Numbers are fun, informative and beguiling; but they can blur our vision sometimes! You have probably heard about the value of time:
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth prematurely.
To realize the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newsletter.
To realize the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of one minute, ask a person who just missed a train.
To realize the value of one second, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of one millisecond, ask a person who won an Olympic silver medal.
As politicians and financiers talk more casually about one billion dollars, think about this:
A billion seconds ago, it was 1959.
A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive on earth.
A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the stone age.
A billion days ago, no one walked on the earth on two feet.
But a billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate the government is spending.
There are more than 300 billionaires in the US alone!
The basic wage was recently raised to $6.35 an hour - at that rate it would take a person more than 18,000 years to earn one billion dollars!
Which brings me to the subject of the inequitable distribution of wealth, the love of money being the root of all evil, you can't serve God and money.......
Kind of makes you go hmmm!
Shalom
Pastor Greg
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
What Are We Telling the Kids?
Hi out there!
Long time no blog, sorry about that. Firstly I want to say g'day to Ian in Tassie, go Oz! Thanks for the comments, I will write more on the Lent series about reviving churches today. My comments were in response to a book by Paul Dixon called "I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church"; if you are passionate about the church being revived and renewed, you need to read this book.
However there is something else on my mind, and again it relates to our youth. You may have guessed that long long ago back in Australia I was involved in leading youth groups in several churches, and I loved it, I did quite well at it, too! In fact I planned to become a full time youth worker, but pastoral ministry intervened! A recent survey showed that the current generation of adolescents distrusts the church and christians more than any other in American history, but that same generation is more spiritual than any other in American history! Our youth are looking for God, but not in church!
In my view, they see an adult generation that does not enjoy life (even the christians!), has questionable values and cannot be trusted. For example, they work hard, graduate from college and then we tell them there are no jobs for them; so now the dropout rate is increasing, even from high school, to an alarming rate! And worse, kids who are involved in a good church youth group during high school, are walking away from the church when they go to college.
Again, in my opinion, the adult generation has spent a lifetime trying to prove that we can live without God, and yet proving the opposite! As a result, mostly we are not happy campers! So what do we do? What do we tell them? What should our youth ministry be about?
Firstly, let us stop offering 'cotton wool christianity' - your faith is OK only if you avoid the big bad evil world! So read only christian books, listen to only christian music, watch only christian movies, and go to church every Sunday! The absolute joy and power of Christianity is that it gives us a fulfilling, joyful way to live and witness to in the real world and in our real lives!
Secondly, be available whenever opportunity arises to listen to them, kids crave a sensitive, listening, understanding ear while they wrestle with how their life is turning out. And they are honest and forthright, let us return the compliment!
Thirdly, remember the words of 1Peter 3:15, 'in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (NIV) In other words, tell them your 'Jesus story'! Tell them how having Jesus in your heart has helped you to make the most of the life God has given you. Surveys have aso shown that the large majority of adult church attenders have never done that! So, grab your favourite (low carb!)snack and a cool drink, go to a quiet place, spend time in prayer about your relationship with Jesus; then write your Jesus story. It's a great way to spend time during the slow hot summer days (or in Ian's case the long cold winter nights!); and there are kids out there waiting to hear your story, from you.
Shalom
Pastor Greg
Long time no blog, sorry about that. Firstly I want to say g'day to Ian in Tassie, go Oz! Thanks for the comments, I will write more on the Lent series about reviving churches today. My comments were in response to a book by Paul Dixon called "I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church"; if you are passionate about the church being revived and renewed, you need to read this book.
However there is something else on my mind, and again it relates to our youth. You may have guessed that long long ago back in Australia I was involved in leading youth groups in several churches, and I loved it, I did quite well at it, too! In fact I planned to become a full time youth worker, but pastoral ministry intervened! A recent survey showed that the current generation of adolescents distrusts the church and christians more than any other in American history, but that same generation is more spiritual than any other in American history! Our youth are looking for God, but not in church!
In my view, they see an adult generation that does not enjoy life (even the christians!), has questionable values and cannot be trusted. For example, they work hard, graduate from college and then we tell them there are no jobs for them; so now the dropout rate is increasing, even from high school, to an alarming rate! And worse, kids who are involved in a good church youth group during high school, are walking away from the church when they go to college.
Again, in my opinion, the adult generation has spent a lifetime trying to prove that we can live without God, and yet proving the opposite! As a result, mostly we are not happy campers! So what do we do? What do we tell them? What should our youth ministry be about?
Firstly, let us stop offering 'cotton wool christianity' - your faith is OK only if you avoid the big bad evil world! So read only christian books, listen to only christian music, watch only christian movies, and go to church every Sunday! The absolute joy and power of Christianity is that it gives us a fulfilling, joyful way to live and witness to in the real world and in our real lives!
Secondly, be available whenever opportunity arises to listen to them, kids crave a sensitive, listening, understanding ear while they wrestle with how their life is turning out. And they are honest and forthright, let us return the compliment!
Thirdly, remember the words of 1Peter 3:15, 'in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." (NIV) In other words, tell them your 'Jesus story'! Tell them how having Jesus in your heart has helped you to make the most of the life God has given you. Surveys have aso shown that the large majority of adult church attenders have never done that! So, grab your favourite (low carb!)snack and a cool drink, go to a quiet place, spend time in prayer about your relationship with Jesus; then write your Jesus story. It's a great way to spend time during the slow hot summer days (or in Ian's case the long cold winter nights!); and there are kids out there waiting to hear your story, from you.
Shalom
Pastor Greg
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Plea for Face to Face Contact
You've probably gathered by now that this blogging thing is fairly new to me, in fact I learned just today that blog is short for 'weblog'! It is a little odd for me to be typing in these messages and then wondering if anyone reads them or thinks about responding. More than 50 have checked out at least one of my messages, but I don't know who or where they are! You see I am a 'face-to-face' person, I would say for me it is the most vital aspect of being a minister. When you are looking at a person while you have a conversation, you encounter them through all the senses which is what gives emotional life to a conversation. From this, a level of caring can develop most naturally, and I believe this is the goal in every encounter between two people.
While the electronic communication tools available today are very helpful in many ways, they should not be seen as a replacement for a face to face conversation. My concern is that this is exactly what is happening - especially amongst younger people. As a result, we are becoming isolated and I think, lonely. In the movie 'You've Got Mail', shopgirl and NY152 develop quite a friendship through email (I am not sure it really happens to this extent in reality), however the relationship only begins to really develop after they meet and slowly begin a friendship. Too often, I see a group of young people walking down the street together, not talking to each other at all, but rather they are each in a text message conversation with someone else!
My plea is don't forget that relationships are a matter of the heart, not electronic gadgetry. Our cell phones, computers and ipods are wonderful means of communication (I once called my father in Australia from the top of the Empire State building!); and they may well help us avoid the anxiety, the stammering, the sweating when we begin a conversation with someone for the first time, but these are a necessary part of 'stepping out' into life.
Of course, as a minister this is particularly important to me, I don't think this blog will ever replace the sermon. When a minister preaches the love of God from his or her heart to the congregation, they need to be face to face. After all, evangelism is a Christian having a one-on-one conversation with another person about how Jesus has enriched their life.
While the electronic communication tools available today are very helpful in many ways, they should not be seen as a replacement for a face to face conversation. My concern is that this is exactly what is happening - especially amongst younger people. As a result, we are becoming isolated and I think, lonely. In the movie 'You've Got Mail', shopgirl and NY152 develop quite a friendship through email (I am not sure it really happens to this extent in reality), however the relationship only begins to really develop after they meet and slowly begin a friendship. Too often, I see a group of young people walking down the street together, not talking to each other at all, but rather they are each in a text message conversation with someone else!
My plea is don't forget that relationships are a matter of the heart, not electronic gadgetry. Our cell phones, computers and ipods are wonderful means of communication (I once called my father in Australia from the top of the Empire State building!); and they may well help us avoid the anxiety, the stammering, the sweating when we begin a conversation with someone for the first time, but these are a necessary part of 'stepping out' into life.
Of course, as a minister this is particularly important to me, I don't think this blog will ever replace the sermon. When a minister preaches the love of God from his or her heart to the congregation, they need to be face to face. After all, evangelism is a Christian having a one-on-one conversation with another person about how Jesus has enriched their life.
I am interested in hearing feedback on this, just respond to the blog message!
Pastor Greg
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Happy Birthday Dear Church
After his resurrection, Jesus spent time with his first disciples, preparing them to continue the mission of sharing God's love with a searching world. One of the most important things he instructed them to do was to 'wait until the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you.' He made it quite clear that without the power of the spirit they could do nothing! Hmm!
May 11th is Pentecost Sunday, the day when we say the church was born because on this day the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and they were ready to roll for Jesus! (It is also mother's day, so I pray for a special blessing on all mothers). But what is this power? And is it true that we can do nothing (of God's mission) without it, but empowered by the spirit, nothing is impossible? This is pretty powerful stuff!
It seems to me that we (the church) have not really come to grips with this. In the church today I see the Holy Spirit being neglected/ignored/avoided or directed and controlled to meet our own agendas!
The Spirit is from God, it is the power behind creation, it is the power that enabled a virgin to become pregnant, it is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. The power of the spirit is the power of God's love! God's very essence is love, and his deepest desire is that we might live to the full the gift of life we have been given. For this to occur requires a powerful force that can overcome our shortcomings (aka sin!), that power is the spirit of God's love. And as we learned at Pentecost, that power is poured out as promised on all who open their hearts to receive it in order to fulfill the mission of proclaiming the Good News throughout the world.
That's awesome, and more than a little intimidating! It is not a power to be used for our own selfish reasons, like Jim Carey initially in 'Bruce Almighty'; rather it is the power that enables us to love others as Jesus does. The Beatles were right when they crooned 'All You Need is Love!' It is true, we do, and praise God, we have it when we open our hearts to receive it (perhaps then we wouldn't need songs like 'All My Ex's Live in Texas!'). That's Pentecost power, and on this Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church, go to a church near you and "more power to ya!"
Shalom
Pastor Greg
May 11th is Pentecost Sunday, the day when we say the church was born because on this day the Holy Spirit filled their hearts and they were ready to roll for Jesus! (It is also mother's day, so I pray for a special blessing on all mothers). But what is this power? And is it true that we can do nothing (of God's mission) without it, but empowered by the spirit, nothing is impossible? This is pretty powerful stuff!
It seems to me that we (the church) have not really come to grips with this. In the church today I see the Holy Spirit being neglected/ignored/avoided or directed and controlled to meet our own agendas!
The Spirit is from God, it is the power behind creation, it is the power that enabled a virgin to become pregnant, it is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. The power of the spirit is the power of God's love! God's very essence is love, and his deepest desire is that we might live to the full the gift of life we have been given. For this to occur requires a powerful force that can overcome our shortcomings (aka sin!), that power is the spirit of God's love. And as we learned at Pentecost, that power is poured out as promised on all who open their hearts to receive it in order to fulfill the mission of proclaiming the Good News throughout the world.
That's awesome, and more than a little intimidating! It is not a power to be used for our own selfish reasons, like Jim Carey initially in 'Bruce Almighty'; rather it is the power that enables us to love others as Jesus does. The Beatles were right when they crooned 'All You Need is Love!' It is true, we do, and praise God, we have it when we open our hearts to receive it (perhaps then we wouldn't need songs like 'All My Ex's Live in Texas!'). That's Pentecost power, and on this Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church, go to a church near you and "more power to ya!"
Shalom
Pastor Greg
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Choices of Lent #3 "Choosing Fun Over Drudgery"
Everyone would rather have fun than drudgery! However when you look around today most people are not having much fun, sadly unless they are high or drunk! Even sadder is the fact that most Christ followers are not seen as fun people either! In fact I grew up believing that anything fun, joyful or celebratory had no place in the life of the believer, we were serious and humble before the Lord! I'm pretty sure the church is still largely perceived the same today!
Shame on us! The bible is more than anything else a story of joy! Christianity is a joy-filled, exuberant faith! We recently celebrated Easter, but the church seems to focus on the sadness of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins. This is of course true, but it is not the full story! Jesus death was cruel and despicable beyond measure (watch "The Passion of the Christ"); but beyond the cross is the triumphant love and power of God who raised Jesus from death so that our lives could be renewed!
Easter released an explosion of joy in the hearts of every person who opened their heart to receive the life-giving joyful Spirit of the risen Christ. And that is still the absolute truth today! We are by definition, experience and belief the most joyful people on the face of the earth!
Why then would we choose drudgery rather than joyous, victorious living? And Jesus is the only way to receive this joy, because he is the means to live in a new relationship with God. We should be singing more songs and hymns about the joy of the Lord, then let the fun begin!
Till next time
Shalom,
Pastor Greg
Shame on us! The bible is more than anything else a story of joy! Christianity is a joy-filled, exuberant faith! We recently celebrated Easter, but the church seems to focus on the sadness of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins. This is of course true, but it is not the full story! Jesus death was cruel and despicable beyond measure (watch "The Passion of the Christ"); but beyond the cross is the triumphant love and power of God who raised Jesus from death so that our lives could be renewed!
Easter released an explosion of joy in the hearts of every person who opened their heart to receive the life-giving joyful Spirit of the risen Christ. And that is still the absolute truth today! We are by definition, experience and belief the most joyful people on the face of the earth!
Why then would we choose drudgery rather than joyous, victorious living? And Jesus is the only way to receive this joy, because he is the means to live in a new relationship with God. We should be singing more songs and hymns about the joy of the Lord, then let the fun begin!
Till next time
Shalom,
Pastor Greg
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