One Body

Posted: September 15, 2013 in Uncategorized
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open handsThis afternoon we visited a vacant shop in the main street of Kalamunda with about 50 other Christians of all denominations across the Shire of Kalamunda to conclude a 40 hour prayer vigil.

The event commenced on Friday night with a combined churches prayer dinner which was addressed by Graham Power from South Africa.

Over the weekend, even into the wee small hours of the night, people have dropped into this temporary prayer retreat, a cold and rather drab venue on a very wet weekend, to spend time together or alone in prayer for our community. I have to admit I took the daylight option.

This afternoon, as we gathered together, people from a variety of churches and denominations prayed for each other as the local pastors laid hands on them and prayed for God’s Spirit to fall afresh on the people of our local community.

It was a significant event as we acknowledged the unity that can be achieved through Jesus. It was significant in that we came from churches where there are different forms of worship, different theological views, and different forms of church polity, yet the focus of that hour, and the 40 hours before, was on Jesus.

It’s moments like this that affirm the words of the Apostle Paul:

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Embrace the Shake

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Thanks to Steve Fogg for alerting us to this great video. Phil Hansen talks about how he embraced his weakness to discover some new opportunities for creativity. His message is “think inside the box”.

Video  —  Posted: September 12, 2013 in Uncategorized

Touch Another World

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ImageOne of my favourite places in the whole world is a spot at the southern-most tip of Ningaloo Reef where I first experienced snorkelling.

As you step off the white sand into azure waters you look around at a beautiful world of cloudless skies and pristine coastline, but when you put your head under the water, you touch another world.

The scenery above disappears as you are immersed into a world where bright coloured fish dart around between multi-coloured coral, massive schools of colour flash by as larger fish dodge in and out, apparently unaware of a human floating above them in awe of their busy community.

It’s a world that is as far removed from the world above the surface of the ocean as you can imagine.

Jesus told many stories about ordinary people doing ordinary things, but he prefaced the stories with the curious phrase: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” There was a sense in which Jesus was giving people the opportunity to get a glimpse into another world – a world that was very different from what they were used to, but was still only a breath away.

We become familiar with life as it is, whether it is an exciting, fulfilling, enjoyable life we lead, or one in which we regularly experience sadness, rejection, hurt and fear. But just a breath away is another world of incomparable beauty.

Entering the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus spoke about, doesn’t require us leaving the world in which we live, but by holding the hand of Jesus we enter into a brilliant experience of fulfilment, hope, and life that eclipses and transforms everything we know.

Are you ready to put on your snorkel and dip your head under the surface?

Aside  —  Posted: September 9, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Why worry? Watch the Planes Landing

Posted: September 2, 2013 in Uncategorized
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ImageLast night we went to the airport. We weren’t going on holiday, and nobody was flying off to distant places. We went to the airport so our two grandsons could see the planes. It reminded me of going to the airport when I was a child, except then you could lean over the railings, and smell the avgas and hear the noises.  Now you have to look through a big pane of tinted safety glass.  But we still saw the planes … and the trucks … and the buses. An airport is a busy place.

In a busy world, it is so important to take time to smell the roses, look at the planes and find other opportunities to experience the simple joys of life. It’s important to appreciate family and friends, and it’s great to go to an airport with no intention of going anywhere … just to look at the planes with children who get such joy from simple things.

Through the pressures of life and the times of worry, it’s worth being reminded of the practical words of Jesus:  Consider the ravens, he said. God looks after them, so won’t he look after you even more?  Do you think that by worrying you will add an hour to your life? Not that you’d want an extra hour, because you’d probably just fill it up with more worrying. The last bit was my words, not Jesus’!

Consider the wildflowers, Jesus said.  They don’t fuss around being busy all the time, but God cares for them and he’s going to care for you even more.

Take time for the simple things in life: listen to the birds, look at the wildflowers, go and watch the planes landing, and give thanks to your Maker.

Happy Fathers’ Day

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Happy Fathers' Day

Image  —  Posted: August 31, 2013 in Uncategorized
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All We Need … is a Great Website

Posted: August 31, 2013 in Uncategorized
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ImageLast night I attended the launch of the amazing new website for “All We Need is Right Here”.

This is a brilliant community initiative to support the various communities that make up the Shire of Kalamunda.

Using the principles of Assets Based Community Development, All We Need is Right Here is seeking to:

  • identify and celebrate the personal, organisational, cultural, physical, business and networking assets, capacities and passions of communities within the Shire;
  • map, link and promote these assets and passions to enhance community connection, community involvement, social capital, resource sharing, volunteerism and networking; and
  • identify opportunities and initiatives for connected people, places and things to create positive community outcomes across the Shire.

The website covers the wide range of people, things, groups and events that exist within these local communities and provides opportunity for neighbours to link up with each other. It’s a great resource.  Congratulations to the team who have been involved in putting it together.

I guess at the heart of the website and the whole “All We Need is Right Here” project is the recognition that people need people, and the more we can do to encourage people to connect with each other in meaningful and fulfilling ways, the better.

All we need … is not just a great website … but hopefully it’s one of the ways we can begin to build healthy local communities and neighbourhoods.

I Have a Dream

Posted: August 28, 2013 in Uncategorized
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ImageI have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

Today is the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

As a Baptist I look back on this speech with pride because Martin Luther King was not only a Baptist minister himself, but was the son, grandson and great grandson of Baptist preachers and his commitment to social justice stemmed from his Baptist heritage and belief in religious liberty.

Religious Liberty is one of the distinctives of the Baptist movement and is one of the reasons I call myself a Baptist.

Martin Luther King had much to teach the world 50 years ago, but I fear that the lessons are still to be learned today.

On this special occasion it is worth spending a moment reflecting on King’s words and asking what we need to learn in Australia in 2013.

Read the speech here.

Is Monday the New Weekend?

Posted: August 25, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Image“Monday now the weekend” is the headline in The West Online today. The advent of Sunday trading in Western Australia and the possible extension of Sunday trading hours in the not-too-distant future means that for many Saturday and Sunday are the busiest days of the weekend and the relaxation time is Monday and Tuesday.

The article says: “Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that the number of Australians working on weekends has been on the rise, with almost one-third of working people doing some form of weekend work.

Of course, this is not really a new situation. In my research into early Baptists in Western Australia I recall the efforts of great Baptist preachers like William Kennedy and FJ Miles in the Goldfields over a hundred years ago carrying out a very public campaign against Sunday sport.

The Biblical commandment to remember the Sabbath Day has a very practical basis. I have no doubt that many of the health problems, and particularly mental health problems, that we experience today are compounded because we have not been taking the time that we need to rest, and in that time of rest, to reflect on our Creator and his goodness.

But let’s put that to one side for a moment, and consider how the church, which traditionally carries out the majority of its public activities on a weekend, should think about the changes that are occurring in our society. How do we address the issues of corporate worship in a society where traditional time patterns are now impacted by a fly-in fly-out lifestyle?

I don’t think those societal changes necessarily  require us to stop meeting on Sunday and instead to call the faithful to worship on Monday, but perhaps there is a time and a place for considering some alternative and additional opportunities for people to seek solace from the rush and bustle of life in order to meditate on their Creator.

We’ve been studying Hebrews on Sunday morning and next week we are coming to a verse that says: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

If the world in which we lives makes the meeting together of Jesus’ followers too hard, perhaps we need to think of ways that we can make it possible. Any ideas of how we can encourage each other in this?

 

From Little Things Big Things Grow

Posted: August 19, 2013 in Uncategorized
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ImageI was fitted with a new pair of glasses last week. They’re multifocals so I don’t have to keep taking my glasses on and and off all the time. When I am eating a meal I can look at the food through the bottom part of the glasses and the food is in focus, and when I look up through the top part of the glasses, the person sitting opposite me at the table is also in focus.

Such a simple change, yet the results are so profound.

Significant events can come out of small incidents. I think Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody said something like that in 1991 when they wrote the protest song, From Little Things Big Things Grow.

This week try saying hello to someone in the shopping centre that you may have otherwise walked by without acknowledging. Give someone a phone call to see how they are going. Drop a card to someone who needs encouragement. Talk to your neighbours.

Who knows where those little things will lead.

Nasty or Nice?

Posted: August 13, 2013 in Uncategorized
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ex-ceedDepression is such a relatively common illness; there is no shame in it. The challenge for many men is to find safe and healthy ways of acting out their inner turmoil. For women, simply expressing their inner turmoil in a safe environment, and finding validation, is often the key. Self-acceptance helps both men and women.

In his latest post Steve Wickham provides a useful starter to a discussion on the difference between depression in men and women. Well worth a look.

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