I still haven’t decided to buy one yet, but thought I’d do a bit of research before I do.
What should I be looking out for? Any brands you recommend? Any to avoid?
And do you want to pay for it for me…;)
Just haven’t had a chance to post much recently.
With the new job arrangement, I’m simply not infront of the computer as much as I used to be and don’t have a laptop to do stuff on the run.
I have thought of getting a laptop. It would be good to be able to utilise those times that I’m waiting for things to happen, people to arrive or a lecture to get interesting. But then again, having work stuff with me all the time might do more harm than good. I’ve found the break away from the online world to be quite refreshing at times.
Anyway, I will get the message notes up from the last two in the Romans series this week.
Maybe.
Looking back over the last couple of months, there hasn’t been a lot of action happening here. There’s some good reasons for that…or maybe they’re just excuses. Who knows?!
1. With a friend of mine, I’ve working on starting a charity to offer IT training to African refugees in our community. The last eighteen months has seen something like 10 000 people from Africa relocated to Melbourne, over half of which have come to Whitehorse. There have been all sorts of issues associate with this, and we’re only now beginning to appreciate now how we can work together to address them.
While the charity will aim to equip African young people to make a living for themsleves and their famlies, linking it in with the church community will mean that we can also model how to live in the AUstralian culture and walk with them as they make the transition. Hopefully, they will teach us more about life and faith too.
It’s far more complicated than I imagined and we’re still working through all the issue at the moment. For instance, do we set up our own computer lab and source the training ourselves or do we simply offer a scholarship for people to go to a TAFE? These are the sorts of things we need to wade through at the moment.
2. I’ve had a slight change of job. I’ve pulled back on my time at Mitcham to take on a day a week at the Baptist Union of Victoria. Basically I’m to support youth pastors and youth leaders around the State and walk with them as they do what they do. I’m also to develop a Statewide internship that will hopefully rasie new leadership for youth ministry in Victoria that will last long term. Even today, we still have youth pastors burning out after 18 months. This is not acceptable.
I have a few ideas why, and hopefully the internship will address them. but time will tell. Anyway, the new role means I’m away from the computer a lot of the time hence not much blogging action.
Congratulations to the General for being accepted as the Pastor for High School Ministries at our church. He’ll be taking over the stuff I’m giving up and will do a much better job than me anyway. I’m looking forward to what God does through him with our young people.
3. My own study timetable has changed a bit and the timetable is a pain in the butt. I’m left with a significant chunk in the middle of my day when I’m stuck at college with no comuter. I’ve been geting a lot of sermon prep done and that sort of thing, but there are others things I would like to be doing too, but can’t. If you know of anyway I can get a good, cheap laptop - let me know!
4. Life. It’s just a bit crazy. Time is precious, and sometimes too precious to waste infront of a screen. I have lots of things I want to reflect on, but there will be time for that in due course. Right now there are more important things like building sand castles, racing cars, throwing balls, wrestling matches and farting in the bath to occupy my time. I LOVE being a Dad!
So, forgive me for neglecting this part of my world for the last few months. Regular writing will resume now. Or maybe it won’t. Whatever…
Living the Christian Life: Ingrafted Branches & Our Family
0 Comments Published April 20th, 2007 in Romans: Living the Christian LifeAfter making it through the 40 Days of Community program and a fairly hefty Easter, we returned to our series on Romans last Sunday night. This time it was Romans 11:11-24 where Paul uses the illustation of grafting to explain the relationship between the Jews and the non-Jews in the Roman church.
As a recap, the new Christian church in Roman was a mixed bunch of people. Paul was writing to them to encurage and instruct on how to live life as a follower of Jesus. Up to this point, he has laid a strong theological foundation and now begins to turn the corner and describe what that means practically. But there is one more thing he needs to tackle first.
It seems that the Jews and Gentiles still have a fair bit of rivalry happening. This time it is the Gentiles that are out of step - they want to leave behind all of the Jewish stuff and just get on with this new way of living. But, Jewish heritage is part of the Christian faith and it was very important to Paul.
The Jews were the people chosen to tell the story of God through history and Paul likens them to an olive tree. AS the story of God unfolded, it was clear that the story was good news for more than just the Jews, so new branched began to be grafted onto the olive tree. Some of the native branches were removed because they had rejected the story - God the gardener was doing some pruning.
Anyway, Paul had a great love for his Jewish brothers and sisters and desperately wanted them to come back to God. It was his hope that the Gentiles coming to faith would make the Jews envious and force them to look at themselves and return their calling. The Gentiles, Paul says, should have the same regard for the Jews instead of wanting to turn their backs on them completely.
I only know a hadful of Jewish people. The ones I know are Christians anyway, so the whole Jewish thing is not a big deal. While the Jewish heritage to my faith plays some part in what I believe (Jesus was a Jew remember!) it doesn’t impact me on a conscious level. My heritage lies elsewhere - with my family.
At different times I’ve wanted to walk away from my extended family as they’ve done and said things that have come up against what I believe. Surely it would be easier to cut ties with them altogether and make God’s family my primary support? But that attitude makes me no different to the Gentiles in the Roman church. The fact is that God loves my family in the same way God loves me.
God desperately wants my family to come to faith and be part of the community of his people, regardless of what I think about them or what they’ve done to me. That can be really hard to hear. When there is pain, hurt or even abuse, it is tempting to want to pray that they will all end up in hell for the sins they have committed against us. Yet, this is not God’s way. Forgiveness and grace is…
Jesus told the dicsiples to tell his story, starting in their home town and moving out from their. It is right for us to be involved in mission to our communities and go on short term mission trips overseas, but we should never neglect the mission to our homes. We should pray for them or, at the very least, ask others to do so.
And that’s how we ended our time together. We gathered around the communion table, god’s table, as the community of God’s people. As we took some bread and juice, we prayed for those members of our families that should be gathered around the table, but have yet to do so. And we silently committed ourelves to not turn our backs on them.
May those prayers continue and may those prayers be answered!
I think I’m officially one of them now…
http://thewillowtreepeople.com/why-i-decided-not-to-critique-the-emerging-church/
A bit weird where your stuff ends up sometimes.
How much church is too much church? I reckon I came pretty close this weekend…
On Thursday night we had our Maundy Thursday communion service. I love this time to reflect on the events of Easter and share a symbollic meal together. This year we gathered around the five Easter paintings, washed each others hands, told some stories of what God has done over the past twelve months, had communion and then spent half an hour or so listening to the sounds of Easter and spending some time in private reflection.
On Good Friday I had no responsibility for the service (our Senior Pastor did something for a change!!), so I looked after the boys in the kids area while my wife spent some much needed time in worship with our community. In the kids area we ran riot!
On Easter Saturday, we changed gears and celebrated the wedding of two friends and former MBC interns. It was an honour to conduct the ceremony - interns become like family as we travel together, so this was special.
Easter Sunday started early. A 6:30am dawn service in the park to watch the sun rise, pray and read some of the resurrection stories from the Bible. Afterwards we had fish fingers on the BBQ. Nice!
The normal Easter Sunday morning service was at 10:00am, so I had just enough time to race home, have breakfast with the family, get changed and rush back for the service prep. I was a bit cut that I missed the boys getting their Easter eggs, but that’s what happens in this gig I guess. We celebrated the baptism of Dan Smith during the service and heard from a couple of others about what has been happening in their small groups during the 40 Days of Community. All very encouraging.
Finally, on Sunday night, we ditched the building again and gathered around a camp fire to tell more resurrection stories, spend some time in prayer and song, and generally just enjoy each others company. Kudos to the General for putting together an great evening.
And now, on Easter Monday, I’m wrecked. The boys and I have done the groceries this morning and I’m just about to go for a ride in the bush. I love Easter, but it’s probably one of the busiest times of the year for me, particulalry when you throw a wedding and baptism into the mix!
Thanks to everyone that shared the Easter journey with me.
Looking for Jesus: Refugees in Faith
0 Comments Published April 6th, 2007 in Emerging Missional ChurchI was chatting with a mate the other day about how frustrated many in the emerging church scene are becoming as the EC becomes more mainstream.
This frustration seems a bit odd to me. Firstly because nothing the EC does is particulalry new and thus no ownershp can be claimed. But secondly, the call to a renewed sense of mission is being heard - surely that is something to celebrate rather than get upset about!
Anyway, another sign that misisonal churches are becoming more the ‘norm’ is the amount of publicity they get. In the paper today, there is an articel on some of the missional communities in Melbourne. Of church, the article says:
There are two distinct strands: mainstream churches trying new variations and a much more radical reinvention of what it means to be Christian. This second group, a loose post-modern movement aimed at gen X and Y, is called the emerging church.
In the words of a US leader, Brian McLaren, the emerging church aims to “go back and get reconnected to Jesus with all of his radical, profound, far-reaching message of the kingdom of God” without the institutional trappings and without the doctrine.
I agree with much of what is said, but would change things slightly. The EC hasn’t removed insitutional trappings and doctrines, but replaced them with their own, updated versions.
Like I said in this post, I still think you’re either church or your not, and loosing sleep about whether your emerging, missional, institutional or whatever is a waste of energy. Let’s just get on with telling the story, eh?
Read the full article here.
Back from Holidays to a mountain of stuff to catch up on…hopefully will get to update the blog a bit more now too.
Back to my 338 emails in my inbox now.
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