We’ll bounce back.
After the hard disciplined skilled win of last week, today was dissapointing.
Shame the boys could not have put on a better display for Farmer’s 400 goal game.
Interesting coaching move to put Johnson in the foward 50, and it almost paid off.

Longmuir, Sandilands, Mn Manus and Headland were all absent, and all play well at the MCG, especially Mc Manus. Despite Freo’s endevour, they did not appear to run hard enough, in fact they looked a little flat.

Umpiring was disgusting in Melbourne’s favour, something the commentators all said.

What’s more George G tipped us to win, so I thought from that point on, Melbourne were certainties. George is rarely right about anything.

Unfortunately I think our Blue and gold enemies up the road will smash the Colliwobbles, so it will be a tough week!

Doing this song in Church this week as we explore being who God wants us to be, and not who others have tried to fashion us into.

Now for something completely different.
Pastor Smith, who was a rodeo cowboy for 11 years, working professionally after he was a member of the rodeo team at Murray State, has planted not just one, but a network of ‘Cowboy churches’. He has earnt a rodeo scholarship and earned the rank of ninth best bull rider in national collegiate ranks.
Smith said God led him to start the church. He was pastor of Buchanan Baptist Church for five years. He is glad he was “a suit and tie pastor,” he said. That experience prepared him to be a church planter, he added.
Smith knows the “cowboy life,” he explained. He was called as pastor of Buchanan Church after someone heard him preach at a horse camp at the Land Between the Lakes State Park. He has done that for many years. He also breaks horses and has led tours on horseback on a hunting farm.

Their purpose statement is,
“Our Purpose is to Impact the Cowboy Culture With the Gospel of Jesus by Planting Cowboy Churches in Every County.”

Wonder what sort of music they do? I’m thinking Country and Western.
If you are after a belt buckle, they sell them for $40 a pop, and apparently demand is very high.

Article Website of Network

With the proliferation of books, online articles, instant downloads, podcasts, video on demand and even preachers on Australian TV, there is now more information available to the Christian than ever before.
You can discover what Jesus ate and alter your diet accordingly. You can discover who ‘real men’ are, and what happens when women pray.
I can learn from Swindoll, Compolo, Bell, Mark Driscoll, Deere and whoever else I wish just by logging on.
Yet there is something which for me is still irreplacable, and that is the human face of discipleship.
Jesus could have written a book and outlined a strategy to His disciples. Yet as far as we know, He never wrote a book.
Instead He said, “come follow me”. He wanted His disciples to live with Him, be a part of His life, learn from His vulnerabilities and triumphs.
For me personally, that practice of being able to follow, to learn, to be close to another Pastor who has walked or is walking a similar path is invaluable.

However lately I have been losing some mentors, guys I can learn from, and it sucks.
One of them went off to sell real estate, and he was someone who I genuinly could ask advice from, and know it was sound. Not necesarily life skills, but know how stuff. He knew how to get things done, and he knows what people are like. There is no doubt he will be a very succesful real estate agent. But it sucks for me, because I need guys like him in my life. And there is something very unique about being a Pastor, there are not many professions like it, if any.

As much as books and conferences are great, I learn best from sitting down with someone and picking their brain, hearing real stories.

Helping people is not always an easy business.
Helping people who are in serious conflict situations is not easy
Being confronted by angry violent people is not something they teach you in Theological College
Thank God for good friends and relatives to be able to deal with issues
Without each other, we would be sunk.

I don’t know how those without good support structures cope.

Tommorows West and Age has a story about some low life apparently spitting on Ross Glendinning after the Derby Medal Presentation.

I am very sorry this has happened, and there is no justification for it.
We should be passionate, and Freo fans are very passionate, but this sort of behaviour is despicapable. If Steve Butler’s article is correct, I am ashamed of this.

I also am sorry for the sledge I dished out towards Ross. Apparently he was the best judge of all and voted for Josh Carr!

Taking the idea of ‘being all things to all people’ is the Crossover Church found in Tampa, Florida.
They started off with a small group of people who were, ” burned out with “organized religion” – tired of the politics, the tradition, and the masks people hid behind at many churches. They saw the needs of people on the streets that weren’t being met, and they wanted to do something about it”.

They have a focus on their Sunday events, and this week well known hip hop artist and Pastor, “minister Corey Red from the Bronx, NY will be in both services bringing the word. ” – “Rawsrvnt will also be in the house bringing a different twist on our worship from his latest album “In Rare Form”

After a change of leadership in 2002 they adopted the Purpose Driven principles, and have as their vision statement, “To relevantly introduce the truth of Christ to the Hip-Hop Culture as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives.”
Their ongoing vision revolves around new facilties and more services. “We’ll also be adding our Saturday night service in 2005, and we plan to eventually add another service on Thursday’s that will specifically be for High School students”.

I don’t know whether Perth has enough people involved in the hip hop culture to have a church focused on them. But if you look at most churches, I wonder how effective we are being at reaching the more ‘edgy’ cultural groups.

They have a number of resources they are flogging and state, ” We believe that God has called us to impact this culture worldwide.”