Boys weekend with the lads.

Two Rocks Dunes.

Lifted Zook.

Fun.

Meditation, slowing down, focus……faith.

Perhaps the difference between Biblical meditation and other forms of Eastern religion is that Christianity asks you to fill your mind, rather than empty. It is a focused relentless pursuit of God. Focus in on one verse, one word, one story, one attribute….one thought. Let the majesty of it fill your mind. It helps push all the rubbish out. Something really important in our media saturated world.

Speaking on that this week at Church….

The way he came to the club was not good. A heartless Rosich in a duplicitous stroke dispatched the hardworking and likeable Mark Harvey in a move no AFL journalist saw coming, much to their chagrin. So there will be no kudos to him in this article.

However Lyon has proved to be what was needed for the club. Harvey brought in some good players and young players. But he failed to maximise the talent of the list at his disposal. Even with a year choked by injuries, Lyon has seen things Harvey failed to. Clancy Pearce, Ryan Crowley and Michael Johnson had breakout years. Matthew Pavlich is playing in the best form of his career, and the discipline and structure of the team is breathtaking. Players understand and believe in their role. As a observer of many years, I have never been more confident in the team. This does not mean I think they will win every game, but after the disappointment of the first derby against West Coast, Fremantle have not looked back.

The elimination final against Geelong, where they systematically took apart last years Premiers was indeed the best structured game they have ever played. Missing their best defender, in Luke McPharlin, they defended as one unit, including incredible forward pressure from the forwards.

Whatever happens this week against the Crows is perhaps irrelevant. While I would love them to win, and then storm past Hawthorn in the preliminary final, statistics and good sense say that this wont be our year.

But the team Lyon has moulded, and will continue to mould, is looking better than St Kilda of previous years, who made it to two Grand Finals. And that is saying something.

1. You live in Rockingham

2. You wear uggboots.

3. You holiday in Bali

4. Your three year old has a Bintang T-Shirt

5. You think dining flash is ordering the upgrade on your Happy Meal

6. You add ice to your beer and drink wine from the box

7. You drive a Commodore…of any type

8. You live in Rockingham

Every week. Sometimes twice a week. Sometimes more if there are funerals or weddings or special events.

Last week I had to prepare two messages and a short thought for a wedding. The week before it was for a funeral.

I am not the sort of Pastor who can reuse material. It just does not seem to work for me. It needs to be fresh. There is a relentlessness about that. But you know, I am not complaining. One of my friends, a pastor, said that God knows we Pastors need Him to prepare messages. Maybe if I didn’t need God in that way, I might neglect Him. As it is, I have to be devotionally and purposefully reading through the scriptures. I also have to meditate and read what others have said.

Either way, the burden can be burdensome, or it can be a joy.

Here are some helpful thoughts from Francis Chan

1. Am I worried about what people will think of my message or what God thinks?

2. Do I genuinely love these people?

3. Am I accurately presenting this passage?

4. Am I depending on the Holy Spirit’s power or on my own cleverness?

5. Have I applied this message to my own life?

6. Will this message draw attention to me or to God?

7. Do the people really need this message?

Antoni Grover was drafted through the rookie draft to the Fremantle Dockers when Damian Drum was coach. That sort of sums him up. But after 202 games, he deserves his place in Freo folklore.

He has defended valiantly when the team was having wave after wave of attackers coming against the defense. Luke McPharlin said today that, “I always played taller when Antoni was standing next to me”. He was that sort of player. Always smiling, courageously backing into packs, attacking the ball, taking marks, streaming forward and kicking a goal when needed.

I remember watching him kick a goal after his grandmother had passed away that week. He kissed the black armband on his arm as tribute. He calls himself ‘Balgas black caviar”, and that about sums him up. No-nonsense, fun, realistic and authentic.

Today he announced his retirement. The game, injuries and time have got the better of him. But he will be missed.

This weekend I spent Friday and Saturday with the blokes who organise the Mighty Mens Conferences around Australia. It was a praying, sharing and visionary time. We met at the small rural town in South Australia called Balaklava.

We talked about how many men are taking their lives, living with shame, making really unhealthy choices in their lives, forgetting God’s place and generally living empty lives. So many blokes in Australia are doing it tough and being less than what they could be. Particularly when it comes to suicide, we really feel we need to do something. Men living with shame may be a contributor.

We have to do something. The Mighty Mens Conferences are about gathering men together to work through in a meaningful way the issues that confront their lives. This is our vision. Not to grow a movement, but the see Australian men find hope.

We are praying about and organising regional meetings, particularly in rural environments all over Australia. Pray for us. It is only one piece of the puzzle, and many others are doing just as valuable ministries. But we have to do something.

Mighty Mens Australia