The Demon Drink - Part 1

One aspect of the emerging movement I have found particularly amusing (and a little disturbing at the same time), is the new-found freedom relating to alcohol expressed by many of its proponents. Quite a few 20-30something followers of Jesus are suddenly discovering for themselves that drinking alcohol actually isn't a sin. So in little acts of rebellion these guys and girls are flaunting their right to imbibe in increasing numbers. Nowadays it's not unheard of for Christians to hang out at pubs and clubs or for alcohol to take on an integral role in the act of worship itself.

I am even aware of an Anglican (Episcopalian) church in Sydney that has the "honour" of being Australia's first (and only as far as I am aware) church with a licence to operate a bar and sell liquor!

As I said I find this amusing - not the least because I am Australian. Everyone knows Aussie's are among the biggest drinkers in the world. At one time in my life I took pride in the fact that I could drink a bottle of whisky or a case of beer in an evening and still drive home (it took three arrests for drink driving to help me change my mind!). Drinking is something many of my fellow countrymen and women take pretty much for granted. I've even heard it said it is "un-Australian" not to drink!

But therein lies a problem. Particularly for Christian drinkers. Granted - consuming alcohol is not, in itself a sin. I think it should be pretty obvious to anyone who reads the Bible for themselves that Jesus and his contemporaries considered the consumption of wine a fairly normal part of daily life, however I want to ask the question; "how far have we come, particularly in Australia, from the culture of drinking that existed in Jesus time?".

Can we simply look at the way they did things then and use it to justify how we do things now, especially as it relates to drug use?

I'll throw a bit more out there in part 2 later on, but would like to leave you with some statistics on Australian drinking habits:

• After tobacco, Alcohol is the second highest cause of all drug related deaths and hospitalisations in Australia costing the community $7.6 billion annually (Australian Dollars).
  
• Alcohol is the number 1 contributor of deaths and permenant disablement in Australian young people under the age of 24.
  
• Alcohol is the leading cause of road deaths in Australia.
  
• In 2004 25% of teenagers aged 14-19 drank alcohol daily or weekly, and 50% of all Australians over the age of 14 drank daily or weekly.
  
• 48% of adult males and 30% of adult females have binge drinked at least once in the past year.
  
• 1 in 5 adult Australians (20% of the population) are likely to already have, or will go on to develop alcohol dependency.

(Australian Bureau of Statistics report; "Alcohol Consumption in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004-05".)

Kingdom over Empire

Kingdom thinking asks "to whom do I go and how do I reflect Christ when I arrive?".

Empire thinking asks "What must I do to get them to see us and how do I then make them come?".

Attractional thinking is empire thinking - it encourages us to think only in terms of certain regular rites or rituals such as a Sunday service, Bible study groups or sinners prayers. Empire thinking encourages professionalism in public worship, and a way of life that sees numbers as a hallmark of success. It is about showing the world Christ in the hope many will take notice and come to church.

Missional thinking is kingdom thinking - it encourages us to reassess our rites and our rituals, to desconstruct or do away with the uneccessary and to constantly and critically reassess our own lives in light of Christ and the mission he has left for us. Kingdom thinking encourages us to go into the world and to be human, living Christ in the hope some will take notice and want to follow Him wherever it is he wants to take them - and in the process, become the church.

"Go and be ..."

You may have already seen this, even so I think it's worth repeating. From Blind Beggar - Thanks Rick!

---

We all know that Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but the church today has distorted the “go and be” command with a “come and see” appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.

Missional is a bit of Christian jargon used to describe what happens when you and I replace the “come to us” invitations with a “go to them” life. A life where “the way of Jesus” informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others.

---

The next time someone asks you "what's missional mean?" You'll now know what to tell them!

Sheep Rustling

In the early days of colonial Australia the crime of livestock stealing - known colloquially as "rustling" was treated pretty seriously. Up until the early 1900s the standard punishment inflicted on a convicted rustler was hanging by the neck until dead.

Unfortunately the topic of sheep rustling still has some relevance in modern Australian life - and not just for those living and working the land. Most of it is taking place in the church where it's commonly referred to as "sheep stealing".

Recently our long term community focused ministry has been the unwitting victim of this heinous crime (yes - my tongue is, if barely, inserted in my cheek). Actually the perps have been at it for a couple of years but without much success - due mainly, I believe, to the emphasis we put on the relational process side of things rather than the evangelistic project approach.

Most of the people we have been developing friendships with have had no introduction to the seedier side of church politics, and so are blissfully (if only it could stay that way for all of us) unaware of how things "really" operate in the world of evangelical/pentecostal Christianity. They are unaware that some fellowship consider themselves to be better than others. These are the people who are prime for the picking.

So when it happens - when the jolly swagman creeps up on the unsuspecting jumbuck the jumbuck is all too willing to jump head first into the open mouth of the tuckerbag. And, a sheep is stolen (if you have no idea what I'm talking about Google "Waltzing Matilda").

Now I know the "good Christian" response to this. It's "God is in control and will sort it all out in the end". That "he is and has been at work and will continue to be at work in the situation and in the lives of all involved".

Please don't get me wrong - I know with all my heart this is true. But even with this knowledge my immediate human response is a little different.

When it happens I find myself experiencing all kinds of (mostly) negative emotions. Some of them are legitimate - legitimate concern for the ongoing discipleship of someone who has been in my care or the care of others close to me for several years and is still a baby in the faith. Concern based on experience, where the end results of other sheep rustling efforts by the same perps has ended in messy, stuffed up situations.

Some of the emotions aren't so legitimate - indignation that someone else would have the gall to knowingly step in and entice someone away from an active faith community with no comment or contact or warning. Anger over all the time and energy and work that has gone into growing a disciple only to have them snatched away at the very same time the work is starting to produce tangible fruit, and the hurt that comes with a realisation that now it feels as if we're competing against for a friendship that has for the longest time, been genuine and committed.

Unfortunately there seems to be an almost utilitarian justification for the act of sheep rustling itself. Even when it happens in an opportunistic fashion. The justification is based on the real right an individuals has to freely choose who they will and won't involve themselves with. This right undoubtedly exists, but there is also an ethic involved. The question is, is it ethical to knowingly encroach on the life of someone already involved in an existing faith community with the intent of transferring them into another community when that person may be naive to or unaware of the underlying political agendas in play?

Fortunately for modern-day church based sheep rustlers, the hangman's noose is outlawed - but there has to be something of a solution. The biggest issue as I see it comes down to the level of responsibility and more directly, who is going to take it - particularly when it involves new believers.

Who is responsible? When new believers are lured away from us I find that I still feel responsible for them, and this sense of responsibility never really goes away. It is the same sense of responsibility I feel for all who are a part of my life. I think I can understand, to some degree, how Paul felt when others encroached on his spiritual "children" and tried to lure them away. There is a definite duty of care involved that starts before and extends beyond any initial conversion experience.

While I don't have any direct solution I think there is at least one thing that can be done to alleviate some of the angst created by this issue. It exists in fellowship leaders taking responsibility for the actions of their members and ensuring, as much as is humanly possible, this kind of thing isn't happening on a continual basis.

I believe leaders have an ethical responsibility in every circumstance to at least endeavour to understand what has led to a person a leaving one fellowship and joining theirs. If, as has been the case with most of the recent attempts at rustling in my community (where we are the only fellowship which meets), the attempts are opportunistic then it is up to the leadership to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen or is stymied when it becomes apparent.

I wanna know the godly way of dealing with this. If anyone has any advice I am sure we will all benefit from it as I know this isn't an isolated issue and I am not going to be the only one experiencing it.

The Ministry of Presence

The following is an article by a new aquaintance of mine, Pastor Edward Simiyu of Kenya. Edward is involved in the Amahoro Africa gathering in Uganda in May and in his article speaks of a concept in mission that I think is difficult for western Christians to understand.

I have taken this same approach with the partnership I am involved with (the link is at the top of the sidebar, to the right) but I have found that those wanting to come on the short term trips I lead to Rwanda struggle with this idea. Most people want to go and do, rather than go and be. I find it difficult to communicate the significance of this - that we don't want to build or erect or fix when to do so would take a wage from a capable local, but we do want to go, to encourage, fellowship and to experience God at work in a different culture in a different part of the world.

I hope you enjoy Edward's article as much as I did.

The Ministry of Presence- Say nothing, do nothing; Just show up!

Recently I heard an American pastor friend lament that his African pastor friend had not replied to his e- mails for a long time. He said “why can’t he check the browser to make sure his inbox is working well?” You can bet that this happens only in American! The rest of the world’s ¾ hardly know what a browser is! They don’t read or write they just know one way of communication: Talking and as simple as it may sound, it is loaded. The cellular telecommunication industry is now the most profitable and fastest growing business in Africa because it is giving Africa a treat to what she does best-Talk! However, talking among the oral cultured people now carries more than mere words.

We are an oral culture in Africa. This calls for face to face contact. We talk much, not write. People cannot still read or write. Less than 2 % of people aged 60 and above can read or write. Our generation received teachings and moral lessons at the fireplace with parents and then grandparents telling us stories that carried moral teachings. In fact we would look forward with excitement when visits to grandparents would be announced! I sense the same craving in my nine year old daughter when she pleads that I tell her stories while on her bed waiting to sleep. The values of our cultures and society were passed on that way. In the final analysis, our formative years were not so much shaped by what we read or acquired in the well staked libraries full journals, books and magazines but by what we heard from our elders. That is why we say in Africa that when an elder dies, a whole library is buried with him! We passed on and still do pass on things from one generation to another by Word of mouth. Understandably the physical presence of one in order to communicate face to face quickly took a new dimension. It was not long before we all understood that ones attendance to a funeral for example, without even saying a word signalled an expression or show of sympathy and solidarity with the bereaved. This spread to all spheres of the African social and spiritual life. Now, presence has acquired such a great value so much that when one doesn’t show up in gatherings like weddings, funerals, and Sunday services people get very worried or even offended!

The church around the world would benefit immensely if she realised that while it is good and very important to send the much needed gifts and donations to support their brothers and sisters in Africa; that is only one side of the story, their physical presence through visits will minister even more powerfully! The visits don’t have to be the high sounding mass crusade type events, just show up and “hang out” on low key visits! You may say well that is pretty expensive to do, but guess what? That’s what I call the ministry of Presence!

From Small Things ...

Our first Alternate[Or] meeting was held on Friday evening. We had two people from a different town come along and join Alyssa, the kids and me and we had enough food to sink a cruise ship.

My initial disappointment over numbers (did you hear that - numbers!) subsided after we got talking about our faith and understanding of "church". These were, for the most part, like-minded people and it was refreshing to sit and talk face to face about these things with people who understood our POV.

I think there are others who will come to future gatherings, we are generally having 3 a month, and I am sure that this will grow into something worthwhile in time.

What is really interesting is both of our visitors where ladies in their late 50s to mid 60s. This surprised me as everything I have read about the move toward the missional seems to be confining it to the younger generations. I read a post on Hamo's Backyard Missionary blog where he said that he was unable to entice any older people along to their missional fellowship.

I really hope that we can get some of the local followers of Jesus involved in this too as I believe it is important for the future of the kingdom as it exists in this town that this happens. I think we will be missing something if all those who attend are from other communities. We also have a number of church fringe dwellers from Binningup that I hope will stick their heads in from time to time.

This is Holy Ground

My Family in Boranup Forest

I stand on holy ground when ...

• I am staring at the night sky, soaking up the immensity and beauty of the Milky Way, or the rings of Saturn, or the folds and fine detail in the Great Orion Nebula, or the cratered surface of the Moon, or the motion of the Galilean Satellites as they dance around Jupiter.
  

• When I am on the summit of Bluff Knoll (the mountain in this blog's title image) looking out over the other peaks and the farm land and the bush, watching the wedge-tail eagles soar higher and higher on thermals.

• When I'm walking along the beach absorbed in the sound of the crashing waves, watching dolphins playing in the surf and terns dive for bait fish.

• When I'm walking through Boranup forest, surrounded by the tall, white trunks of 100 year old karri trees, and immersed in the cool shadows of the undergrowth, watching a male fairy wren dance for his mate.

• While watching my children play, using their amazing imaginations to create entire worlds and then to feel the soft touch of a small hand slipping gently into mine and to look down and see two soft, blue eyes looking lovingly back at me.

• When watching the sun set over the ocean with my beloved, feeling her closeness, knowing together we share more in memories and emotions and experiences than any words can express and that she is my gift from my creator.
  

At these times I know I am standing on holy ground.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of making one particular place more holy than another. I am thinking specifically of our churches or sanctuaries. How often have you heard the church building called "the house of God"?

The truth is the house of God is not made of bricks and mortar, it is a living temple. In Old Testament times God dwelt in the Tabernacle, but now he dwells in his people. We - the living, called out assembly of believers - Christ's physical presence in the world, are the temple of the living God and the universe is our cathedral.

---

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Eph. 19-22

---

Thanks to Holly for inspiring me!

How Does One "Preach Missionally"?

[Edited 1 Feb 2007]
The title of this post comes from a question raised by Shannon in response to a previous post where I claimed to be doing this - preaching missionally.

Actually I don't really know if this is what I am doing, but it certainly feels like it is. This has been for the most part an unintentional, "God-guided" process - and I say that with qualification - it seems to me like God has led me and my fellowship down this path, independantly of a broader understanding of the missional/emerging movement. At least until more recent times when my studies of missional/emergent Christianity have helped a lot of the other stuff, the "God-guided" stuff gel and fall into place. And I really do say this with reservations - I know how presumptuous and even arrogan these kinds of statements can sound. So feel free to pull me up on this.

I have posted (below) my response to a couple of things Shannon asked and I think they are good questions/comments. At the moment though this is really looking a lot like the "Shannon and Andrew" show - I know I get a few other lurkers and visitors to this blog so I would really like to throw out the invitation and urge, encourage, and pester you into joining in this discussion.

I think these topics (missional leadership, missional preaching, missional living etc.) are all incredibly important, and I know I want to learn and know more and the best way I know to do that is to do it with other people!

Shannon Asked:

---

How does one preach "missionally"?

---

Good question, and I guess I can only respond out of my own direct experience. Hopefully some others can weigh in on this conversation and shed further light/criticism etc. on it.

I would say that in what I would call "missional preaching" I am regularly focussing on three points:

1) The kingdom of God;

2) The centrality of Christ and;

3) The royal priesthood (or Luther's priesthood of believers).

These are the three core topics I have found myself continually coming back to in so many areas of ministry/life, and I think all three are key to preaching and living missionally.

There seems to be something fundamentally different about a fellowship where one person wears all the hats and calls all the shots and where more of a team effort is applied.

Of course in my context, this doesn't mean we all sit around and make every single decision together. There are plenty of things I make decisions about - there are also things others make decisions about, but generally each one in their area of expertise.

Where we come together is where we overlap or where there is uncertainity. Getting to this point hasn't been easy. There are still those who want to come back to (what I beleive is a completely unworkable) place where all decisions are made corporately - even to the point of involving the membership in some pretty mundane decision making.

It's a work in progress and I am anything but an expert. The term "missional" in the sense we are using it in this discussion is new to me. However the concept, at least as I think I understand it, isn't. It encourages me to see and hear how others in similar and also vastly different circumstances are being led in the missional direction.

Maybe I'm Pedantic, But ... Email!

If there is one thing that really bugs me, it is tardy email replies. With the internet we have an amazing medium for quick, easy contact. Yet for some people the average time taken to reply can still run into weeks.

I recently responded to an "urgent" request for interested participants at a training day, I included a request for information so I could decide whether or not to make it a definite in my calendar or not. That was over a week ago, and I still haven't had the training confirmed. And this probably happens on a daily basis.

I am often forced to follow up emails with telephone calls which, to my way of thinking, really defeats the purpose of email!

I make an effort to respond to all my emails within 24 hours, in fact I usually respond to them as soon as I get them, as I find this is the most efficient way of tackling them. If I leave them too long they are likely to disappear off the screen and out of my memory for good!

So get with it! Answer your emails straight away and make the net a nicer place!

The Leadership Thang II

The following post is clipped from a reply I made to Shannon's comments on my last post, Growth in the Midst of Confusion (which should probably have been called Patterns in the Midst of Change).

Shannon got me thinking and I have tried to clarify - what is still not terribly clear even in my mind - why I see "pastorcentric" ministry as detrimental to longterm real - as opposed to transferred - growth in the local church.

Please know there are no fingers being pointed here - these are my observations and could be (are very likely are) wrong.

Let's hear what y'all have to say!

---

As I see it, leadership is essential. A filter for leadership has been given to us by God - it's called spiritual gifts (it's primary role is equipping, but it is also a filter). The leadership will be a representative sample of the wider membership but will still only be small in number - dependent on the size of our fellowship - when compared to the total number of members/congregants. It will be based on leadership gifting, where responsibility is given according to gifts which are recognised by a general consensus of fellowship members.

The pastor will be one of several other leaders, and responsibility for the ministry of the fellowship will rest, first, upon these leaders as a plurality, and secondly, upon the members.

I think there are many missionally minded pastors out there serving in what are outwardly CEO roles (I mentioned a couple who greatly influenced me in my post The Leadership Thang) but - and its a big but - who are going to keep running into problems getting their congregations into a missional mindset simply because of the very structure they are forced to work in and around. I believe this is where frustration and burn-out comes from in pastoral service.

IMO the very operational structure of a CEO-type church leads to an abrogation of God-called ministry within the members. Most members, regardless of what is being preached from the front (the fact that there is a front from which to preach is also part of the problem), will continue to see the primary ministerial role as resting upon or at the feet of the pastor. They will tell themselves this is why they contribute to his salary each week - so he can do the things they cannot do or don't have the time to do themselves. And therein lies the problem.

If you were to come to my fellowship (i.e. the fellowship to which I belong and where I serve - not mine because I own it!) you would see things still very much done in the way I describe above, but it is here - in the structure itself, that we have begun to implement change. A long time ago I started preaching "missionally" but central to this was also an ongoing and gentle encouragement (at least that is how I see it!) to act missionally. And the greatest benefit I had in this was that I was not in a recognised position of pastoral leadership. I was seen as one of the leaders, but I was not "the" leader. In this approach we are seeing change start to take place in our structures. I think - even though there may still be a long, long way to go - this is part of the solution to the problem.

Missional and traditional styles or philosophies of leadership (i.e. traditional in the sense of the form or structure we operate out of - dare I call them "modernist" - and have operated out of for the best part of the last 200 years) are simply not compatible - I would go as far as saying in many ways they are mutually exclusive.

---

Does this make sense? :)

Again - these comments are based on my perceptions (which have been influenced by prayer and bible study) but are, at the end of the day, still just my perceptions.

Bring it on! :)

Patterns in the Midst of Change

Several fellowships I have a loose connection with, and one I am a part of, have recently faced some challenging times. The catalyst in every case, and for different reasons in each situation, has been loss of pastoral leadership.

What's interesting is, in every instance, the same 3 things happened;

---

1) A core group (including people not previously involved with "leadership") came forward to take responsibility for the congregation,

2) Members began to take on roles generally associated with the pastor's responsibilities and

3) A number of families moved off to other churches (actually just about everyone in each instance went to the same large, purpose driven church down the road!).

---

Fellowship number one decided to make its goal the sourcing of a new pastor. This took place over a series of months and around 2 and a half years ago a new man took to the pulpit.

Immediately just about all of those who had stepped up to the plate disappeared into the background. A few who wanted to stay involved in areas of ministry taken up in the absence of a pastor were effectively pushed out of those ministries and alienated by the new leader.

Today this fellowship is the very model of the CEO-led, attractional fellowship. It retained most of its post-pastor members and has even grown a bit when new Christians have moved into the area. All in all though, it's a Sunday centred church where the pastor calls the shots and is personally responsible for the bulk of the ministry.

Fellowship number two (actually my own), amid some turmoil and because of a difficult financial situation, had no option but to struggle on without a paid pastor. A divided leadership meant some new people (i.e. new to the fellowship's leadership team) had to step up to the plate. For around a year an interim, caretaker board was left to make sure things didn't completely dissolve. Members took on ministry roles, and some began to pursue a missional agenda - sounds sneaky, doesn't it! In reality though it was independent of any major outside influence and with no knowledge of the modern missional/emerging movement.

12 months down the track the fellowship had grown smaller, but the attitude and outlook of those who stayed was slowly beginning to change.

Today, after around 2 years, most have come to accept that there are other ways (other than the CEO pastor way) of doing church. This acceptance has introduced a new level of vitality and personal commitment to the fellowship. Things are happening now that have never happened before. There's still a long way to go, and like the Israelites in the Promised Land, a time may come when they decide they want a "king" again. But for now God is leading in a new direction and a new and exciting picture of the future of the kingdom in this part of the world starting to take shape.

Fellowship number three - the newest to experience the loss of a pastor - is today at the cross roads.

There seems to be a very strong push from within to head down a similar road to ours, to capture that which at the moment is an aberration, created of necessity, and make it the norm. Becoming less concerned with the attractional side of things and embracing a more missional philosophy of ministry.

Where they will end up is yet to be seen, but there journey sounds like it could be an interesting one.

What struck me most in all of these separate situations, was the way the same pattern existed in each examples; a pastor is lost, people step forward, direction is found, people pull together and work as a plurality to achieve an end result. The end result was different for fellowship one, than for two and possibly three, but in every case it was achieved as a result of a group effort.

Where will any of these fellowships be two years from now? I guess the answer to that question lies with God. But my sneaking suspicion is, those that choose and stay with the missional road will be in a very different place to the fellowship sailing the safer, traditional route.

The Leadership Thang

I have been thinking, praying and reading a fair bit about leadership over the last few months. In the past I have been pretty critical of the traditional "pastor at the top" model of church leadership - without going so far as to suggest we should do away with pastors altogether.

Much of my emotion comes from negative personal experiences. But I have to say I also have had some very good "pastoral experiences" - Tony A. and Mike F. being the most notable (you guys know who you are if ever you happen by this blog - your impact on my life has been incredibly significant , thank you!), and either way, I have learned a lot through all my experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Well, today I received my "ministers accreditation card" - it's my proof that a denomination is actually crazy enough to certify me (no pun intended), but it has also led me to do some pretty deep thinking about what the role of the "leader" really is in the 21st century church.

So this Sunday, after much sweating and many prayers, I bit the bullet and preached on leadership from Ephesians 4. I have found this particular passage enlightening in my own journey. In verses 11 to 16 Paul simply explains the necessity of spiritually gifted leaders in a healthy church.

It is a passage that knocks traditional (and centuries old) notions of pastoral hierarchies on the head, it also destroys any (hard) post-modern dictum of a church without any delegated leadership.

Gifted leadership is, it would seem, essential for the vitality and efficiency of the church.

As I studied these verses I was given a picture of a church where the leaders, working out of their God-given abilities, reflected the ministry of the Master - Jesus, and where the members reflected the ministry of the leaders. I guess you could sum it up by saying, any church ministry is only ever as good as its leaders and when the leaders are working from spiritual gifts it's going to be many times more successful than when they aren't.

The words of Paul; "Imitate me as I imitate Christ", are echoing through my mind. How easy it is, as a follower of Jesus to quote these words as Paul's - "see, Paul said we should imitate him as he imitates Christ, but for God's sake, don't imitate me!". In reality these are the very words we as individuals (whether in recognised leadership roles or not) should all be confidently aspiring to say to those we fellowship and minister to and alongside. Now that, at least for me, is a rather daunting reminder of what being a disciple of Jesus Christ is really all about.

Yet if the members are ever going to be able to confidently encourage each other this way, the leadership has to be willing to confidently encourage the members first - not simply with hollow words, but with lives that reflect the statement. And if we accept what Paul has to say in Ephesians 4, the only way the body is going to be able to do this (i.e. "work properly") is when the leadership gifts are being recognised and used.

Rick Meigs on his fantastic blog; The Blind Beggar, has posted a list of contrasts between "missional" and "maintenance" (you can substitute "attractional" here if it helps) congregations. A large section of this list deals with leadership - we could do a lot worse than to use it as a mirror; is our life/ministry reflected in the missional list or the maintenance?

As we look at the 5 gifts of leadership given to the church and their New Testament analogs, it's interesting to see how all of them relate so well to a missional/incarnational framework of ministry.

Rick's post, Asking the Right Question, is HERE

For a look at definitions of the general roles associated with each of the 5 leadership gifts, check out this post on John Smulo's blog, called Wanted: Fivefold Ministry Team.

Part 4 of Frost and Hirsch's book The Shaping of Things to Come also takes a fairly in-depth look at the 5-fold gifts of leadership (they call it APEPT leadership - you can read some of my earlier comments relating to this section of Frost and Hirsch HERE).

Comet McNaught

I took these photos of comet McNaught last night (17th of Jan). Unfortunately the coma is a little blurred, its all because of the crudy auto focus on my mid range digital camera - anyone want to buy me a Canon EOS digital?

This comet is the most spectacular I have seen with the naked eye in about 10 years, and any comet with a tail like this one is, generally, a once in a lifetime experience.

McNaught was discovered by an Australian amateur around 12 months ago and is only going to be visible for another couple of nights - if you haven't already checked it out, your really should (it's even fairly easy to photograph).

White Fellas Bad Attitudes

My mind is very much on Rwanda at the moment as I am preparing for a visit in May. This time I am heading off on my own for a week in Uganda at the Amahoro Africa conference with Brian McLaren from the US and other local (i.e. African) contributors. John Mihigo, my friend and co-conspirator in the CUF-Day 4 Rwanda Mission Partnership will also be joining me in Kampala for the week, before we fly back to Kigali together to meet a team of 6 flying in from Australia for a couple of weeks work.

So you can expect more Africa/Rwanda related posts over the coming weeks and months.

That brings me to the topic of this post - Bad Attitudes!

This is a personal story related to me by a Rwandan friend, and even though I would very much like to name names, to spare my friend the embarrassment, I won't.

My friend is employed (but receives no regular pay) in a church ministry position, he is also a linguist. From memory he speaks at least 4 languages, and is a talented interpreter. He is often sought out by visiting film and TV crews and Christian speakers and teachers to provide an interpreter service, which can mean long days away from the community he serves and at times, from his family.

As he doesn't earn a regular wage from his church work it is his work as an interpreter that provides a means of earning an income and feeding his family. So when I was told that on occasion, while interpreting for visiting "Christians" he is not paid, I had to find out more.

One time he spent a couple of weeks interpreting for a visiting American Christian "leader". The days were long and travel was involved. I spoke to him after this guy had returned to the States and he told me how tired and rundown he was following his time as an interpreter, including a loss of weight, which can be extremely serious for these guys who get by on so little food at the best of times. It turns out that the whole time he was "working" for this guy he was not paid a single cent. To make matters worse, he wasn't even provided with a single meal for the entire time he was away. He also had to cover his own transport costs in getting to and from the venue each day.

Now my friend is very gracious, his view of all this was that at least he had an opportunity to hear what this "great American teacher" had to say.

Now I am happy to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he thought someone else was taking care of it, someone else was organising meals or payment or both. But, at the very least he surely owed it to my friend to find out.

I know how seriously my friend and many Christians like him in Rwanda take their faith and their opportunities to serve and be obedient to God. Since then I have heard other similar stories of (usually American) Christians coming and taking advantage of local Rwandans.

I was, to say the least, astounded. It is stories like this that make me embarrassed to be a westerner.

While the guys who bare the brunt of this kind of disgusting behaviour are not likely to speak out against it, I think that we can certainly bring it to the attention of the world and encourage those who travel to and are involved in any sort of ministry in these developing nations to take every opportunity they are given to generously and lovingly look after those locals who give of themselves to ensure their "missions" are successful.

Maybe you have heard some similar stories - If so, I'm interested to hear of your experiences.

Fresh Water for African Community - The Tank's Arrived

Here are a couple of photos sent to me by my friend and colleague in Rwanda, John Mihigo. They are of the new 10,000 litre rainwater tank that is currently being installed on Mt Kigali. This is the second tank purchased by the CUF-Day 4 Rwanda Mission Partnership. The first, a single 5000 litre tank was installed when I was last in Rwanda in 2004.

This tank will solve a couple of problems. The fellowship building is the largest building on the mountain - it is prominently visible from many parts of Kigali and even from Google Earth! - and has a fairly substantial roof area. During the 9 rainy months the rainwater runs off the roof and down the mountain, doing damage to the dirt access road and to mud brick housing - the main form of building material on the mountain. So the rainwater tank will collect a substantial amount of this run-off, improving the relationship the fellowship has with the surrounding community.

Secondly it will supply fresh, clean water to a large number of households. There is currently no infrastructure on this part of the mountain - no electricity and no running water. Fresh water is bought at a government standpipe several kilometres down the mountain and carried in 20 litre jerry-cans, mostly by children.

So the new tank will diminish the need for the kids to spend their days trekking up and down the mountain and providing an easily accessible source of fresh, clean drinking water for at least 9 months of the year. In fact, being rain water, it will be even fresher than the scheme water from the government standpipe which still requires boiling because of pathogens in the water.

We are still collecting (actually we are always collecting) for the partnership. We are heading back in May and have a fair amount of aid airfreight to get there. If you would like to contribute please contact me, either via the partnership website or by emailing me - ahrigg AT gmail DOT com.

Tagged - Again!

I've been tagged again - this time by one of my favourite bloggers, John Smulo.

This one is a little different to the last one, and has a restriction on the length of the answers - which I think is a good thing, given the amount of space I wasted the last time I was tagged. So, here goes (and these are tough questions!).

• 1) What’s the most fun work you’ve ever done, and why? (two sentences max).

I've had heaps of jobs, but apart from my current work (which is really more challenging and rewarding than straight out fun) I would have to say the most fun work I've done was when I worked as director and production editor on a kids magazine style show. I got to work with a lot of famous people - film and TV stars and musicians - and go places you just normally don't get to go.

• 2) A. Name one thing you did in the past that you no longer do but wish you did? (one sentence max)

I used to rock climb and abseil (surfing would have been on this list but I took that up again last year) and would like to get back into this but am not sure my body (particularly in relation to rock climbing) is up to it anymore.

• 3) A. What two things would you most like to learn or be better at, and why? (two sentences max)

Where do I start?

1) Kinyarwanda - the local language of the Rwandan people. I know a little (a real little) but would love to get fluent as I am involved in a mission partnership there and would love to be able to speak to the people I work with in their own language. Imani'guhumugisha!

2) Blogging - I am better at repackaging news (aka other peoples ideas) - probably because of my background in TV news - than expressing new ideas or my own thoughts cogently.

• 3) B. If you could take a class/workshop/apprentice from anyone in the world living or dead, who would it be and what would you hope to learn? (two more sentences, max)

Another hard one!

There are many people, but I think I would say the Apostle Paul. He was the master of missiology and I am so enthralled by the way he lived as a pretty ordinary kind of guy with a well above ordinary cross cultural ministry.

• 4) A. What three words might your best friends or family use to describe you?

1) Tall - I'm nearly 6'5".

2) Busy - my wife just said that cause I was struggling with this question and asked for her help!

3) And I just can't come up with a 3rd.

• 4) B. Now list two more words you wish described you…

1) Gentle - sometimes I think I come across as prickly.

2) Confident - not arrogant or self assured, but in God.

• 5) What are your top three passions? (can be current or past, work, hobbies, or causes– three sentences max)

1) My family.
2) Ministry (particularly experimental ministry) in my local community and in the communities I work with in Bunbury via Mission Australia.
3) Rwanda and my Rwandan "family"

• 6) Write–and answer–one more question that YOU would ask someone (with answer in three sentences max).

Q - What role has change played in your journey to now? (two sentences max)!

A - When I came to know Jesus Christ for who he really is (not some western, 18th/19th/20th century, white, middle class Jesus) my life changed for ever. All the bad stuff, my drug addiction etc. etc. that I had been trying to run away from and unsuccessfully deal with myself came into clear focus and through him and people who were genuinely committed to him and to change, I was able to change for the better. Of course this is a continuing process - people are like onions don't you know (apologies to Shrek - those who are also 'changing' will know what I mean!).

Phew ...

Last time I tagged only two of my victims blogging buddies actually responded, so hopefully I will have better results this time. I tag David at Church Blogger, Rodney at The Journey and Chris and Cindy at Tracking the Edge.

Blogger Archives and Daylight Savings

Since the calendar ticked over to 2007 last week (or was it the week before), my blogs archive list (over there in the sidebar) refused to show January 2007. For some reason it showed 2006 twice and added the latest posts to a second December.

I contacted Blogger for some help when I first noticed it in the first day or two of the New Year, but still haven't received any suggestions.

Today, however, it dawned on me - maybe it has something to do with my daylight savings settings - Western Australia began daylight savings for the first time in December - and so set my time zone in the Blogger back office to +9 UT instead of +8. And whatdayaknow! It worked. The archive function has been restored.

It's amazing the difference a little thing like time zones can make to software functionality.

Coffee in the Arvo Mark II

Our attempt at Binningup to create a "proximity space" is happening again this weekend; our second "Coffee in the Arvo" cafe afternoon at the community hall.

The last one was a bit of a success - we got a good turn out from the community and got to meet some new people, who hopefully, will be coming back.

I think I have ruined the coffee though - the people we hired the coffee machine from oversold us coffee the last time, which meant I had a heap left over. When I had my cafe I never had enough coffee left over to have to worry about storing it ground, so I wasn't sure what to do with it. The guys we bought it from said to just keep it in the fringe (of course they wouldn't take it back) - however it's in a brown paper bag and, judging from the lack of that rich aroma freshly ground coffee has, I think it has gone stale! It cost me 30 bucks a kilo and I have nearly 2 kilos left, so I am pretty annoyed about this.

Will post the outcome of Sunday afternoon's cafe, if your in the vicinity, feel free to drop in - 4pm till whenever at the Binningup Community Hall.

Alternate[Or] - One Month to Go

There's just under a month now until the whole 'alternative' gathering thing gets underway. The 8th of February is D-Day. I am finding myself swinging backwards and forwards between a niggling fear of it being a complete failure and the comfort of knowing that, in reality, it's all in God's hands.

I think one of my greatest weaknesses (on that note, I had to do a personality profile yesterday and found out I am a "designer", it was an interesting process - you can read some of my thoughts on personality profiling HERE) is that I tend to race ahead on my own. I feel at times I'm a lot like the little boy, who while walking through the bush, takes off down the track leaving his parents behind, and follows new paths without thinking too hard about which path they will want to take. In the past this has ended up with me being on my own in some kind of stinking mess, crying out to Dad (God) to rescue me.

I guess I've had to learn the hard way that things work out better when I let him do the leading and I do the following - but at times, I still need reminding. And right now I am wondering if this isn't one of those times.

The invitations are going out to those people we have been involved with and who have shown an interest. I am trying to balance the tension of the attractional and the missional, without giving into that part of me that is the marketer - "Roll up, roll up and see the greatest show ever to come to the community of Binningup ...". The fellowship leadership has been given the low down again on the whats and whys of this thing called Alternate[Or] and the regulars will be receiving an info sheet over the next few days.

If you are reading this and you can spare the time, I would really appreciate it if you could offer up a few words for me and for this "new" thing we're attempting (Alyssa and I specifically). I want to be sure it is all the right time and that God is in this and behind this.

Thanks for reading this and for your prayers - I can feel the fear that was creeping in beginning to subside already!

Crypto-Christianity - The Flipside of the Cultural Assimilation Coin

Sky Jethani at Out of Ur posted the following interesting piece on early Christianity in Japan. While the warning to the consumerist style of modern Christianity is clear, I think it also gives those with an emerging/emergent leaning something to ponder as well.

Ironically, it is often our zeal to protect our faith that leads to its loss. Abram was called to leave his country and follow the alternative ways of God. But when feeling threatened Abram disguised himself with the ways of Egypt, allowing his wife to be taken into Pharaoh’s house. Later, God called Israel to be separate from the nations—an alternative people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. But in time they felt threatened and asked God for a king (a leadership model employed by their enemies) to protect them. The peoples’ desire was innocent enough. They still wanted to follow God, they just wanted to do it in a way more “like the nations around them.” The Lord warned that a king would rule over them just as Pharaoh had in Egypt, but the people refused to listen

Read the whole thing HERE!

Picture by Gordon Fortune - "Clones" - Used with Permission

I've Forgotten My New Years Resolution

Just to prove how committed I am to really implementing positive change in my life, I thought I'd tell you about my New Years resolution. Then I realised, I've forgotten it! This is for real ... I thought up a great, achievable New Years res and before I had time to even consider putting it into play, it left my brain, quite possibly never to return!

So, in memory (or not) of my original New Years resolution I thought I'd start a list of some new New Years resolutions (if I write them here it will be harder for me to permanently forget them later).

So here's the first to start things off -

My 1st new New Years resolution for 2007 is try really hard to not bag out Rick Warren anywhere near as much as I bagged him out in 2006.

What are your New Years resolutions? Let me know and if I find one I like, I'll add it to my list.

Missional Apologetics

Apologetics is a topic that has interested me for quite some time. I have dabbled quite extensively with different forms of apologetical approaches, both on the web and in the real world. Most of them have revolved around a fairly traditional, "the Bible is fact and I can prove it" kind of approach, that also involved tackling dissenters head on. And, to be perfectly honest, with a few totally amazing exceptions, the results have been pretty miserable.

I stumbled upon some stuff John Smulo wrote about missional apologetics a couple of months back and posted on it here. I felt like a bit of a light went on when I read it. I was struggling with assimilating apologetics with the missional/incarnational approach, without actually realising I was already involved in missional apologetics. Again, relationship and trust are the key, things that I was very aware were missing from many of the other apologetical approaches I had taken.

Anyway - I really just wanted to point you in the direction of John's new Missional Apologetics website. There's not much there yet but I think this is an area that is increasingly important to talk about (along with missional evangelism - I sense the line between evangelism, apologetics and discipleship is very blurred when viewed from a missional perspective), and John's work on a Missional Apologetic Manifesto is fantastic. I introduced it to the leadership of my fellowship at our weekly prayer time this morning. Didn't get a chance to run through it but I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

Ok, Ok, Check it out - http://www.missionalapologetics.com

Missionally Aware - Is Leadership the Problem?

The following quote was taken from a post on the Blind Beggar regarding some research undertaken in the US on the views of protestant church leadership in the area of community outreach and evangelism.

The results are a little disturbing but I think reinforce the fact that one of the biggest hurdles facing the 21st century church has been erected by those with the most influence on the institution - the leaders, and more specifically, those installed in CEO-Pastor roles in local congregations.

Rick Meigs wrote:

... here are the excuses 4 out of 10 pastors gave for not offering more community related programs (with my interpretation in italics):

• They would rather focus on spiritual needs than on physical needs (physical needs are the job of the government, we only deal with the spiritual).

• They would rather focus on their own congregation than on the community (and I’d get fired if I didn’t).

• Their community has no major needs (yes, they really said this).

• They don’t see it as a major priority for their church (they must have deleted Mark 12:31 from their bibles).

• Their congregation really isn’t interested in community outreach (we’re a private club and can’t be bothered).

These type of response demonstrate a strong lack of understanding of who we are called to be (an incarnational people), pastors bowing to the pressure of the congregation to focus on them exclusively, and an ignorance of the post-Christian culture we now live and minister within.

While the study Rick refers to was conducted in the US, from my personal experience I would think things wouldn't be terribly different here in Australia.

I believe, that in order to correct this unbiblical skew away from biblical models of leadership (not an easy subject on its own) we ultimately have to correct the CEO model of church leadership and return to a servant leader - eldership model, where leadership is entrusted to a team of suitably (biblically) qualified individuals and not the sole responsibility of one man.

But, in answering the question that forms the title of this post, the leadership, while being part of the problem, isn't the whole problem.

Unfortunately this top heavy and counterproductive approach to leadership is entrenched in the training institutions that produce the majority of church leaders today, but until the local church grows balls and is prepared to stand up and say "this is not what we want in our leaders" things are probably not going to change.

And this is as much a challenge to those dissatisfied folk in the local/traditional church as it is to the CEO-Pastor's themselves. Lasting change can only come from within. It can be a long hard process, but the future of the local church in your community depends upon it.

For those who are dissatisfied with the way their local fellowship is moving it's all too easy to pull up roots and head over to the mega-church in the next town, or to sit and complain and white-ant the church leadership or to get into a holy huddle and break-away - causing division. It's not so easy to stay and love the imperfect (recognising your own weakness and imperfections first!) and play a role in providing a solution, rather than just adding to the problem - and it is a problem!

Of course there does sometimes come a time when it is genuinely and godly to say "enough is enough" and to leave. But that should be the final resort, and not the first, second or even third, as is so often the case in many congregations currently struggling with the need to view ministry and leadership in different ways.

You can read all of Rick's post here. As usual, I think you'll find it insightful and, hopefully, challenging.

Saddam is Dead

I just heard on CNN that Saddam Hussein was executed this morning. I was waiting for this announcement since the fail of his appeal earlier in the week.

It is definitely, as Alyssa said while we watched the report, hard to feel sad. This man was the epitome of evil. He directly and indirectly was involved in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's and Kurds and Iranians. His regime was drenched in the blood of his own people and he ruled with fear. But even knowing all this, I do feel a twinge of sorrow. Not so much for Saddam himself but for the philosophy (or theology as the case may be) that says capital punishment is the answer to the problem of violence. That restitution can be found in the taking of a life.

I recently came across a phrase that aptly describes this way of thinking. It is the "myth of redemptive violence"; the idea that violence in any form can bring about positive, redemptive change.

As a follower of Jesus, I struggle to come to terms with the nature of justice, particularly true, godly, justice. And, while I plan on doing more research, I do at this point in time accept at least some of the tenets of the "just war theory", in that in some cases for justice to prevail a coercive and sometimes fatal force is required (if a homicidal maniac was threatening my family and likely to kill or do serious harm to any one of them, I would, if I had the opportunity, use whatever force necessary to prevent their coming to harm - I make no apologies for this). Yet, as a Christian, I also believe that Jesus spoke clearly on the issue of capital punishment - the calculated and judicial act of taking a life in payment for a crime committed.

Jesus brought home the fact that, under the Law, we are all guilty and deserving of the death penalty - but he came to provide a different solution -to save not to condemn to death (John 3:16-17). Furthermore, when he was faced with the adulterous woman in John 8 (1-11), a woman who under the Law was clearly deserving of the death penalty, he reminded the accusers of their own guilt and freed the woman, with the command to "go and sin no more".

In this simple act Jesus made clear the two fold significance of sin and its penalty and his own mission of salvation, rather than condemnation. He set the captive free, regardless of her guilt because of the very same guilt (the guilt of sin) resting on the shoulders of those who, rightly, accused her.

I have no doubt that Saddam Hussein deserved life imprisonment. But I cannot accept that a deliberate act of violence, perpetrated against him by the Iraqi judiciary is any less bloodthirsty or any more redemptive than any of the violent acts committed by Hussein while he held control of Iraq.

As a follower of Jesus I must oppose the death penalty, no matter how fitting it may seem, because, with the sole exception of the cross of calvary, this kind of redemptive violence is a myth. We cannot take Jesus' act in John 8 and view it in isolation. Did he only mean his actions to be a reflection of the specific situation he was facing at that time? Or can we look beyond the surface, at his teaching's elsewhere in the gospels and say with conviction, Jesus did away with the death penalty in every circumstance? Just as most of us wouldn't accept any courts imposition of the death penalty for adultery, or for witchcraft or for homosexuality, if we are to be consistent, we also cannot accept the death penalty for murder or any other violent crime. No matter how appropriate it seems at the time.

Yes, Saddam Hussein died this morning for nothing. The memory of the crimes he committed will long outlive any fleeting sense of joy or justice achieved by the act of his execution. I just pray that God will, as he is in the habit of doing, work all these things for the good of those who love him!

For an interesting take (and I don't fully agree with everything Rob Bell is expounding here) have a listen to Rob Bell's series of sermons on the Myth of Redemptive Violence at Mars Hill - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3.

I'm It!

Jamie over at More Than Stone has 'tagged' me. I had read about this little game of tag going on over on John Smulo's blog. Not sure where it originated but is a beaut bit of fun!

So here's the deal - you get to know 5 things about me and then I get to tag 5 more people.

1) I was an alcoholic for around 14 years and managed to spend my life doing some pretty stupid things before I was rescued by Jesus Christ!

2) I am married to an amazing lady - Alyssa - who is the most beautiful, intelligent, loving, wonderful soul mate I guy could have. Alyssa is a scientist who has just started working for a mining company as a metallurgical clerk - and has won many academic awards for her studies in chemistry and metallurgy and mathematics.

3) I live about 300m from the Indian Ocean and wonder how I could ever have lived anywhere else - I love the ocean and swimming and surfing and just spending time on the beach in prayer, or watching the sun set or taking time to think and meditate.

4) I used to live in a town called Alice Springs which is just about as far from the coast as anywhere in the world can be. It's smack in the middle of Australia surrounded by thousands of kilometres of desert. I actually loved living there and count the desert as my second favourite place to be after the coast (what a contrast huh!).

5) I am running some astronomy nights in January (every Friday night) here in Binningup for my Fellowship (the Binningup Beach Christian Fellowship). I was heavily involved with the astronomy side of things as a ministry for a number of years and still enjoy spending time under the stars with a telescope, especially if it involves showing others the amazing beauty of the created heavens. The most commonly heard comment from people seeing Saturn and its rings or Jupiter and its moons or even just seeing our own cratered Moon for the first time is, "Oh my God!" Which then gives me an opportunity to say "Funny you should say that..." and to talk to them about Jesus.

So - in order to keep this tradition alive I am now going to tag, Hamo over at Backyard Missionary, my old mate Matt Perry at Matt Perry dot Com, Scott Vawser at No Guarantees, JR Woodward at Dream Awakener and last but not least, Helen Mildenhall at Conversation at the Edge.

Whew! Oh yeah, and - TAG!

Bursting Your Christmas Bubble

It's nearly Christmas and while the western world gets caught up in the consumerist whirl wind and buys up a storm, Christians are focusing their thoughts on the birth of their Saviour, Jesus Christ. But before you get too carried away celebrating the second most holy holiday on the Christian calender, you might want to stop and think about the historical accuracy of the Nativity story.

According to "the world's most respected biblical historian", Geza Vermes from Oxford University in the UK, the nativity is nothing more than a myth created by early Jewish followers of Jesus to legitimise their claims of his divinely appoint right to throne of David and title of Messiah.

You can listen to an interview with Vermes on the ABC's The Ark website, recorded last Sunday (17th December). CLICK HERE to chose your favourite audio option.

And for those who are questioning how someone who can make the completely unscholarly and ludicrous claims this man makes in this interview and still be called the "world's most respected biblical historian" - have a very merry and blessed Christmas and a safe and Christ-centred holiday season! Don't forget to remind as many people as possible that Jesus Christ didn't remain a baby in a manger - but rather grew to be the most influential revolutionary this planet has ever known.

Taking a Break

Well, it's nearly Christmas and I have holidays starting in around 2 weeks time (and I can hardly wait). But in the meantime I've got reports to write, am preparing our training program for endorsement by the Education Department and preparing for the new year with it's cafe afternoons, Friday evening gatherings and overseas travels.

I am also finding it difficult to blog in a meaningful way at the moment - I am struggling a bit with introspection - not sure what to do about it - and don't want these frustrations and feelings to be reflected in what I write here. I know that further on down the track I might live to regret it! :) So I'm taking a bit of a blogging break - while there might be an irregular post or two I'm not going to be bothering with the daily updates for while.

But I am pretty sure I'll be back, maybe once Christmas and the associated madness that seems to follow it has subsided and I've had a chance to think again about where we are heading as a family, where I'm heading in my church and ministry and life, and where this blog sits in all of that.

To those that regularly frequent Moved Mountains - thanks! And to everyone, have a great Christ-centred Christmas and safe and blessed holiday. See you on the other side.

Blog-Geek Help

I'm having some problems with the layout of this blog and I haven't got much of a clue when it comes to CSS.

If you have a careful look at the 'MM' title image at the top of this page you'll see a series of fullstops (.......................). In what was a mammoth task, I swapped the standard Blogger title for the image you can see, but couldn't find a way to get around the display of the Blogger title. So instead of the Moved Mountains, which would have appeared over the title image, I inserted the fullstops, which are not so obvious.

The problem is though, they now appear as the title of the blog on the RSS feeds (etc) and one the comments page. I am hoping someone can help me get rid of the fullstops and replace them with an invisible Moved Mountains!

Dependant on Sundays

• How have you dealt with the over dependance on the Sunday morning service in your context?

• What alternatives have you used with success (and how)?

• How do you move people away from Sunday morning attendance as the guage of "true" committment?
  
  
• When did the day of rest become the day of toil?
  

As I head off to the weekly Sunday morning meeting, I'm confronted again with the overdependance or overimportance put on the Sunday morning "church" service by some people. Don't get me wrong, I think a weekly meeting and time of corporate prayer and worship is important, but why is the Sunday morning service seen as the compulsory, be-all and end-all in Christian gatherings?

I attend at least 3 meetings a week where the major components of the Sunday service are included (with perhaps the exception of communion), yet whenever I, deliberately, throw out the possibility of not attending on an odd Sunday morning, I receive phone calls, comments and the occaisional "remember, we're told not to forsake the fellowship of the saints" comment thrown in for good measure. Come on! I meet and fellowship with Christians all week. I often am working 7 days a week and find that a Sunday spent at home, with a sleepin Sunday morning and a day spent with my family is incredibly beneficial.

They Stole It. I'm Stealing it Back!

You've all heard of the TV series Charmed right? Well, you may have noticed a symbol similar to this popping up on the cover of the witches mystical spell book - the book of shadows (oooooooohhhhh).

Its proper name is the triquetra (or trinity knot). In it's simplist form (without the outer circle) it is an ancient celtic symbol of unknown origin or purpose, appropriated by celtic Christians to represent the triune God - three distinct parts in one complete figure. In more recent times the interwoven outer circle was added, representing eternity.

The thing is, I've taken it upon myself to re-claim the triquetra as a Christian symbol. Particularly because I think it looks really cool and rather profoundly symbolises the God I serve. So Charmed, your on notice!

Feel free to join in the "reclaim the triquetra" protest and copy the image to your blog or website as a sign of Christian solidarity! (If you do post it, let me know and if possible link back to this page).

We've also decided to use the trinity knot as the logo for our new Friday evening gathering, which now has a name - Alternate[Or].

Danger! Jesus Ahead

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

• “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

• “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

• “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

• “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:1-16

The image, above, is the cover of my upcoming book - I'll let you know once I start writing it! ;)

DA Carson and Emerging Missiology

• Does Don Carson do the Emerging Church any justice at all in his critique, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church (BCCWTEC)?
  

• If you are "emergent/emerging" and have read this book, what were your first thoughts?
  
  
• What has Carson missed in his treatment of this subject?
  

I am just about half way through D.A. Carson's book BCWTEC. This is the second book I have tackled recently directly dealing with the EC as a movement, while very different to the first book (the Shaping of Things to Come by Frost and Hirsch) I have found it balanced and informative so far.

I know many within the EC have been highly critical of Carson's views. Yet, for the most part, and taking into account I have only read about half the book, I have found his work to be fairly balanced. He has highlighted the strengths of the movement as well as the weaknesses.

Over the next couple of days I want to briefly talk about a few of the things Carson deals with that struck a chord with me and raised questions in my mind as I have been exploring the EC.

The first of these is:

• the post modern ideal of tolerance and a tolerant society
  
  
• secondly absolutism
  
  
• thirdly, something Carson also mentioned in his talk while in Australia a few months back, the decline of post modernism is other parts of the world,
  
  
• and finally - as a bit of a side track - the notion of the Just War that Carson briefly touches on (am particularly interested in this because there seem to be some very strong links between the EC and passivism).

So, tomorrow I'll get started on the first of these and I look forward to your views and reponses.

If you haven't read BCWTEC and would like to get a bit more of an idea where Carson is coming from, you can read a paper by him HERE dealing which deals with the same topic

It's not the Word but the Meaning that Matters?

Following on from yesterday's post on words and the way they are understood (or misunderstood) in different contexts, Shannon posted this comment:

While I think that many "Christian" terms can alienate people, I also believe that traditional Christian language must be, to some capacity, preserved. I think in any discussion with a non-believer when we use words like, saved, born-again and such it becomes our responsibility to teach them what these terms mean and represent.

I agree with Shannon - and obviously it is important, if we are to understand each other and are able to communicate with others in a meaningful way, we have to have our own vocabulary. Spiritual/theological words are important. But I think there is something even more important - and that is the meaning behind these words. And in many instances this is something on which even many Christians can't agree.

What is "salvation"? Is it something Jesus does for us on His own or is it something we have a hand in? Does "Spirit Filled" mean a life controlled and governed by the Holy Spirit or does it mean the ability to speak in tongues and exercise other charismatic gifts? And I could go on.

So is it really the words or phrases alone that hold all the importance, or is meaning (and taking it one step further) context also an important part of the deal? How do we get around the clear differences of opinion that exist within the church over the meaning of theological words? How can we communicate meaning to non-believers when we can't even agree on meaning ourselves?

I Know What I Mean, Why Don't You Know What I Mean?

Being able to communicate clearly is incredibly important, particularly in this day and age. I doubt there has ever been a time when the meanings of words have been as fluid and open to "interpretation" as they are now.

This is something we have to be incredibly aware of when trying to communicate the gospel. Not everyone understands the terms or phrases we use in the same way we do. Not everyone will even understand them at all.

Terms like, "born again", "salvation", or even "saved" have definite theological and biblical meanings but they are also jargon terms that people who have not been a part of Christian circles (and in particular evangelical Christianity) will understand very differently to those who have. Here in Australia that means a large slice of the community are not going to understand what we have to say in the way we want them to if we continue to use these terms when interacting with them.

Here's a little clip I found a while ago that highlights the issue well!



I also received the following in an email today - which is actually what got me thinking about this topic again. Great examples of simple messages being misunderstood because one person wasn't in on the jargon being used by the other.

• Tech support: What's on your monitor now, ma'am?
  
  Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at K-Mart.

• A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
  
  Tech support: Are you running it under windows?

  Customer: "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine."

• Tech support: "Okay Colin, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
  
  Customer: I don't have a "P".
  
  Tech support: On your keyboard, Colin.
  
  Customer: What do you mean?
  
  Tech support: "P".....on your keyboard, Colin.

  Customer: I'M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!