We have had a great conference over the past 3 days at the 2gether Pastors Conference.
This is the conference of the Baptist and Church of Christ Pastors in WA.
Our speaker this year was Ross Clifford…

He was a exceptional speaker, probably the best, most inspiring, relational, enjoyable and stimulating we have had for a while.
The notes are below…he followed the theme of the conference, half full or half empty.
Ross emphasised the need for pastors to have time out to reflect, pray…be refreshed and go to the footy! Ross is a huge Sydney Swan fan…and talked about how going to the football is the closest you can get to a spiritual experience in secular, sports mad Australia.

On Tuesday we followed his advice and went lawn bowling…that is a whole other post about how Australians find community…but as you wait for that, he is a picture of Bob, the guy who organised it all…a great bloke!

What Ross said…
Churches can be places where we perpetutate the ‘Non people status’ people get in society.
Genesis unpacks what it means to be a non person…rejection of people
Number one mark of a well lead church…no non person status
Women as non persons?
Children as non persons…
Genesis 28
“Its not that my father does not love me..its just that he loves himself more
When we move away from God we move into treating people as non persons….
In christ the church has no non persons…
Genesis finishes with healing reconciliation15 21
Pastors can involve themeselves in Senseless activity
A profound moment (mowing the lawn at 10pm on Saturday night…who would want to be a Christian if that is what it means)
Real aussies find themselves in leisure
John Grisham is a strong Baptist
Australians work for the weekend
The non loved child keeps his trap shut and keeps his dreams to himself
Generation Y will not commit themselves to endless activity

The more we focus on ourselves…the less time we have for the community
Theology of leisure
The Lord is my shepherd…makes me lay down to…
Mark 6.30
Luke 10.38…..
Churches measure themselves by activity
In my sheer busyness I squeeze in activity

Drawn to timidity…not boldness
We dont go to church anymore because it does not stand for anything
Church that is bold..has not status
Royal law
Will not favour wrong people
When we play favourites…we fail
Model justice
Some are not
3. Models persevering patiently
4. Model being people of integrity
Speak truthfully
Tell them to their face
Speak truth with gentleness and respect

5. Model a pastoral heart
Pastoral observation
Public confession
Righteous men
Care for others salvation

6. Model the gospel of grace
Person of Christ

7. The church and pastoral ministry
Centrality of the resurrection
Heresy is to talk about one or the other
The central linchpin of the christian faith is the resurrection
How does it impact us?
A christian is someone who believes in the resurrection
Scott Peck discovered that i have a problem with sin…only one faith deals with sin…and what the remedy is…
Care for the whole person…
Christianty…the whole person is raised up
Whole of me is raised up
God is concerned that the whole of me is raised up
Am i a person who is resurrection focused?
Messages of wholeness and hope
Look at the things you stand for
Where are your strategies to show the resurrection?

The internet is amazing…
thanks to Dave Quinn who sent this link through….From the medic who treated Angus Buchan

“No sooner do we reach out tent when a marshal rushes over with the news that we are needed urgently at the main stage for a patient who had collapsed. We make our way back through the endless crowds, eventually reaching the stage, only to find one of our ambulances already there. I find it strange that the patient is under the stage, but push through anyway. Maybe they needed the shade for the patient. Near the entrance I find an elderly gentleman lying on the floor. He is covered in sweat, already has a drip up, and has an oxygen mask on. I kneel down next to him to asses him, and discover it is Angus…….”
More

A beautiful gift for my birthday…superb! Chilled the bottle and the glass in the freezer….lovely citrus fresh taste….
Knappstein Lager
More

To beat the Eagles
What a meritorious win…and I have to admit…a great game
I had resigned myself to an Eagles victory at half time. They had most of the play, and were intense around the packs…and tackling with ferocity.

But…
They ran out of puff….and Hasleby and Hill stepped up to the plate.

What a game….my heart was racing…it hurts so much to lose to the Eagles…but it is so good to beat them.

Thank goodness really…I dont think I could go to the Pastors conference next week if they had lost!

The Qld Baptists are proposing this motion…
“The new ‘Interim Registration Guidelines’ for Queensland Baptists were sent out by e-mail today to pastors and a shock was in store for those who read all the way through. They discovered in Section 11 ‘General Guidelines’, the following:
11.5 Registered Ministers should be total abstainers from the use of alcohol”

According to some, the culture of Queensland means this has a good chance of passing.

Even an occiasional reader of this blog will know that I enjoy a social drink.
But taking aside the easy target this makes the Qlders….to call them wowsers of puritans or pharisees….I actually think this is seriously bad news.

It says something about us that we would want to regulate or forbid our pastors from enjoying a social drink with their neighbours and friends.
I seriously think it goes against scripture to try and stop a preacher do what Jesus did…and what God commanded His people to do…from the parties in the Old Testament, to the parties in the New…with Jesus making sure there was enough wine, to being accused of being a drunkard by the Pharisees….

I want to have a drink with my non church mates…I want to be their mate…I want to be a part of their life. I think this is what Jesus wants me to do.

I don’t want to be a drunk
I do want my kids to have an example of a responsible drinker
I do want to be friends with those who don’t yet know Christ.

In a sad way, I am sort of ashamed of this decision by Qld Baptists…I hope they reconsider.

Doing a Google search tonight…
As I typed in “Pastors” guess what was the most popular word to come up after ‘Pastors” in the Google search box? ‘Kids”

What does this say? The topic of what Pastors Kids are like…going to have to deal with…is huge.

Shudder.

Lets hope and pray for Pastors Kids….
By reputation alone…there is more than enough to have to pray about.