I know how much you all love reading the weekly Richmond Report – but stinking Firefox just ate it. I’d just got to copying and pasting the score in and something about the HTML that I was pasting in (which is always the problem) made Firefox explode and so I lost it all. So you might all have to wait until tomorrow.
April, 2006
-
Football Report Delayed
April 30, 2006 by Geoff
Category Personal | Tags: | Comments Off
-
More of God and less of me
April 30, 2006 by Geoff
Just got back from our camp, which seemed at this stage to be a success. There was lots going on – the campsite at Oasis in Mount Evelyn has transformed itself in the past few years from being a place that the kids whinged about having to go to again (it has been about 3 years mind you), to the point where they are now keen as to head back there next time we’re having a camp. The facilities are unreal – they’ve got a sweet as basketball court area and it’s seriously sweet!
But it probably goes without saying that the camp is not actually about the sweet facilities, nor it is really about the games and stuff. We had some pretty decent spiritual times with the guys: there were a few chances for the kids to get some hardcore prayer happening and quite a few took up the opportunity. We had some very solid talks from people, and a couple of the girls who got baptised a month or so ago gave testimonies, which was very huge and very, very powerful. The wisdom that God has put in some of our kids blows me away!
It was a really funny camp for me. I don’t know whether it was overtiredness or something spiritual or just general weirdness, but I found myself really down for most of the camp. It didn’t really make much sense, and it was strange because it was something that I was aware of the whole time. I’m not normally that aware that I’m being a pill until looking back afterwards. But most of the camp I was short with people, I was too competitive in games, I wasn’t really that nice to be around. I still had good chats with some kids, and I’m sure probably still did some good somewhere in there, but it was a really strange feeling. I felt almost like I was back to being a self-absorbed teenager again.
So when it came around to the Sunday afternoon talk I was quite worried that I was going to be flat, which the kids always seem to detect straight away and lose interest soon after. But the weirdest thing happened. Once I got up to speak, there wasn’t really that much of me in it at all. I’d been feeling rubbish, but this didn’t feel rubbish at all. It’s hard to admit that God might have been releasing the spiritual gift of teaching in me without feeling like you’re being an arrogant naff-head, but I really think that it was there.
And in the “waiting for the Holy Spirit” time, God was in it. There’s not much I understand about it, but I know one thing for sure. I’d given up on me delivering some brilliant talk to these kids, and somehow God took some of it over. Now that’s not to say I didn’t rescue some of it back for myself, or that there wasn’t a problem with afterwards seeing the beginnings of some nasty pride again when people were saying that they’d liked the talk. But I really don’t think it was all me speaking. (Edit – I also meant to add that obviously it certainly wasn’t the perfect talk, by any stretch – just that God was in it)
So, in the words of the penguin from Fight Club: “Slide”
Category God Stuff, Personal | Tags: Ministry | Comments Off
-
Another Weekend, Another Camp
April 28, 2006 by Geoff
And hopefully another chance for some revolutionary God stuff. Youth camp this week, so I’m required to be responsible and holy.
I’ll be missing the game again, so stand by for a rehashed richmond report, and hopefully a decent debrief. It’s a bit sad when I feel like I need to flag that I won’t be posting for a day – a pretty fair indication of how much this blog is taking over my life. So if you’ve got a moment spare, feel free to pray for the camp, we’re really expecting God to do heaps with our kids. Have a good weekend.Category God Stuff, Personal | Tags: Ministry | Comments Off
-
The Wisdom of Mr McLaren – Part Four: Saviour of What?
April 28, 2006 by Geoff
It was coming. As soon as you start reading a book on finding middle ground, there’s going to be something in there that you don’t like. And I think I’ve found it. I don’t disagree completely with what McLaren is saying, and I’m not 100% certain that I fully understand what he’s saying, so I could well just be wrong, but here it is.
The chapter is basically about the failure of the evangelical focus on individual salvation to be much more than just a glorified ticket to heaven. That we put so much focus on the cross being about me and my way of getting into eternity with God that we lose the ability for there to be more than just that about our faith. That our turn or burn has become more about not burning than any actual action in the turning. I think you get the idea.
But the part where it seems to me that McLaren loses track a bit is where he seems like he wants to throw away the notion of a personal, individual salvation out completely. I’m not certain that I’ve fully understood, but that seems to me to be theology based on the failings of how Christians have acted out their theology, rather than based on what the bible actually says. I don’t know.
I do know that McLaren’s point of view is not that accepting Christ into your heart is necessarily an acceptance into eternity with our maker. He’s saying that he’s not at all sure. I’m not sure that I’m 100% sure, but I think I’m quite a bit surer than he’s saying. Righto, I’m rambling now, so I’ll leave this. Let me know what you reckon, and if you’ve read the book and have got a better idea of what Brian is saying, please let us all know.
Category God Stuff | Tags: | Comments Off
-
Too Cool For School
April 28, 2006 by Geoff
There’s an interesting post over at the Christianity Today Leadership blog – Out of Ur, titled Image Isn’t Everything: the uneasy conscience of a GenX pastor. It’s a pretty harsh criticism of the trend in young trendy churches to be a bit too young and trendy. That might be over-simplifying it. But basically having a crack at the idea that lots of the churches with young leadership tends to be a little bit over-focused on their own image and being cool.
Some of the points, like the bit about having trendy names, is taking potshots at sitting ducks. Any name for a ministry is an opportunity for criticism – you’re either too old, too new, too worldly, too irrelevant. And while some church websites are undoubtedly just about putting up a pretty face to try and impress people, often they are there as an opportunity for people with talents in that area to serve the church and do something a bit creative.
I think that underneath all that there’s certainly a point, but the article seems to me to be far too narrowly focused. I think that most churches/ministries tend to focus too much on their image. Sometimes that’s an image of how cool they are. Sometimes that’s about proving that they are a respectable place to worship. Some places are determined to show just how rich they are. The symptoms being described in the article are not diagnosing the root of the problem – that we take our eyes off the purpose of our ministries, and get more worried about what people think. And that’s not just a problem with young leadership – there’s something in that for everyone.
Category God Stuff | Tags: Ministry | 2 Comments
-
It’s a small blogosphere after all
April 27, 2006 by Geoff
So here I am innocently checking through the comments of a blog post that I’d left a comment on, and one of the comment authors was the first name of someone who I’d been discussing blogging with last night, although hadn’t given my address or got hers (pay attention to that bit – it’s in italics). So I click on the link and lo and behold, it was exactly the person. Which would make a nice coincidence, but probably not really a blog-worthy story.
Until….
I have a quick peruse through the first post and near the end of a decent sized post, I spot this little fragment (names disfigured to protect the innocent; or otherwise):
“Jessica Rabbit and I got talking about blogging, she said a certain other person (present) blogs and asked for mine, which I was perfectly happy to give her. Anyway, we drifted up the road to Macca’s after and I was talking to him about it (blogging) note: I did not ask for his blog-address.
Tonight when I got home I did something extremely stupid. “Google is your friend” All the time I was telling myself, “Don’t you dare Natalie Portman! You wouldn’t like it, don’t do it!” and I went and found it. Now I feel traitorous and rather bad and so will have to get to him asap to apologise.
….. despite not really knowing him all that well I have a lot of respect for him. ” (this bit really was in there, but I might have added it out of context just to make myself look good
)I reassured poor Natalie Portman that I wasn’t too worried (lets face it, I’m always after any attention I can get) and felt a little bit bad that I’d accidentally-on-purpose stumbled on hers. So there you go, be careful who you chat to about blogging – they might just be a stalker. (If Natalie Portman is reading this, I’m just kidding. And I hope you don’t mind being called Natalie Portman, I blame your blog. And I don’t have any idea where Jessica Rabbit came from.)
Category Personal | Tags: | 3 Comments
-
Can you do this God thing without solid training?
April 26, 2006 by Geoff
Great reflection over at Ranges blog, on a recent Neil Cole seminar. Now I know that if you’re reading this you’ve probably already checked it out (or you wrote it), but it’s good stuff. Scott and Christina win again!
Category God Stuff | Tags: | Comments Off
-
The Wisdom of Mr McLaren – Part Three: Which Jesus Is Which?
April 26, 2006 by Geoff
Having got his disclaimers out of the way, “A Generous Orthodoxy” goes on to describe the 7 models of Jesus that he’s encountered on his journey. The following descriptions are mine, not his – and they are summaries of his generalisations, so put up with the fact that these are overly generalised:
- Evangelical/Protestant/Conservative Jesus – Jesus as the full payment for sin through his death on the cross
- Pentecostal Jesus – Jesus the miracle-working healer
- Roman Catholic Jesus - Jesus who conquered death through his resurrection to new life
- Eastern Orthodox Jesus – Jesus, who gives hope to the world by being the incarnation of God
- Liberal Jesus – Jesus the amazing moral teacher
- Anabaptist Jesus – Jesus the peacemaker and example of love
- (non-violent) Liberation Theology Jesus – Jesus the political activist and social justice advocate
This chapter really re-enforced for me that I’m at least on the same page with Brian McLaren here. There isn’t any of these pictures of Christ that I don’t relate to, and it feels like you are definitely missing something if you don’t catch a fair chunk of each of these. To be brutally honest, the stuff that I feel I have the least grasp on is the “resurrected Jesus”, because so much of the teaching in Evangelical churches is on the importance of the cross so for a while I really struggled with the need for Christ to be resurrected.
This is one of McLaren’s self-described “nice chapters”, here he is pointing out the quality in what everyone thinks, although there is already creeping in a few comments about the problems with were Christians have over-focused on one particular aspect of Jesus’ ministry and lose the rest of the picture. The book is just about to get a bit more pointed, and start really offending people, but I think there’s quite a bit of food for thought in this bit, and there should be a wake-up call for anyone who struggles to see the value found in other parts of the wider church body. Feeling quite uplifted, and simlutanteously convicted. Might be something in that.
Category God Stuff | Tags: | Comments Off
-
The Wisdom of Mr McLaren – Part Two: Disclaimers
April 26, 2006 by Geoff
McLaren’s first chapter (Chapter 0) is basically all about why people won’t like the book. He apologises for his writing style (he uses brackets too much, which I can relate with), he apologises because he is espousing ideals that no-one seems to be following, he apologises because he can’t possibly do his own ideas justice, and on it goes.
Reading the chapter, it’s hard not to keep thinking that this is a man who has been scarred by criticisms in the past. McLaren is almost painfully self-aware, he knows that these aren’t always the words that people want to hear and he makes every effort not to offend these people. And yet at the same time he won’t shy away from what he believes needs to be said. It certainly is an interesting balance.
Hang around – I might sneak in Part Three at lunchtime today.
Category God Stuff | Tags: | Comments Off
-
The Wisdom of Mr McLaren – Part One
April 24, 2006 by Geoff
Got home this evening to see that my first ever Amazon purchase had arrived: “A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McLaren (AKA “Why I am a missional + evangelical + post/protestant + liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative + fundamentalist/calvanist + anabaptist/anglican + methodist + catholic + green + incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished christian” for the uninitiated). Now, I’ve only read the introduction, and already there are some blog-worthy thoughts.
“The subtitle of this book creates a term so awkward and confusion that it’s certain not to catch on. Which is a good thing, because what we need now is not new sectarian terminology or new jargon or a new elitist clique, but rather a humble rediscovery of the simple, mysterious way of Jesus that can be embraced across the whole Christian horizon (and beyond)”
It’s not hard to see in my own life my natural tendency to do this. I want to be part of the club, be one of those on the leading edge. And then it’s all about me. To be brutally honest, it’s that sort of fruit that I’ve already seen leave people who are unsure about this emerging church deal with a nasty aftertaste. If the emerging church is going to be a revolution, it will be a Jesus revolution – any other motivations are always going to be doomed.
“there are places here where I have gone out of my way to be provocative, mischevious and unclear, reflecting my belief that clarity is sometimes overrated and that shock, obscurity, playfulness and intrigue (carefully articulated) often stimulate more thought than clarity.”
This was one of the things I knew before getting this book that Brian McLaren is about. And there certainly is something about the way that Jesus taught that this sort of thinking reflects.
So I’m sure there’ll be more in this, and probably even quite a chunk of stuff that I disagree with. Stay Tuned – the fun is just beginning…
Category God Stuff | Tags: | 5 Comments