get used to running and driving and coming up for air every now and then and even though I know I am getting tired, it becomes harder and harder to stop.

The last two days I have felt like a wind up toy that has been fully wound and won’t seem to ‘unwind’. Rest has been needed and yet difficult because everything in me wants to keep going.

I was actually able to return to bed yesterday morning at 10.00 and fell asleep until midday. That was valuable, but I was edgy the rest of yesterday wanting to ‘get on with something’.

Today I feel like I am returning to normal.

This morning we had brunch with Grendel and family as well as Mick & Caroline and the day has been cruisy and enjoyable. Tonight looks similar…

Back on Track…

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“The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in."

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity

The animals have been particularly wild lately. Its time to start shoving back harder. little nicky movie download

Constantine

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After 5 days of thinking about the pre Christendom / post Christendom phenomena this seemed to be an apt movie… So Al and i had a day off and hit the movies

Of course it had little to do with the good emperor and more to do with a couple of people who have some pretty wild abilities to see the spiritual world. Its a mix of ideas from everywhere.

At worst its a horror flick and at best its a conversation starter.

I’d wait for the vid. Hirschy’s knocking up a madras curry tonight and we got a great bargain on red wine down at Woolies, so it looks like being a good night.

Satisfied and Disturbed

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It was great to get to the end of Forge today – they don’t call them intensives for nothing!

It was a brilliant time full of quality input and real challenge. I feel disturbed on a number of fronts. I can only imagine how people feel who rolled up there for the first time. I remember that experience – its as if the rug gets swept from under the feet. Disorienting, disturbing, and yet incredibly exciting. What now?…

I have already reflected on my main experiences, however there was one more today that was also significant.

Read on if you dare…

At Forge we are careful to affirm that church as we know it caters for one section of the population – somewhere between 7-15% of Aussies actually like the typical Sunday gig. I have always tried to be a ‘both / and’ person rather than an ‘either / or’. I don’t mind a fight if I need to have one, but I have always felt we need many kinds of churches and I love my brothers in the established churches. I will avoid fighting with them as much as I can.

Here’s the problem though… As Steve McAlpine presented today on the whole idea of how much we value ‘cool’ in our society – so much that churches doing attractional stuff are actually trying to be ‘cool/funky/relevant’, Dave asked the question, ‘if we the way we attract people to church is by being cooler than the church down the street then have we actually compromised the gospel? Christianity is not about being cool – we do not follow Jesus to be cool. But if we are trying to make church a cool place to be then are we subverting the very gospel we call people to?’

I think he is on to something…

But… Then… by implication are ‘attractional’ churches with an emphasis on bigger and better actually a contradiction to the gospel?

And if so then is there a place for the attractional church?…

That’s a different question to asking ‘is there a place for the established (and boring) church?’ Because its asking should we seek to ‘cool up’ our church services to pull the punters or is that actually a form of syncretism?

I reckon Dave was onto something. I am not sure what to do with it, but we can’t have it both ways.