When will I, will I be famous?

Eating out is a fair bit cheaper in Oz compared to the UK, but there are a few differences that you need to get used to. For example, there seems to be a real shortage of decent Indian restaurants. Obviously there are plenty in the UK. Dominoes Pizza is quite expensive but very decent pizza in the UK. In Oz it's a lot cheaper (On holiday I think we paid about three of four pounds for a large pizza) but it's also very, very, very nasty. I think Pizza Hut is similar - it's cheaper and nastier than the yummy UK version. Pizza Runners is excellent stuff and it's still cheaper than you'd pay in the UK for comparable food. I'd also recommend Jimmy's Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant run by an ex-Cornerstoner. The Pizza Runners Rule of Takeaway Food applies here too - excellent food for a great price. Also, Jimmy takes a 5X3 grey mat from The Mat Exchange so I have to recommend him.


Still no sign of a ticket for last week's misdemeanour. I think I may have got away with it. However, in a calculated act of spite the Mat Van decided to break it's fan and radiator while I was on the way home from the run the other day. Thankfully I was able to get home and Matt was able to diagnose and fix the problem from my detailed report of the symptoms ("Matt, Matt! The van banged at me on the way home!")

It's freezing here. Literally. The temperature has been in the minus figures when we've woken up in the morning, but we still have the problem that I mentioned in an earlier blog so it warms up considerably as the day goes on. If you can find a spot in the sun you'll warm up nicely. Unfortunately our house doesn't get any sun, which makes it great in the summer and not-so-great in the winter.

Over the past few weeks a couple of Cornerstoners have appeared in the Dubbo Photo News while I remain languishing in obscurity. When will I get my fifteen minutes? What more do I have to do? I think I should be first choice for their (fully clothed) male equivalent of their (fully clothed) Page 3 Girl Men at Work. Matt appeared whilst on the Mat Exchange, so what about me? I deserve to be famous!


After last week's comments on evangelism I thought I'd write a little bit about one of my favourite things about the Cornerstone lifestyle - the common purse. That's one of the things that's likely to make people think twice about coming to Cornerstone - after all, isn't sharing money the sort of thing that cults do? I think that this reaction (which was my initial reaction) reflects the deeply engrained idea that the way that we deal with money in the West is normal and healthy. As a result the way that Cornerstone tries to deal with money is a very powerful counter-cultural statement. It's the powerful message that I really like about the common purse.

The guiding principle behind it is, as with the early church, the belief that if Christians are living in community there should be no-one whose basic needs are not met. The way that this works is that any money you earn whilst a part of Cornerstone goes into the common purse. Out of this common purse everyone's bills and basic needs are met. Out of the surplus everyone is granted an 'allowance'. The allowance you receive will depend on your situation, but what it means is that everyone gets a roughly equivalent and appropriate amount of money on top of having their basic needs met. If, like me, you hardly bring in any money it's quite a nice set-up. If, like others here, you are a skilled professional and bring in a more substantial salary it's a far greater sacrifice. The fact that so many people here are willing to sacrifice earning power to support bludgers like Ruth and I is a testament to how significant this principle is. You should also be able to see right away how it sends a powerful but unwelcome message to the rest of our society. I think it's an amazing way of living and certainly enjoy it. I hope that I would have the integrity to feel the same way even if I was the one sacrificing an impressive salary, but I have yet to be in that position! I am thankful to those who are making that sacrifice.

It must be noted that in addition to the system above any money that comes to an individual from a para-Cornerstone source (such as gifts or inheritance or anything like that) belongs to that individual and is his or hers to do with as she pleases - so the money that Ruth and I got from, for example, selling our car is ours to spend on Splashe cola and chocolate chip hot cross buns.

It's both excellent and a challenge to be in a place where there is a genuine attempt at 'whole of life spirituality' that includes a radical approach to finances. I like the challenge of asking which parts of my life do not reflect the Lordship of Christ, and I think that there's no more radical witness than a life that is consistent in this respect. The common purse is an easy thing to make sound dodgy, but it's really not and seems like a totally sane way to be living if you're trying to be a Christian community.

It's Reid's third birthday on Monday and he's having a joint tea party tomorrow with one of the other children here at Cornerstone. Ruth has made a jungle cake for the party - here's a photo. She's very talented.


I'm off to think of ways of getting in the Dubbo Photo News ('Local Pom Drives Into River'? 'Crazy Brit Gatecrashes Sheila's Twenty-First Birthday Party'?) so I'll leave you for the week. Have a good one.