A Churchless Faith

Tiny Houses, Minimalism and Junk

2012-02-16T07:20:00.000+08:00

Lately I've been addicted to looking at tiny houses and reading about minimalism. I'm begging to feel weighed down by all my stuff.

For example, I have books on my shelf that I know I will never read again. Books like the beauty myth by naomi wolf (that i somewhat pretensiously used to give women as a 21st present). It was a great book a book that made me look at life in a new way but I will almost definitly not read again. But, I tell myself it "says something about me". It's a memory of something that was a turning point in my life. No one is going to walk out of my house saying "at first i thought you were a shovanist pig but then i had a look at your book shelf..." For what it's worth I may as well pass it on to someone and then photo copy the spine on to a packet soup box and stick that on my shelf.

And so it goes to other areas in the house. A jacket that I used to wear to work, not something I'll wear out but a good smart casual kind of look when you're wearing a shirt but not a tie.

Like the book I keep items like these because they might one day come in handy. Usually I think "I might be able to pass this onto someone one day". One day when Libraries no longer exist and when opshops won't exist. Opshops were me and a hundred other poeple have donated jackets like mine.

After a fairly sizeable cull of stuff about 6 months ago. I'm looking at stuff that I thought then was to valuable to just give away or sell. But it's just stuff taking up space. Stuff that reflects who I am as a person. Which is great if I'm not around or if I'm likely to forget who I am. But that's not going to happen.

Down With Materialism

2012-02-14T07:19:00.000+08:00

Picture this... a picture of a green V8 4WD with biggest engine ever built. With the slogan "lets all go green"

Or perhaps, a man in office with deodorant on his desk and a bevy of scantily dressed female secretaries around him. With the slogan "for men who'd like a bit more sexism in the work place"

Or finally, simply an array of products made out of material (all imported from countries with labour laws far less stricter than ours) all on special with the slogan "down with materialism".

This last scenario is actually a real ad from Ikea. I can only assume that makers of the add were so convinced that the overwhelming majority of readers are so addicted to materialism that no one would complain let alone be offended (unlike the other scenarios). The add is now quite old so the ad makers were right. Our collective desire to to buy and own more and more and more stuff is not even up for debate. In a finite world with a growing population I just can't help that for people like me (in the richest 10% of the world) that's nothing short of insanely selfish to not be thinking about how me might curb our materialism.

The Worst Kind Of Blog

2012-02-11T11:26:00.000+08:00

The blogs I find most irritating are the ones that are updated sporadically. Sometimes it's every second day and then sometimes there are months between posts. This Blog is one of those blogs. If you would like to avoid both missing posts and regularly checking a site that hasn't been updated you can follow me on twitter @churchlessfaith, subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe to get an email every time I post something new (you will not get an email about anything else).

Hanging The Washing Out Like A Real Man

2012-02-08T14:04:00.001+08:00

From John Piper to Mark Driscoll there has been a bit of buzz of late about gender and God. Rachel Held Evans put out a call for blokes to respond to these (particularly John Piper's) views so I thought I'd add my voice to the growing throng. I've written some things in the past about my view about what the Bible says about gender here.

However, to be honest, beyond the whole biblical exegesis I just don't get the whole gender divide thing. Rather than thinking Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars I've always been inclined to think Women are from Earth and men are from Earth. People are different from each other and in any close intense relationship (like a marriage) those differences will become really obvious really quickly. Although I haven't asked, I'm going to bet that homosexual couples experience the same amount of difficulties and communication problems as a heterosexual couples does.

To be fair I'm not a typical bloke. I stay at home while the wife works. I've always done the sewing for the family, I now cook, clean and do all the domestic chores. My wife (like many husbands) is a better cook than me but I look after the washing much better than she ever did. I am generally more patient with the kids but hopeless at noticing mess around the house. At parties I'd hang out with the mums and talk about the kids rather than hang out with the dads and talk about sport or work (I did this even when I was working). When I hear some off the things the playgroup mums complain about things their husbands do they are often things that my wife does as well (although I prefer not to divulge my wife's faults - which are going to be far fewer than mine anyway). Things like not knowing where a particular item is kept although I've told her half a dozen times. These are really just a product of me being at home all the time and her being at home a heck of a lot less. At no point have I thought of myself as less male even though I don't have all the stereotypically manly traits.

Similarly, when the biblical writers attribute God with male traits I tend to think of them just as traits that happen to stereotypically belong to a male or in some passages traits that stereotypically belong to a female. I don't think of God being Jewish and therefore look down on anyone who is not Jewish. I don't think of God as free and therefore look down on people who are slaves. Although it'd be easy to pull out verses describing God as Jewish or free there is no point where we would think of God as not being able to engage with gentiles or slaves equally. Or that these categories would make these people so different that they should have different roles in the church community or there should be some kind of hierarchy when they relate to each other. No, in Jesus there is no Jew, etc...

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28)

Valley Songs - Compiled

2012-02-08T10:00:00.000+08:00

It's been about four years since I started collecting "Valley Songs" - the kind of church songs I like to sing and usually the antithesis of "Hillsong" songs. Well now they are all neatly sorted on their very own pages. Most have you tube videos attached as well as lyrics and guitar chords and, the occasional song has guitar tabs too.

Listed Below they are also one of the first things on the side bar too.

Valley Songs A-C
Valley Songs D-G
Valley Songs H-I
Valley Songs J-N
Valley Songs O-R
Valley Songs S
Valley Songs T-Z

Enjoy, and please let me know if you ever use any of them.

Rest And Skipping Church

2012-02-06T13:45:00.005+08:00

Yesterday we skipped church again. Why? "It" just doesn't seem to fit with our family and "It" is placing too many demands on us.

The only problem with the above statement is that "It" does not refer to the church we hang out with. Rather "It" is the culture that we live in. My wife is out the door by 7:30 and back home around 6. Although it'll be later over the next three nights with after hours meetings. She's a teacher and a really good dedicated one. Now I know that plenty of people work similar ridiculous hours, that really, is the point. My daughter is in year one does speech therapy, is creative, imaginative loves being outside and struggles to do school desk work (like, I suspect, many 5 year olds). My son has Autism and is supposed to be at school 5 days a fortnight and at a therapy Kindy two mornings a week (but because the nearest centre to us is an hour away the morning will last around 5.5 hours). Me I'm a stay at home dad who's studying part time. The one thing that we all have in common is that at the end of the day and week we are all exhausted. And, we will be facing a weekend of birthday invitations for both kids, church, family to visit and friends to catch up with. On top of this is all the usual around the house projects we'd like to do. That's without any weekend team sports or similar activities.

Our family has one stay at home parent and just two kids, which is much easier than many, but I feel like I'm dragging our family from pillar to post with little opportunity to sit down and hang out or have our kids complain "Dad, I'm bored".

So, this year I have added a new activity to our hectic schedule. Rest. A morning an afternoon and a night of unplanned family hanging out time preferably all on the same day. So far (for two weekends) we've stuck to it and "Rest" is already written in the diary for the rest of the year. It means that when we get invited to too many things on a weekend we'll just have to decline. Yesterday, it was church that got the flick. Next time, I'm not sure. All I know is "rest" will not be leaving the diary. On the seventh day God did not get up early and set up to play music at church nor did God drag the family to a birthday party of a some child that God's child hardly plays with at school. God rested. This year whether it's Saturday or Sunday or a combination of both this year our family will rest.

Jesus Was A Suspected Terrorist

2011-12-23T06:42:00.001+08:00

Imagine a Muslim man walking through the streets saying "Allah will rule this nation!" he'd get strange looks and someone would probably call the police thinking he might be a terrorist. After all he's part of a minority religion, a religion that's tolerated as long as it does not affect the wider community. Furthermore we have a society and rule of law that functions perfectly well. In fact we think it's the best system in history.

This is exactly the situation Jesus was in. Part of a tolerated minority religion in a wider society and rule of law which (at the time) was considered as good as it could possibly get. Yet Jesus cries out "the kingdom of God (not Caesar) is at hand change your ways and believe this good news (not the news that the roman empire is as good as it gets)" It's highly inflammatory talk. Especially since there were Jewish revolutionaries (terrorists from the Roman point of view) trying to free the Jewish people from the tyranny of Rome.

I can't help but think that right from the start Jesus would have been a suspected terrorist. Sure he might of been doing some kind things - a facade to win people over. But, he did clash with the mainstream religious leaders - like extremists do. Everyone would have suspected that deep down he must be plotting something violent (Roman soldiers pull out swords to arrest him) because, that is the only way that kingdom of God could over throw Caesar's reign over the people.

Common Prayer (A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals) - Review

2011-12-17T09:43:00.000+08:00

Growing up evangelical I never really got the whole reading prayers or having disciplined times for reading thing. As I've grown older and my beliefs have turned from black and white to grey and I've started to want some kind of ritual and structure in my life. After working for the Anglican church I felt like I really got to understand and appreciate why people loved liturgy. I also discovered I wasn't one of those people.

So, in many ways I feel like Common Prayer (A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals) was written with people just like me in mind. It doesn't follow the church calendar but will remind you that Advent, Lent and Pentecost are coming up. There is a different morning prayer and Bible readings for everyday of the year and a bit on the life of a saint. Saints range from St Francis through to Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero and Mother Teresa. There is one midday prayer and 7 evening prayers (one for each day of the week). There are also a bunch of prayers / liturgies for special occasions and the music for 50 classic church songs.

It is truly a great resource and something I now use every day.

If you want to trial it for free visit the website commonprayer.net. I bought the book because I'd rather not turn on a computer three times a day and for a book that's nearly 600 pages it was really cheap.

The Cartoon That Made Me Cry

2011-12-10T11:04:00.000+08:00

Drawn by Leunig, this cartoon really struck me. I'm currently a stay at home Dad, mainly due to my wife's ability to earn more money than mean or to earn enough money to keep us living in a house which (like the picture) is full of industry and various refineries (to be fair though we're a long way from the industry). A few days a go we bought our kids a small classical guitar and that afternoon I was making up songs for all of my sons toys and the games they were playing, much to his delight. I could just see him thinking "Gee Dad, you're fantastic", enthralled by a talent that has absolutely no practical economic application. I highly recommend his "When I Talk To God" book of prayer.

Santa's Elves Are Chinese Slaves

2011-12-08T06:55:00.000+08:00

It's Christmas and this documentary reminds me of how I get to live such a luxurious life. Watching my wife work so hard (I'm a stay at home dad) and living in one of the lower socio-economic parts of my city it's easy to think that everything I have is purely from my (or my wife's) hard work. The truth is it's not. It's built on the back of slaves. We just can't see them. I'm wondering if, like Moses, it will not be possible to change the system from within. Maybe we to are being called into the wilderness, to disconnect from the luxury of a system built on the back of slavery. Will that be easy? Of course not. We'll be grumbling that it was easier to be a slave in the system than to live in the wilderness. The question of course is where is God calling his people?

9 Reasons I'm Not A Good Evangelical And 9 Reasons I Won't Be A Mainline Liberal Any Time Soon Either

2011-12-07T11:38:00.005+08:00

Why I'm Not A Good Evangelical

1. Christian music makes me feel nauseous.

2. I feel like I need to shower after leaving a Christian bookshop.

3. When I hear an atheist debate an evangelical I end up rooting for the atheist.

4. I didn't like "A Purpose Driven Life"

5. I worry about the "values" that could be taught to my kids at their Christian school.

6. When someone says "you know that Hillsong song we've been singing at church every Sunday for last 2 months" have to honestly say "no".

7. Penal substitutionary atonement drives me batty. (Atonement is so much bigger).

8. When I hear an evangelical preacher speak on just one verse from the Bible I quickly open mine to prove that in context the verse is unrelated to what he (OK once or twice it's been a she) is saying.

9. I'm OK with gay.

Why I'm Not A Mainline Liberal

1. Organ music makes me sleepy.

2. I like it when church has people under 55 in it.

3. When I hear an atheist debate an mainline liberal I'm not sure why they are a Christian (apart from growing up that way and now making some sort of living by saying they are one).

5. I think Rick Warren sounds like a great guy, and does some great things. (he gives away 90% of what he earns and works for his church for free. There's a reason he wears daggy Hawaiian shirts and not Armani Suits).

6. Even though they think social justice is more important than evangelicals they still don't give more money or do more than evangelical churches who think it's a minor concern.

7. Giving the bible and Jesus to the evangelicals so they could keep liturgy was not a good idea.

8. I just can't handle watching the newcomers getting completely lost flipping through the book of common prayer.

9. Robes look ridiculous.

Church Buildings And The 11th Commandment

2011-11-30T11:09:00.000+08:00

The church I'm hanging out with is building a building and it's painful. To be honest more painful to watch than to be involved in as I would rather be cleaning the toilets every week before I'm on a committee dealing with cost blow outs, money, design and all of the levels of the denomination who'll need to be happy with what's happening. And then there will always be the possibility of infighting about what the church needs, what the building looks like and how much should be spent.

In the midst of thinking about this I was reading the 11th commandment. It didn't make it on to the tablets but it was the first command given after the famous 10.

Exodus 20:24-26

You need make for me only an altar of earth and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it you profane it. You shall not go up by steps to my altar, so that your nakedness may not be exposed on it."

Here God's people are asked to build just a simple alter just out of earth, nothing more, and if we build something out of stone it must be unhewn. That is not cut, just a pile of rocks. It's a directive to meet and worship God outside in the wilderness like Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus all did (to name but a few). I know this is "unrealistic" it wouldn't get council approval, people would not come. But I'm starting to not care about all that. As I was walking through the nearest bushland with my son I felt more connected to God than I do in church and I don't think this is an uncommon experience. Maybe outside in the simplicity of the wilderness is where we are meant to meet God. After all when temple curtain ripped in two behind it was... nothing. The Bible doesn't describe how God suddenly escaped, at that point God is outside of the city hanging on a tree.

My Big Gay (affirming) Post

2011-11-28T23:01:00.000+08:00

This is a big issue. To assume that the debates about Homosexuality in Christian churches are just about sexuality is, I think, to miss why people argue so passionately about it. Conversely to say that it's all about biblical interpretation is also to miss how deeply our own beliefs about sexuality affect us. For many who believe that homosexuality is a sin, at stake is not whether two people are in a relationship but rather it's reading something in the bible which seems to clearly say something is wrong and then choose to ignore the bible and to ignore what their tradition has said is a sin.

Personally, I take the Bible pretty damn seriously. I grew up not just evangelical but Sydney evangelical. I think it's helpful to start by trying to set aside the passages in the bible and ask if their was to be passages in the bible what might we expect them to say. This will either help you to tackle the issue afresh or tell you which way you are biased towards.

I like everyone have a few underlying beliefs which colour the way I read scripture and I feel I should lay out.

1. Homosexuality is not a choice and especially not at high school, when usually people start to figure out there sexuality. High school people may want to be different from their parents but they desperately want to be like everyone else. I cannot imagine a scenario where someone would choose homosexuality. My own heterosexuality was forcefully thrown upon me by my hormones not by any choice. Three of the guys I hung out with at high school have identified as gay I just can't imagine them choosing that as an option in the same way you might choose what you have for lunch. (sadly, in a poor reflection of my own high school studliness they averaged more girlfriends than me)

2. I had thought of homosexuality a part of fallen world something analogous to say someone who is born blind. Something that wasn't meant to be or not part of the ideal but, none the less in the same way I wouldn't ask a blind person to give up their guide dog and live as if they weren't blind I wouldn't ask someone to give up their homosexuality. Lately, however, I've found it harder to think this way. Partly because I know a few more gay people but probably more because I have son with Autism. Before my son I would have seen autism like homosexuality, as a "disorder", part of this fallen world. As I get to know my son his autistic traits are something that make him who he is. In the same way each person's sexuality is also deeply ingrained in them and makes them who they are. I'm now wondering whether people who are not neurotypical or sexual-typical are just a part of Gods wild and varied creation. (See "theology of pizazz" for more on this text and MP3)

Of course these ideas will colour the way I read the bible as does anyone else's beliefs and ideas.

That said lets jump into the Bible. Very often I've seen gay affirming types dismiss the bible as an old homophobic text that can be ignored because it does not keeping pace with modern western values of what is loving and moral. This, I think is, dangerous. Rather, I'd like to propose revisiting scripture in the same way as people have around the issues of slavery, race and gender equality. Wondering if there are other ways to understand texts that we've always been told can only be understood one way.

Fortunately there are only a very small number of passages. I've done lots of reading around this but to avoid making this post enormous I'm going to look at them in pretty light detail but hopefully enough to give a good outline about my thinking around them.

Leviticus 18:22: this passage is part of a ritual manual for Israel's priests. This prohibition follows after the prohibition of the idolatrous sexuality of worshipping Molech, whose cult included male cult prostitutes and bestiality. Leviticus also has a set of "every sperm is sacred" type passages (no sex during menstruation for example) all designed to keep a small isolated people in the wilderness alive and growing. Like all cultic practices the practice in Leviticus 18:22 is described as an abomination.

Sodom and Gomorrah: Should I bother with this one? No. You can google it. Plenty of conservative scholars will say that Sodom and Gomorrah's sin was not homosexuality. Even Ezekiel 16:49 says "This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy."

1 Corinthians 6:9: The NRSV translates this word (used only here in the New Testament) as "Male prostitute". The family that this word belongs to is used in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25 where Jesus describes robes as being "soft" (NRSV). The first time word was translated as homosexual was 1958 by the Amplified bible. None the less lets say The NRSV and the more conservative NIV (who also uses male prostitute) translations are correct. If we can see heterosexual prostitution as a sin but not a heterosexual relationship then the same should be true for homosexual prostitution and homosexual relationships

1 Cor. 6:9 and 1 Tim. 1:10: the Greek word (Arsenokoites) is again rarely used, only twice with no context. The NRSV translates it as "sodomites" which all things considered isn't too bad. The word refers to someone who rapes or dominates someone (male or female) using anal sex. Just like in the Sodom story. Again if vaginal rape doesn't make vaginal sex a sin then logically the same would apply to anal sex.

Romans 1:24-28: For me, this is where the rubber really hits the road. We're not talking about an Old Testament book with laws that Xns mostly ignore (Take almost any random passage in Leviticus) or the the translation of just one word in a list of sins with no other context to the meaning.

Romans 24-28 describes the consequence of something that has happened, that is the people have sinned and this is the result. Romans 20b-23 lets us know what this something is; worship of false Gods. I think (from what I've read) that this most likely refers to the worship of pagan fertility gods. This worship often culminating in ritualistic orgies that involved anal sex with priests and priestesses.

The word translated as natural in the key passage of Romans could also be regular or usual. So that is to euphemistically say men were having anal (unnatural) sex with women and even with other men. These of course were usually men with wives at home, hence the extra astonishment over the sex with men.

What all of these verses have in common is that they are denouncements against domination and abuse as well as against pagan worship. This is, I believe, is why lesbian sex is so absent from all these verses and the rest of the Bible.

This is just my rough thumbnail overview. If you want more detail, gaychristian101.com is not a bad place to start particularly if you're a more evangelical leaning kind of person.

So does all this mean that Paul thought homosexuality was not "unnatural" in the way we think of the term "unnatural"? Quite possibly not. If Paul's own urges to be heterosexual were as powerful as mine are and given that he was surrounded by ritualistic anal sex as a key part of pagan worship and pederasty a part of Greek and then Roman Culture - which would usually involve heterosexual men dominating or abusing someone beneath their social standing it would be difficult for Paul to imagine homosexuality outside of these pervasive contexts. Having said that I don't think Paul could imagine a world without slavery. Or, could imagine a world where women were not considered property and were educated to the same level as men. That doesn't mean he wouldn't say that in Christ there is no male or female, no slave or free, no Jew or gentile, and no straight or gay.

Now, if you're one of the many people who read this in horror feeling I've watered down scripture and I'm just being a wet liberal, It's worth asking ourselves why do you care so much? More about this issue than say divorce? Divorce being something that's far more plainly written about in scripture, yet we are generally prepared to say "it'd be great if it didn't happen but since it has lets make sure all involved get as much love and support as they need". If you find yourself getting heated up and thinking "but this is different!" it's probably worth asking yourself why. It won't (probably) make you think differently about the issue but it will help you realise what you are bringing to the text before reading it.

I have written this post like all my other posts primarily for myself. To document the thinking that I have gone through and to explain how I can be both Christian, evangelical (as much as I hate Xn labels this is probably still the one that comes closest to describing me) and gay affirming.

Autism

2011-11-25T19:10:00.001+08:00

I have son, a beautiful son who I love more than I ever thought possible. Recently my son was diagnosed with autism. My wife has started blogging about it here. She is insanely articulate and emotive.

Confession: I Support Child Slavery And Animal Torture

2011-11-24T06:35:00.000+08:00

It was a Friday night - party night... Well, sort of, with two young kids "party night" means a DVD and some chocolate. The DVD arrived in the mail, the kids were in bed so I grabbed my skateboard to go and get the chocolate. And, there I stood at the supermarket in front of a huge range of chocolate. A huge range but only one had the blue and green fair trade logo on it. It belonged to a boring block of milk chocolate which unlike almost everything else was not on special. Only one piece of chocolate I knew did not have child slave labour involved in it's production. I did not buy it. In my justified that it's not fair that there is only one fair trade option and my wife would be disappointed if I bring back the most boring and expensive chocolate option.

Only hours before I was at another supermarket doing the weekly shopping. There I was faced with the option of expensive free range meat or cheaper innocuously unnamed meat. Meat that surely was produced in factory farming conditions. Chickens in battery conditions and pigs in stalls where they can't move.

So here I confess that I support child slavery and animal torture. I confess this because it feels horrible to write this and confessing is compelling to change my behaviour to match what I say I believe.

The Bible, Historical Events And A Helpful Analogy

2011-11-22T12:05:00.003+08:00

You've probably heard people (scholars) say that there is lots of stuff in the bible that is not historically accurate. This is sometimes out rightly rejected but more often than not clarified by a statement along the lines of "well historical biography is not the style that the gospels (or other books) were written in". Which leaves the lay person asking "so what style were they written in? Make it up as you go along style?" Well I think I may have a modern day writing style that is analogous to many of the biblical writings (particularly those dealing with events that have taken place in history) It is the political cartoon.

The political cartoon accurately and often in a very quick way tells exactly what is going on without necessarily being historically accurate. So in centuries to come someone might look back at two cartoons of the historical event of the Australian prime minister meeting the American president, one cartoon might have the prime minister laying prostrate before the president and another might have the prime minister kissing the president's bum. Now a historian might tell us that it is unlikely that either events took place and that the two cartoons contradict each other. But, as 21st centurary cartoon readers we know that these cartoons are actually an accurate telling of what is going on, in many ways far more accurate than a photo of the two leaders shaking hands ever could be.

I've found the political cartoon analogy really helpful. If ever I hear someone say that something in the bible didn't or couldn't happen the way it is recorded to ask is this similar to how a political cartoonist would have recorded this event?

Agents Of Future: Worship Music That Actually Rocks

2011-11-19T07:01:00.002+08:00

Last week I downloaded a recent episode of Homebrewed Christianity. An episode on worship music. I was hesitant to listen, decent worship music is very rare to find. Interviewees Angie and Todd Fadel talked about the lack of honesty, lament and anguish in worship music, all good stuff but having a great theology of music and making great music can be two different things (still love you Brian!). Then there was a gap in the conversation and they played the first few bars of "Nothing In The Way". It gripped me and shook me. Todd plays piano line Pete Townsend plays guitar and the vocals were a cross between between Queen and Courtney Love; multiple tracks with vocal passion always trumping precision I'd heard it before, on triple j no less, but would never of picked it as "Worship Music". With that that I downloaded their album Sneak Peaks. It's great. You can listen to the whole thing at the bottom of this post or listen to it here. Best of all you can buy CD quality files for less than the cost of iTunes.

If you don't have the patience to listen to the whole podcast this you tube club is a good introduction.

Stream the "Agents Of Future" album "Sneak Peeks"

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://agentsoffuture.bandcamp.com/album/sneek-peaks-at-magic-moments"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Sneek Peaks at Magic Moments by Agents of Future&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

You can get more of their stuff from agentsoffuture.bandcamp.com

Relationship or Power

2011-11-17T08:29:00.000+08:00

A great zoologist has been working with apes for years. She has finally made a major breakthrough with an ape she has been working with and knows that the next baby ape she starts with she will be able to unleash it's mind and give it the power to think reason and love to so the same degree as any human. Will she do it?

A computer programmer has been working on artificial intelligence for years finally he has cracked it he has designed a robot with software that lets it have independent choice and the ability to learn new things just like a human. Will he build the robot?

The question in the two scenarios is the same. If you could create a human like being would you? It’s a dilemma because by creating a human like being you are relinquishing control of that being. They will have the power to love you or leave you or do things or be someone you don’t like. Once you train the ape or build the robot to be like a human you are no longer “all powerful”, they control how you relate to each other.

Xns will often describe God as “all powerful” without even a moment’s thought. As humans if we were to give something the some human qualities that will reduce our own power, but also increase the possibility for relationship. Having created two children in my own image (so to speak) I am very aware that although I maybe powerful I am not all powerful and once they become adults (completely in my adult image) I will have virtually no power what so ever, only possibility of relationship. If we believe that God has created us in God’s image and desires to have a relationship with us, maybe we need to stop calling God “all powerful”.

Scripture Classes and Chaplains in High Schools

2011-11-15T11:33:00.000+08:00

If you are one of my friends who sends me save our chaplains or scripture classes you may be disappointed by this post so maybe just stop reading now. Also, this was supposed to be a short pithy post but it's not, Sorry.

When I went to high school we didn't have a chaplain and we hardly ever had scripture classes. Twenty years ago, as far as I knew It was only private Xn schools who had chaplains. Public high schools were supposed to dedicate one period a week to scripture classes. The school I attended finished one period early every Friday because a previous principal had just got rid of scripture altogether. By the time i was attended the school scripture happened once every six weeks or so much to the annoyance of the teacher who's class scripture cut into. Most people did not turn up to scripture and I always sighed a small sigh of relief every time my non Xn friends wagged scripture because at a time when being cool was really important nothing made Xy seem more uncool than scripture.

Without scripture and a chaplain Xy thrived at our school. At one point 10% of the school attended the weekly lunchtime meeting for ISCF (Inter School Christian Fellowship) a student led Christian meeting that was overseen by just one teacher. As great as Mr Bradley was the real key to the large number of Xns at my school was, I think, the strength of the local churches. My church for example had a weekly high school youth group with 24 volunteer leaders (split over 2 groups) who would faithfully turn up every week. This was not a mega church but a medium sized parish church. With that kind of role modeling by the time it was my turn as 16 year old to be one of the ISCF leaders it didn't seem daunting at all.

If you had asked me if I wanted scripture to be taught every week I would have said “no”, asked me if i wanted a chaplain at the school I would have said “no” too.

For me the beauty of the Friday lunchtime ISCF meeting was that it was "opt in", purely the students own choice. Scripture on the other hand was "opt out" (if you could convince your parent to write a note) otherwise it was compulsory.

Fast forward 20 years to now and the same well-meaning daggy scripture teachers are doing their best to jump the generation gap (for those 23 and over) or the credibility gap (for those 23 and under) and I'm still unsure if it's the best thing people could be doing, especially without a really well people resourced youth ministry at the local church.

Perhaps another fact of the current debate that I struggle with is that pro scripture / chaplaincy people often talk as if either program is a constituted right and not an absolute privilege. Anyone who knows me knows that I've done quite a lot of Xn stuff in schools but I have always done those things with an absolute sense of privilege to be invited onto school grounds.

Chaplains, is another fascinating and different issue. As soon as the policy was introduced I was sure it wouldn't last longer than one election cycle. I was wrong. The Dictionary definition of a chaplain: A member of the clergy who conducts religious services for an institution, such as a prison or hospital. The Government definition of a school chaplain: is a basically a youth worker who will not engage in religious activities. General public definition of a chaplain: Well that'll depend on who you speak to... It'll be some combination of the above.

Personally I'm off the opinion that mixing Xy and government is like mixing ice-cream with dog poo. The dog poo (government) stays pretty much the same but the ice-cream (Xy) gets ruined.

At the moment we have someone chosen to do a job on religious grounds (although recent legislation has been passed to change this) and then instructed to do nothing religious. The political idea is that church wins because it gets to feel like it's doing something by having a "Xn presence" in every high school and the government hopes that non-Xn voters don’t mind as the chaplains are not allowed to do anything religious.

If were to rename chaplains "under paid Christians happy to help out an under resourced over stretched education system" I'd have no problem with that. The problem is that we are calling these workers chaplains and misrepresenting what they are actually doing.

The point of the chaplaincy program is to buy votes and the Xn community is buying up big because we can see how disconnected young people are from Xy and from church. We think that sticking chaplains in schools or keeping scripture compulsory will get kids back in church. Of far more value would be 24 adults willing to commit to meeting weekly with a group of high school aged young people once a week every week of the school term. This is highly unlikely as we (voting Xn adults) are so committed to other things. This is what I think really needs to change.

Jesus Dojo, Mark Scandrette - Review

2011-11-13T12:11:00.000+08:00

About a month ago I was lucky enough to win a copy of Mark Scandrette's new book Jesus Dojo care of the great guys at Homebrewed Christianity. Jesus Dojo is one of those rare magical books where once you've read it you give it to your spouse demanding she read it too. It was a radical yet gentle challenge to change my life and follow Jesus in a far more practical (rather than esoteric) way than i have for a long time. The kind of meaningful changes that you have to bring your spouse along with you on.

The book is part a guide on how to do church differently and part personal story as Mark and his church try to live it out a new way of being Xn. The book is based around the idea of a dojo. A karate dojo (where you've most likely to have heard the term) is just the place where you learn the way of karate and obviously it's very hands on. So there won't be lots of singing about karate followed by a long talk about karate. The Jesus Dojo is based around a series of experiments that participants do that come out of reading the gospels. So when John the Baptist challenges his followers to give up half of what they own that's what the participants do. Importantly the experiments are experiments they are not permanent changes or a set of guidelines, but they may lead to these. Sometimes experiments work wonderfully other times they don't. Either way there is plenty to be learnt.

So if you find yourself sitting in church thinking "Is this it?", "Has choosing to follow an incendiary revolutionary come down to badly singing some songs listening to some guy talk and then eat tea and biscuits?" Then this book is for you.

In short this book is friggin' awesome not just for what's in it but for what it will propel you to do in the future. The only downside is you'll have to convince some friends to join you on the journey.

Carry Us Over - Valley Song

2011-11-11T11:11:00.005+08:00

I've got a bad habit of constantly being on the look out for "worship music" the kind of songs you could sing in church. Every so often I get to introduce a new one to the church I hang out with, but lately I've been singing and playing Xn songs a lot and since I really just can't stand Xn songs of the Hill Song variety that kind of makes looking for those songs a whole lot harder. I recently, care of Homebrewed Christianity, came across The Agents of Future who I will post on later. They recommended Kelli Schaefer and I came across the song "Carry Us Over". I love it and can't stop playing it.

Here is a some what beautifully shambolic playing of the song - shambolic because it's very much anyone with an instrument can play and "the band" is not turned up loud enough to drown out anyone who isn't singing perfect pitch or clapping exactly in time. It's friggin' great.

If you want a nice studio recording of the song go here

And the chords and lyrics...

Carry Us Over

C G Am
Jesus turn this wine back in to water
C G Am
So we can quench our poor thirsty souls
C G Am
This dessert's dry as hell and getting hotter
C G Am
And the truth is only your love makes us whole

C G
So carry us over the finish line
Dm F
we can see the end but our feet are so tired
C G Am
It's Obvious we're useless on our own
C G
So carry us over the finish line
Dm F
We can see the end but our feet are so tired
C G Am
We don't know how to be sober
C G C
So Jesus Carry us over

But if this wait is gonna kill me
well kill me then and bring me home to you
But if my destiny’s amongst the heathen
Well tie me to your rope and pull me through

C G Am
We want to come home
C G Am
We want to come home
C G Dm F
We want to come home
C G C
We want to come home

© Kelli Schaefer

Oh and when there is no one else around she sounds like this...

Passion Gone

2011-11-08T08:14:00.005+08:00

I'm loosing the passion for blogging. I had a big break not so long ago and now i feel like I'm going to do just what a blog shouldn't do, slowly fade away. I think a few things are happening. 1. I'm feeling less and less like i have ideas that are worth other people reading. 2. Too much other stuff is happening in my life... Kids (one with autism and one with a language processing difficulty), uni and the usual stay at home dad stuff. These are obviously way more important than a blog and while my brain might be processing stuff anyway it's just too much effort to formulate those ideas into a coherent blog post. 3. I just am a little bit more comfortable living in the grey and the unknown at the moment.

So you may never get to read the following half thought out posts...

Chaplains: Why i think they, under the current arrangement, they are not such a great idea.

Confession: About the the slavery and animal torture I'm involved in.

Relationship Vs Power: where I continue to muse around the idea that God is not "all powerful" and why that makes relating to God possible.

Big Gay Post: where I outline all the thoughts and reasons as to why I am Gay affirming.

It was twenty years ago today...

2011-09-24T01:21:00.003+08:00

20 years ago my musical world went from this...

to this...

Kurt, Chris and Dave. Thank you.

To be completely truthful I spent most of my high school years listening to sixties and seventies rock, but that Kylie and Jason kind of music was always there in the background.

Honest Worship Music

2011-09-12T13:24:00.003+08:00

The YouTube title is wrong worship. Maybe it's just honest worship. I can remember seeing a church service where the band was at the back if the congregation, something about it felt very right. More like the congregation was worshiping God and not watching a concert. As I always say to fellow nervous church musicians. "Don't worry were only the backing band, the congregation is the lead singer."

After 9 11 We Need An Angry God - Some Thoughts 10 Years On

2011-09-07T08:04:00.001+08:00

The usual wisdom is that it was belief in an angry god is what caused a handful of people to get into planes and crash into skyscrapers and then caused a much larger group of people to get into many more planes and drop bombs on to people who lived in countries which were kind of close to the country where most of the first handful of people came from.

Furthermore, an often remarked criticism of the Bible is that in the God of the Old Testament is full of anger but the god of the new testament is full of love. This criticism is supposed to be a debate clinching argument because we, as a society, believe that you can't be both full of anger and full of love and that anger is an altogether bad emotion. If you were to hear someone say "my child has anger issues" no one will turn around and say "that's great you must be so proud". Instead there might be a bit of consoling about similar issues in their own children and how that anger might have been subdued through a combination of therapy and medication.

Our ideal citizen does not have "anger issues", our ideal citizen swims with the tide of the way the world is and learns to accept things as they are. Less than ideal citizens would include Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero and Jesus. All angry. Angry about the way their people had been treated by the ruling authorities. All full of anger and full of love. Key of course is that that they were angry and non-violent. And it is non-violence that is key to understanding the gospel.

As I look around at the litany of injustices in the world I am angry and I am sure God must feel the same. I contend that God did not just pour out Gods anger on Jesus making God satisfied and unmoved by the events of our world. Maybe instead God has channelled God's anger into an act of non-violence. The act of becoming a man and laying down his life for others in the crucifixion. An act that would be a window into a new paradigm a paradigm where violence loses and love wins because the grave could not hold Jesus.

God is still angry and God is calling us to follow the Jesus path of non-violence. Our anger is to fuel loving acts of non-violent action.

Like the terrorists on 9/11 I sense that something is unfair in the world and I want that to change. We both believe that God is angry about these injustices. The difference between us is that the anger of my God causes God to humble God's self to the form of a man who would act out love and not violence even if that meant death on a cross.

Ten years on if you are angry about 911 or about the west's response or that the 911 anniversary will receive more attention than starving millions in the horn of Africa, then join God and follow Jesus on the path of non-violent action in a new paradigm where violence loses and love wins.

Why Women Should Not Wear High Heeled Shoes

2011-09-04T06:55:00.001+08:00

Looking 2 Inches taller: 2% increase in attractiveness.

Looking like you haven't yet learnt to walk yet and definitely couldn't run: 15% decrease in attractiveness.

Overall: Bad idea.

Fred Nile And Wishful Thinking

2011-08-23T20:38:00.003+08:00

Fred Nile has been in the media of late holding the NSW government to ransom, wanting the removal of optional ethics classes in exchange for the passage of other unrelated bills before parliament.

Nearly twenty years ago I got to see Fred preach to the choir, quite literally, as he addressed a conservative Baptist church.

Fred started by reading from Romans (Romans 13). It’s the famous passage were Paul says that the rulers and authorities have been put there by God. Fred then went on to explain that what Paul meant to say was that all people in authority or government should be Christians. He gave no reason for why Paul meant to say something completely different to what he actually said and it seemed like he just really wished that's what the text actually said.

At the time I had a strong urge to stand up and yell "are you Friggin' serious?!? The foundation for your ministry is based on what you think Paul meant to say?!?" But, I was sitting next to my new girlfriend's parents and at the time impressing them seemed more important than yelling out and getting stared at by a hundred ticked off Baptists.

None the less since Fred was famous and it's the only time I've heard a justify a ministry by basing it on something that was meant to be in the bible (but wasn't actually there). So it's something I've not forgotten.

I like to think of myself as some who diligently tries to follow Jesus and takes the bible very seriously. The problem is that I'm pretty sure Fred does too and, we have very very different ideas about what this means.

I suspect that Fred's attitudes, actions and his parties policies are not based on what Jesus said and but rather what Fred wishes he said and did. They are not based on what the bible says but on what he wishes the bible "meant to say".

Poor People Ain't Like They're Supposed To Be

2011-08-16T22:04:00.000+08:00

According to an article in the West Australian last month (Thurs 27th) I live in the only "affordable" shire in Perth. In other words I live in the crapiest shire in Perth, the one that no one else wants to live in. Now I could get all high and mighty about how Jesus walked amongst the poor and all the Christians reading this should do the same by moving into my shire. But the honest truth is if I had the means I too would move away from the poor performing schools, crappy playgrounds, cars doing burnouts and the sounds of AC-DC and Cold Chisel blasting out of the backyard stereo at 2am in the morning.

Although all these things might be irritating my real problem is that poor people ain't what they're supposed to be. Poor people are supposed aware that they are in need, they are supposed to see how that i could help them and they are supposed to ask for or accept my help when i offer it. But they don't. there's as much chance of that happening as you (dear middle class reader) asking for mechanical help from your one bogan neigbour even though you know he completely rebuilt an engine from scratch. The problem is my neighbours and I just don't have that much in common. So it's hard to sustain a chat in the street let alone do anything practical. They don't want my help or my friendship. For now I'll have to settle for being the guy who gives away eggs, can tie a tie for, has a computer that connects to the internet and can print, photocopy documents.

Jesus Is Too Hard So I'm Trying John The Baptist Instead

2011-08-13T12:47:00.000+08:00

Jesus once said "if you have two wah wah pedals give one to someone who has none. If you have two TVs give one away" Actually he didn't say that he said "sell what you own, and give the money to the poor" although I suspect this wasn't meant to be exclusively about outer garments. Inspired by an interview with Mark Scandrette on his new book "The Jesus Dojo" I'm trying* to divest myself of half of everything I own, John the Baptist style (Luke 3:11).

Fortunately for me a lot of the stuff I own is broken useless crap that may one day be useful for fixing something else that is broken. So this year might not be to hard, especially when I'm keeping the really good wah wah and TV and getting rid of the crappy ones. However next time I read Luke 3:11 it's going to be much tougher to get rid of half of the remaining half, the time after that even tougher and the time after that I'll be thinking why didn't I just go straight to Mark 10:21.

*For all of you thinking wow good on you please note the word "trying" and I have not yet successfully given away half of what I own.

Christians Picking And Choosing Bits Of The Bible

2011-08-09T09:14:00.001+08:00

If someone is a Xn it's a safe bet that they pick and choose which bits of scripture to read and learn from and which to ignore, particularly from the Old Testament (OT). Look at any Xns bible and I bet that while Genesis and Exodus might be well thumbed the pages of Leviticus and Numbers will be pristine. We reinforce our theological bent by reading particular bits and leaving out others.

The question shouldn't be whether we pick and choose but how we pick and choose or what lens we read through. Selecting just a handful of parts of the bible it's easy to get a war mongering judgmental God or a peace and justice loving God. The same bible has the call to turn our ploughshares into swords and then our swords into ploughshares.

As Xns followers of Christ who take the Bible seriously (not followers of the bible who take Christ seriously) it is Jesus who frames how we read the bible. So, for that reason I'm more of a swords into ploughshares kind of guy because, I think Jesus was like that. Just because something is written in the bible it isn't necessarily a command to go and do the same. God sticking with Israel no matter what (through wars and kings) is not the same as tacit approval for everything Israel did.

I'm a big fan of the Bible and take it very seriously. But, i follow Jesus and that is what taints, filters and shapes how I read the Bible.

Bible Belts, They're In The Wrong Place

2011-08-05T09:13:00.000+08:00

I don't know what it's like in other parts of the world but Australia our Bible belts are firmly in the middle of middle class suburbia. Middle class suburbia home of the moralists and the intellectuals, the people who can tell everyone what is right and that they are right. To my ears this echoes the teachers of the law really loudly. They were as close as you might get to a 1st century Jewish middle class - under the ruling Romans but above all their own people. We need to ask ourselves where are the prostitutes, the drunkards (addicts), the sinners, the indebted. These are the people that Jesus was hanging out with and they are from the typical church goer in Australia. I wonder if this is the gospel we tend to talk about is one of just salvation (without need for real change) and not liberation (liberation both personally and structurally).

I've Accidentally Become A Pacifist

2011-08-01T09:11:00.002+08:00

I'm sure there was a time when I used to believe in the need for armed forces and that at times these would be the best way to resolve conflicts. As I’ve grown older I’ve grown even less conservative and now I’m a pacifist. I don't when this happened I only really thought about it the other day. It just crept up on me. As Toni Campolo puts it “I can’t think of a circumstance where Jesus would pick up a bayonet and run it through someone”. If we are called to be like Jesus then why would we live differently. Jesus with all the supernatural power of God was murdered like any garden variety insurrectionist. His passive resistance resulted in his own death and that, is the danger of deciding to follow Jesus. To follow Jesus is to walk to the cross.

Why I think Conservative Christians Shouldn't Care About Gay Marriage

2011-07-28T09:09:00.001+08:00

When Xns talk about gay marriage and homosexuality they could talk until the cows come home about whether homosexuality is a sin or not. In this post I'd like to address those sisters and brothers who do think it's a sin and have assumed this means that they should be against making gay marriage legal. Below is why i think that even if you think homosexuality is a sin gay marriage shouldn't bother you...

There are two types of sin 1. Sins that affect just the sinner (envy would be an example) 2. Sins that affect the sinner and other (innocent) people around them. (murder and gossip would be examples).

You'll notice that almost all of the sins in group 1 legal and most of the sins in group 2 are illegal. Even something like gossip can morph into slander and public deformation. My contention is if you are going to call homosexuality and gay marriage a sin then you'd have to put in the first group as the only people affected by it are two consenting adults.

I know that some conservative Xns will say that gay marriage will affect the "institution of marriage". I cannot see how it will affect the institution of marriage any more than divorce or taxes spent poorly on an corrupt organizations would affect the "Christian" institution of charity.

So if you're a "gay is not ok" kind of Xn don't worry about gay marriage, there are plenty of other things to write to your local MP about. If you want to make sins illegal maybe just concentrate on those that will affect non consenting people around the sinner. Or, you could curl up with a copy of the King James Bible comforted in the fact that you will not come across the word homosexual (that word doesn't appear in Bible translations until 1958).

Slumdog Millionaire Review

2011-07-24T09:03:00.003+08:00

In the 10 months I had off from blogging I finally got around to joining the rest of the world and watching Slumdog Millionaire. I didn't like it. All fiction happens in a universe that the story teller creates and it's the job of the story teller to draw us in to the world of the story so everything that happens becomes believable. Dan Brown's the Davinci code does a great job of this, so much so that I was disappointed when I came across the gaps in the story’s theological and historical explanation. Slumdog is built on these premises: If someone just gets lucky enough then they too can get out of their situation. The implication is we're all in control of how are life turns out regardless of the where we are born.

It's classic American dream mythology. The evils that the characters face were not inequality, poverty and disease resulting from the systemic injustice that created the slum (which is really the great evil that slum dwellers face). Instead, the evil was a handful of gangsters. To me it felt like the slum setting was not necessary almost like an elephant in the room. Maybe for me feel good movies are a time to forget about systemic injustice for a while and I just couldn't do it in this one. Not when that injustice isn't being confronted in some way. I can hear my mum saying "for goodness sake, It's just a story!".

In my opinion Kevin Mcloud's documentary Slumming It did a much better job of capturing the beauty and horror of the slum. He walked away wanting to make the slum more sanitary and the work practices safer, but there was a joy and community amongst the people that the first could learn a lot from.

Back!

2011-07-20T19:03:00.006+08:00

After doing a "final" post almost a year ago I've decided to start blogging again. I have been tempted to start blogging again...

Temptation 1. I was asked a serious of questions by a reader. These were questions she'd asked ministers and the public centre for Xy. Although she received praise for her questions she didn’t get without a decent answer. I was both disturbed that she couldn't find a decent answer to her a questions through these channels and that she asked me, author of an obscure blog with no official endorsement.

Thought 1. I could have all the answers some one's theological questions. Mmm I'd like to be a Guru.

Temptation 2. There have been a slow drip of expressions of disappointment, that I've stopped blogging.

Thought 2. I could be a really important part of people's lives. Mmm I'd like to be important.

Temptation 3. I've actually had more people visiting the blog since I've stopped writing. Primarily due to being high up on the AOL search for Tommie Zitto.

Thought 3. I could be famous. Mmm famous.

Fortunately for everyone I have resisted all of these temptations. As much as I tempted by all of these things I don't want to be a guru, I don't want to be important and I don't want to be famous. But I do have ideas, lots of them and the blog has always been a great way to wrestle with, flesh out and clarify those ideas.

Since I've stopped blogging those ideas have just blocked up like a big pile of theological snot. I need to blow my nose bad and this blog will be my handkerchief.

So, if you're reading this thanks for coming back and I hope you find my ramblings somewhat useful.

This Is The End Beautiful Friends The End

2010-09-07T07:53:00.002+08:00

I started this blog a confused gen exer trying to find a place in the Xn church. I'm still a confused gen exer but I feel like I've found my place. In many ways I suspect I've just become more comfortable about being on the edge of church and, care of the good folks who make up the church I currently call home, that edge feels very comfortable. This comfort is reflected in my lack of posts in recent times. So for the foreseeable future I'm going to call it a day. Thanks to everyone who has read any of the posts and to anyone who I've disagreed with or has disagreed with me just remember "heresy is just truth overstated".

God bless.

Podcasts

2010-09-03T08:12:00.004+08:00

Sometime ago I started doing 101 things to do as a churchless Xn. One of the most consistently important things for me has been listening to Podcasts. These are my favourites...

Homebrewed Christianity
Nick and Josh
Father Bob
Sunday night Safran
Praxis
Iconocast
Emergent Village
Tom Wright page (not a podcast but links to loads of Tom Wright talks)
CCDA

You should be able to find them straight through iTunes too.

Apologies

2010-08-15T18:15:00.000+08:00

Apologies for the lack of posts. I'm working on a talk for church. "Messiah: Justice and Friend of Sinners" is the title I've been given. So it'll be a long post / mp3 on August 22nd but not much up till then.

Refugees

2010-07-28T06:28:00.003+08:00

I've written to both Liberal and Labor candidates in my electorate telling them I'm disappointed with their policies on refugees and I haven't heard a thing back from either of them. Frustrating. I could post statistics about the issue but two funny guys works just as well.

Valley Songs - All Of Them

2010-07-27T08:23:00.001+08:00

One of the more popular things I have done on this blog has been the Valley Songs. I've posted Now that blogger offers a page function I've added a whole page of my Valley Songs. At the moment it's just chords lyrics and some tab. I'll try and add videos to each songs eventually too. There's a link on the pages section of the side bar.

Atonement Alternative

2010-07-25T11:42:00.001+08:00

I've often written critically about atonement illustrations like Nicky Gumbell's Nazi camp story. So I thought it was time to write an alternative illustration. Of course like other illustrations it doesn't capture the entire gospel it just captures one aspect.

The hike started to take a turn for the worse. We had reached the summit of the mountain and we were on our way back when we discovered an avalanche had cut off the path home. The sun was starting to set and jack, our guide, confirmed our fears that the moans in the distance were indeed bears. Jack lead us to the opening of an abandoned mine. "this is going to be our only way out" he suggested "I've never been down inside but it might lead out somewhere pass the bears". A few decided to stay at the mouth of the mine most of us followed jack. The mine shafts got narrower and narrower. Some of the lager and more claustrophobic in the group stopped to see if we would come back after hitting a dead end. The rest of use winded our way single file through the mine until we came to a small hole where we could hear running water below. The opening was big enough for one and the ledge below was big enough for just two. The stream was going to go somewhere and it was big enough to for someone to swim in you just needed gills to breath until you found air somewhere. Jack turned to the hiker who had gone down with him and said he was going to swim. Through and see where it went. A while went by went by until jack resurfaced "it gets us out just take a deep breath and follow me. Don't try and come back though you'll probably drown and block the path for everyone else." So jack left then a second hiker got down on the ledge with the first hiker. By the time I got there this story had been relayed to me by at least a dozen people. As it was my time to relay the story back to the person behind me. I wondered why I was believing it could everyone be just going to there death? I held my breath but my faith in jack and swam believing life would greet me on the other side.

Flim Review - Away We Go

2010-07-24T07:42:00.000+08:00

Freakin’ amazing. A sensuously paced journey with beautiful characters I could not only identify with, I could imagine having in my circle friends. The film has a beautiful balance of humour and pain and has marriage advice that isn't sappy or trite. The central couple grow throughout the film in a the way that real people do, no Hollywood moment or realisation they can do anything. They embrace the life they find themselves with, including all it's short comings and embrace the loves that they find themselves with. Highly recommended.

Back

2010-07-23T06:49:00.000+08:00

I'm back to blogging. As much as a I did watch a bit of the world cup and I did run a tipping competition for my extended family it was a great time to not think about writing theologically for a month or so. None the less I've got a few ideas for posts brewing.

Blog On Hold

2010-06-21T13:31:00.002+08:00

World cup on, blog o hold. :)

Three More Road Tested Valley Songs

2010-05-26T09:30:00.000+08:00

Here are the final three songs that I've played with a congregation. Two old classics and One great unknown. The two classics ("swing low sweet chariot" and "in the sweet by and by") are of the "can't wait for God to whisk me up to heaven" variety if like me your theologically NT Wrightish on these issues I've written a post on why I still sing these songs even though they may not perfectly fit my theology. When I play these songs I like to play a song like "I will be your friend" I came across it on a kids CD to me it sounded like a song written right after reading Matthew 25. I wrote to Guy Davis's management to get permission to play it in church.

Swing low, Sweet Chariot

I (G)looked over Jordan and (C)what did I (G)see?
(G)Commin' for to carry me (D)home
(G)There was a band of angels, a-(C)commin' after (G)me
(G)Commin' for to (D)carry me (G)home

CHORUS
Swing low, sweet chariot
Commin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Commin' for to carry me home

I'm sometimes up, and I'm sometimes down
Comin' for to carry me home
But but I know my soul is heavenly bound
Comin' for to carry me home

CHORUS

If you get there before I do
Comin' for to carry me home
Tell all my friends that I'm a-comin' too
Comin' for to carry me home

Swing low, sweet chariot
Commin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Commin' for to carry me home
And now they're commin' for to carry me home

© Traditional – Johnny Cash arrangement

In the Sweet By and By

(G)There's a land that is (C)fairer than (G)day
And by faith we can see it a(D7)far
For the (G)Father waits (C)over the (G)way
To prepare us a (D7)dwelling place (G)there

CHORUS
In the (D7)sweet by and by
We shall meet on that beautiful (G)shore
In the (G7)sweet by and (C)by
We shall (G)meet on that (D7)beautiful (G)shore

We shall sing on that beautiful shore
the melodious songs of the blest
And our spirits shall sorrow no more
not a sigh for the blessing of rest.

CHORUS

To our bountiful Father above
We will offer the tribute of praise
For the glorious gift of His love
and the blessings that hallow our days.

© Traditional – arrangement Mars Hill Band

I Will Be Your Friend — Guy Davis

(C)If you’ve got troubles And you need a helpin’ hand,
(F)If you’ve got troubles And you need a helpin’ (C)hand,
(Am7)If you’ve got (G7)troubles And you (C)need a helpin’ (F)hand,
Come to (C)me, I will (G)be your (C)friend.

CHORUS
(G)I will be your (C)friend,(C7) (F)I will be your (C)friend.
(Am7)If you’ve got (G7)troubles, And you (C)need a helpin’ (F)hand,
Come to (C)me, I will (G)be your (C)friend.

If you are hungry And you’ve got no place to stay,
If you are hungry And you’ve got no place to stay,
If you are hungry And you’ve got no place to stay,
Come to me, I will be your friend.

I will be your friend (oh Lordy!), I will be your friend.
If you are hungry And you’ve got no place to stay,
Come to me, I will be your friend.

If you are lonely And you’ve got nobody to love(have mercy!),
If you are lonely And you’ve got no one to love,
If you are lonely And you’ve got nobody to love,
Come to me, I will be your friend.

I will be your friend, I will be your friend.
If you are lonely And you need somebody to love,
Come to me, I will be your friend.

"I Will Be Your Friend"
Words & Music by Guy Davis

I play this in E. Most congregations can't sing as low as Guy.

The Joy of Gioia - Valley Songs

2010-05-21T12:32:00.002+08:00

10 years ago I would have told you that congregational singing is a complete waste of time. Paul Gioia is the man who single handedly changed my mind about this. I've deliberately not included all of the song in the posts because Paul is a friend and it'd be great if he received some album and sheet music sales from this.

Why Do You Love Me?
Psalm 116

CHORUS
(F)Why do you love me (Bb)Even when I (C)hurt you?
(F)Why do you hold me (Bb)When I (C)cry?
(F)Why will you love me (Bb)Until the (C)end of (F)time? (Bb) (C)

(F)I… (Bb)love the (F)Lord… (Bb)for (F)he… has (Bb)heard my (C)voice
(Dm)I will (C7sus4)call on (F)him (Bb)as (F)long as (C)I (Dm)live (C7)
(F)Cords (Bb)of (F)death (Bb)en(F)tan…(Bb)gled (C)me
(Dm)I… (C7sus4)called on the (F)Lord: (Bb)Oh (F)Lord (C)save (F)me! (C7)

CHORUS

God has saved my soul from death
My feet from stumbling, my eyes from tears
That I may walk before the Lord
In the land of the living

CHORUS

How can I repay the Lord?
For all his goodness to me, to me.
I will honour my promise to God
Freed from my chains I’ll praise the Lord!

CHORUS

© Paul Gioia, 1986

Guitar Riff At The Start

F Bb C
----------15-13-------------------|-----------
-------13-------15-13-15-13-------|-15---17---
----14----------------------14----|-15---17---
-15----------------------------15-|-15---17---
----------------------------------|-13---15---
----------------------------------|-----------

No Turning Back

I have (C)decided to (F)follow (C)Jesus;
I have (F)decided to follow (C)Jesus;
I have (C)decided to (F)follow (Am)Jesus; (F)
No turning (C)back, (G)no turning (C)back.

Though I may stumble, I still will follow;
Though I may stumble, I still will follow;
Though I may stumble, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

© Traditional – Paul Gioia arrangement

Other Songs of Paul's I've already posted are Face Of The Humbled Poor and Some Great Day.

Dreaming Of Singing These One Day - Valley Songs

2010-05-20T06:39:00.000+08:00

As requested here are three more Valley Songs. These are all songs I've never tried with a congregation but would love to one day. "Hard Times" doesn't mention God as such but to my mind beautifully captures what it would be like for God's Kingdom to break out on Earth. I love playing "Get Right With God" on a slide and it's not to hard work out. The Church I'm at has a Sun rise Easter service and I always wanted to start it with the song "I'm Free".

Hard Times Come Again No More

Verse 1:
Let us [F]pause in life's pleasures
And [Bb]count its many [F]tears
[Bb]While we [F]all sup [C]sorrow [C7]with the [F]poor
There's a [F]song that will linger
For[Bb]ever [C]in our [Dm]ears;
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come a[C7]gain no [F]more

Chorus:
'Tis the [F]song, the sigh of the [Bb]wea[F]ry
[F]Hard times, [Bb]hard [F]times,
[G9]Come a[G7]gain no [C]more
[C7]Many [F]days you have [C7]ling[Cm]ered
[Bb]around my [C]cabin [Dm]door
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come [C7]again no [F]more

Verse 2:
While we [F]seek mirth and beauty
And [Bb]music light and [F]gay,
[Bb]There are [F]frail forms [C]fainting [C7]at the [F]door
Though their [F]voices are silent,
Their [Bb]pleading [C]looks will [Dm]say
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come a[C7]gain no [F]more

Verse 3:
There's [F]pale drooping maiden
Who [Bb]toils her life [F]away,
[Bb]With a [F]worn heart, whose [C]better [C7]days are [F]o'er
Though her [F]voice would be merry,
'tis [Bb]sighing [C]all the [Dm]day,
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come a[C7]gain no [F]more

Verse 4:
'Tis a [F]sigh that is wafted
A[Bb]cross the troubled [F]wave
[Bb]Tis a [F]wail that is [C]heard up[C7]on the [F]shore
Tis a [F]dirge that is murmured
A[Bb]round the [C]lowly [Dm]grave
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come [C7]again no [F]more

Ending:
'Tis the [F]song, the sigh of the [Bb]wea[F]ry
[F]Hard times, [Bb]hard [F]times,
[G9]Come a[G7]gain no [C]more
[C7]Many [F]days you have [C7]ling[Cm]ered
[Bb]around my [C]cabin [Dm]door
[Bb]Oh, [F]hard times, [C]come [C7]again no [Bb]more [F]

© Stepehen Foster

Get Right With God

G
I would risk the serpent's bite
I would dance around with seven
I would kiss the diamond back
If I knew it would get me to heaven

CHORUS
'Cause I (C)want to get right with (G)God
Yes, you (C)know you got to get right with (G)God

I would burn the soles of my feet
Burn the palms of both my hands
If I could learn and be complete
If I could walk righteously again

I would sleep on a bed of nails
'Till my back was torn and bleeding
In the deep darkness of Hell
The Damascus of my meeting

I asked God about his plan
To save us all from Satan's slaughter
If I give up one of my lambs
Will you take me as one of your daughters?

© Lucinda Williams

I'm Free

I'm (A)free
Praise the (D)Lord I'm (A)free
No longer (E)bound
No more (A)chains hol(D)ding (A)me
My soul is (D)resting
It's such a (A)blessing (D)I (A)see
Praise the Lord Halle(E)lujah I'm (A)free

© Traditional – arrangement Psalters

More Valley Songs

2010-05-19T09:52:00.009+08:00

After Nathan Colquhoun's positive comments about my Valley Song collection I've been inspired to post some more songs. These are all road tested so enjoy.

Ain’t No Grave

CHORUS
There Ain’t no (G 8 bars)grave gonna hold my body down
There ain’t no (C 8 bars)grave gonna hold my body down (G)
When I hear the trumpet sound
Get up outa the ground
There ain’t no (D 8 bars)grave gonna hold my body down (G)

VERSE (G)
The Lord Himself from heaven
Descending with a shout
O glory Hallelujah
From the grave He'll call me out
Meet me Jesus meet me
Meet me in the middle of the air
When I go I'll sing and shout
For I'll be welcome there

© Traditional – arrangement Fret Not

I Saw The Light

I (A)wandered so aimless my heart filled with sin
(D)I wouldn't let my (A)dear Saviour in
(D)Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night
(A)Praise the Lord (E)I saw the (A)light

CHORUS
(A)I saw the light I saw the light
(D)No more darkness (A)no more night
(D)Now I'm so happy no sorrow in sight
(A)Praise the Lord (E)I saw the (A)light

Just like a blind man I wandered alone
Worries and fears I claimed for my own
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light

I was a fool to wander and astray
Straight is the gate and narrow the way
Now I have traded the wrong for the right
Praise the lord I saw the light

© Hank Williams – arrangement Dave Crowder

I want Jesus to walk with me

I want (Dm)Jesus to (A7)walk with (Dm)me
I want (F)Jesus to walk with (A7)me
All (Dm)along my pilgrim journey
I want (Dm)Jesus to (A7)walk with (Dm)me

In my trial, Lord, walk with me
In my trials, Lord, walk with me
When the shades of life are falling
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

In my sorrow, Lord walk with me
In my sorrows, Lord walk with me
When my heart is aching
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

In my troubles, Lord walk with me
In my troubles, Lord walk with me
When my life becomes a burden,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me

© Traditional – arrangement Mars Hill Band

Conservative Theology Or Conservative Liturgy

2010-05-10T18:01:00.000+08:00

So which one do you have? If you are honest with yourself it's probably one or the other. This is often what anchors us in the faith. Radical ideas about liturgy (or Xn practices in general) are usually found in more theologically conservative churches and radical ideas about theology are usually found in more liturgically conservative churches. I grew up theologically conservative and liturgically liberal. As I age I'm becoming more theologically liberal, not for the sake of it I think that many of my ideas are just less orthodox than they used to be. Certainly not unusual for someone my age. But, as this happens I'm increasingly looking for patterns of life and liturgy (Xn practices) that I can use to help anchor me. I suspect that somewhere between practice and belief God hangs out. God's a pretty slippery sucker. As I try letting go of some theology in order to get a better hold of God I find myself needing some practice to hang on to. Maybe belief and practice are like the two side rails on a pathway. God is in the middle and if we just hang on to one we'll completely miss God we have to let go but we need the other rail for when we fall off the path again.

I'm Sorry I'm A Christian

2010-05-09T17:52:00.001+08:00

Some great slam poetry.

The God Who Was Sorry

2010-04-22T11:15:00.000+08:00

For me one of the most fascinating parts of the bible is when God repents of making humanity in the story of Noah (Genesis 6:6). Fast forward to Jesus and you've got Jesus being the Passover lamb. The Passover lamb is the object that takes the blame. Put the two together and you've got a God who is sorry and takes the blame for sin.

If we were to ask Is God responsible for the mess we find ourselves in? Before we can even ask the question or try make a judgement about what proportion (if any) we want to blame god. God has already said sorry for the mess and taken the blame. That's powerful. Particularly in an age when no one wants to admit they are sorry or take any portion of blame for fear of the consequences. Rather they would wait for a court or other higher power to prove their guilt.

Starting An Unintentional Community

2010-04-21T11:14:00.000+08:00

Last year I got to meet with someone doing a church plant in my area. He's a paid worker leading a small group of people from the same church that's moved into the area to do a church plant. An intentional community of sorts. I always get excited about this kind of thing so I organised to meet with him and hear what they were doing. After being asked a few questions about how evangelical I was I got the feeling that I was not the kind of person they are looking for to be part of their community. Although I expressed interest to meet with other people who are part of the plant, I was told just to look at their infrequently updated website.

The conversation felt very much like my initial church surfing in the area. The underlying message from each church was always the same. "this is the way we do things here... Join in and do it our way or don't"

It's frustrating but nothing out of the ordinary. Turn up to a liberal church and tell them you believe in 7 day creation, or turn up to a conservative church and tell them you think the first 11 chapters of genesis are myth and you'll get the same awkward treatment. It's because you're the kind of person that they never intended to have in their community.

As Xn communities we're comfortable with people who believe the same as us and we're comfortable with people who might journey with us until they end up believing the same as us. Basically church is open to anyone on the line between unbelief and belief just like us. It's the way that we as church communities keep control of what we believe. For as much as Xns talk about going on a journey with people we always want that person to end up believing the same things we do and usually learning those beliefs from us or in the same way we did. If you've found yourself believing something other than what the orthodox for that church is they don't know what to do with you. Apart from maybe hope you go away.

This is perhaps one of the reasons I get so irritated when I sense someone trying to sniff out if I'm evangelical or liberal. They want to know if I fit on their line between unbelief and what they believe. If I fit we can work together if not then we'll usually talk platitudes about all believing the same gospel but then work completely independently of each other.

I'd like to propose an unintentional community? One where a group of Xns with wildly diverse beliefs and ideas work, live and play together.

Jesus Death And Resurrection: Exodus 2.0

2010-04-20T11:12:00.000+08:00

At the edge of the river a tribe asks where are we going? The answer is "in to the dessert", in to certain death. In to a place where they would barely have the resources to survive long enough to work out what to do next let alone live there. Taking justice into their own hands they ran away in to the dessert, in to death, at least this way they would die of their own causing and not at the hand of a tyrant. The miracle of the exodus is that they survived. set free into a new world.

This Easter as I look into the cross a place more certain to kill even than the desert. I cannot help but think of that first exodus. Jesus walks straight into death at the hands of unjust political and religious systems. But like the first exodus survives and paves the way for a new way of living. a New way of living where it is ok to pursue a life of justice and righteousness above all else because the unjust even those with the power to kill will not triumph. Even if we die death will not be the end.

Where Was God At Easter?

2010-04-19T11:08:00.000+08:00

Having pondered about the inadequateness of the penal substitution metaphor for some time. Every so often I'll come across yet another part of the bible where the penal substitution metaphor justice doesn't cut it. This Easter was no different. The question I wondered was who was God with at the crucifixion Jesus or the Romans. If you believe in the trinity then god is with Jesus on the cross, if you believe in penal substitution then god is with the Romans sending Jesus to die on the cross. Penal substitution can be a helpful metaphor but only when it is a metaphor among many and not the only metaphor.

Period Of Deferment

2010-03-31T11:18:00.002+08:00

Having stuck my hand up for the Uniting Church Minister factory last year I had planned to do the same this year. However, I've done some detailed analysis of the financials and I can't live on them. So I will differ candidating until 2012 to start in 2013. This would also be dependent on not having any more kids too. It took some time to get all the details and last year I ploughed on having been assured by few people that the money available was enough to live on. I'm still doing a period of discernment but I'll also be re thinking everything... as per usual.

Popularity Has Become The Substitute For Community

2010-02-22T12:50:00.001+08:00

It's pretty easy to level this kind of criticism at younger people who have hundreds of friends on Facebook but aren't meeting up with the all and playing cricket in the street. The reality is we do not have a community any more. Not in the nostalgic 1950s sense or the "Desperate Housewives" sense where everyone's friends and workmates all live on the same street.

I don't know whether existed but it certainly doesn't now. Most people don't exist in a communities in that sense but a series of networks. A network of social friends, church, work, sport, hobbies and neighbours. Each are different and it's rare that these networks intersect. And it's usually expected that they won't, most people moving into a new suburb will not be expecting to find some new friends in the area, they'll be busy hanging out with the friends they already have.

Popularity has not replaced this idea of community networks have. Every time I see the words "community church" as much as I heartily support the sentiment, I bet there are few people in the local community who feel some kind of affinity with the church.

The church I am at is much the same a great outward focus with the motto "promoting life in our community" I personally find that task overwhelming I wonder if it is was changed to "promoting life in our networks" whether it would seem less daunting.

Can You Be Rich And A Christian?

2010-02-16T12:14:00.000+08:00

Most Xns I know are not prosperity gospel devotees. But, they will say things like "there's nothing in the bible that says you can't be rich and a Xn". I got to thinking recently is that true?

Firstly what is rich? Most people I know wouldn't consider me rich. Mainly because they live in a better suburb have higher incomes and drive nicer cars than me. But compared to people through out time I am friggin’ loaded and compared to people round the world I am also friggin’ loaded. Purely by having running water a flushing toilets more clothing than I can wear in a week, a perfectly functioning mode of transport that will get anywhere around the city I live, a telephone, Internet connection, food that is so cheap and plentiful it only takes up 20% of the family budget and stable housing that I will one day own outright... means I am extremely rich. This is far far more than almost anyone in the world past or present could even imagine being possible.

None the less most people I know would not consider me rich. So one of the problems is that the average westerner understands rich as simply having more than most of those around you. So for someone with more than average in a poor suburb might feel richer than someone less than average in a rich suburb even though the first person might have less than the second person.

None the less lets look at some of the texts...

Mathew 19:21 The Rich Young Man

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Proverbs 23:4

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist.

Luke 16:13

No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." God The Pharisees, who were lovers of money , heard all this, and they ridiculed him.

Acts 5:1-5

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife's knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet. "Ananias," Peter asked, "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it.

The first Xns to be chucked out of church is a couple who die because they sold their own property and didn't share all proceeds with everyone. Can you imagine a church visitors card with...

[] I would like to find out more about becoming a member if this Church (N.B this will involve selling all you own and contributing that to a common pool)

Matthew 19:24

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Here Jesus is comparing the biggest known object with smallest known hole. Although I've often heard people say this just means it's harder not impossible. I don't think could be right. Surely the point is that this is something that is physically impossible.

Psalm 49:1-9

Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it. For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice, that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
rich to grave rest of us restored

1 Timothy 6:10

Money is the root of all evil

The list goes on and on... Especially from Jesus. Here are some of Jesus sayings about money. (Care of www.pcusa.org/stewardship/bigtent/jesusmary.pdf)

Money and Possessions

The Rich Fool—Luke 12:16-21
The Shrewd Manager 16:1-8
The Talents—Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27

God’s Ownership

The Cost of Discipleship—Luke 14:28-33
The Faithful and Wise Servant—Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48
The Great Banquet—Luke 14:16-24
The Master and his Servant—Luke 17:7-10
The Shepherd and his Flock—John 10:1-18
The Tenants—Matthew 21:33-44; Mark 12:1-11; Luke 20:9-18
The Thief—Matthew 24:42-44; Luke 12:39-40
The Two Sons—Matthew 21:28-32
The Unfruitful Fig Tree—Luke 13:6-9
The Unmerciful Servant—Matthew 18:23-35
The Watchful Servants—Mark 13:34-37; Luke 12:35-40
The Wedding Banquet—Matthew 22:2-14
Human Prosperity and Poverty
The Lost Sheep—Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7
The Rich Man and Lazarus—Luke 16:19-31
The Widow’s Mite—Mark 12:43-44
Bigger Barns—Luke 12:16-21

Gratitude

The Workers in the Vineyard—Matthew 20:1-16
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector—Luke 18:9-14
Woman Anointing Jesus—Luke 7:36-49
Following God in Finances
Two Masters—Matthew 6:24
Deny Self and Follow Me—Matthew 16:24-26
Don’t Worry About Life—Luke 12:22-34
Good Measure will be Given Back—Luke 6:37-38
Much Given, Much Required—Luke 12:48

Eternal Reward

The Hidden Treasure—Matthew 13:44
The Lowest Seat at the Feast—Luke 14:7-14
The Sheep and the Goats—Matthew 25:31-46
The Valuable Pearl—Matthew 13:45-46
The Wise and Foolish Builders—Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49

And, it's all through the law and the prophets too. One of the things that marks the God’s people being how they care for the poor. This was taken up by the early church who were well known for how they looked after the poor.

For most of us we don't think as ourselves as being greedy when we are accumulating wealth. We usually talk about being good stewards of our money. Saving it for a rainy day but Jesus even challenges this kind of thinking.

Luke 12:22-34

He said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

When it comes to stewardship I'm pretty sure that most of what is talked about as good stewardship is how we handle other peoples money not how we handle our own So it's more like how we handle the company expense account or how charities handle monies donated in grants. Not whether we buy a share portfolio or invest in property.

Obviously the prosperity gospel is about a neat a fit with the text as Satan worshipping random acts violence gospel. When it comes to the question can you be rich and a Xn. I reckon the answer just has to be no.

A few years ago I went to what I'd describe as a Xn money scam seminar. Kind of a "God wants you to get rich quick and here's how". The question was asked can you handle the responsibility of looking after huge amounts of cash for God? I could feel the whole room itching to yell out "yes!!!" In a moment of quiet introspection I thought you know what I don't think I could be appropriately generous if I had loads of cash. I'd live in a better suburb drive a better car and buy a real nice guitar. Years later I''m still living in a suburb that is synonymous with unemployment or at best blue collar but not trade qualified. So, it was quite a surprise to see one of the seminar lecturers living in the same suburb as me. I wondered did everything fall flat for him or is he earning huge dollars but choosing to slum it. I just wasn't brave enough to ask.

Daddy's Cheap Arse Recpies

2010-02-15T11:57:00.000+08:00

As a stay at home dad I decided to make as much of my own stuff as possible. To start with that's Dishwashing powder and washing powder. It's heaps cheaper and good for the environment. I was asked by a friend "are the recipes on your blog?" well now they are...

Clothes Washing Powder

5 cups shaved soap or Lux flakes
2 cups washing soda
2 cups bicarbonate of soda
2 cups of borax

Mix & Use 2 tablespoons per wash.

Dishwashing Powder

50% Borax
50% Washing Soda

2 Table spoons per wash

White Vinegar in the rinse aid part of the machine

2 teaspoons per wash

Youth Group - Opening Night

2010-02-14T11:49:00.003+08:00

Last night I got to run the opening night of a new church youth group. The group is for yr 11s to 1st year uni students. Opening night pizza and a slightly convoluted process of asking so "what would you like to do in this group?" I told the group I was keen to make it a place where they could wrestle with faith and life issues and a place where the honest answer is always better than the "right" answer.

Other youth groups that I've run are often full of people who've been forced to go to church for years and have gone to youth group just to shut their parents up and on the condition that if they don't like it after a couple of weeks they don't have to ever go again. This group is completely different, they are keen to wrestle with their faith and very committed to each other. So I feel a very very big level of responsibility to them.

The brain storming questions I used to get the so what do you guys want to do answers were...

The things I love about previous youth groups at this church, Church, this other thing I’ve been to and I’d like to have in this group are…
The things I just don’t get about church, God, The Bible are…
The biggest issues facing my friends, my generation, the world are…
The things (think God type things) I’d love to learn about, know or understand are…

We divided the group into 4 smaller groups and each one had 5 minutes to answer the questions.

Critical Child Rearing Mistake No. 13 - School

2010-02-07T06:11:00.004+08:00

Last week at a huge 3 years of age my little girl started kindergarten. Dropping her off felt truly awful. She didn't want to do the organised activity - puzzles - she's pretty independent at the best of time and being able to do the puzzles in about the same time it took to take them apart didn't help. She wasn't keen for me to leave either but with a moment distraction, as she received a dinosaur stamp from the teacher, I left. For 2 hours I sat around feeling like I dropped my daughter off to the chimney sweep for a month in return for a shiny silver coin.

On my return she was fine but the teacher said that she had to be very "firm" with her. Which my teaching wife assures me means she wasn't doing what she was asked. My daughter is such a free spirit and I hope it is not crushed at school.

The influence of U2's The Unforgettable Fire

2010-02-07T05:48:00.001+08:00

I was in one of perth's mega churches day dreaming whislt everyone was singing some contemporary worship songs. As I listened to the bass playing the root note of the chord on every quarter note, the drums rhythmical pounding with a fair amount floor tom and a slighly over driven guitar repeatedly playing three notes of the chord with a long delay. I couldn't help but think U2 and in particular the album the unforgettable fire. It got me thinking does 80's christian chorus's + U2's Unforgettable fire = contemporary worship music?

Running AMUC With Music - Valley Songs

2010-01-31T10:48:00.001+08:00

Due to some strange lack of better judgment I was asked to lead worship this year at AMUC. It is only once I said yes I realised it's something I don't really have much experience in. So like any beginner I severely over prepared thinking 5 songs a day repeat each song that's 10 songs for the 4 sessions I originally prepared to play these songs... As the week went on I shrunk my list. After realising not everyone will be fully into singing songs they don't know after late nights of serving those in need in inner city Perth.

Be Thou My Vision (in E)

Intro\Outro: Csus4 C
(C)Be Thou my (Am)vision, O (F)Lord of (G)my (C)heart.
(G)Naught be all (C)else to me (F)save that Thou (Em)art.
(F)Thou my best (Em)thought, by (C)day or by (F)night,
(Am)waking or (Em)sleeping,
Thy (F)presence (G)my (C)light.

Be thou my wisdom and thou my true word
I ever with you and you with me, lord
You’re my great father and I’m your true son
You in me dwelling, and i with you one

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou my inheritance, now and always.
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High king of heaven, my victory won
May I reach heaven’s joys, o bright heaven’s sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, o ruler of all

Face Of The Humbled Poor
Mat. 25:31-46

Behold the (Em)Son (D)of (G)Man
With all His (Am)an(Em)gels gathered (F)‘round (C)Him
Behold the (Em)host of (D)nations (C)‘round his (D)burning (C)throne (D)
The King will (Em)reign (D)with (G)might
And He will (Am)shake their (Em)souls from (F)left to (C)right
The King will (Em)choose them (D)one by (C)one and (G)then they’ll (D)cry

(Am)When did we (C)see you a (G)broken (D)man
(Am)Lying be(C)side a cell (G)door?
When did we (Em)meet your (C)eyes
And not (G)recog(D)nise
The (Cmaj7)Saviour’s face in the (D)humbled (Em)poor? (D) (Em) (D)

I am a refugee
I am a captive child, a detainee
I pace from wall to wall with a broken heart help me.
I am the Holy One
I am the Kings of Kings, the conquering Son,
And there will come a time when my Kingdom comes to you

© Paul Gioia

Picture of Jesus

It (G)hangs above my altar
Like they (C)hung him from a (G)cross
I keep one in my wallet
For the (D)times that I feel (G)lost
In a wooden frame with splinters
Where my (C)family kneels to (G)pray
And if you listen real close
You'll hear the (D)words he used to (G)say

(G)I've got a picture of (C)Je(G)sus
In His arms my prayers (D)rest
(G)I've got a picture of (C)Je(Eb)sus
And (G)with Him we shall (D)be for(C)ever (G)blessed

Now it has been spoken
He would come again
But would we recognize
This king among men
There was a man in our time
His words shine bright like the sun
He tried to lift the masses
And was crucified by gun

He was a picture of Jesus
With him so many prayers rest
He is a picture of Jesus
With him we shall be forever blessed

Some days have no beginning
And some days have no end
Some roads are straight and narrow
And some roads only bend
So let us say a prayer
For every living thing
Walking towards a light
From the cross of a king

We long to be a picture of Jesus
In his arms so many prayers rest
I long to be a picture of Jesus
With him we shall be forever blessed

© Ben Harper

The Theology of Fight Club: The Talk From The 10 Year Anniversary Screening

2009-12-23T06:15:00.002+08:00

Last month I was part of some Fight club 10 year anniversary celebrations. It was a bit of a Fight Club month. I was asked to write an article for the transit lounge about the theology of fight club and At the 10 year anniversary screening I did a talk to a packed Perth crowd of 12 (it was a small room so it was packed) about the theology of Fight Club too. Below is a copy of the Transit Lounge article and a copy of the talk. I would have like to have spent a lot more time on it so it's a bit scattered and disjointed none the less here it is.

Transit Lounge Article

I can still remember walking out of the cinema through the streets of Fremantle, stunned and feeling like I had seen something truly unique.

Ten years on, I have seen Fight Club (directed by David Fincher) and read the book, written by Chuck Palahniuk, numerous times.

Although denounced by some as a very unchristian film, it continues to resonate strongly with me and my faith. I see one of the film's two protagonists, Tyler Durden, as a Christ-like figure.

The premise is this: Jack works for an unscrupulous company earning good money with which he orders furniture for his apartment. Jack is living the good life—the American Dream—and finds it completely numbing and meaningless. Along comes Tyler to liberate him from this life.

In Christian theology we often talk about liberation and it is usually with regards to poorer people being liberated from oppression. Something a rich, white, Western male like myself can appreciate but cannot relate to.

In Fight Club, Tyler forces Jack to face the current reality of his world: injustice, love of money, obsession with the trivial; and to liberate him from that.

Below is a list of some of my favourite gospel and Fight Club parallels...

Fight Club: Only when Jack truly gives up his will to live is he saved.
Jesus: Luke 14:26. "Whoever comes to me and does not hate even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”

Fight Club: Jack quits job and Tyler destroys all that he owns.
Jesus: Matt 6:24-34. "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

Fight Club: Jack has no family; those around him follow Tyler Durden and his followers become his family.
Jesus: Mark 4:34-35. "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Fight Club: The first assignment for fight club members is for them to start a fight and lose.
Jesus: Matt 5:38-39. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.”

Fight Club: Tyler Durden destroys both Jacks' apartment and the buildings of credit card companies in order to make everything go back to zero so that no-one is in debt.
Jesus: Luke 18:22. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

Be warned: the film is graphic and brutal and deserves its R rating, but if you are looking for a film to show disaffected adult Western males that exemplifies liberation, I can’t think of a better place to start.

Talk from the Anniversary Screening

Two years ago I was doing alpha course and Nicky Gumbel told a horrific story of a Nazi death camp. It’s the story of a family man found guilty of some petty offence and sentenced to death. A priest steps in and is killed instead of the family man which the Gestapo agree to.
Nicky then went on to explain that we are like the family man and Jesus is like the priest, which is all fine and dandy until you realise that God is the Gestapo and that the priest died so that the family man can be friends with the Gestapo.

Now I’m sure we’ve all heard analogies like this. Stories like this to try and explain what Jesus life and death did. Stories like this is what theologians like to call an atonement narratives. That is it’s a story that describes the atonement “the reconciling, redeeming, liberating activity of God in Christ.” Obviously there’s bits of the Nazi death camp story that echo bits of the gospel but obviously any metaphor where a loving God is represented by a cruel guard at a Nazi death camp has got some problems too.

Now if you’ve been around in Xn circles for a while you have probably heard many stories like this. I can remember one from my youth group that involved a train and station master who puts his son in the road of the train to save the people on board or something like that.

Have people heard these kind of stories? And they’re usually slight variations on the same theme? To be technical that theme is called penal substitutionary atonement.

My problem with this story is that I think the gospel and what God has done through Jesus is too big to encapsulate in just one story. It’s about like Jesus talking about the Kingdom of God he didn’t just stick to the KOG is like a mustard seed he used many analogies. And that’s what we have to do with our atonement narratives. The atonement is like a multifaceted diamond. If we only stick to one story then we’ll end up making the gospel look like just a plate of glass. Of course there will be no one story that describes the “the reconciling, redeeming, liberating activity of God in Christ.” Completely.

This is where I’d like to introduce fight club. Now I’m willing to bet you haven’t been to a church service were the pastor has said ”let me just play you a clip from fight club to illustrate this point” In fact the First time I met Nathan à Baptist College à are you reading Chuck Phaulinuk à He looked so surprised I was sure I was going to get a ear bashing about it’s horrible morality etc.

Fight Club is in essence a story of liberation. In rich western Xy most Atonement Narratives talk about acts of reconciliation or redemption. Liberation occasionally might be framed in the story of sex addict or drug addict – who comes to the youth group to tell his testimony and how he has been set free. I certainly remember hearing that at my youth group, I also remember half the guys thinking they should get out of youth group and get into sex and drugs.

Personally I think it’s tragic that we have missed out talking about liberation. My generation were born into a world where it was impossible to buy a shoe that had not been made in a sweat shop and where third world inequality and environmental degradation was just seen as part of the natural order. Our parents worked hard to give us heaps as I got set to inherit this hard work I couldn’t help but notice the injustice that had been left in it’s wake. So we said no thanks for a while bought cheap flannelette shirts and Nirvana records. But most of us have given up that idealism and like our parents have a well thumbed IKEA catalogue on the newspaper rack. I grew up in a generation that were the heirs of oppression. We could see the injustice in the world and new we were destined to benefit from it but had no way to change it.

Perhaps this is one reason why we as a generation loved escaping into movies like the Matrix and TV shows like Buffy the vampire slayer were there is some greater reality a computer program or vampires that would give us meaning because everything else staring us in the face would pale into insignificance.

It was specifically for generation X males that Chuck Palahniuk wrote the novel Fight Club for. Fight Club is a story of liberation from a society where the only valued role in life is to be an oppressor. Jack the main character in Fight Club works day and night for an unscrupulous company earning good money that he uses to fill his apartment with furniture. Fight Club is a novel for a generation “raised by television to believe that someday we'll all be millionaires and movie stars and rock stars.” (Fight Club the film) A generation raised to believe in the American dream, that we can be anything we want.

In Fight Club liberation comes in the from of the character Tyler Durden who convinces Jack to hit rock bottom. That is, to give up the desire to become a movie star, to not play the game, trying to be famous or powerful, to not even bother with his job or apartment to just drop out of the rat race altogether. For Tyler Durden hitting rock bottom is not a simple submission to the powers around. Rather it is to live in spite of the powers around despising all that they value. For me this is encapsulated in the way Tyler Durden says “you have to give up” to Jack. I could totally imagine Jesus saying this to the “you have to give up” rich young ruler or Zacchaeus the tax collector who gives half of what he owns repays people he has cheated four times what he has taken from them.

Jack is liberated by giving up on the what the rulers, powers and principalities of this world view as important. A respectable job, a nice house and nice furniture to fill it.

Paul famously wrote in Galatians for freedom Christ has set us free. But ask many rich western Xns what they have been set free from and I bet they might struggle. We often we would fall back to our Nazi death camp model and say something like freed from death and freed from judgment. Which is certainly true and will make a difference when we die but it can be hard to see how that can make a big difference while we are alive. What I like about what I see in fight club and in Jesus. Is that rather changing what might happened if you died tomorrow they change what might happen if you live tomorrow.

Fight Club is a violent film, I’d argue it’s Possibly the most violent pacifist movie ever made. It’s tough and confronting liberation is often similar to Jesus when he asks us to give up everything to follow him. Part of the reason why the book Fight Club may resonate with someone who identifies as a pacifist is that no one is forced to join and no one is allowed to just watch. Part of the ethos of Fight Club is to take down the current social order by sacrificing / causing violence to yourself. Participant disturb those around them primarily by hurting themselves and not hurting other people. The only time participants go and fight someone who is unwilling is with the strict instruction that they are to loose the fight. It is an exercise in empowering the other person rather than intimidating them. Like big moment at the end of the film were Tyler blows up empty bank buildings, wiping all debts causing a jubilee. Jesus big moment turning tables in the temple was also a violent act that doesn’t hurt anyone.

But like the Nazi story I started with Fight Club is not a perfect metaphor – It’s going to be hard to find a Xn justification for urinating in food and splice pornography into children’s films.

Probably one of the reasons that we don’t think Jesus when we see fight club is because doesn’t fit into classic penal sub framework. But to prove my point here are some gospel parallels with the film. I’m sure there are more.

Fight Club - Only when Jack truly gives up his will to live is he saved.
Jesus - Luke 14:26. "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.”
---
Fight Club - Jack quits job and Tyler Durden destroys all that he owns.
Jesus - Matt 6:24-34. "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
---
Fight Club - Jack has no family, those around him following Tyler Durden and his followers become his family.
Jesus - Mark 4:34-35. "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."
---
Fight Club - The first assignment for fight club members is for them to start a fight and loose.
Jesus - Matt 5:38-39. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;”
---
Fight Club - "You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We are all part of the same compost pile." Tyler Durden
Jesus - Matt 7:1-5. "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”
---
Fight Club - Tyler Durden destroys Jacks apartment, and destroys the buildings of credit card companies in order to make everything go back to zero so that non one is in debt.
Jesus - Luke 18:22. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."

At the end of the film Jack ends up living a life consistent with the beliefs of Tyler Durden. Doing this leads to him attempting suicide. At this moment Tyler (his mentor and example) dies and Jack goes on forever changed by Tyler. Jack asks himself “If you wake up at a different place at a different time could wake up as a different person”

Corrupting Christmas Music - Valley Songs

2009-12-21T22:17:00.002+08:00

If you dislike regular Christmas carols as much as I do here's some alternatives. I got to inflict three of these songs on my church.

Mary had a baby

The version I used was by Fret Not and can be downloaded from here.

Mary Had A Baby

E A E
Mary had a baby - Yes Lord -
E A E
Mary had a baby - Yes my Lord -
E A E
Mary had a baby - Yes Lord -

E B E
People keep a-coming - But the train done gone

E A E
Where did she lay Him - Yes Lord -
E A E
Laid Him in a manger - Yes my Lord -
E A E
Wrapped Him in swaddling - Yes Lord -

E B E
People keep a-coming - But the train done gone

Star kept a-shining - Yes Lord -
Moving in the elements - Yes my Lord -
Stood above the stable - Yes Lord

People keep a-coming - But the train done gone

What did she name Him - Yes Lord -
Named Him Jesus - Yes my Lord -
Wonderful Councelor - Yes Lord

People keep a-coming - But the train done gone

Mary had a baby
Mary had a baby - Yes my Lord -
Mary had a baby - Yes Lord -

People keep a-coming - But the train done gone
People keep a-coming - But the train done gone

Everywhere I go

Everywhere I go

When the (Cm)Lord came down to set us free from sin
Somebody's talking about (Gm)Jesus(Cm)
He was born as a baby in Bethlehem
Somebody's talking about (Gm)Jesus(Cm)
At the door of the inn they turned his mother away
Somebody's talking about (Gm)Jesus(Cm)
When her son stands a-knocking will you do the same?
Somebody's talking about (Gm)Jesus(Cm)

Everywhere I (Cm)go -
Everywhere I go, my children -
Everywhere I go -
Somebody's talking about (Gm)Jesus(Cm)

God called the shepherds and the wise men too
(Somebody's talking about Jesus)
They didn't waste no time when they heard the news
(Somebody's talking about Jesus)
They followed the star to where the baby lay
(Somebody's talking about Jesus)
Singing glory hallelujah it's a brand new day
(Somebody's talking about Jesus)

CHORUS
CHORUS
Somebody's talking about Jesus

© Traditional – arrangement Fret Not

God rest ye merry gentlemen

The version I played was in a slightly higher key and used traditional lyrics instead David bazans beautifully melancholic lyrics. David is doing some groovy chord inversion in the chorus I'm fairly sure I've got the chords right.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
(Capo on 3rd Frett)

God (Am)rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let (F)nothing you dis(Em)may
Re(Am)member, Christ, our Saviour
Was (F)born on Christmas (Em)day
To (Dm)save us all from (C)Satan's power
When (F)we were gone as(Bb*)tray
O (Am)tidings of (E7)comfort and (C)joy,
Comfort and (F)joy
O (Am)tidings of (E7)comfort and (Am)joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

And when they came to Bethlehem
Where our dear Saviour lay,
They found Him in a manger,
Where oxen feed on hay;
His Mother Mary kneeling down,
Unto the Lord did pray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy time of Christmas
God's great gift of grace.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Bb*
-0-
-6-
-7-
-8-
-8-
-x-

© Traditional – Arrangement David Bazan

To Mobile Or Not To Mobile

2009-12-16T12:04:00.001+08:00

I have never owned my own mobile phone every job I’ve had for the last 10 years has always come with one now as I move to home dad full time I have to work out if I want to get a phone of my own. I'm lucky enough to own an old palm pilot that I can around religiously and use to blog write thoughts and lists. I love everything about it except that people call me on it. Quiet possibly the reason I wince every time I hear my ringtone is because the call will most likely be work related.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-12-15T12:02:00.001+08:00

The last 4 weeks have been incredibly busy. I hate it it's so bad for the soul. I'm missing things forgetting things turning up late to things and putting things off that I would usually do straight away. What's more screw ups are happening all around me. I’ve turned up to two meetings recently (arranged by other people). Meeting one was cancelled the moment the meeting started on that occasion wasting just 3hrs of my time and meeting two in a remote country town wasn’t confirmed by the organisers so I was the only one there wasting 2 days and a flight. All much easier to take when I only have 14 working days left to go before becoming a home dad.

It's been interesting to see the reactions of people as I tell them I’m leaving paid work to be a stay at home dad. Some older women look at me like I’ve just announced I’ve planned to emasculate myself were male friends my own age look at me with jealousy.

Clarity! No really this time

2009-12-08T21:46:00.002+08:00

Well the wheels of due process can take a while to turn but turn they did and I last week I got some clarity on what the four statements in my deferment actually mean. (I've been insanely busy recently so it's taken a while to get around to posting)

So hear are the interpretations of what the statements mean...

"You become centred in the Uniting Church" means... Immersion in the uniting church. That is being more involved in the uniting church outside of my own congregation. So things like the Wednesday afternoon group that meets at the theological hall, visiting other congregations, being part of meetings at other churches, visiting other arms of the church like uniting care, justice, ethics and presbytery (regional) meetings or gatherings. This is not surprising as I'm as aware as any body else that I don not have much experience in the uniting church. It was suggested to me "is this not the case for most applicants?" and that this could be gained once I'd been accepted as a candidate. None the less perhaps outlined before hand what sort.

"You get help in managing your depression" means... doing psychological work not too work on current psychological disorder but to safeguard against potential future burn out. although not necessarily with a psychologist but with a mentor.

"You become centred in your own body" and "Undertake some training in using breath to centre and speak publicly" Means... Learning to breath with mydiaphragm which can be done with singing lessons or meditation. This is to give me gravitas or a projection of self confidence. Which will be useful when dealing with my church my way kind of people.

So there you have it.

I've yet to work out if I how I feel about these reasons for the decision. I do think that the UCA reserves the right to reject or accept people on what ever ground they chose. I do feel that there is something wrong with the process though especially as I think the full explanations don't match the summary statements.

I am thinking that perhaps after the Period of discernment there could be a period of preparation to candidate. My Depression / burn out could have caught here certainly the experience / immersion issue would have been.

Since my official ruling does not obviously and logically mean what it means. I think I should have been given a ruling (could be hand written) on the day. Later I could have been sent a detailed explanation in a letter. All of which should have a time line of when this will happen.

I'm not sure exactly what I'll do next. I will write all these suggestions to the relevant people.

The Theology of Fight Club: A 10 Year Anniversary Screening

2009-11-09T17:11:00.003+08:00

If you live in Perth Western Australia. You could come to this event...

The Theology of Fight Club: A 10 Year Anniversary Screening

It's ten years this month since Fight Club hit Australian cinema screens. For many, it is probably the most unchristian film they could think of - violent, subversive and nihilistic. But for some Christians it's actually a theologically important film, and not nihilistic at all.

You're invited to celebrate a decade of this life-changing cult film with a special screening and talk:

"Theology of Fight Club" a talk by Chris Summerfield followed by Fight Club, the movie itself

7:30pm Friday 20 November 2009
Christian Centre For Social Action
879 Albany Hwy, East Vic Park (cnr Canterbury Tce)

Cost: suggested $5 donation to the Centre's aid work in East Timor

Please RSVP so Nathan and I know if we need to put out more than two chairs.

Mr Mum

2009-11-06T19:02:00.002+08:00

Well some big changes afoot. I will be leaving my current full time job in January and will become a stay at home dad. My wonderful wife who is very good at the whole bread winning thing is going back to work and I'll be at home for a while. I can't wait.

Clarity?

2009-11-04T16:03:00.001+08:00

As I mentioned in my previous confusing post I was deferred as a candidate for Ministry of the Word with the Uniting Church. Below is the letter minus greetings and salutations I received that explains what I have to do before I can have another crack at applying.

In accordance with Regulation 2.2.12b your application to become a candidate for Ministry of the Word be deferred with the following conditions which must be satisfied before further consideration of the application:
- you get help in managing your depression
- you become centred in the Uniting Church
- you become centred in your own body
- undertake some training in using breath to centre and speak publicly

I will be requesting further clarification.

Deferred

2009-10-27T22:04:00.002+08:00

"Decision deferred for at least 12 months" is the official verdict from the UCA (Uniting Church of Australia) to my application to become a minister of the word. Which basically means no but you're welcome to come back and have another crack later.

The decision is deferred with three conditions.

1.Become more involved with the UCA - I can kind of understand this because I have only been part of a uniting church for the last 4 and a bit years. Although given the breadth of experience I've had in other denominations and that the UCA prides itself on being ecumenical, it wasn't something I was expecting. I haven't been really involved in anything above the parish level mainly because I'd rather not spend my time there. If I was given an extra few hours in life to spend at church it would most likely be at the youth group than a presbytery group or church council.

2.The way I embody myself - one panellist kept repeating that I needed to get the "the breath" and every one else nodded knowingly like they all knew exactly what she was saying. she tried to clarified by saying at the moment "things rest on your shoulders" I gave back a puzzled look reasonably sure she wasn't referring to the back pack beside me. The puzzled look was all I could muster apart from yelling "you can't explain a metaphor with another freakin' metaphor". She said remember how we spoke about gravitas in the interview. I did. that was a phrase I understood. Gravitas...

# dignity: formality in bearing and appearance; "he behaved with great dignity" wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
# Gravitas (from Latin) is a quality of substance or depth of personality. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitas
# Seriousness in bearing or manner; dignity; substance, weight en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gravitas
# A sense of physical weight, the illusion of mass, the appearance of maturity or advanced age, and the elusive quality of dignity.
www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Bonsai

I asked an Anglican friend of mine if he had heard the expression "the breath". After an eye roll he explained he'd heard it used in terms of the breath of god or the spirit flowing through someone or not. I can't say for certain that this is what the panel meant but it would certainly explained the reverential nods that everyone but me gave whenever the phrase "the breath" was uttered. the suggestion to fix this was to do yoga with a master teacher or singing lessons and elocution lessons were also previously mentioned .

3. Sort out my Depression: On the surface fair enough for what can be a very stressful job. Although I haven't had a serious episode of depression for years. In fact the last time I posted about it was three and a half years ago. As part of this whole process I saw a psychiatrist for a couple of sessions to give me a psychological assessment. He suggested that he said that it would be worth revisiting what originally caused my depression and definitely not to find someone who used CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy) as that tended to deal with just the symptoms and how to cope with them rather than any underlying cause. He suggested narrative therapy and to do this in a few years after study once life had settled down. Interestingly the panel recommend that I see someone who uses CBT. Although it's a few days after what I thought was my life calling slipping through my fingers and being in a job going no where where I'm struggling to pay just the day to day bills. I'm not actually feeling at all depressed, I have had some trouble sleeping for the first night or two as things raced through my mind which is kind of new for me but that has been as close to depressed as I've got. on paper it's one of the all time low points for me so it's kind of nice not to feel shattered by it. I did try imagining what sort of conversation I might have with a CBT specialist counsellor if I saw one.

Counsellor "What can I do for you"
Me "I need some help with depression"
Counsellor "when is the last time you felt depressed",
Me "three years ago",
Counsellor "what did you do about it"
Me "I went to a psychologist who specialised in CBT",
Counsellor "how did that go",
Me "I haven't had a depressive episode since".

Having said that, I realise I've got more work to do on myself.

These are my recollections of the three reasons given to me for the deferral. I'm keen to see exactly what is officially written to me.

So, what should I do? It's easy to say go back next year but Having seen one person go through the whole thing twice only to get a no I'm not so sure. the First time they went through they were told to get experience lay preaching they did, enjoyed it and got good feedback. To me that feels like something really concrete that you can say yes I can do that and I can get feedback if I'm any good before I go back again. My situation feels far less concrete than this.

Officially I've been told "deferred for at least 12 months" but it was suggested that 2 or 3 years time might be more appropriate. As I reflect on the whole experience I'm wondering will I ever get "the breath" or will I be able to get my depression under more control than it already is. If I do manage both these things will I, like the other candidate, get a no anyway? It was possible to get a "yes with conditions" so I could of been told, for example, yes but must attend X number of counselling sessions.

To conclude apart from being a pretty annoyed about the whole thing I am not sure what to do.

The UCA Decides

2009-10-23T18:42:00.002+08:00

Well this weekend is it. The Uniting Church of Australia (UCA) decides whether me as a minister is a good idea or not. Pray for them or me or both. :)

Moonlighting At The Transit Lounge

2009-10-20T22:27:00.002+08:00

I was asked to do a post at the Uniting Church's Transit Lounge site about the tension between faith and church. You can see it here or just read it below.

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Like most Christian people I know who are under 40, none of us really like the idea of going to church. Sentiments like I’m spiritual or I’m a Christian just not religious are more common than not. My friends and I did not slowly drift from church as we drifted from our faith. On the contrary, it was as we took our faith more seriously we found it harder to continue going to church

Ask those friends of mine what they don't like about church and they might mutter something about a disdain for institutions and how Christianity went down hill after Constantine. For many of them it's really hard to articulate exactly what they dislike about church because the answer is, 'pretty much everything.'

They have been disenfranchised for so long that they are no longer thinking, 'what would I like to change about church' but rather, 'why would I go in the first place?'

It's easy to point the finger at how church is done. Sermons rarely lack the academic rigour and insight of interviews with theologians you can download for free off the net. Communal singing, be that contemporary worship music or hymns, can just seem strange to those of us who grew up on a diet of alternative rock. And, social outreach programs rarely reach the quality or effectiveness of those run by larger NGOs (non-government organisations).

But there is far more to it than just the “how” of church.

I once heard of church youth group leader asking their youth group…

(a) what are the biggest issues facing the church at the moment?

They wrote all the answers in a list.

Then they asked…

(b) what are the biggest issues facing the world at the moment?

They wrote these answers in a list.

Then they looked at the two lists. There was no overlapping issues on either list.

Despite all this, after years of not being part of a 'proper church', my wife and I started the painful process of looking for a church. Partly driven by us working for Christian organisations where we were supposed to be 'actively involved' in a local church.

As we searched from happy clappy mega church to small liberal church I felt a common vibe amongst all of them. A sense that this is the way we do things here and we were welcome to join in or, if we didn’t like it, not.

Eventually I decided I didn’t want to get anything out of church. I was looking for a church were I could give something.

After all, like many of my peers, I had been a Christian for a long time and I had loads of experience. It was only when my now minister said he’d be up for me trialling a few different ideas I had floating around in my head, that I thought this might be the place.

Now I am proud to be a member of my church and it's not my ideal church, far from it. What's more I hope never is my ideal church.

There far too few people who would want to be part of a church designed to pander to the wants and desires of a middle aged man who has been a Christian almost all of his life and likes to do church one particular way.

I Hope I Get To Meet Christopher Hitchens In Heaven One Day

2009-10-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

Every time I listen to Christopher Hitchens, or one of the other four horsemen of the atheist apocalypse (Dawkins, Harris and Dennet), I feel myself taking a deep breath unsure if I'm about to hear some killer argument that will see my faith disappear in puff of logic. After all they are pretty smart people.

This time I was listening to Christopher Hitchens being interviewed by Tony Jones of Late Line fame.

He spoke as if many of the Xn people he spoke to argued that morality was proof of God or that God (via Xy for Xns) is what teaches us morality. I can't believe this kind of argument still persists. Hasn't any of the Xns pushing this line of argument read Matthew 25 or the parable of the Good Samaritan or any of the parables where moral thing being done by the non religious or religiously incorrect person is contrasted with the religious person doing the immoral thing?

His arguments about Martin Luther King I found less convincing mainly because of the way I read scripture. I think Hitchens sees scripture as like a law book where you can pick and choose bits equally with the whole thing needing to be in complete agreement with itself. This is completely understandable as this is exactly what many Xns do. Personally I've always thought of weird given that one of our major figures said things like "you have heard it said but I say..." (Matt 5:38)

I tend to view scripture as an on going revelation rather a law book. Xns who argue against picking a bit out of Leviticus to support a particular idea usually have their arguments reduced to something along the lines of "that's not loving and god is loving so we'll ignore that bit" I would argue that they're simply not taking scripture seriously.

As he spoke it reminded me how important it is to hear the voice of the heretic. Hitchen's may not be a believer but like previous heretics (Martin Luther or even Jesus) his voice needs serious thought.

Hitchens is not only the atheist and critic we deserve to have but are blessed to have. We need to agree with him that religion can be dangerous and open to abuse which under the right and fairly unextraordinary circumstances can be devastating. For example if we were to want exemption to discrimination laws it would not be carte blanche (as some Xns are arguing at the moment) but only for very specific reasons which wider society would be comfortable with.

There has been much post enlightenment theological thought but for the most part of of it seems to still exclusively reside within theological institutions. My hope is that The popular and lucid thoughts of Hitchens might challenge main stream Xy and force us to grow and change.

Valley Songs: The Light From The Lighthouse

2009-10-15T18:26:00.000+08:00

This is a gospel classic that I first heard via the Token's Radio Show. There are many different versions many of which take verse lyrics from other songs. So, in that tradition I've written my own verses 2 and 3.

The Light from the Lighthouse

Chorus.
Let it (Bb)Shine, let it (Eb)shine (Bb)on
Let the light from the lighthouse (F)shine on me
Let it (Bb)Shine, let it (Eb)shine (Bb)on
Let the light from the lighthouse (F)shine on (Bb)me

1. Oh, my (Bb)Lord done just (Eb)what he (Bb)said
Let the light from the lighthouse (F)shine on me
He (Bb)healed the sick and he (Eb)raised the (Bb)dead
Let the light from the lighthouse (F)shine on (Bb)me

CHORUS

2. The Lord has brought good news to the poor
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me,
He freed the oppressed and opened the prison door
Let your light from the lighthouse shine on me,

CHORUS

3. I’m gonna love justice, I’m gonna do mercy
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me
I’m gonna walk with God, gonna walk humbly
Let the light from the lighthouse shine on me

CHORUS

Valley Songs: Some Great Day - Paul Gioia

2009-10-14T18:07:00.000+08:00

Twice in the last month or so I've got to play some valley songs with Paul Gioia. Paul was the man who showed me that congregational singing could be enjoyable. He has lots of great songs but my favourite is probably still Some Great Day. Paul plays it in G but the singers I play with prefer it in E so the chords are in E but the stream is in G. If you like the song you can buy the CD and music book from the Shower of Grace website.

Some Great Day (Isaiah 58)

1. Shout a(E)loud. Tell my (E)people
My (B7)lips are (E)sealed
While they (C#m)look for me (B7)day after (E)day (G#7)
Cryin’ (C#m)Lord, Oh (B)Lord, Oh (A)Lord, Oh (E)Lord
(E)Looking for me (B7)day after (E)day.

2. Yes, they ask me for wisdom
They fast for a day
But my heart cries out to the poor
While you fast one day, one day, one day
My heart cries out to the poor. Oh...

Chorus
(E)Some (A)day
Lord, on (E)some great (A)day
A (E)light will shine
(A6)Night will turn to (B)day,
Oh...
(E)Some (A)day
Lord, on (E)some great (A)day
A (E)light will shine
(A)Night will (B7)turn to (E)day. (B)

3. Loose the chains of injustice
The poor, set them free
Then the Lord will say “Here am I”
Then your light will shine, will shine like the dawn
The Lord will say “Here am I”. Oh...

CHORUS

4. Fight the yoke of oppression
Love the poor
Then you’ll find your joy in the Lord
Finding joy, Oh joy, Oh joy, Oh joy
You’ll find your joy in the Lord. Oh...

Chorus 2
Some day Lord, on some great day
The only tears we’ll cry
Are tears of joy, Oh... Some day
Lord, on some great day
The only tears we’ll cry
Are tears of joy.

Cleric Why?

2009-10-13T17:57:00.002+08:00

It's less than a couple of weeks until I find out if the Uniting Church thinks me becoming a minister is a good idea or not.

I got an email from a reader asking "why be a cleric in the UCA? I mean -- why a cleric at all? I don't myself see much justification for the setting up a class of professional ministers, thinking ... well, you can probably construct that line easily enough!"

Why should someone, including me, become a cleric? This is something I struggle with constantly and something I expect to continue to struggle with if I end up as a minister. My gut reaction to the question of becoming a cleric is to say don't. Almost every argument I’ve heard talking about why paid ministry is bad I agree with. I won't bore you by listing them all. None the less, given all that aside why would I want to become one?

Part of the problem of the clerical class is the problem of institutions. There is plenty to dislike about institutions but as long as Xy is large and wants to be organised institutions are unavoidable. So a question worth asking is what kind of institution. For me any religious institution needs to have at least these three qualities. Honest, transparent and finite.

Honest: able to admit when things are bad. Able to admit that the denomination is flawed and will not meet needs of everybody or all the needs of one person. That the denomination is not the church just a denomination of the church.
Transparent: transparent so that people can see when the institution is only doing things to make self look good and preserve it self and to operate in such a way that sins cannot be covered up assuming that this is always possible.
Finite: the institution won't do everything and it will end. Denominations and institutions will die and that's ok. They may also radically change in order to survive.

Despite all the problems of the institutional church probably the greatest problem is that I can't see a viable alternative to it. Furthermore when and if there is an alternative a large part of th church will not be ready for it.

At the moment the majority of the church is used to having a minister. I think within my lifetime there will always be a place for minister type people. At the very least that role will be to shut the door turn out the lights on the current way of doing church and walk with rest of the congregation to a new way of being church a way that may not involve clerics. I know that there's plenty about the way church happens at the moment that isn't good and the kind of leader I would want to be is one that can imagine a community were my role is no longer needed if and when that is necessary.

I should just say as a postscript to this post, particularly for any newer readers, I’m not saying everything about church is fine and God will let us know if we need to change anything. Church has been in trouble for some time, personally I have really struggled to be involved and have learnt to have faith without it. Something new is emerging and I have felt a call to be a part of that and be a part of that in this particular capacity.

David Bazan

2009-10-10T20:53:00.003+08:00

I finally got around to discovering David Bazan after being recommended by a few US and UK readers. After a few in the listens as background music I couldn't work out what the fuss was about. Then one night I had a bath and listened to the Control album. I was hooked. The lyrics to the song Options just blew me away. His lyrics are consistently great. One of my favourite lines is from the song Forgone Conclusions is...

you were to busy steering the conversation toward the lord
to hear the voice of the spirit begging you to shut the f*** up

It's hard to get hold of his music in Australia I was told by a major CD store that "it could take up to 3 months and we can't guarantee getting it in". If you want an introduction to David Bazan that doesn't involve ordering from Amazon check out this live solo performance. To get a feel for the man behind the music check out this Nick and Josh podcast interview.

Jesus All About What?

2009-10-09T17:07:00.001+08:00

Last month The Spirit of Things discussed the Jesus All About Life campaign. It's something I have to admit I've completely missed. Apart from a few friends who changed their logo on Facebook to a logo I could only just read if I squinted I haven't seen anything. None the less I got to hear all about it on this interview. What really struck me in the interview was this passage.

Rachael Kohn: Daniel, to be serious though, I mean isn't it a Christian imperative to change the world for the better? That is, being there for the people who live in very degraded circumstances?

Daniel Willis: Sure. And the thing about that is that in order to present that, or to go down that track, people actually need to be in a relationship with Jesus. So if they aren't already in a relationship with Jesus, then how are they going to bring that Christian value, that Christian ethic, that Christian morality to bear on the situations in another country? Just this morning, I was listening to a news broadcast about adoption, where they're adopting children from foreign countries, from Third World countries, and the devastation that that is causing, the wrong way that that's being approached.

Unless we have an understanding of who Jesus is, what he said, and how we should deal with one another, then we can't send people from our country out to deal with situations like that adoption issue because they might go out and do exactly what the other country was doing in exploiting that situation.

So this means that the only people who have a problem with Westerners ripping cute African kids out of their adopted families are Xns? I don't think so.

I find it hard to believe that Xn people are still stuck in a believe then act paradigm. It got me thinking does this person actually know any non Xn people? Personally most non Xn people I know well have strong ethical ideas. What they might not have is a spiritual framework to put those ethics in.

Maybe rather than ads thanking Jesus for V-neck guitars and sleep ins, an add like this might be more appropriate.

I want a cleaner planet,
I want to house the homeless,
I want to stop war,
I want to end injustice.
Jesus prayed "Your Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven"
Get on board with what God is doing and be part of changing the
world.

Church: A Definition

2009-10-08T17:45:00.004+08:00

An organisation run by elderly men for elderly women.

Care of James Jupp on Late Night Live.

Best Wedding Entrance I've Ever Seen (Apart From My Wife's)

2009-10-07T19:55:00.000+08:00

Last weekend I got to watch my wife's cousin get married. She walked into the Obadiah Parker version of Hey Ya (originally by Outkast). At first I thought it was a cool song to play before the wedding but then about half way through the song the bridesmaids started walking in which meant the bride got to half walk half dance into the "shake it, shake it, shake it like a polarioid picture" verse. Very very cool. A great start because you knew the service was going to be a wonderful celebration.

My wife walked into Cat Power's version of The Sea of Love. Two of my grooms men played guitar and one of her bridesmaids (once she'd walked down the isle) did the singing. Magic.

I'm Back

2009-10-06T19:52:00.001+08:00

After a break, I'm back to blogging. Whilst spending less time blogging I did a bit more music. In the last month I got play my first ever solo gig at the WA TEAR camp. I recorded the gig on my super cheap iPod microphone ($1) and whilst the performance was not the devastating embarrassment I first thought it was I'm still wondering should I bother trying to reach the dizzy heights of mediocre musicianship?

Blogging Break

2009-08-24T09:43:00.002+08:00

I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while. I know there's only a small handfull of people who read this any way but i don't feel like i've got much that is worth while to say at the moment. So, rather than slowly fade with not great posts I'm going to stop for a while.

Valley Songs: Down to the River to Pray

2009-08-12T17:36:00.004+08:00

The last two times I’ve been to church (at different churches) I’ve got to sing and play this song and it’s great to sing in a large group. Made most famous by it’s appearance in the film Brother Where Art Thou I’ve changed the words slightly to include some beatitudes. The first time I played it was with the ridiculously talented Paul Gioia. Always a blessing and a curse playing with him. You get to see how much potential music has but you get to realise how much you have to learn.

Here's Alison Krauss singing it...

Down to the River to Pray
(Beatitudes Version)

As I went (E)down to the river to pray, (B)Studying about that (E)good old way
And (E)who shall wear the robe and crown, Good (B)Lord, (A)show me the (E)way
(B)O, sisters, (E)let's go down, (A)let's go down, come on (E)down,
(B)O, sisters, (E)let's go down, (A)Down to the river to (E)pray

(other verses identical pattern)

As I went down to the river to pray, Studying about that good old way
And how the poor shall wear a crown, Good Lord, show me the way
O, brothers, let's go down, let's go down, come on down,
O, brothers, let's go down, Down to the river to pray

As I went down to the river to pray, Studying about that good old way
And how the meek shall wear a crown, Good Lord, show me the way
O, fathers, let's go down, Let's go down, come on down,
O, fathers, let's go down, Down to the river to pray

As I went down to the river to pray, Studying about the good old way
And the merciful who'll wear a crown, Good Lord, show me the way
O, mothers, let's go down, Let's go down, come on down,
O, mothers, let's go down, Down to the river to pray

As I went down to the river to pray, Studying about the good old way
And the peacemakers who'll wear a crown, Good Lord, show me the way
O, sinners, let's go down, Let's go down, come on down,
O, sinners, let's go down, Down to the river to pray

As I went down to the river to pray, Studying about the good old way
And the pure in heart who'll wear a crown , Good Lord, show me the way

© Traditional - Beatitude additions Chris Summerfield

Sympathy for The Devil

2009-08-11T13:41:00.000+08:00

I have never been a fan of Kyle Sandilands. But, I can’t help but feeling that in the furor over the incident on his breakfast show that some key things were missed. What was most shocking for me in the whole incident was not Sandilands reaction but...

That a 12 year old had been raped.
That a 14 year old was put under a lie detector test and asked questions about her sex life.
The question about her sex life was being asked by her mother who the daughter had already told about the incident.

I assume that after the revelation that she had been raped the "is that your only experience" question he asked was probably a way of trying to affirm that she was not sexually active teenager, which is what the mother's question was trying to find out. The incident was unquestionably badly handled but, in the heat of live comedy radio I think many might have done the same. I have some sympathy for Sandliands who is being crucified while all the other issues are being ignored.

I think the media can do better than concentrate on just one element of this story.

I Want To Do

2009-07-20T20:01:00.002+08:00

Inspired by Fox Mulder's "I Want To Believe" poster and a recent viewing of the film Ghandi.

What Has God Been Doing To My Life?

2009-07-19T07:32:00.001+08:00

If you've read any of this blog you'll know that I'm not the kind of person who believes in God having some kind of direct hand guiding and directing my life. Now as I look back over my life I’m not so sure. As I mentioned in my previous post I believe I am being called to full time ministry within the Uniting Church. People often talk of God opening doors, in my case I feel like god has closed doors in order to make this one path even more obvious. This something that I have been reflecting back on over the last few days. Below I have listed some of those closed doors.

Door 1: Mathematics Teaching
Because of some unhelpful Austudy and Centrelink rules I was not able to finish maths education degree despite having done 3.5 years out of 4 and despite a chronic lack of mathematics teachers. Living in Newcastle at the time with one of the highest unemployment rates in Australia work was very hard to come by and I ended up with a part time job in at a semi rural Anglican church as a children and youth worker. An appoint that happened only because the arch bishop was on holiday – he told me that there was no way he would of let someone with my evangelical background through if he was not on holiday.

Door 2: Working with AFES
I still remember meeting with an AFES head cheese who I’m sure seemed a little worried that two women were basically running the group with the full time worker having left. As we chatted and I was asked questions that only had one right answer (I was given that answer if I didn’t get it right). I could sense that my version of evangelicalism (learnt from someone who was going from Moore Theological College to live in Byron Bay) was not really going to gel with the expected AFES line.

Door 3: Newcastle
I lived in Newcastle after I moved out of home. I loved Newcastle and I still have a soft spot for the city, but I just couldn’t get permanent work or finish my study so I had to move somewhere Perth was it.

Door 4: Studying somewhere other than Murdoch
When I applied to work with the Anglican Church in Perth I needed someone either with a theological qualification or studying theology. There are a huge range of theological colleges in Perth but with no money behind him or not a big enough ongoing income to pay for fees it turned all those choices to just one Murdoch Uni. Don’t get me wrong I loved my time at Murdoch, it has no only really dawned on me that if I study to be a minister I would find it incredibly hard to take off 4 years to study but now I only have one year left to go.

Door 5: Working with the Anglican Church
I loved my time with the Anglican Church I felt like I learnt a lot and really came to appreciate the Anglican ways of doing things. Maybe I could have stayed with the church in some capacity but the roles I had just didn’t have enough hours and although many people were keen to get me some other work to supplement it I had to stop the role. At the time I was gutted that I had to stop but there was no way I’d be priest in the Anglican church I just couldn’t honestly do the liturgy honestly as if it was the way that I best connected with God.

Door 6: A “Real” / “Decent” Job
I am a reasonably intelligent hard working honest person. Most people I meet think I could easily get a job in almost any field I feel like. The reality is I’ve been unemployed and underemployed a lot. Even in my current job I’ve been encouraged by people to find new work as they all think I can “do better”. I once took a careers course with a woman who had helped a lot of UK miners (made famous in the film Brassed Off) get new jobs. In a group of about 10 off everyone felt that they had major break throughs and clarifications about where they should be working. She apologised to me as she had no suggestions for me and admitted I was the only person she met that she couldn’t work out anything to suggest. Skills of Public speaking, teaching, pastoral care, a passion for social justice, experience working with and coordinating volunteers and the ability to work by myself just brought up blanks all the time.

Door 7: Climbing The Ladder
The normal thing to do in most companies is to climb the ladder to some comfortable middle management position. I haven’t been able to do this. The organization I work for is small there is no professional development and as the organization expands any position above mine is always looking for experience and qualifications above mine in fact I’m sure if my current role was re advertised it would ask for qualifications I don’t have. So I continue to the same role I have done for the last 5 years adding extra things to what I do as continue to become more efficient at what I do.

Any way that’s just a few things I could think of off the top of my head. This is probably not good blogging to blurt out all of this. But I’ve always blogged more as a public diary rather than trying to get a crowd of followers I could maybe one day sell advertising to.

I'm Taking The Plunge

2009-07-17T21:24:00.001+08:00

Well I've decided to plunge in to Ministry. The first step will be to see if the Uniting Church denomination will have me. I'm still very open to this being a very real possibility. For the last little while I have been doing a Period of Discernment with the Uniting Church, as a part of this I have written out what I believe my call is. I've posted it below so you can have a read if you like and give me any thoughts.

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During the Period of Discernment I have had the time not so much to hear God's voice afresh but to get clarity on where I believe God has been calling me for some time.

I didn’t grow up in a Church going family, but at the age of ten inspired by what I heard in school scripture lessons started walking myself to the local Anglican Church and asked for a Bible for Christmas. This is something that only seems unusual only in hindsight. Since initially inciting me away from playing Lego in front of Sunday morning cartoons I feel like God has been calling me towards ministry.

Having grown up in a mainline Anglican church in Sydney I spent my early 20s away from home studying at Newcastle University and involved with an Evangelical Christian group on campus. It was a time where I developed in my faith and could try my hand at preaching, leading several small groups and other committees. I learnt a lot and first started seriously considering whether I was being called to ministry. One group leader told me "if you don't become a minister we've done something wrong" and another said that “even before any training you’d better than most ministers”. I felt I could not just ignore these comments, laced as they might have been with unhelpful judgments about those already working in ministry. After these two leaders had left the group I started to investigate the possibility of taking up an official leadership role within the group. After a couple of conversations with some of the hierarchy I sensed that I would not be the kind of person they were looking for. I was just not theologically conservative enough. Instead I took up a position as a youth worker with an local Anglican Church.

In my mid 20s I moved to Fremantle and developed good friendships with the local non Christians but struggled to break into any Church community. I did get involved para-church organisations like Scripture Union. I felt like I connected spiritually with my non Christian friends more than the Christian people I was meeting, I wondered if I found it hard to break in to a church community what it would be like for them. On one occasion a non Christian couple said to me “If you ran a church I'd go to it” I felt like I was listening to Balaam’s Donkey. These were people who I thought were at best ambivalent to Christianity and here they were telling me they'd go to a church if I ran it. I felt God was telling me this is what you should be doing.

Having made good friends with a liberal Anglican man, through Scripture Union we formed a School based ministry group called “Exposure”. The group did various presentations to school students. One favorite was titled “Burn your Plastic Jesus” where at one point we would compare things Jesus said to some quotes of both modern musicians and fundamentalist moral crusaders. What to me seemed obvious to others seemed a rare ability to reframe the gospel in a way that students could connect with it often for the first time. On one occasion after doing a church service as the last part of a regional music festival a young non Christian year ten student told us "I wish church was always like that". We knew that his local churches were not like this. Both my friend and I could feel God calling us to return to some kind of church based ministry.

In my late 20s I took up a couple of roles with the Anglican Church first as Youth minister for the Northern Region (working with 6 churches and 2 schools) and then as Children and Youth Ministry Consultant for the Southern Region. My role as youth minister was both challenging and rewarding I enjoyed nothing more that journeying with both children as they wrestled with faith and adults as they wrested with how to make that faith connect with young people in their lives. The role was disbanded after involved parties realised that what they were unofficially promised could be done by one person spread over 8 places working only 3 days a week. As a Children and Youth Ministry Consultant (2 days a week) I continued to work with adults as they wrestled with the question “How can I do ministry in my context”. Working with the Anglican church I gained a deep respect and appreciation for their traditions and liturgies but it was still did not feel that it was me. In fact at the time I was part of small home church made up of mix of people with different levels of faith none of whom attended church.

Concurrently I studied Theology at Murdoch University achieving a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Theology where I achieved a distinction average. My wife particularly noticed how invigorated I was when I was actively wrestling with theology and how much I missed it when I completed my study.

I my 30s I found full time work with Drug and Alcohol agency as their Youth Outreach coordinator. In the role I lead teams of part time staff and volunteers to reach out to marginalised people in a range of contexts. I have long had a passion for social justice and those on the margins and felt lucky to find a job with this as it's focus. As much as I had always had the highest respect for those involved practical social justice, I have never felt completely comfortable in my role and have felt God calling me not so much to be doing but to involved in nurturing the hearts and mind of people so that they would desire to do this kind of work. I had also begun to see the limits of what a professional organistaion can do the possibilities a community of people can offer.

At this time I also started attending the Billabong Uniting Church and found a denomination that believed it was “able to live and endure through the changes of history only because it's Lord comes, addressed, and speaks with people in and though the news of his completed work” and “desired to work together and seek union with other churches”. A denomination where I felt more at home than anywhere I had been before. I had the opportunity to be a mentor, a small group leader, run an alternative evening service and on occasion preach. The last time I got to preach one person told me that "when I listen to you I move on" she felt like she had learnt something concrete and could move onto other challenges and issues in her life. I could sense God again asking me “so why are you doing this only occasionally?” I wrestled with this and spoke to my wife who had always been nervous about the idea of being married to a minister and for the first time she was not only content with the idea but felt that I should pursue it. This is when I started the Period of Discernment.

As I reflect on my life I feel that God has slowly developed in me a range of skills and passions uniquely suited to being a minister of the word. I I feel that God has had a direct hand in guiding the kind of work and experience that I have had over my life. I have spent much of my life either working part time or unemployed and despite my best efforts to secure work in other fields, doors have continued to open in fields of ministry. I feel I might be betraying God's efforts if I were not to pursue this possibility of becoming a Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church.

Word Image

2009-07-08T08:19:00.001+08:00

I've just discovered Wordle. It's a tool for creating word images of text or websites. This is the image created for this blog. Pretty cool huh.

The Weakness of God

2009-07-02T19:23:00.003+08:00

When I was younger I used to sing “My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do.” Now I’m older I’m not so sure. This is a post that I have been mulling over for a while and have finally decided to buckle down and write, short as it is. Recently I was reflecting on my life as a Father and how my view of the concept of “Father” has changed. I grew up with an image of God as Father. When I was young, God as father meant a God who was powerful, in control and can do anything. Now that I am a father I don’t feel like I am powerful or control. It is almost impossible to convince my children (all under four) that I am the boss and in control. I can’t make my daughter her eat all her dinner, I can’t make my son fall asleep on time. I can sit her at the table or keep him in his room at bed time but that’s not the same thing.

I am now thinking that God has created a world were his influence and power are quite limited, like me as a father. When God intervenes it is often subtle, God is not in the storm but that still small voice. The big intervention that Xns celebrate is when God came to the world as an obscure Jewish man with no great political power. A man who we would describe as servant rather than ruler.

If we are to believe that “My God is so big so strong and so mighty there’s nothing my God cannot do.” It means that every time some kind of evil happens that God (who can do anything) is just sitting passively by letting it all happen. This just does not concur with my understanding of what God is like. In the story of Noah when evil things are happening God doesn’t tweak things at the edges to make things a little better instead God anguishes over having created humans, something where he is can’t just do anything to change the situation. He finally resorts to flooding the world – itself something so horrific he chooses never to do again. I think an explanation of why God doesn’t just come in and do something dramatic.

I believe that God still intervenes in the world but that intervention tends to be through people, God changing and empowering people to do great things. I can get my daughter to bed by giving her a horsey ride, fairly little effort on her behalf but she has to want to get on that horse.

Prayer Breakfast

2009-06-30T16:27:00.001+08:00

I recently attended the Governor's Prayer Breakfast. It probably didn’t help that at the time I was reading “The Family’ by Jeff Sharlet. It’s a book that looks at somewhat secret fundamentalist Xn organisation who, behind the scenes, seek to influence people of in positions of power. There only public activity is to organise America’s National Prayer Breakfast gathering.

Any way trying to put that out of my mind I sat at my table surrounded by a thousand other guests all dressed in suits ties. I'm kind of used to singing being something that you no longer do in church but rather something where you get to quietly mumble along while the professionals do it loudly and slickly for us, I'm not sure I'm ready for prayer to go the same way. But, there was more to my discomfort that just this. Exactly what I just couldn't put my finger on. I felt like I was observing another religious tradition rather than my own, for some reason so much of it felt foreign to me, whilst being vaguely familiar. Exactly what this was I still cannot pin point it'll have to remain just a vibe. I've waited a couple of weeks hoping this vibe would become more concrete but it hasn't . If any one has any ideas please let me know your thoughts.

Traditional Service Vs Contemporary Service

2009-06-28T13:06:00.002+08:00

I was listening to the Wired Jesus podcast recently and hearing Tom reflect over the battle that often emerges in churches between doing the Sunday service in a traditional way or a contemporary way. A battle that for most mainline denominations always falls in the traditional way camp, with the occasional groovy service pitched so perfectly in the middle that both traditionalists and contemporaries walk away feeling like the service just wasn’t for them. As someone who has worked for a mainline church, attends a mainline church and has a lot of respect for the traditions of church I was thinking if I had a group of over 50’s wanting to do church one way and group of under 20’s wanting to do it another way which would I choose?

I’d choose the under 20’s way, which will most likely be nothing like either the over 50’s ideal or even my own mid 30s ideal. Why? Well it’s simple if I had two groups of people one who was very mature and strong in their faith and one who was younger and more fragile in their faith I would choose a service that would best minister to those who were younger and more fragile – which would almost always be the under 20 crowd. Those who were over 50 I would encourage to live a more churchless faith. To look back on the life’s well of resources and draw on that, this maybe just by them selves but more likely it would be joining together to help each other. The Sunday morning service would then become a time of mission where they would immerse themselves in a new culture and serve those in need there. There will be those who say that “this is not the way we do things in this denomination”. I’m not sure how I would maturely respond to that the temptation would be to get on my high horse and say that church has to connect with those on the fringes. Before anyone says so I should say that yes I do realise that church is more than the Sunday service, but the reailty is that for some in the church and most out of the church this is the flagship event of the church that says to others “this is what we are about”.

It’s Been A While

2009-06-27T20:00:00.001+08:00

It’s been a while since I have done any serious blogging. Life has just got busy and when the choice is play with the kids, spend time with the wife or Blog, blogging will loose every time. As well as all the regular life stuff I've been doing the Uniting Church's Period Of Discernment program. A time to work out where God is calling me. It has been a great process and I have been blessed with a great mentor who has really been flexible in pitching the process at where I am at so to speak. I haven't blogged my way through the process as I felt like I hasn't generated much of any interest for any one but me. None the less I'll be posting some more soon. I hope.

Critical Child Rearing Mistake No. 12 - Dancing

2009-06-15T14:13:00.005+08:00

Both my beautiful children love music. The other day I caught my son inside rocking out to Rage Against The Machine (unfortunately it took me a while to get the camera out and I only got the tail end of his dancing). But I loved it so much I had to post it.

While this was going on my daughter was outside with the chickens listening to the music on the outside speakers. You have no idea how difficult it is to discipline your daughter saying "No dancing with the chickens!" without smiling. So later that day before bed time we all got together for a dance inside without the chickens. Me on guitar, Scarlett on lead dancing and vocals and Elijah on bemusement.

Valley Songs: Troublesome Waters - Johnny Cash

2009-05-16T09:24:00.000+08:00

This is not a particularly well known Johnny Cash song, in fact I believe it was written by his mother in law. I am yet to try this in a congregational setting but I suspect it would work, it's singable and the lyrics are great. We don't have enough songs about the toughness of life and this one does it really well.

Troublesome waters

(C)Troublesome waters much (F/C)blacker than (C)night
Are hiding from (Am)view of the harbor's bright lights
Tossed in the (C)turmoil of (F/C)life's stormy (C)sea
I cry to my (Am)Saviour have (G)mercy on (C)me
Then (F)gently I'm feeling the touch of his (C)hands
guiding my (Am)boat in (G)safely to (C)land
(C)Leading the way to (F/C)heaven's bright (C)shore
Troublesome (Am)waters I'm (G)fearing no (C)more

Troublesome waters around me do roll
they're rocking my boat and racking my soul
Loved ones are drifting and living in sin
the treacherous whirlpools are pulling them in
Then gently I'm feeling the touch of his hands
guiding my boat in safely to land
Leading the way to heaven's bright shore
Troublesome waters I'm fearing no more

When troublesome waters are rolling so high
I'll lift up my voice and to heaven I'll cry
My Lord I am trusting give guidance to me
and steady my boat on life's troubled sea
Then gently I'm feeling the touch of his hands
guiding my boat in safely to land
Leading the way to heaven's bright shore
Troublesome waters I'm fearing no more (x2)

© Carter Family – Johnny Cash arrangement

I'm Over Facebook

2009-05-15T08:14:00.002+08:00

Every time I log on to Facebook my page is flooded by people who take all kinds of ridiculous quizzes. Things like “Which Harry Potter Character are you?”. Because I’m not glued to it 24 7 I probably miss the more important updates from people. I couldn’t work out why would anyone spend the time to do these quizzes so I thought I'd create my own dumb quiz. “which random household object are you” and people did it, about a thousand so far. The Answers are random and completely unrelated to the questions (see below) any way I'm back to my trusty RSS blog feeds and dabbling with quiz free Twitter.

Which Random Household Object are You Questions

1. Which Musical Artist Do You like the best?

New Kids on the Block
Vanilla Ice
Kikki Dee
Yanni
Backstreet Boys
Michael Bolton
Céline Dion
David Hasselhoff

2. My Favourite Swearword begins with...

3. You have a recurring nightmare about...

Chickens
Zombies
Losing your clothes
Driving with no brakes
Failing exams
Your Ex
Flying
Facebook Quizzes

4. Facebook is...

Wasting my life away
A way to keep in touch with friends I can't stand to see in person
A place to put that glamour photo I spent so much money on
Wasting everybody else's life a way
The only way my friends talk to me any more
A great way of distributing all my personal details to potential identity thieves
A Social networking Site
Just Like Twitter only with more Features

5. The Household object I most identify with is…

Hair Brush
Cup
Tea Towel
Door Handle
Light Bulb
Spoon
Pencil
Rubbish Bin

The Beginning of another Alternative to Penal Substitution

2009-05-14T08:42:00.001+08:00

I sometimes wonder if the only reason that Xns have successfully been able to tell their non Xn friends about penal substitution is because when they say “let me tell you about penal substitution” they’re expecting to hear a story about two lesbians and a sex toy.

Then when we start telling the story about the Nazi prison camp (a story used in Alpha courses) the one where a prisoner is about to be shot by the prison warden for some very minor offence. When an innocent fellow prisoner steps in and says shoot me instead, which the prison warden does. It’s a horrible shocking story. As shocking as anything Hollywood could come up with. Then as we say “Jesus is just like the innocent guy who dies”. I wonder is the quiet respectful response that we think people are giving is actually shock and astonishment as they process that we have just told a story about our loving God who is best represented by a cruel Nazi guard who is happy to kill an innocent man for a petty offence.

So how can we describe of the atonement

In my head at the moment I’ve got this image of Jesus, in his death, diving through the walls of reality as we know it and then coming back resurrected. This means that if we follow Jesus we will not die it means that God is bigger than what we see. The problem with being Christ like, being reconciled to God is that it seems to be all in vain but in Christ’s death and resurrection we are invited to take up our cross and follow him and be part of a new Kingdom that cannot be stopped even by death.

How I’ll flesh this out into a fuller atonement theory I’m not yet sure. It’s just a start. And I’m sure just like the penal substitution theory it will not completely explain all of the atonement, hopefully it might be just another face on the diamond that is all atonement narratives and that helps us to fully understand the atonement.

Dividing and Outscourcing the Kingdom of God

2009-05-13T17:01:00.000+08:00

I think this will be my final reflection on the holes in the social services sector for a while. I recently met someone who went to a Christian social service agency looking for help. As I heard his painful story of being knocked back by several agencies because he did not quite fit their categories for help and the quite severe situation he now found himself in I couldn't help but think that although now his problems were big enough that he could access help he needed some help at least two years ago. But, there isn’t a free service for people who are "worried about what might likely happen in the future". I find this so frustrating the system is really irritating me and unfortunately I am not one of the movers and shakers who can influence any change either.

By dividing the Kingdom of God into churches for the soul and professional government funded agencies for physical, mental and emotional help we have done damage. I am all too aware of some churches that have inappropriately tried to care for people with various problems that needed professional help. I am not suggesting that we replace mental health professionals with a couple of nice Xn people praying for someone, not at all. Their must be a third way where the people can become integrated into a community whilst getting professional care.

Valley Songs: Oh Mary Don't You Weep

2009-05-07T08:55:00.000+08:00

This song I first heard on the Tokens Radio Show. You can buy just one of their shows from Noisetrade. Why they haven't been selling Mp3s from the show was completely beyond me and got me writing and requesting just that. I'm told that very soon they'll be selling MP3s from their website. This is a song I've done a number of times in a church setting and it's great fun. Their are many variations on the lyrics, I tend to stick with just the story of Moses. Enjoy...

Mary*, don't you weep

(Em)If I could I (B)surely would
Stand on the rock where (Em)Moses stood.
(Am)Pharoah's army got (Em)drownded
(B)Oh Mary don't you (Em)weep.

CHORUS

(Em)Oh Mary, don't you (B)weep, no more
Oh Mary, don't you (Em)weep, no more
(Am)Pharoah's army got (Em)drownded
Oh Mary (B)don't you (Em)weep.

Moses stood on the red sea shore
Smotin' the water with a two by four.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

God told Moses what to do
To lead the Hebrew children through.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

One of these nights about 12 o' clock
This old worlds going to reel and rock.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

--- Other Lyrics ---

Mary wore three links of chain
On every link was Jesus' name.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

Brothers and Sisters don't you cry
There'll be good times by and by
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

Well God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Said no more water, but fire next time.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

The very moment I thought I was lost
The dungeon shook and the chains fell off.
Pharoah's army got drownded, Oh Mary don't you weep.

*Mary of Bethany John 11:32-33
© Traditional – Siani Mountain Boys arrangement

Jo Cocker Made Me Cry

2009-04-29T20:38:00.004+08:00

I'm not sure how I came across this but it made me laugh so hard my wife thought I was crying.