Cluster Bombs put children and civilians lives at risk in Georgia

I received a press release from Dani at Survivor Corp. yesterday (a link to the release is at the bottom of this post). It details Russia's use of cluster bombs in it's recent military action against Georgia.

Cluster bombs, along with their close cousins, land mines, have been responsible for horrific injuries to children and non-combatants in current and former conflict zones around the world.

In May this year 107 countries signed a treaty in Ireland, agreeing to cease production and use of cluster bombs in armed conflict. Several countries have avoided signing the treaty and are downplaying the dangers of the bombs to the civilian population in conflict zones. Most notable among those refusing to sign are the governments of the USA, Australia and Russia.

As an Australian I am appalled at the Australian governments stance on these weapons and the lame excuses they are offering for refusing to sign the treaty.

Australia is a signatory. I made a mistake! See this post for more information (updated 1 Sept 2008).

I would encourage all readers to follow the links included in this post to get a better understanding of the problems these weapons are causing around the world. Working in former conflict zones I have seen the results similar weapons, such as landmines and other unexploded ballistics, have on the unsuspecting civilian population. Even years after conflict has ceased, these weapons still pose a significant risk to life and limb.

As citizens of the world I think it is imperative we speak out against, and raise awareness of, actions that put the lives and standard of living of the vulnerable at risk. The more people who are aware of the situation in Georgia, and are aware of the significant number of Western governments condoning Russia's action through their own refusal to support the ban on these weapons, the more likely it is we will see a change in the way things happen.

People! Write to your politicians about this. Tell people you meet about this. Raise awareness of the fact that our your government (if you are an American or a Russian) wants to freely use similar weaponry in a similar way in other parts of the world.

The first link here is to Survivor Corps' media release. I'd encourage other bloggers to post the release or a report on Russia's unacceptable actions in invading a sovereign territory and use of cluster bombs. The remaining links are to related news articles.

Please drop him an email or send him a letter telling him how abhorrent it is telling how glad you are that a modern, western nation like Australia would refuse agree to sign a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs. The more people who speak out against this the more likely they are to change their approach to this issue.

• Survivor Corp. Press Release

• Russia 'used cluster bombs' in Georgia - ABC News Report
  

• Australia baulks at cluster bomb ban - Sydney Morning Herald Article

• The Cluster Munitions Coalition
  

• Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith

I'd also encourage you to contact your local Federal members, this is an important issue of global responsibility taking and accountability.

Thanks Dani for bringing this issue to the fore!

Busting Frames - Paradigm Shift in the Church

About a month ago I wrote about Brian McLaren's coverage of, what he calls, "framing stories" in his book Everything Must Change.

The concept of framing stories is not anything new. In the past they have been referred to as "world-views" and could also be called paradigms. Paradigms exist at many different levels in culture and society.

The interesting thing about a paradigm is it creates an interpretive lens through, if we think of it as a frame, everything within its boundaries is viewed. Evidence supporting the paradigm is kept and evidence refuting it is re-interpreted until it fits or, if this isn't possible, it's discarded. The problem with paradigms is they can be extremely difficult to refute, particularly where they become the common currency and voices of dissent are marginalised, no matter how convincing their evidence.

The tendencies with paradigms, however, is once the evidence against them becomes overwhelming a shift takes place. The old paradigm is toppled, like a dictator in a coup, and replaced with a new paradigm. The new paradigm takes over as the interpretive lens.

This process of paradigm shifts is very evident in the history of the church, no more so than now. The "old" paradigm, that of the Christendom church, is being challenged by a "new" paradigm and a shift is taking place. Originally (and even now in many places) the evidence against the old paradigm was refused, ignored, or assimilated. More recently a clear division began to appear - the old paradigm on one side and the new on the other.

For those of us involved in the process of transition within established churches the goal is essentially that of instigating a paradigm shift. But it is slow and it is painful, particularly where a lack of awareness exists of the manner in which the old paradigm affects (or dictates) the way the church is viewed and should operate. It's possible for two people to be discussing the same thing and to be at complete odds with one another simply because their paradigms are different. For example, what is "the gospel" in an institutionalised, Christendom setting may not be "the gospel" in an EMC setting.

If we don't fully appreciate this we are never going to be able to fully understand the process of transition. It will seem to those looking at the EMC through the interpretive lens of the old paradigm that there is something wrong, something missing. That the things being talked about and the actions being taken are somehow not right. That while there may be some merit in the approach being advocated to fully accept it is to "throw the baby out with the bath water". In the example I gave above, if "the gospel" seems to mean something other than (or more than) Jesus substitutionary death on the cross it's considered suspect, and often, no matter how hard we try to explain it and make it make sense it just won't. Simply because the other party is viewing it through a completely different lens. A lens that essentially has to be smashed if any significant move forward is to be made.

The great photo at the top of this post is from Rubenshito and is used with permission.

Creating Community from Scratch

One of the questions I am wrestling with at the moment is how to create community from scratch? Particularly with reluctant, or at least suspicious participants.

I've been toying with this question for most of this year, specially as it relates to the affordable housing project I currently working on with the Alternate[Or] crew in Bunbury. One of the key parts of the project is the community engagement aspect - this is where we introduce participants in the project to a supportive community, rather than simply book them in for an appointment with the program social worker.

It's been this theoretical aspect of the project that has gained the most interest from those we have presented it to. Most people (particularly those without a hard commitment to particular aspects of professional helping & social work theory), including a couple of politicians, recognise the benefits of engaging disengaged people within a supportive community, instead of just plugging them into the professional merry-go-round. Of course there is a place for professional services - all of the members of the organising team from Alternate[Or] are also involved in the community services sector in a professional capacity.

This is a real problem - particularly in a demographic that has been over-referred and knows the professional machinery, and how to manipulate it, all to well. People prefer what they know, and are going to be reluctant to step into something new - particularly if it is being suggested by people with a spiritual bent.

Obviously there are some important ethical considerations at play as well. We can't be manipulative, or deceptive about what we are trying to achieve, we can't demand participation and, some would say, we can't make engagement in the community aspect compulsory for participation in the project.

So how do we effectively navigate these new waters? How should we approach the dark, less travelled roads that exist between the real community - the one where everyday people live, work, struggle and die, and the world of professional helping?

I have an idea of my own, it comes from my African experiences, and I will post it here later on. In the meantime, if you have any experience with this I would love to hear what you have to say. Suggestions and ideas based on other peoples efforts in tackling this same problem are very much welcome.

Paintballing - Battlefield wounds

Andrew (left) & Sam, before the injury

WARNING: If you have a weak stomach, you might not want to look at the last photo posted below. It contains gore.

Alyssa and I took a bunch of young guys (16-19) paintballing yesterday in Dwellingup. We had never been before and I was looking forward to it.

Lyss was pretty nervous, but got involved anyway and the other guys were all pretty gung ho about it all.

Things started out pretty cool, we played a couple of team games and then, in a game of "capture the flag" one of our guys, Sam, decided to make a break for the flag, which was planted in a bunker of sorts. We covered him with paintball fire and he dived headfirst into the bunker. When he didn't resurface after about 30 seconds I began calling out to him. Then he appeared, mask off yelling "don't f...n fire, don't f...n fire!". Of course everyone did keep firing, the other team turning him into the paintball equivalent of a Pollock canvas.

I made a run for him when I saw a steady stream of blood flowing down his left arm and noticed a gaping wound along his wrist. He had badly gashed his left wrist, exposing a pumping artery and a few tendons in the process. It seems the bunker was lined with bits of colourbond patio decking (really a stupid idea) - essentially roofing iron. It was mostly covered by bits of old carpet, but Sam's wrist came into contact with a section which wasn't covered and worked like a razor blade along his wrist.

We got him off to hospital in an ambulance from where he was sent home, his wrist in a bandage but unstitched, because there were no surgeons available to look at his wrist and severed tendons. He was told to front up to the emergency department of the Bunbury hospital at 8 o'clock this morning, where (as of 15 minutes ago - it's now 12pm Sunday) he's still sitting waiting to be seen. Our medical system is shot - when a 19 year old with severed wrist tendons can't be seen to immediately and is turned away from 3 different hospitals there has got to be big problems. West Aussies take note - we have an election coming up in two weeks time, what is our government doing to fix our pathetic healthcare system?

Here are the photos (the last one is the gory one):

The Binningup Lads on the field - Ready for action

That's my girl! Lyss on the field. Girls were provided with extra padding - the black vest (on top of the God given stuff).

Sam (on the ground), Alyssa and Andrew after the injury - Sam's left wrist - the one with my hand wrapped around it - is the injured one.

The injury - the white bits are tendons. He partially severed at least one (click to enlarge).

The guy running the paintballing didn't seem to have much first aid experience - which was a bit of a concern - and was happy to let Alyssa and me take care of things. I asked for a first aid kit and was presented with a single gauze pad and gauze bandage. Not really sufficient given the amount of blood leaving the wound.

Rose coloured formaldehyde

Over 20 or more years hanging around the edges of church and the last 10 or so years playing an active role as part of it, I've heard many stories of the "old saints". People who's lives exemplified Christian living. People who we should strive to be like.

The interesting thing about many of these stories of men (I can't think of any women among them) who rose at 4am every morning to read the Bible in the original Greek, and who prayed on their knees for 2 hours each day and who never swore, or complained, or farted (ok, I added that), is the way they imply perfection.

I have often wondered if the reality about these guys lives, paraded like protestant versions of All Saints Day icons, is really as impressive as the legends would have us believe. I have also often wondered if these stories have really served to spur on those who hear them to better things, or, as in my case, they simply served to further instil a sense of alienation in people who where already struggling with their own inadequacies, weaknesses and failings.

Personally, I think the only perfect example we need is that of Christ. That's not to say we shouldn't look to the examples set by godly men and women through the ages, but we should do so in the recognition that they are not the icons of perfections some in the past have made them out to be. Perhaps we need to throw out the rose coloured formaldehyde so widely used in the preservation of the lives of the "old saints" over the last 100 years or so and get back to being real about the struggles, joys and difficulties of life lived as a disciple of Jesus Christ - the one, true icon of perfection.

A Grass Roots Movement

I snapped this on my trusty phone camera just now while out walking through the barren wasteland of "Lakewood Shores stage 4".

Nope, it's not supposed to be Mary or Mother Theresa, rather it's a cross formed from live buffalo grass. A combined reminder of the relationship between the cross of Christ and the call for his church to return to its origins as a grass roots movement.

There aint no such thing as a coincidence!

Action!

The whole idea of 21st century people observing their way to faith (see my last post) is incredibly important to understanding evangelism and discipleship. This is one area that keeps spinning me out in terms of our Bunbury experiment.

We made action an important part of our group from the start. This has included things such as a street-side awareness campaign on child cocoa slaves in West Africa, and collecting money (our weekly 'offering') to give to local organisations involved in helping people at the street level. We also talk about it a lot at our meetings - why it's important and the way it's intrinsically linked to the message of Jesus.

It's really exciting to see these values rub off on the young blokes, and even more so to see them willingly and actively taking initiative in their own lives in this area. It goes to show how critically effective the "observing and talking" side of things is when compared to the more traditional discipleship approaches.

I think when we try and separate action from discipleship (someone recently commented that action wasn't "spiritual") we end up with a lopsided, ineffectively narrow version of the gospel - one that may make sense on an academic level but is difficult to apply to life in the real world.

It's also really encouraging (although not essential to our commitment to action) to hear the stories we get back from the groups we have helped. Stories of making a real difference in individuals lives. These stories spur us on and encourage us to keep doing, in Jesus name, the things we are doing.

Talking and observing the way to the faith...

Most people are seeking a spiritual aspect of life. Spiritual transformation into Christlikesness has always been the right thing to do. We now know that the reputation of Christianity and thus effective evangelism, hangs upon it. Current research shows that un-Christian, un-Christ-formed faith and practice is the single biggest obstacle to making new disciples of Jesus.

It used to be that people primarily listened their way into the faith; today they tend to talk and observe their way into the faith. Thus two primary roles of Jesus’ followers are listening and embodying authentic Christianity. Through re-practicing Christianity we can break the negative word-of-mouth of what has been called an “un-Christian” faith.

From Todd Hunter's "Three is Enough groups" blog.

Beijing Olympics, Commercial TV & School Projects

I was watching the 7 Network's (my old employer) morning news show, Sunrise, this morning and was taken by the "big sell" they are doing on China. Of course it's all because of the Olympics.

The show was broadcast live from Beijing and all the presenters and guests were sprouting praise for China; it's military precision in everything from street cleaning to flag raising and the wonderful way in which the country had embraced the "Olympic spirit".

I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I am finding the way in which our commercial media is going gaga over China infuriating. Tienanmen square is only mentioned in terms of it's value as a tourist destination, attempts at cleaning up the place only talked about in terms of aesthetics and no mention whatsoever about China's atrocious record, past and present, on the human rights front.

You could be forgiven for thinking (my tongue's in my cheek) the media had sold-out (or been bought out) by the Chinese regime and were now working for the Chinese equivalent of Orwell's "Ministry for Truth".

For the record, I think anyone who says China's record on this front has nothing to do with sport has their head up their arse. No matter how well the Olympic opening ceremony goes off or how many gold medals our athletes win (or how much money our commercial networks make from selling out to a Communist regime) it will not change the fact that people are living and dying under the oppressive control of one of the worlds worst human rights offenders. Only a few months ago the world was up in arms over the Chinese governments sale of a shipload of weapons to Mugabe's tinpot regime in Zimbabwe. How soon we forget!

My kids are all doing projects at school on the Olympics. I sat down and talked with them about all of this the other night and we are working out a way in which they can make sure they include the truth (in a kiddie way) about China's treatment of its people and minorities in their class presentations.

Please visit Amnesty International's website and check out some of the things you can do to help raise awareness of the situation in China. I would like to propose a synchroblog on this, but as this blog doesn't get many visitors that's not going to work - but if you do read this and own a blog, please consider blogging about it and encouraging your blogging friends to do the same.

Let's not let sport (and the genuine good-will the Olympics generates) become a mask for China to hide behind!

Boom time

My 2 year old printer, which cost me $400 new, broke down a couple of months ago. Every time I tried to print it spat an ambiguous error message at me. I'm a little bit handy with a screwdriver and so I went about poking and prodding it to see if I could find the source of the problem. Unfortunately, to no avail.

I rang Canon to find out who was the "authorised repairer" in my area and was given the number of a local office machine retailer. When I rang them I was told they would look at my printer for a non-refundable inspection fee of $90 and, if I decided to go ahead with the repair they would charge for that on top of the inspection fee.

I said I thought this was a little extreme and was promptly told they didn't care. They had enough business and enough people willing to pay the inspection fee that my business was meaningless to them.

In the end they did me a favour. I hunted around on the net and found a forum dealing with the same error message. A couple of respondents managed to "fix" the problem by turning their printer upside down and banging and shaking it violently. Having nothing to lose, I gave it a go, and it worked! No $90 inspection fee and no need to buy a replacement.

Over the last few days I've been visiting car dealers. It's time to trade our old 6 cylinder, V6 four wheel drive. It's costing us too much in fuel and repairs and we're opting for a smaller, 4 cylinder SUV instead (while I've still got some of my redundancy to spend!).

While most of the dealers were keen to do business with us, I did come across one who didn't seem to give two hoots whether or not we bought a car from him. His best deal was only marginally (talking less than a couple of hundred dollars) better than the recommended retail price on the car manufacturers national website.

I'll pay recommended retail for a can of baked beans at Woolies but not for a new car.

I think there's a link between the car dealer's and the office machine repair centres attitudes. It has something to do with the fact our economy is currently booming. People are happy to part with their money without too much thought given to whether or not they are being taken for a ride.

The problem with this kind of thinking - something the two other car dealers I visited seemed to realise - is that boom times don't last forever. There will come a time (some are saying its almost here) when people are going to be less inclined to pay through the teeth for everything and more inclined to remember where they got a good deal in the past and the way they were treated by the people behind the counter.

Something to think about!

McLaren and The "Framing Story" of Evolution

I've been devouring Brian McLaren's latest book, Everything Must Change with much fervour over the last week or so. I've just finished reading the section on "framing stories" (part 3 of the book) and suggest this is perhaps key to the "emerging" understanding of Jesus and his mission. It's also probably key to understanding why the modern church must change the way it approaches the gospel and the world in which it exists.

But, I also think the framing story's concept has something to say about one of the most influential framing stories of the last 150 years, a framing story Brian often directly and sometimes indirectly deals with in many of his books. That is the framing story of evolutionary theory.

I am a creationist. Once upon a time I would have prefixed this title with "young earth" or "biblical". More recently my understanding of the source of my identity has changed and I don't feel the need to "identify" myself in this way any more. Yet, "creationist" still describes how I understand God and his work as the cause of the universe.

A framing story exists in this view of God. In the past my understanding of this framing story was hard, dogmatic and disconnected from the gospel. Now I feel I can freely admit some of my struggle with certain aspects of the Genesis creation account, aspects that cause a few problems if viewed as historical events. I have to confess I find it more difficult to accept the talking serpent of Eden than I do Balaams talking ass (i.e. donkey not backside). However, I still struggle greatly with the concept of theistic evolution which steps well outside the conceptual order present in the creation story of Genesis 1 and 2. It talks about a God who is in control, and who presents his creation in a finished form. It gives us a picture of the "re-created" earth, so popular (and rightly so) in emerging theology.

It stands over and against the framing story of evolution.

Yet evolution is as significant a framing story in our day and age as the divinity of the Caesars was in their day. While Brian is quick to point out the way Christ's message opposed the framing story of the Roman Empire he is just as quick to accept the framing story presented by evolution.

While I have moved away from trying to build a definitive counter-theory I can say with confidence that I understand the science on both sides of the fence. Thanks to a freedom of post modernism, a freedom to question, I feel I can say the holes on the scientific creationists side of the fence are no less significant than those on the evolutionists and, at the end of the day, the difference of opinion comes down to the very framing story's employed by the debaters and discoverers themselves. At either end of the scale are extremists (maybe Dawkins and Ham?)

Yet there appears to be very little middle ground in these arguments, at a least not any middle grown that doesn't require compromise, the kind of compromise represented in Everything Must Change by the example of the Herodians and the Saducees, willing to accept aspects of the Roman Empire in order to build security for themselves. According to Brian though, Christ's way opposed this.

The framing story of evolution proclaims "survival of the fittest" yet Christ proclaims "love your neighbour as you love yourself". The framing story of evolution proclaims "blind processes and chance" while John proclaims Christ as the "creator of the world".

I began distancing myself from the creationist movement a few years ago because I started to see shortcomings in the approach and practice of those involved in it and the contrast it created with the life of Christ in the gospels - the same as the shortcomings and the contrast created by much of the modern evangelical church. However, while the details may be hotly contested and debated (but this is healthy, right?) and the science tested, the theory of evolution stands out as an inferior framing story when compared to that given to us by God in Christ. And just as Christ stands over and against the framing stories of the Middle East of the Roman period he also stands over and against the modernistic, scientific framing stories of the late 20th and early 21st century.

I think the concept of framing stories is so incredibly important in understanding and contextualising Jesus' ministry in the first century but also in contextualising and understanding his ministry in the world of the 21st century. I think, as this seems to be one of the central points of Everything Must Change, Brian would agree. Yet I think it is also something Brian may have overlooked in his acceptance of the "facts" of evolution and its place in our understanding (framing story) of the modern world - influencing everything from archeology to psychology.

Rwanda and Amahoro Africa 2009 - The "Emerging" church on the African Continent

If you've ever thought about visiting Africa and experiencing life and faith of the locals there's no better time than 2009.

Visit Africa
Make a Difference
Change your life

Day 4 (the aid and development organisation I manage) are teaming up with Amahoro Africa to offer a package that includes the 2009 Amahoro Africa Gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa and a couple of weeks on the ground in Rwanda. A package is also available through Day 4 that features the Gathering only.

We have around 10 places available for the combined package so please, if you're interested contact me ASAP. If you know others who may also be interested please share this information around.

Amahoro Africa Gatherings are an amazing time of connecting with emerging leaders from Africa and around the world, of learning and being inspired by the work of God among his people in Africa and beyond. Speakers include Claude Nikondeha (you can read more about Claude in McLaren's new book, Everything Must Change), Brian McLaren (author of The Secret Message of Jesus, Church on the Otherside and other best selling books), Richard Twiss (Native American activist, author and theologian) and many other inspiring African leaders - some like Edward Simiyu have featured on Moved Mountains in the recent past.

You can read all about the Gathering on the Amahoro website and about the Day 4 Community Aid & Development side of things at the Day 4 site.

Problems with professionalism

Last year I posted a couple of times on some of the upside to professionalism (you can read posts 1 and 2 here and here) in some aspects of ministry. While there is clearly a need for a professional approach and for professional caring, just as important is the need for care at a community level.

One thing I seem to keep coming up against from one particular segment of the professional caring community is a reluctance to see any benefit in grass roots or community attempts to address resilience issues. Social work theory seems to push the line that the only people properly equipped to improve this world are professional social workers. There is a level of professional arrogance and academic snobbery that exists among social workers in my area that is difficult to address (it's entrenched) and, as I believe it influences policy in many government departments, is preventing communities and community groups from more efficiently addressing many of the problems in the world around them.

This week, through Alternate[Or] Community, we are starting to get the wheels turning on a couple of grass roots community initiatives. The first is the development of a low-cost accommodation program, in conjunction with a local real estate agent with a social conscience, and the second is to begin talking with some of the local pollies about the youth drug and alcohol situation in the town and possible ways of helping the local community build resilience in simple, yet effective ways.

So far, in my discussions with others about these two issues, the professionalism issue has raised its head a couple of times. The general feel is that volunteers and/or grass roots organisations can't make things like this happen. I have been told that these concerns are the realm of the Government and professional organisations and should be left to these to sort out.

Most of these comments have come from Christians.

It's easy to see, with attitudes such as these, how the church has ended up in the position of thinking building a bigger church building is the same things as serving the community - this was actually the gist of a report in the local newspaper 2 weeks ago. The local mega church is expanding its building and its representative was reported as saying how much the community would benefit from the bigger building!.

After today, we should have a plan of attack in place for our housing project and by the end of the week the ball should be rolling on the other issue. I am hopeful the housing project will be something that can be replicated by others in our area (I'm going to "challenge the churches") and also elsewhere, and I'll post further on the drug and alcohol side of things as they progress.

Recycling my identity

I've been thinking and praying a lot about identity these last few weeks. Even blogged it a few times.

While I have been pondering identity in general terms - i.e. how do we, as followers of Jesus, draw our identity from him, & how badly has the church failed in leading it's people to do this well to this point in time - I've also found myself thinking about my own identity.

To be sure, in the past I have drawn my identity from many places - least of all from Jesus. As a small child I drew it from my family. As an older child, suffering regular physical and emotional abuse I began to draw my identity from my abusers rather than my family. I identified myself as worthless.

Later on I coupled my "worthless" identity with that of drug addict. The two went together well.

When I started studying media, and began working in commercial television I began to draw my identity from my industry. It was actually an industry that a lot of people seemed interested in (if only in a shallow way). While I was never famous myself I knew, and hung out and partied with people who were. I liked the way this kind of vicarious popularity worked. The worthlessness of my childhood had never really left me, I was still an addict, but this new identity - the broadcast media identity - was certainly the best so far.

Somewhere along the line though God started playing a more prominent part in my world. I didn't realise it at the time, but he was beginning to create for me an even newer identity. But it was going to take time.

After I met Alyssa and became a Christian I continued to struggle with identity. God didn't "zap" me in the way I was led to believe he would. The things that had been done to me as a child and my "worthless" identity still weighed on me and so I went about trying to make my life seem worthy through becoming "someone". Along the way I realised I wasn't bad at public speaking and began working on-air in TV and radio. This gave me some confidence and before long I was offered work by a large, high profile, international Christian ministry. I began speaking at conferences organised by them and, for a time, was regularly published in their internationally distributed magazine.

It felt like I was being given something I had never had before. But at the same time my understanding of my place in God's plan began to change. The life Jesus lived seemed to contrast completely with the kind of life I was seeking meaning from. In the end I turned down the position offered to me and began seeking a different way of living out my life before God.

My true identity in Christ was becoming clearer as I began to "emerge" from church traditions, past hurts and the sense that even among members of God's family I was never really welcome to be myself.

Today, I still struggle with feelings of worthlessness at times. There are times when I am depressed, and feel useless. But, as time goes on, I am feeling, less and less, that I need to draw my worth or purpose from the way other people see me or from the lack of interest shown by others in my life.

Not that long ago I thought worth came from publishing a book, or from having lots of visitors to my blog, or from being a requested public speaker. Now though, I don't have any of these things. Even though my life doesn't show any of the signs I previously associated with success - even with Christian success - I now know I am involved in something big and wonderful and incredibly low key, as I am involved everyday in the lives of people, forgotten by much of the church and society, but not by God. And just as they are not forgotten, I know, I am not forgotten either. That even in my unworthiness, God is still for me and I have Jesus Christ as the proof of this.

My identity now is that of a husband, a father, a friend, a pastor, and a missionary - all of which are influenced by the greater identity of Jesus Christ as I imperfectly seek to live out of all that I am learning of him and his Way, and to share the love he has shown me and my family, to others along the way.

Challanges on the road to Nirvana

The last couple of midweek meetings with Alternate[Or] have been challenging.

I'm learning being inclusive is difficult. Particularly given the vast demographical differences in our group's make-up. 2 of us are involved in a pastoral duties in a local church context, one of us is a refugee from megachurch pentecostalism and the remainder of the group are new to the whole God scene.

I am finding how inadequately prepared I am when away from the level playing field of the established church - a place where everyone is a Christian, knows what to expect and can sit quietly while it's served up to them!

I'm struggling with ways of making our time meaningful for everyone - those already following Jesus as well as those who are still in the early stages of learning and growing and working out whether Jesus is for them. 2 guys in particular come to mind.

I really like the idea of the 3 is enough groups - but they're just not practical at the moment. I'm trying to spend one-on-one time with the 2 guys in question and have even gone as far as trying to dissuade them from coming along to the spiritual meetings, but they insist on coming back every week. In fact they are more regularly at these meetings than at our social gatherings yet they continue to disrupt and show disrespect, leaving me frustrated and others wondering what the hell we are supposed to be doing.

While numbers are not a good measure of success, in terms of resources, more people with a higher level of maturity in the faith would be great at this point in time.

Blog Wrap

Still working through some older posts as I try and catch up with my Bloglines backlog.

• Matt Stone @ Glocal Christianity has linked to some audio versions of the Bible in different languages (including Tamil and Punjabi!).

• Steve Knight @ Emergent Village has linked to a piece of Emerging Church history in the form of a slide show by Brad Cecil from way back in 1999 and entitled Ministry in the emerging post-modern world.

• JR Woodward reviews David Fitch's book The great giveaway on his Dream Awakener blog.

• Helen @ Conversation at the Edge has an interview with Christine Wicker, author of a new book entitled The fall of the evangelical nation: Crisis inside the church.

• Rick @ Blind Beggar has posted a link to a summary, by Brother Maynard, of all contributions to his recent Missional Synchroblog.

• And finally, fellow West Aussie, Geoff Westlake, wonders whether social isolation is the answer to society's ills, on his (relatively) new blog - Wwwestlake.
  

Gen Y role models for losing faith

Here's the first part of an insightful and somewhat scary post from Mark Sayers:

The fact that young adults are leaving the church in the West in droves is hardly new news to any of us. (You can download my PDF resource as to some of the reasons why here.) However what a lot of parents, pastors and leaders don’t know is that pop culture provides models and examples to Gen Y’s of how to turn your back on your faith.

Sayers goes on to detail the way (particularly American) pop culture has provided a series of role models for 20 something girls to ditch their faith; Britney, Jessica Simpson and the latest, Katy Perry.

I wonder if this is more of an American phenomenon though - scary as it is - caused to some degree by the veneer of evangelicalism which exists in many places in the US. Because Christianity is cultural, at least to some extent, it is more likely to be treated as a fad.

Do you think Aussie Gen Y'ers know or give 2 hoots about Britney's or Jessica's or Katy's ostensibly Christian past?

Either way, it's well worth reading Sayers' post. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "post Christian"!

You can keep reading HERE

Exilio

I've started going through the Exilio program with our small group. Exilio has grown out of Mike Frost's book Exiles (incidentally, a great and in some ways challenging read) and uses an action and reflection approach to learning - so along with some hefty reading exercises, and Bible study, there's also some practical home work which Mike refers to as "missional experiements" (this has most of the group cringing).

One of the exercises given in the "Bible study" part of the course is to begin reading through the Book of Acts - in a public place. Some of the group first thought this was a missional exercise in itself. Thankfully it isn't - not that I have any problem with people reading their Bibles in public, rather says Mike, the public reading is about bringing the text of Acts to life:

When we read Acts in public spaces our imagination cannot help but ask the question, "What would it look like if the Book of Acts happened today in this cafe. park, train station, shopping mall?". We find reading the Bible surrounded by people who are yet to discover God's love deeply affects our understanding of the reading. (Ignition, p.7)

I put this to the test today. I was supporting a young member of our Bunbury community (Alternate[Or]) during a court appearance and had plenty of time up my sleeve while waiting for his case to be called. So I read the first 2 chapters of Acts in the courthouse. At first I thought the whole "public reading" thing sounded a bit wussy, but, in reflection, I think it did, to some degree at least, affect how I viewed the text. Particularly the section describing Peter's address to the Jews and Jewish converts at Pentecost. The bit that really jumped out and grabbed me was the following:

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (ESV)

Particularly given my location at the time I was hit (again) by the important place repentance holds in the ordo salutis (order of salvation). It made me think about the young bloke I was with and his genuine interest in Christ and his life and what it would mean for him to become a disciple. It also made me think about the sheer lack of anything even resembling repentance I have seen in my many visits to the courthouse over the last 10 years or so (not to mention my own appearances before the Magistrate when I was a younger man!).

Thankfully today's result was a good one for my young friend. A reprieve that will hopefully help the process of repentance and forgiveness along.

As for the practical side of Exilio I think I have plenty of things to choose from without having to dream up a whole new missional experiment.

How do our expectations affect community?

Nathan commented on my post on the Jesus All About Life campaign and some of his comments got me thinking.

What does it take to create genuine community? All the things that come to mind are really the same things I am looking for in community. In line with this I have tried really hard to make the things that I value about community the things reflected in our attempt at community building; belonging; acceptance; love; respect for diversity; willingness to serve one another.

Ultimately though, one thing I know, is that I ultimately find my identity in Jesus Christ and therefore my sense of belonging, acceptance, love etc. also rests in him. Because of this I can (imperfectly) be accepting of others failings and shortcomings. I can give others a second, and third, and fourth (and so on) chance. I can participate in reconciliation, can advocate and mediate and to the best of my ability, be there for others when they need me.

But - unfortunately - even when I am involved in all these things, to the very best of my ability, I am going to fall short. I cannot be in all places at once. I can not be everything to everyone in the way needed to make a perfect example of genuine community a reality.

I will let people down. I will not love unconditionally all the time. There will be times when I am too tired, or too busy or too involved with other things to be there for the people who need me. I have a family which comes first meaning others will miss out on my time because of the time I need to spend with them. I have limited finances (even more limited now that my work with Mission Australia has finished) so I won't be able to endlessly help out with other peoples finances or buy lunch or a coffee for everyone that drops by to see me. You might get me on a bad day and I might snap at you. I might use the wrong words when trying to deal with an issue that crops up and I might offend you.

And if those people that drift in and out of our community, are not led to a relationship with Christ, and do not ultimately find their belonging and acceptance in him, then they and others will be continually let down by me.

This, I think, is why so many others attempts at community building either fail, or fail to be more. We expect a lot of the individuals that comprise the community. And when they let us down it's natural to think the ethos behind the community has failed. I've lost count of the people who have told me they have given up on God because of bad experiences with the church.

Perhaps if we can do a better job helping people find their identity in Christ, rather than in a denomination or congregation or particular style of worship, or in our models of leadership, we will find a community that is closer to that represented by our ultimate example of community - the Holy Trinity - and that more closely resembles the kingdom Jesus so regularly taught about while he was here on earth. A community that is able to recognise the limitations of its human members but nonetheless able to thrive because it is squarely built upon the way of Christ and finds its identity in him.

Can TV Advertising Entice Non-Believers into Church?

I want to be really careful how I write this as I am aware it could possibly illicit an emotional response, but, given my experiences over the past couple of weeks I really feel I have to say something.

I received a letter in the mail yesterday from an organisation calling itself "Jesus all about life" (JAAL for short). It wasn't the first time I had received something from them. I have been the recipient of unsolicited emails from them for a few months now.

JAAL are running a sophisticate, national church marketing program with the goal of engaging the "unchurched" community in church run activities. The crux of the campaign is a series of television advertisements which will be broadcast in W.A. throughout the month of October.

Churches can register to participate in JAAL for $100. Registration ensures any prospective seekers responding to the TV advertising will be directed to the JAAL participating church closest to them, and also includes a JAAL pack participants pack which has a DVD evangelism course and ideas for running "special" JAAL events.

Now the whole thing is pretty standard, attractional/evangelical church fair. It's based around the "build it and they will come" philosophy of church growth. Nothing new or terribly thrilling in all of that.

Some of the adverts (you can view them on the JAAL website) are ok in their content and all are professionally produced. And, according to the information on the site, it seems the JAAL crew have put a fair bit of time and effort into researching Australian's attitude towards the church and Christianity. So, while the JAAL project is obviously a genuine, well intended effort at raising the profile of Jesus Christ in the general community and getting new people into the church, I predict the real results are going to fall way short of the expected outcomes. In this sense it looks and sounds like so many other recent attempts at faith marketing that, when critically assessed, have all fallen flat - the recent push by Churches of Christ to get an intelligent design video to every secondary school student in Australia, Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven" campaign and Nicky Gumbel's Alpha, to name a few.

What really grabbed me about JAAL, and perhaps what is ultimately the difference between this campaign and most of the others, is the overall cost of the campaign. Until receiving yesterday's letter I hadn't given much thought to how the JAAL team were going to get their adverts onto the box. I guess I assumed they would be aired for free like the (cringe-worthy) Christian Television Association announcements of the 80s and 90s - used as fillers in the early hours of the morning and during kids after-school programming. But that's not the case at all. JAAL is a prime-time, hit 'em in the face, campaign. And as such, the JAAL team are requiring a minimum financial commitment just shy of the $500,000 dollar mark (that's half a million dollars if you are having trouble counting all those zeros!).

When I read this my attitude towards the project changed from mild amusement to irritated frustration. I find it incredible that after 15 years (at least) of failed church marketing programs and projects, the JAAL crew can justify raising and spending this kind of money on something that, given the track record of all the others before it, is unlikely to produce anything that even remotely resembles value for money. Especially at a time when the community services sector is chronically underfunded and underserviced.

This is particularly irritating to me at this time because the successful youth drug and alcohol program I have been managing for the last 3 and a half years has just shut down due to lack of funding. And mine isn't the only one.

It makes me wonder how much could be achieved for the kingdom if the same amount of time and effort put into this project were put into encouraging the church to participate in and provide funding for community based programs that actually transform live - and have track records to prove it! Half a mil would have kept Kick Start (my program) running for another 3 or 4 years. Yet the track record of the church when it comes to these kinds of things is abismal. They simply aren't interested.

I wonder if, when the hoohaa fades away and the dust settles and churches begin to take down and pack away their "Jesus All About Life" banners and coffee mugs if anything really will change? Or will it simply be a matter of time until another genuine group of well meaning Christians come along with another expensive way of "guaranteeing" bums on church seats?

What do you think?