Angry and Shallow

2007-12-02T08:31:00.000+13:00

I've been travelling a bit lately so I've been a bit slack on the blog.

Anyway we recently had a situation here in New Zealand that should have been cause for celebration but instead was roundly bagged by every media commentator.

The maternity ward at Wellington Hospital is going to be short of midwives over Christmas. To cope with this shortage the Hospital decided that all new mums, that were not on the birth of their first baby, should be out in 6 hours of the birth. To help with this the mums would get a $100 grocery voucher.........yes this was a terrible policy.....and everyone said so.

The good news is that within a day or so the CEO made a public statement saying she took full responsibility for the decision, said it was a mistake and that they were coming up with new ways of dealing with the midwife shortage over the Christmas period.

This is where i get annoyed......she should be praised. She took responsibility, didn't blame anyone else and made some changes. the perfect scenario. Sadly I haven't heard one commentator praising her for this.

I think this issue of taking responsibility and not blaming others is paramount. It hardly ever happens....especially in Christian circles where it should be normal behaviour when we are wrong.

Well done CEO of the hospital....you are a model for all of us in this area!

PS Don't forget to go to www.onehitwonder.org Excellent site and you should join in!
PPS For the cynics......I don't get paid for promoting the one hit wonder site. I know the blokes that are running it and its all good.

2007-11-06T15:42:00.000+13:00

www.onehitwonder.org Go to this site and hit the pay button......it'll only cost you a dollar. I personally know the guys behind this. I have spent time with them on several occasions in Tasmania and they are genuine and trustworthy and they have been working on this for a long time.

Its flipping fantastic!

2007-10-17T07:57:00.000+13:00

Bio fuels are clearly a good option in today's world of Global warming and diminishing natural resources. It has also come out that the price of pasta is rapidly rising in Italy. This not only affects part of the peoples staple diet but makes it even more difficult for the poor there as Pasta is the best, cheapest and most available food for them.
So what?
Well the reason that pasta is going up in price is that one of the main ingredients in it is also the basis of a lot of bio fuel. this puts it in demand and pushes up the price thereby negatively influencing the poor.

It seems that its always the poor that are first to be negatively affected and the last to benefit. I don't doubt that Bio fuels etc are needed and that we need to deal with the Global warming situation and the destruction of the environment.....but lets not forget the poor in the process and make sure what we do is good for for all....not just maintaining the lifestyles of the middle class.

2007-10-08T17:33:00.000+13:00

I've just posted on www.fritchie.blogspot.com He is raising some good issues......it should be something we all look seriously at.

These mumbo jumbo speakers and their theology need to be challenged. I contend however that their theology is not the main problem...in fact it is far more basic and far more sinister. It is what they get out of it! Inevitably they have the 'giving' speech. This giving ends up with them being the primary beneficiaries of their teaching. It shows itself in the expensive and luxurious lifestyles they have which for some includes private jets.This self serving practice means they end up with serious misbeliefs that cloud and influences all they do....including their study of the Bible. They begin to see all sorts of things that all reinforce their practice and lifestyle. the Bible ceases to be challenge to them but instead becomes another vehicle that reinforces all they have, do and believe.Its evil!

2007-09-22T21:33:00.000+12:00

Rugby World cup.

All Blacks doing well.

No time to blog!!!!!

Talk Later.

PS Sad about the Warriors.....but they did well

2007-09-06T19:44:00.000+12:00

The APEC summit in Sydney Australia amazes me for a number of reasons. One is that it is costing the Aussies more than 350 million dollars, protests are banned, traffic in areas is banned and the American Secret Service are granted a special exemption to carry arms. At the same time the Indigenous people are still waiting basic justice, there are hospital waiting lists due to lack of funds, poor housing for some and the list goes on.

We are quick to spend money on the rich and powerful defending them and looking after them while not extending the same to the poor, disenfranchised and lonely.

Jesus said that as much as we to the least we do to Him and Paul says it is sin to honour the rich at the expense of the poor. This what we are doing in Sydney. I would contend that what we are doing there is just an extreme example of what we do daily in our societies.....and yes in our churches.

Its wrong. Its got to stop. We have to stop being complicit with our silence......especially in our churches.

2007-09-02T19:59:00.000+12:00

A few other things that annoy me where people should TAI...think about it...

Slow drivers
Slow drivers that speed up whne there is a passing lane
Shop assistants that 'hover' around you
George Bush and his policy on Iraq
90% of tele evangelists.

2007-08-27T18:13:00.000+12:00

There are a number of things that slack me off.....maybe they shouldn't but they do.....I'm shallow. Two are as follows:

1.
People who block the isles in supermarkets with their trolleys while they talk to another shopper with a trolley....how hard would it be to move to the side! Stop slowing me down, making me turn around and annoying a lot of people. TAI

2.
When a plane lands after a long flight a lot of people stand up quickly blocking the isles and those of us who need to move quickly to get off and then they stand around talking and walking as slow as they can....sit down or move aside! TAI

TAI means think about it! How hard is it to think, look and move aside?

2007-08-13T20:45:00.000+12:00

When I'm Prime minister there are going to be big changes to the bureaucracy that is taking over New Zealand.

There are big housing issues in NZ and the need for new houses is vital to keeping prices down and therefore affordable to most people. In this mornings paper there is an article on this and the mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast, is quoted as saying "We've seen a shift of 12 days of processing time to between 15 and 17.........A typical house plan four years ago was three A3 size plans and 30 supporting pages. developers are now required to file 12 A3 size pages and up to 300 pages of supporting documentation"

Bloody ridiculous!

You can never allow the office wallers and bureaucrats to run anything....they will complicate everything, slow everything down and play everything too safe....sounds a lot like the church!

2007-07-26T21:08:00.000+12:00

One of the great things about true Christianity that is focused on the person of Jesus Christ is that He can't be pegged. This means we disagree over all sorts of things but often accept that the different opinions are worth the discussion. Every now and then however there is an issue that is plain wrong and should not be tolerated. In a previous post I spoke of the 'Really Stupid' conference and group with their nonsense statement that if you are not growing you are not like the early church..........well an even worse statement has been made at a conference.

Basically it was stated that we are to give the corners of our fields to the Senior Pastor and then God will bless us. The corners of the fields is of course $$$$. It's based on an Old Testament practice where farmers at harvest time left the corners of their fields for the poor to harvest..... it was a way of helping the poor. The current mumbo jumbo is taking it from the poor, giving to the wealthy and all so we get stuff......THIS IS STEALING FROM THE POOR AND THEREFORE FROM GOD.....ITS WRONG.

Why do we allow it? A number if reasons but there are three I want to mention.

1. We aspire to be like the senior pastor...we want the goodies!
2. We are Biblically ignorant and therefore fall prey to every whim of man
3. When we know its wrong we are too scared to speak out because we are afraid the powerful leaders who will be upset.

So how do we deal with these?

1. Face our own desires and aspirations and stop excusing the ones that do not reflect Jesus.
2. get Biblically literate...read the Bible and don't get everything for the songs we sing and stuff preached.....basically if the preacher is the main beneficiary of the preaching be very cautious.
3. I don't know....still thinking about this one.

2007-07-23T10:24:00.000+12:00

I've discovered Limewire. The result is that I'm trying to get my personal top 20 songs of all time. Its actually not that easy. The list will be eclectic and I'm sure will be the songs of heaven. The confirmed include:

"Cortiz the Killer" by Neil Young,
"Eruption" by Van Halen (yes I know its an instrumental than a song but its my list so its ok),
"Why don't you look into Jesus" by Larry Norman (probably the only christian song)
"Phantom of the Opera" by Iron Maiden
"Oh Darling" by the Beatles
Something by Roy Buchanan...still deciding.

Anyway..........any suggestions welcome...........as long as you don't get upset if I don't agree!

2007-07-19T19:11:00.001+12:00

PS My mate Hamo from Perth has just started posting again. Top bloke. http://www.backyardmissionary.com/

2007-07-19T18:58:00.000+12:00

It's been way too long since I last made a posting but recently something has really got me mad....made by a 'Really Stupid' conference group. The guts of their message is that if your church is not growing you are not a New Testament church.......and sure enough if you go to their conference they will tell you how to be a growing New Testament church....with the customary huge emphasis on the collection of course.

You are also not a New Testament Church if you have full time staff, if you have dedicated building,if you have a youth ministry, and of course you must be seriously persecuted and personally know people who are imprisoned for their faith. You must also have no Bible and no books on the Bible and there are no conferences telling you how to live!

To oversimplify the New Testament Church not only sets up people to try and be something that did not exist as it is promoted but also does not honour those in the New Testament Church that had to really endure for their faith.

When are we going to start telling people not to go to these 'Really Stupid' conferences that sound so good to some and yet are so wrong!

2007-05-10T21:25:00.000+12:00

In my last post I spoke of the misuse of the cross. Too often we project our own fears, insecurities onto God and then use that to justify ourselves. A classic case of this is shown in the recent tragic killing of a two year old here in New Zealand. Basically a gang drive by shooting of another gang pad resulted in the death of a two year old asleep on the couch in the lounge. Immediately local mayors and politicians are screaming how we have to ban gangs, not allow them to assemble, and lets get them etc. WE NEED REVENGE comes through loud and clear from our so called 'leaders'. Apart from the fact that this further escalates tensions and makes it much less likely for the gangs to reconcile and act justly, it shows how the need for vengeance is strong in us. It's wrong for the gang to want and take revenge against the other gang but its ok for those in power to do so! Those in power use this to raise their profile and stick it to the opposition. From this it is easy to see how we project this onto God and the cross.

So if God is not with the powerful and vengeful in this case where is He? I'm not sure but I think its with the hurting, grieving family of the little girl who at her tangi (funeral) said "today is not about the gangs but about our little girl". He would be working at bringing the sides together to talk, cry and reconcile and then to do justice. The quiet, gentle whisper of the Spirit is standing with the family in their grief and standing with the perpetrators in their fear and confusion.

Maybe we need to put aside our anger which usually flows out of fear and quietly try to reflect what God is doing.........but then what would I know!

2007-04-30T17:11:00.000+12:00

Recently I saw a Gospel presentation by a young up and coming evangelist. Very passionate, well presented and genuine. It had a good step by step power point and was very logical. I realised that it is what I would have done a few years ago. If i leave aside the presentation style etc there is one very disturbing aspect of it that many Christians believe and that has a profound affect on so much of what we do. Basically the presentation showed how God must punish sin and we can now avoid this as God has punished Jesus in our place. Part of the logic was "how would you feel if a man who murdered someone you loved was let off by a judge without any punishment? It would leave you feeling mad and wanting justice. Well God is the same. He cannot let it go unpunished". Very logical and VERY WRONG!!!!!!

This belief that punishment must always come before forgiveness is all pervasive. It is also not always true. I know of cases where the victims and their families have forgiven the perpetrator without any punishment. Recently we had a tragic case where two dogs killed a woman. They were out roaming. The family forgave the owner of the dogs. Another family of a boy killed by a dangerous driver met with him and forgave him and asked the court to let him off!!! This is actually more common than we think, particularly among no westernised cultures. Jesus himself did this on an umber of occasions including the woman caught in adultery and Zachaeus the tax collector.

I believe this wrong belief that God must punish before forgiving leads to the Christian rights constant desire to give longer prison sentences, get back whoever gets them....particularly if they are Muslims and a fascination with defining everything as right or wrong....the wrong must be known so it can be punished.

I believe totally in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus. I know that it enables me to be safe with Jesus both now and forever. What I don't know, and I don't think anyone can fully, is exactly it happened on the cross. The various views of the cross are never complete and at best are pointers to the type of thing that happened. When we make them a complete understanding of the cross we end up projecting our own desires on the greatest act of love that has ever occurred.... and in doing so dilute it.

He is nothing like us.......lets remember that as we try to be more like Him.

2007-04-24T19:21:00.000+12:00

I have announced that I am resigning as National Director of Youth for Christ New Zealand in June. This coincides with a new name for YFC and YFCNZ becoming a mission order amongst young people. I will still be a member of YFC (new name Incedo) but not in the National Leadership Team. This new team will be headed by Julie Heaton and include Karl Dickson and Paul Keane. This team are the next generation, fresher, and have all got a lot of experience in mission. Pasted below is the FAQ I sent out with my personal prayer letter (if you want acopy of this you are welcome just let me know and I will email it) that might explain what we are on about.
My only regret.....it didn't happen sooner!

Frequently Asked Questions (in red...the colour of the revolution!)

All the changes in YFC have meant that we are often asked a number of questions. This insert is to help clarify things.

Q. Why the radical changes in YFC?
A. About 5 years ago we faced some brutal facts about ourselves - there were a lack of younger leaders coming through into senior leadership,- many of those who made a decision to follow Christ were not continuing on as they reached adulthood, - many of the Christians involved were really struggling in their own faith and were not practising what we preached, and, - much of what we were doing was working with an ever decreasing % of the youth population. We knew the only way to address these was for a radical rethink and radical change to who we were and how we operated.

Q. So why did you stop your profile events like CTC and the programmes that received funding?
A. We have always said the question was not whether these programmes were good or bad but whether they were right for us anymore. Many have been planted outside of YFC so they are continuing but not with our name on them. We had to face the fact that the successes of the past actually hindered us in making the radical changes needed to move on. We were not tinkering, coming up with a new strategy, or just re-branding what we did, as we actually had to become, in many ways, something different.

Q. But you are still about the Gospel aren’t you?
A. Absolutely. We are still about bringing young people and Jesus together.

Q. So if you have stopped your funded programmes and the programmes that give you a profile how are you financed?
A. YFC was built on men and women who stepped out in faith to serve Jesus that were supported in prayer and finances by other faithful men and women. Basically we are back to that. In practice it means that some YFC missionaries are fully faith supported or are bi-vocational or tent-making, that is they work part time to support themselves. We needed to get back to praying for God to provide the resources for His work.

Q. In today’s world isn’t this crazy, especially as you are in many ways disappearing off the radar screens of many churches?
A. Yep!

Q. So what are you actually doing now?
A. Listening, experimenting, learning and trying to be authentic. There won’t be the standard programme anymore but a range of endeavours and projects that are trying to connect with youth communities that reflect our values. These include weekly club programmes, facilitating community meetings to look at ways of dealing with the gang and drug problems their teens face, road trips, camps, in school work, using the arts to communicate the Easter story, working with specific migrant groups, running skate and BMX competitions, homework classes, Yone…..the list goes on. The key difference is that if something isn’t working or reflecting our values we can quickly let it go and try something else. The other key difference is that we won’t be branding and marketing everything we do so we stay authentic and local.

Q. What are these values you talk about?
A. Our 6 values are Jesus Centred, People Focused, Priesthood of all Believers, Mission through Service, Creative and Generous. In the past our projects use to define us. We now want to be known as a group of people that reflect the above……in a range of ways.

Q. I hear you are now a mission order…what the heck does that mean?
A. At risk of oversimplifying, a mission order is a group of people that choose to adopt a set of values and practices, often referred to as rules and rhythms of life, in a particular context. For us the context is the youth community in NZ and the values are answered in the previous question. The practices are the common outworking of the values e.g. a Jesus Centred practice is that we meet monthly with a prayer partner to help guide our relationship with Jesus, a Mission through Service practice is that we each serve another community group each year. In 2006 and 2007 this is Amnesty International.

Q. So does everyone in YFC have to be a member of the order to be involved?

A. Definitely not. People will be involved in a range of ways. Some of these may choose to be an associate which means a lower set of practices, and some may choose to be members.

Q. Will all members be full time staff?
A. Again definitely not. Most members will be volunteers but to be full time staff you will have to be a member. The members are the core of the order.

Q. Mmmmmm ...I think I’m getting it. One last question. What about accountability etc.
A. We have actually increased the level of accountability with peer accountability, mentoring, prayer partners, and we still have a Board, who are all members living out the values and practices, who have the Governance role of YFC.

Q. Anything you want to ask me?
A. Yes there is……is there any way we can help you?

We hope this helps clear things up a bit. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time with questions or comments.

God Bless

Darryl and Sue

2007-04-18T17:15:00.000+12:00

The tragedy of the School shooting in America raises some major issues for me. Its evil and that cannot be denied. I hear how counselling centres are being set up for everyone involved. Everyone from The President to the head of the UN speak out about the evil of it and offer their sympathies and help if needed. It grabs the world headlines and already people are telling (and selling) their stories and appearing on national TV. The debate rages on about gun control in the US. Christians are seen on TV singing worship to God and thanking him for delivering those that made it. There will soon be speaking tours and movies made.

At the same time in Darfour, Iraq and many other places in the world this is daily occurrence often on a far greater scale. There are extremely traumatised children and adults who survive but know any day this could change. there are no counselling centres, no presidential decrees, no offers of help and sympathy for other nations. Surely if the American situation rouses us to action it should continue for the least of those amongst us......the hurting, unnamed, unknown child in Darfour who at this very moment struggles with the trauma of seeing things that sound like a horror movie, wondering if they will live or die and knowing no one seems to care!

I know Jesus told us that as much as we do it to them we do it to him.

2007-03-23T14:33:00.000+12:00

It's been a while since I posted here. In that time I've been to dangerous stories with Forge www.forge.org.au in Melbourne (Excellent), Singapore taking a course with youth and social workers there and trying to catch up on the stuff that needs doing here.

I've also been watching with interest the Republican and Democratic contenders for the USA Presidential race. The latest time magazine has some brilliant articles on it including the fact that it is at this time of the year that all the Republican contenders seem to court the Evangelical voters. To do this they all' come clean' with some evangelical leader such as James Dobson or Jerry Falwall. They 'confess' their failings in the area of affairs, marriage breakdowns and get declared clean' by these leaders thereby ensuring the vote of the Christian right.

When compared with the Democratic candidates the Republicans are more unfaithful to their marriage vows, have been married more often and have had more affairs yet now they are 'clean' they are ok to vote for. The Democrats are not an option as they tend to be pro choice and pro gay.......these terms are not actually helpful as they actually mean they believe in letting women decide on abortion (as opposed to necessarily being pro abortion) and having equal legal rights for same sex couples.

What rubbish! The Christian right are corrupt, deceitful and need to remove themselves from the political power they have....they won't though....the power is addictive.

Sadly I see similar things coming into the NZ christian scene. More on this another time....I have to go on another camp.

2007-03-09T14:53:00.000+13:00

"All men are rapists" was the cry of some feminists a few years ago. There was a huge backlash of indignation from men and women. Its only a 'small minority that rape' we said.

In New Zealand we have just had three men (1 a current serving senior police officer and 2 former police officers) cleared of rape allegations in two different trials with 2 different women as the victims. It has now transpired that 2 of the men are currently serving time in prison for a rape they were convicted of that was not allowed to be bought out in the trial.

This has got me thinking about the whole issue.....not so much as to whether they were innocent or guilty.....but what does it say about us? There is no doubt that men have been sexually using women, whether it meets the legal definition or not, for centuries....maybe for all all time. It is also true that the system seems stacked against women coming forward and getting a conviction, and that so much sexual behaviour by men is abusing their power and the vulnerabilities of the victims (or perhaps we should call them survivors as they are hero's for surviving). So often what men do they brag about and other men laugh and joke about it.

The only conclusion is that the feminists are partly right as long as we see manhood including the right to use women for our sexual gratification and allowing this to continue. I do hold hope though as in Jesus we see a man who was different. He did not see women as most men did and still do and took stands that showed the value women have without needing to sexually exploit them!

2007-02-20T17:21:00.000+13:00

There's a lot of talk in NZ about harsher sentences for crimes. In some cases this is a good idea to protect society, stand alongside the victim and hopefully help rehabilitate the criminal. There is a dark side to this however that is rising up. Its the somebody has to pay every time stuff. A lot of it comes from the christian influence in western society that has fed our natural desire to pay back. I think it goes all the way to the Cross. This where Jesus died so we could be with him and enjoy him forever. There are about 5 views of the cross with the 2 most common being the ransom and penal substitution. At risk of oversimplifying the ransom view basically says the the Devil had us and the only way the God could get us back was to pay a ransom....the death of Jesus. The Penal substitution basically says that God had to punish sin and that Jesus took all our punishment so we were free.....this is the most common or well known view. Sadly this view gives rise to the line that someone has to pay before forgiveness can be given. Therefore whether its attacking Afghanistan to pay them back for the twin towers or harsher sentences for everyone its all consistent with this view.
Recently in the Amish country of the USA there was a terrible killing of some Amish by a killer who was not Amish. Normally of course there would be all the baying for blood etc. The Amish however said the killers mother would be devastated at losing her son so they visited her to offer her condolences and support, said they would give her any and all money they got as a result of the killings and went with her to her sons funeral.....wow!
I think they showed that mercy and forgiveness does not have to come only after punishment but can come instead of punishment. The Hindu have a proverb that goes something like this "Its an amazing moment when you let the prisoner free only to find you were the prisoner".
I have no doubt that I am saved by the sacrifice of Jesus but to limit it to our understanding is bizzar and I think will always lead to this sort of wrong thinking. Its something God (including Jesus) did that at best we understand only in part...its probably a bit of all 5 views and a lot more besides. I will understand it in heaven and not fully before. Until the Amish show us what God is like to us and how we can be to each other! I struggle with this......I want to be like them but its not easy...of course they never said it was easy for themselves! The struggle is all part of trying to follow Jesus.

2007-02-01T16:07:00.000+13:00

The Christmas statistics are out! The season that we celebrate the Birth of Jesus is the most dangerous time of the year for women and children. The refuges are full and cannot cope with the victims of domestic violence. This of course is evil on a number of fronts.
Firstly the fact that people are not safe in their own homes, have to find refuge and are beaten is evil.
Secondly the fact that it happens at the time of the year we celebrate Christs coming to earth and yet christians are largely silent is evil.
Thirdly the fact that those who give refuge and care to these victims are struggling to cope and their resources are running out is evil.
I cannot see any redeeming things in this.
Maybe its time we stood in solidarity with these women and children and made Christmas a time when we said no to violence both publicly and privately, resourced the refuges and faced the horrors that we currently ignore. Maybe then we would bring Christ back into Christmas...........................................sadly I'm not hopeful!

2007-01-26T14:54:00.000+13:00

I've been unable to get into my site for a week or so hence the delay since my last post. There has been some good news however. The night shelter in Wellington has had a million dollar upgrade so the homeless now get top quality accomodation. Fantastic! I am sure there will be some who think they don't deserve it, it will just encourage them, why don't they get a job etc, blah, blah, blah. I think its the Jesus thing to do...to look to others before ourselves........especially the poor, hurting and disenfranchised. For too long they have had to put up with the minimum and the crumbs. A friend of mine from a country that faced the Tsunami said how horrified he was at some of the donated goods from the west....underpants with holes, socks that were worn, torn shirts etc. Clothing we would not wear yet it was expected that the poor would not only wear them but be grateful.
I ran a boys home for a number of years and we had a number of times when well meaning christian people would bring around broken cups, plates that were chipped, broken chairs etc and said we should use them....and be grateful! If I said we could not they got offended and thought the boys were unappreciative.
There were some 'wonderful' others as well.....one man turned up in winter with a brand new wood burner and installed it....all without even leaving his name. Its people like this and those that upgraded the night shelter that truly represent Jesus.

2007-01-10T16:45:00.000+13:00

We have just had an horrific (is there any other kind?) murder here in New Zealand. A convicted murderer, out on parole, was on the run from the Police after an alleged assult he committed. While on the run in the bush he allegedly killed man for his Quad bike and then assaulted some others that were mountain bike riding in the area. He himself was eventually shot in the leg by the Police and has lost a leg. This has led to all usual rantings from people about how sentences must be harsher, life must mean life and there should be no parole for some prisoners.

There is no way a good spin can be put on the situation. A man was murdered and others traumatised and injured. Yet I fear there will be an over reaction that could do harm.

The issue of parole is complex, as is the whole prison and sentencing situation. In saying this however we do need to realise that in the midst of this we need to ensure that those who do change and will not reoffend are not all penalised by the few who do. We need to ask why it is that those in the prison service do reoffend and whether we are doing all we can to give them every opportunity to change and be supported in this change.

We do need to punish crime appropriately (which is not always with longer sentences), we do need to protect the public, we do need to ensure that people are given the chance to change and we do need to ensure we take a wise approach....not a knee jerk reaction!

2007-01-02T16:20:00.000+13:00

It's the second day of 2007 here in New Zealand. Sadam Hussein has been hanged (What a disgrace); over 3000 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq; a conservative estimate is that over 100 Iraqi's are killed each day; there is still massive starvation in many parts of the world; the womens refuges here in NZ are full of families escaping the rise in domestic violence that happens at this time of the year....and yet all I seem to hear from people is how bad the summer weather is turning out!

Sure it is wetter and windier than normal. Sure we all like it when the sun is shining etc, but give me break.....I don't care enough to give it more than 2 sentences a conversation! We in the west are becoming so self centred and self focused people are genuinely seeing this a real tragedy!

I think the primary way to avoid becoming part of this problem is to stay connected with real people facing real tragedies........matters that can mean eating or hunger; being safe or unsafe; having the opportunity for basic medical supplies or staying ill; even life or death.....not just whether the BBQ is fired up. UNOH www.unoh.org is one such group that I am privileged to be connected to. When I hear the stories of the powerless, poor and ignored it puts our christmas weather in perspective.

While not into new years resolutions maybe we should all make sure we are connected with such groups and those people in our own neighbourhoods that face real issues. It'll help us in the west keep perspective in an increasingly self focused world.

2006-12-29T21:06:00.000+13:00

The shocking murders of the prostitutes in England by a serial murderer hit the headlines all over the world.....the good news is that they appear to have caught the killer.....the bad news is that, just like my opening sentence, the victims are still being referred to as 'prostitutes'. They should be refered to as women. The way the media constantly called them by their 'profession' is an insult to them and to let it pass is to be a part of the offence. It is too easy to brand people by what they do, their ethnicity, their sexuality, their income, their vocation etc. This can lead to a number of things which in this case include;

the value we place on them (I am sure that some felt the prostitutes almost deserved it or at least were in some part to blame due to their profession),
the severity we place on what happens to them (I am sure that some would see it as a lot worse if the victims were 'nice' middle class women),
who we blame ( I am sure there are those who think this type wouldn't happen if we banned prostitutes).
and many more that I do not have the time here to explain.

I am convicted by the fact that Jesus, whose birth we celebrated a couple of days ago, hung with prostitutes, loved them, esteemed them as people and wants to be a part of their life...including their life on the streets. He is the one who we should look to for a way of viewing the victims of the murderer.

2006-12-18T15:45:00.000+13:00

In the USA a man sentenced to death took more than 25 mins to die in Florida. The lethal injection did not work and they had to repeat the process. The witnesses said that he was groaning and gasping. The officials said he was peaceful and sleeping! This whole thing horrifies me for a number of reasons but the overriding one is that it is the Christian right who are the main supporters of this evil. Who are these people that want death and when it goes wrong don't seem to take responsibility for it? If anyone else tortured and killed someone in this way they themselves would be sentenced to death (Currently not in every state but if the Christian right get their way it would be). When its the state however they are exempt...especially as they are doing Gods will.
What amazes me even more is that the same group of people are strongly anti abortion. Killing of an innocent life is wrong...except when you are poor and facing the death penalty. There are numerous stories of innocent men on death row being released because of new DNA evidence etc and others who were clearly innocent but executed. Again I ask...who is responsible for these innocent deaths or near deaths?
Its scary being a Jesus person when the publicity we get is that we all support war on Arabs (in oil rich countries) and we support killing people in the name of the state. It also scary that while the USA Christian right are very strong and vocal in this type of christianity (?) it is growing in NZ and Australia...in fact everywhere. The scariest part is that is usually marketed as pro family lobby groups and political parties.....I say keep them away from my family as they are dangerous!

2006-12-06T11:43:00.000+13:00

A number of people have commented on my last post...thanks. To follow on there are a number of thoughts that come to my mind but the first is that we have to unpack what we mean by the words we use. Most are a reflection of our own values and behaviours that we project into the meaning of the words. Worship is a classic. Usually in the west it means something we enjoy. I can't help but think it should be asked does God enjoy it (In asmuch as God enjoys as we understand the term!). Therefore when a church has a worship service who is it aimed at? I would contend it is usually aimed at making the people that attend feel good and is often nothing more than a marketing excercise!
Like wise Triumphalism. We in the self centred, self focused west see it winning so we are on top...be it financially, relationships, stuff etc. I would contend that in part the triumph of the resurrection is focused on the rights of the poor and oppressed to be fed, housed and free and we as the people of the resurrection are to work towards this which will ultimately be found in heaven.
There are many examples of how we misuse words for our words and I think that many of the large churches and christian movements reinforce this...often overtly and often subtly as the medium really is the message.

2006-11-29T15:40:00.000+13:00

I had an amazing experience in Sydney last Sunday. In the morning I attended and spoke at the opening of the Café at 182 Campbell St in Surrey Hills. This is all part of the 2010 project and the highlight was the Street Choir. This is made up of about 15 ‘street people’ and they were fantastic. In the evening I went to one of the big name churches. There were over 800 people there and the music, lighting etc was very professional. Of course the key question is which was more honouring to God? Both were worship, both were in a church and both focused on God! This is actually a hard question to answer without my own bias coming through. There were a few key differences though that I think point to an answer. The 2010 project was made up of people who were all at various stages of brokenness (including me) and we all knew it. We celebrated that we could meet and be honest. The strength was not in the professionalism of the service but in the real people and organic nature of the time together. We looked different from each other and everyone was free to participate.

The large church was all about winning, triumph and overcoming. The only people on the stage all looked the same (all slim, good looking, smiling people with a lot to offer). The rest of us were able to participate by giving money (I won’t go into that here but what a load of mumbo jumbo) and singing along with the experts on stage….which I have to admit the vast majority seemed to love.

I’m still thinking about it!

2006-11-22T17:19:00.000+13:00

Currently one of the big issues in New Zealand is the government campaign to ban smacking of children by parents. Christian groups have chosen this as the issue to fight in the name of the family.......'lets stop this anti smacking campaign' go the adds and public statements. I think that yet again we have chosen the wrong issue to be known for.....the right to smack kids! If we (I say 'we' as I am lumbered in with them by the fact that they say they speak for christians and family focused people....which they don't) win we will be known for the that we won the right to smack! Aaaaaagh!!! Even if this is your view dont you think it is not the priority at the moment in NZ. Why aren't we known as the ones who won the right for womens refuges to be better funded (which thye desperatley need), or for the rights of refugees in NZ to have their families reunited with them over here (which we are very slow at), or for the rights of Maori to have their day in court over the seabed and foreshore (the Government passed legislation to override this right recently). Surely these issues are more family focused and will give us as ambassadors of Jesus a bit more credibility..........credibility that we are losing by the day.

2006-11-21T15:12:00.000+13:00

There has been a story in our local media about a marquee company that sent a person getting married a rude email when they pulled out of using them for their wedding. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3865605a11275,00.html Part of the company’s email said “Your wedding sounded cheap, nasty and tacky anyway, so we only ever considered you time wasters”. While this is amazingly bad taste the response has been amazing. To prove that their wedding was not tacky they and local media showed how much was being spent, what ‘flash’ stuff they were having at it etc. This comes at the same time that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting married in a multi million dollar exercise in Italy….all on the pages of all our newspapers!

So what is ‘cheap, nasty and tacky?’ Surely this is totally personal taste. If you want plastic flowers, cheap wine and meat pies I say go for it…and enjoy it to the max if it’s your choice. We cannot let $ decide what is tacky and not tacky. The company was way out of line….but to prove them wrong by showing what money is spent etc is just as dumb.

2006-11-17T17:00:00.000+13:00

I have to talk about Ted Haggard even though everyone else has already. One of the things that concerns me is that he was involved with christian groups that say they hear from, and speak for God on 'family issues', 'move in the spirit etc' and they missed his struggles! There was obviously no room to share your struggles and failings even though this should be the mark of Jesus followers! Ted must have been in inner torment for years and yet unable to share his struggles….this is not a sign of a Jesus community. There is a lot I could say on this issue but Dan at signposts and Gordon MacDonald probably say it better than me.

2006-10-31T10:27:00.000+13:00

The death of the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, made world headlines. He died tragically from a Stingray barb leaving his family, and seemingly heaps of adoring fans, devastated. As is so often the case in these situations we Christians managed to make it worse and show how shallow we have become! There was an email and txt (sms) going around that he had made a decision to follow Christ in a church meeting a couple of weeks before his death. It spread like wild fire only to be found out as a hoax.
I think the tragedy here is that most Christians were not excited that he was a Christian for his sake but that a famous person was a Christian and this makes us feel better about ourselves! Why do we constantly need the validation from the rich and the famous? Why does this make us feel better about ourselves? On the day he died I am sure there were thousands of others that died in Australia and millions around the world but it is only the famous who supposedly turned to Christ that excites us and gets our attention! I hope Steve was a Jesus person and I wish his family well.....I am just sick and tired of this innappropriate fascination the church has with the wealthy and famous that usually comes at the expense of the poor and lonely.
I've got more to say on this at a later stage.

2006-10-25T14:59:00.000+13:00

Singing seems to be both attracting people and keeping people away from church these days. I have a number of problems with singing. Usually it requires me to suck up my testicles, put on a soft smiling face and sing soft love songs all in the name of worship. Nothing wrong with this (actually I'm telling lies here but can't be bothered explaining why today) if its your cup of tea but I know a lot of blokes who are put off by it all. The big problem is when we are told that if we don't get into it we aren't worshipping and somehow we stop God working and ruin it for everyone else! What a load of bollocks. We reduce worship to singing or a particular practice.
There is the alt worship crew....I like them but I heard one person say "why is it they can only worship in the dark"; the traditional hymn crew.....good enough if you can read the small print in the hymn books; the mystical crew....chant and act all Gregorian but manage to not take the vows in most cases; the emerging church crew....hang out in bars and cafes acting like Jesus is their wine waiter or barrister; and so on.
I guess they all have a place, and I personally like the emerging forms and mystical forms, but a lot of their proponents seem to say their way is best and the others are wrong. It's this part that gets me. Time for us to stop telling each other how to worship and start reflecting a bit more on why we are so interested in telling each other how to act to please God.......and for those who aren't into singing....God doesn't care at all!!!!

2006-10-16T02:36:00.000+13:00

I'm sitting in Perth Airport waiting to catch a plane home to NZ. Its been a great 4 days with Hamo and the Forge team here. A good bunch seriously looking at a number of issues in a fresh light. The subject came up on John Howards (the Prime Minister here) speech on defining what Aussie values are so that migrants will know what they have to adopt to live in this country. What a joke! If the man is serious he will go to the indigenous people and ask them. They have been abused, ignored, nearly wiped out in some areas and had their children stolen in recent history. He has never apologised and now thinks that Australian values are defined by the colonisers. I know many Aussies do not agree with him but sadly many do. If you want National values to help assimilate foreigners then get them.........from the original inhabitants!

2006-10-13T22:14:00.000+13:00

A lot of people, Christians in particular, say that homosexuality, and the rights they now have, will destroy the family in New Zealand. What a load of crap! The family in New Zealand has been disintegrating for a long time and for a range of reasons. I would suggest the number one is fathers that are working too hard and long, that are abusive or that are absent (physically or emotionally)! Talk to any counselor, youth worker etc who is working with young people that are in trouble or struggling and this comes up time and time again. So why pick on the homosexual issue? I contend there are at least three reasons;
1. Historical bias and even hatred that is continuing today. This can be handed down through the generations.
2. In some circles they are an easy target. Often there is no one in these circles to put forward a more truthful view and as the old saying goes...."When everyone is thinking the same no one is thinking".
3. The truth is too close to home. It means we have to face ourselves, what we hold as precious, and who we promote. I think this is particulary true with some successful professional men. We hold them up as role models because of their work and ask them to join our boards and committees.....Even if they are lousy fathers. If their kids go off the rails we blame the homosexuals!
Its time we got honest. Families are important and need to be protected...Lets start doing it by facing the real issues rather than creating straw men arguments.

2006-09-12T12:54:00.000+12:00

I’m sick of the ridiculous stuff that takes our time and energies. Recently a friend of mine asked the question “should we refer to ourselves as Jesus followers rather than Christians due to the way the term Christian is perceived”. www.mrharvey.blogspot.com I thought this was an excellent question. The sad fact is that there was an immediate response, from people that I thought would have known better, that we need to redeem (I suggest this means preserve) the name and enough of this sort of talk. It’s a bit like the discussions on the web as to ‘did Jesus had a beard’, or, ‘is body piercing ok?’ My response is “who give a rats arse (Bottom if you are Baptist)!” Poverty, oppression, people who have no knowledge of Jesus (as opposed to people who think that have so much knowledge that they can tell the rest of us what language to use), child abuse and disease, these are the issues that should take our time and efforts. The system and its language aren’t worth the time and energy they take up. I think its time that, Jesus followers, Christians, people of the way, (your choice) start focusing on the real issues. The recent UNOH Surrender conference did this. It focused us on Jesus and therefore indigenous peoples rights, fair trade, mission, micro enterprises among the poor, poverty and our responses to it…. ….and not once did I hear a discussion on terminology! Excellent stuff!