Doesn’t happen in the kingdom of God… does it?..

Feeling tired and feisty tonight after an interesting day, so probably best I leave it at that…

It struck me again today that what we are seeking to achieve is nothing short of ludicrous; those of us who dream of building communities of passionate Jesus following disciples.

I mean that.

What makes anyone think that a bunch of people who are fairly content with their lives and who are moving ‘up in the world’ might want to make that a secondary priority to ‘taking up their cross daily’ and following Jesus?

Why would your average middle class suburbanite sacrifice the pleasures and self gratification of life as they know it to live a counter cultural life of discipleship? How do we communicate that kind of a call to people?

My ego is interested in seeing a ‘bigger church’, but I’m really quite unimpressed with just more people if we have no more disciples, no more people choosing to live life like Jesus would. I know this whole thing is a process etc etc. Blah blah blah… but some days I look at how hard it is to make disciples out of those who are in the church and I wonder how the hell are we going to make any kind of a dent on those outside…

Some days I look in the mirror and I am reminded that if I’ve been at this for 30 years and I am still struggling along then what can I expect from people who have no concept of who Christ is?

When you think about it what we are really asking people to do is to lay down all of their hopes and dreams, all of their ambitions (not just to sing about doing it) and to live a life of humility, sacrifice and ‘downward mobility’ to quote Bill Hybels. I know it doesn’t mean all pain, suffering etc, but the call to discipleship is a brutal one – a disturbing one.

I am fairly sure we could get a bunch of people coming to a ‘church service’ – the disguntleds will come from far and wide to sniff your proverbial and see if they like you better than the one down the road, but is that the start of a discipleship journey? Blah!

We don’t want to simply pick up the flotsam and jetsam that gets dropped on our doorstep from other churches. We do want to connect with ordinary Aussies who have no concept of Christ and call them to discipleship – to live lives of wild abandonment to the values of the kingdom and to reproduce that in others. We do want to see communities transformed as people live lives of devotion to Jesus and the stuff he is about.

Some days it just seems like a crazy dream… nothing more… can it really happen?…

Here’s what Jesus had to say…

Matt 10: 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

Do we believe that?

I am now 40 and have maybe 25 years to what is commony called ‘retirement’ – not that I actually intend to retire…

But the question of future financial planning is one that we can’t avoid much longer.

At present I have minimal superannuation and while we are part way to owning our own home there is little else by way of significant assets. We need to make some decisions.

What is the way forward?

‘Sensible planning’ would say pay off the family home and then get some investment properties… or invest in something. But I am constantly challenged by what is ‘sensible’ and what is right. I find myself asking ‘why should we accumulate truckloads of wealth while our friends (who have used money wisely – but have had less of it) struggle just to get out of the rent cycle?’

Why don’t we give some of our wealth to them?

Why should we retire comfortably when our good friends on current projections will ‘retire’ and struggle?

What would Jesus say to our situation?

Should we be accruing wealth so that we are not a burden on society in our old age? Or should we be sharing what we have so that those we love can also live a bit easier?

I have been delaying making a decision on this issue but I think its time Danelle and I bit the bullet and made up our minds which we way we are going to jump.

I don’t think it has to be either selfish greed or mindless generosity – but its hard to find the balance.if online download rocker the

Anyone feel game to define marriage biblically and culturally?

I reckon this is one of the big questions we face as the church in an era where cohabitation is the norm.

If two people who don’t call themselves Christians live together in a committed monogamous relationship with a view to being together for ever are they married?

Our law says yes (split up and you pay maintenance / divide the assets! etc) It would seem the scriptures would say yes to that too. It fits the biblical description of marriage. So… that’s all that is needed…

Feel comfortable with that?

No?… me neither.

Is it just my upbringing or is there something that a public ceremony brings that makes a marriage ‘more’ valid?

I know we have spoken of welcoming co-habiting couple into the church and allowing God to change them(belonging/believing/behaving yada yada yada…) but … what if they didn’t change? Or what if one of our young church couples decided they would cohabitate rather than marry?

Would we let them?

Is there a difference?antz online

Ivan Illich was once asked ‘what is the most revolutionary way to change society? Is it violent revolution or is it gradual reform?’

He gave a careful answer. ‘Neither. If you want to change society then you must tell an alternative story, he concluded’

I sometimes seem to find myself in places where I disagree with the dominant system, but I also wonder the best way is to bring about change. A rant on a soap box is one approach, but perhaps the more subversive method Illich suggests will ultimately see a more significant and genuine change occur as people’s imaginations are captured by the way things could be…

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I’m not sure how accurate this is, but if it tells the truth then Danelle and I are in the top 0.839% of the wealthiest people in the world. That means 99.2% of the world is poorer than us…

That is very download pollyanna divx scary. Why doesn’t it feel like that? Why is enough never enough?

Link from Si.

“Christianity has been made so completely devoid of character that there is really nothing to persecute. The chief trouble with Christians, therefore, is that no one wants to kill them any more!” -Soren Kierkgaard

Why is it that when you are on your own and totally free, you actually run out of time to do all the things that you want to do?

It is five o’clock and I still have a truckload of things I’d like to do today.

If I had Danelle, Ellie and Sam around I doubt I would even be able to contemplate doing all these things.

Where is my time going?…

Two more days of solitude…riding in cars with boys divx movie online

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As I sit here the conversation outside my house (which I can hear quite clearly) goes something like this:

‘F*%$ you!

No F*$% you – you idiot.

Get F*%$ed Brandon I’m not an idiot’

It continues in that vein but you get the gist I’m sure. These are the 9 year old boys who live in my street. They are nice kids – but they say bad words… and I hear them.

I’m sitting here wondering what to do…

My first instinct is to tell them to pull their heads in and chill out… Once a school teacher…

Knowing that wouldn’t ‘work’ and having already established a decent relationships with these boys I am pondering a better way.

I know there is much debate over the ‘F Word’ and some would say it doesn’t matter. Maybe they are right, but if so I am yet to be convinced. Perhaps what concerns me is what these boys are expressing – what they are trying to say in their ‘f-ing’

Now – I am not offended by the F word – you wouldn’t have many friends if you were! But is it acceptable practice in everyday language?…

Something tells me ‘no’.

I understand the arguments for abolishing this thing called ‘swearing’ altogether, but I’m not convinced. My guess is that if our world sees the F word as inappropriate then we need to tune into that.

People seem to have a conscience in relation to what is / is not appropriate conduct.

Then again having watched Billy Conolly last night I’m not sure he’d agree. He compares language to weather – ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather – just the wrong clothes’. he would argue there is no such thing as bad language.

Is there? Should we even be concerned about it?

In response to yesterday’s post chronicles of riddick the dvdrip hamlet dvdrip fired up free download – well done to all who suggested shade sails!

I must confess that I found myself wondering what the ‘three crosses’ were doing outside the cafe… I found it interesting that the very first thing I saw was three crosses – not a shadesail structure. Maybe its because I don’t know much about shade sails or maybe it says something about what happens in my head?