I’m deliberately going to take 1 thing that Marky boy said, waaaaay out of context. I think that the notion of planning & the role of the Holy Spirit is one that can be highly emotive, & often in the midst of the emotion we can maybe miss what is really happening. I would like to explore a few thoughts on this in the ensuing paragraphs.
I’m all for planning, & I’m all for spontaneity. Does that sound like a contradiction? I think that the two of them can & do mutually co-exist when practised with wisdom & insight. In fact, I would argue that the more planned something is, the greater potential for spontaneity. In my mind, it goes something like this.
Planning exists at a multiplicity of levels in any service; from the loosely put together event to the full on carols by candlelight type thingy that we do once per year. Planning exists at some level within everything that we attempt, & the question for me is more to do with “do we approach it as a help, or a hinder”? Some of my insights are based on the following observations…..

Read the rest of this page »

Is it a sign of wisdom that you notice your own bad habits in your advancing years? And is it a sign of kingly wisdom & virtue if you not only notice them but you start wondering what you can do about them? Here’s an example of what I’m getting at. I’m realllllllllly unfit. I can’t remember a time in my life when I was this unfit. But I’ve noticed that my state of lack of fitness is largely due to the incorporation of bad habits into my daily routine, & time & gravity have caught up with me. So now that I am aware of this, I would be a fool if I were not to do something about it. This introduction is my rather long winded way of positioning myself to say what’s really on my mind.

Sunday morning just gone, I was standing on the platform/stage in my church, playing my guitar & singing in a great band as we lead about 800 people (?) in worship (over 2 services). There was a moment that took over my sense of what we were doing & for that moment I couldn’t sing. Instead I had this disturbing thought & it wouldn’t/won’t go away. Here’s the question; are you ready?

Read the rest of this page »

Early in our journey through this time, we listened to a rather wonderful teaching by English pastor Paul Scanlon. In this teaching he spoke about the habit of God of giving you a glimpse of something about your life, & then drawing you to a higher place before he takes you too far into that next step. Well, my wife & I independent of one another both saw something of the next step in our lives. We believe that God is drawing us to a higher place so that we will be equipped & ready to respond when the full revelation of this purpose comes to pass. For me this has meant getting to the place that Dr Meyer suggests. It has been a gradual process of becoming still, watching, listening for “that still small voice” or “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19: 12). Here’s a key for you; you can’t hear that gentle whisper in a room full of noise!!

Read the rest of this page »

If you happened to watch the film “Gladiator” there was a scene that took place quite early in the film that for most people would have passed without much fanfare. It involves the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, played by Richard Harris, discussing the state of the empire with his favourite General “Maximus”, played by our very own Russell Crowe. The emperor exhorts Maximus to speak freely & Maximus duly responds. The relationship transforms from that of Ruler & Soldier to one of friends. Towards the end of the discussion Marcus Aurelius says “There is one more duty I would have you perform” (paraphrasing here) & the reaction of Maximus at this point is what intrigues me about this scene. He goes from intimate friend to, once the request is given by his emperor, immediately assuming the posture of soldier; coming to attention, hands clasped behind his back and saying “What would you have me do Caesar?” Now, this is a violent film & I am writing this article to neither condemn nor condone the merits of the film. If you will indulge me for a moment, I think that this little byplay between Maximus & the Emperor is a metaphor for all disciples. Read on if you dare.

Read the rest of this page »

I once heard the Aussie evangelist & God Squad president “John Smith” say “if you want to understand a generation, a good place to start is by looking at its art.” He is quite adept at using songs & images from the contemporary era to open up a discussion on the meaning of life, faith, belief etc. I think that it’s one of the reasons that people either love him or loath him, in church circles anyway, & that is that he is prepared to not simply react to the contemporary culture around him, but to look at it, study it, find out what it is saying, understand it & when appropriate, speak to it. It’s a little like Paul in the Acts of the apostles when he was prepared to examine the culture of the Greeks, then use their knowledge & understanding of art & the world to open up a question about faith & belief. (Acts 17, 16 - 34)

As I prepare my thoughts to run a yr 11 retreat, I am asking you to help me do the same.

Read the rest of this page »

I am coming out a self imposed retirement next month, to facilitate a retreat for some year 11 students. I haven’t done this for a while & even though it is 4 weeks away every time I think of it the adrenalin pumps a little harder.

The working theme of the retreat is exploring “Faith, Hope & Love”. What I am asking with this post is that you might contribute a word or 2 to help me develop my thoughts on the subject at hand. For instance, I am trying to generate a word list of words relative to those three; i.e. what “other” words spring to mind when you see those three. What I am hoping to do is spend some time pulling apart some key words related to those themes.

Also; the brief from the school is that this is a Creative Arts retreat,

Read the rest of this page »

‘Tis fast approaching the season to be Jolly. For most, it’s a ridiculously manic approach to what is essentially a pause in the year. And it is a curious pause in the year. We catch up with friends, we have parties at work, we eat & drink way too much, we buy presents for people & some of us think of a small stable in Bethlehem. It’s an easy time to wax philosphical about the world we live in; any time where you stop is a time that lends itself easily to reflection.

I love the whole gift giving thing. I love taking time to consider who the gift is for & then contemplating what I could give them that would really suit their character & if possible, their needs. In a response to the phrase “random acts of violence” quite a few years back, someone coined the phrase “perform random acts of kindness & senseless deeds of beauty”. I first saw this on a bumper sticker in the 80’s I think. Right now, a local radio station is promoting a “love” day where part of there advertising has included slogans such as “because sometimes the greatest gift is something you do”.

Read the rest of this page »

I said it last year & I’ll say it again. $32+ million dollars on one race. $20,000 will build one house for a group of aids orphans in Uganda. I would be keen to hear other peoples “alternate spending ideas”.

Read the rest of this page »

Right now I am in the throes of planning our carols by candlelight. (23 rd of December, Warburton oval) Every year we have to go over lists of carols & Christmas songs & make decisions about which ones we will & won’t sing. The reaction to different carols from different team members is quite amusing to watch. What lights some people’s lights just doesn’t work for others. I guess that doesn’t surprise anyone. The reaction to “the little drummer boy” is generally predictable. I’m tipping that there wasn’t a boy with a drum in the stable at Bethlehem, & if there was, I’m tipping that Joseph & Mary wouldn’t have smiled politely & said “sure, come on in & play your drum. We’ve just traveled a looong way, had a baby & the baby is sleeping right now, but heck get out your drum & have a bash!! Only one thing drummer boy; I hope you can breast feed coz you’ll be putting him back to bed.”

Read the rest of this page »

I have just come back from a really hectic 3 day trip to Canberra. I left at 9 pm on Sunday, drove the truck to just over the border, slept for 5 hours, drove to Canberra, set up 2 shows, packed down 1, slept for about 8 hours, worked on the second show, packed it down, drove back to Melbourne & I was in my bed by 3 am this morning. (Wednesday.)

A funny thing happened when I got home. After the mad rush & the almost constant movement of the last 3 days, I stood in my very quiet lounge room at 3 am, & was almost overwhelmed by the stillness & the silence.

Read the rest of this page »