Love this title track from Hillsong New album
Glorious Ruins Hillsong
Hillsong Conference 2013
Our Pastoral Team from Inglewood Community Church recently attended as a team this conference in Sydney.
It was a inspirational, reflective and challenging time. One of the key impacts on me personally was understanding that God is with me. I was personally following the devotions that the team put together on personal revival.
As Pastors we give out so much, and it was refreshing as a team to enjoy fellowship together. We stayed in a common house, eating, travelling and engaging with each other. A significant and fun time.
The magnet that is Tasmania
Our family have just returned from almost three weeks away.
A week with our pastoral team at the Hillsong Conference, and then almost two weeks in Tasmania. Tasmania has become a bit of a magnet for us, we have visited there 3 times in the past 3 years, for a brief holiday, for 2 months long service, and just now for ministry and holiday time.
Having good friends there helps. This time we stayed mostly with one of my Mighty Mens Conference mates and his lovely wife. They were very hospitable, and I think Melinda has made a friend for life.
The ministry time was significant, for me at least. I had the opportunity to speak twice at the God Squad Church, and then to a group of about 150 men at a midweek men’s gathering. To see that many men turn up on a cold Tasmanian night to a midweek meeting, to hear a bloke they did not know, was pretty extraordinary to be honest. I spoke on Hosea and Gomer. A sermon God dropped in my lap during the flight home last time I visited Tasmania. I think it was a significant time.
The Fremantle Dockers proud Aboriginal history
Since its inception, there has only been one game ever, that an Aboriginal player has not been on the field for the Dockers.
At one stage there were 7 Aboriginal players on our list.
That is something to be proud of. More than any other arena, the sports one is one where Aboriginal people have found acceptance, respect and equality. Of course it has not always been so, and there are still awful stories of racism pottering around the edges of the AFL. But in the main, AFL Football should be glad with the way it has advanced the cause of these original Australians.
As a Dockers fan, we actually named our son after a great Freo Aboriginal player, Clem Michael. His father, Stephen, was arguably one of the best players ever.
We have been thrilled with the skillful Fremantle Dockers players with an Aboriginal ancestry from Winston Abraham, Garry Dhurrkay, Jeff Farmer, Roger Hayden and Michael Johnson. What a wonderful bunch of men.
Now we look forward to Stephen Hill becoming all he can be and others as well. Makes you proud to be a Dockers Member.
Although it is well documented that the change of logo and jumper was not met with gladness by myself, I must say that the Indigenous Jumper that Roger Hayden has been involved with is a beauty. Might just consider getting one!
Don’t join in with the mockers
Psalm 1
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
Reading this there are a number of imperatives the Psalmist challenges us on. Don’t follow advice of the wicked, don’t stand around with sinners….
Then he says, “(don’t) join in with mockers”
What sort of people do I hang around with? Those who mock God, mock the church? It is easy to be cynical about the church, easy to take pot shots. But that does not help anyone. Perhaps we should be setting our minds to have a ‘planned childlikeness” when it comes to God and His Church. See the good. Does this mean we ignore the bad? No. Its hard to do that anyway. But if that is what characterises us, we have a problem.
I don’t take this to mean those who are not part of the Church. I want to hang around with them, I want to be friends and give focus to them.
All Together Baptist Pastoral Retreat 2013
Every year I help organise the WA Baptist Pastors Retreat. We hold it in Mandurah over three day with most of us staying at the Mandurah Atrium.
This year we had as our guest speaker Dale Stephenson, the Senior Pastor at Crossway Baptist Church.
Dale spoke a number of times.
The first statement he made was,
“The kingdom price is too high to adopt methods that God is not blessing”
His point being that we are not to fear the people or their approval
I would add that the price of time is also too high. Look to where God is working, and go there.
Dale then spoke about preaching and communication of vision. Do not make a big point without emphasis, Vast majority of people have a heart, Hearts and minds need to be touched. He emphasised the need for stories, and how stories shape your culture. Do you want bad stories to shape your culture?
He then finished on Wednesday with the well known story of the Lost Son
At our point of failure and when the Devil is pointing at us, God meets us in our vulnerability. Having enticed you away, the Devil then tells you you can’t come to God for forgiveness. Shame. The lost son could have been found shame, but instead the Father ran to him to show him grace. Who can now shame the son when the Father is celebrating? Who wants to go to the auditor? Who wants to go to the principals office? He saved us today and he will save us in the future
Pharisees are enjoying the story when son is getting what he deserves with the pigs. No Jewish father is going to celebrate his son feeding pigs
The story ends with the father and the lost son.
The story is unresolved with the older brother not having joined the party.
Does he? We don’t know. The listener of the story has to answer that question themselves.
The Retreat was a inspiring and full on time. Most of us love it and look forward to it every year.
Front Stage Back Stage
Erving Coffman used the metphor of a theatre to describe human behaviour. In Walkers book, “leading out of who you are’ he uses this illustration to suggest that leaders can understand their behaviour and attitude through self reflection using this diagram. I found it helpful.
“Leading out of who you are’