Today the holidays start for our students, which gives me a few days respite to catch up with some work and update the blog.
When they get back we'll be starting our screen fast. This is something that we try to do once a year here. We encourage people to fast from 'screens' for a month. We've discovered that things like movies, video games and Facebook can really be a distraction for people, so we try to introduce a period where we're fasting from those kind of things. It's optional, of course, but I think that most the of the students sign up for it.
I take part too. I don't play video games or watch TV much, and I use a computer for work a lot, so I pledge to fast from 'non-productive' screen time. This means no movies, games and so on - which is not a huge blow because my leisure time involves other things. What it does mean that I stop unconstructive use of the computer, which is fairly common for me. All that meaningless internet surfing I do goes out of the window. I will use the computer for work and for anything else that is productive - such as blog updates.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Wisdom, Patience and Grace
There's a final comment that I want to make following my last post. You see, because I am hoping to be an inspiration, there is always the challenge of how to respond when someone stubbornly refuses to be inspired. The easy thing to do is to believe that the problem is with them rather than me. That's a natural response pretty much every time anything goes wrong in a relationship with someone. Of course, the opposite defect is to believe that the problem is always with myself. Neither of these are the truth 100% of the time, and to think so goes against the Biblical injunction to think of ourselves with 'sober judgement'.
The reality is that often people will not be inspired by me, and sometimes it will be my fault and sometimes it will be theirs. The challenge is to be wise enough to tell the difference, and to have patience and grace with myself and - primarily, in my case - with others.
I've been helped by something that Neil Anderson mentions in the Freedom in Christ material. He points out that when Isaiah is called by God to be a prophet, his reponse is "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips who lives among a people of unclean lips". Likewise, when Peter is confronted by Christ, his reponse is "Get away from me, for I am a sinful man". The point that is made that when we draw close to God, we cannot ever be conscious of another's sin without also being aware of our own. If we are more aware of the failings of another than we are of our own, then perhaps we are actually pushing away from God rather than being drawn closer to Him.
The reality is that often people will not be inspired by me, and sometimes it will be my fault and sometimes it will be theirs. The challenge is to be wise enough to tell the difference, and to have patience and grace with myself and - primarily, in my case - with others.
I've been helped by something that Neil Anderson mentions in the Freedom in Christ material. He points out that when Isaiah is called by God to be a prophet, his reponse is "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips who lives among a people of unclean lips". Likewise, when Peter is confronted by Christ, his reponse is "Get away from me, for I am a sinful man". The point that is made that when we draw close to God, we cannot ever be conscious of another's sin without also being aware of our own. If we are more aware of the failings of another than we are of our own, then perhaps we are actually pushing away from God rather than being drawn closer to Him.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Education, Training and Inspiration
Wow, two blog updates in two days. I'm on fire!
(Not literally, of course. That's something that I would Tweet rather than blog).
Yesterday's blog was really me thinking out-loud, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology I can now inflict unedited internal musings on the whole world. In reading it back to myself I do feel that it's a bit 'all-over-the-place', but there's something precious in there that you can do with what you want.
Today I wanted to write about something else; another personal impression.
Although, as far as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship is concerned, I am here as an 'vocational educator', I'm not really an educator. I don't see my role here as 'to educate'. The world is full of Bible colleges that do a good job of 'educating'. I don't think Cornerstone is or should be attempting to add to that number. There are plenty of schools that would do a better job than we do.
Another label that has been applied to what we do is 'equipping' or 'training'. Now we're getting closer to the mark. It's one of the crimes of Western thought to assume that 'educating' is the same as 'training'. There are a lot of Christian places that 'educate', but fewer engage in 'training'. In Cornerstone we attempt to train and equip people to live as a follower of Jesus, regardless of where He sends them. I think we could do a better job at this, but at least we recognise the distinction between 'education' and 'training' and have a go. But I don't really want to be a 'trainer' either.
What I long to do, and what I pray for, and what I believe is the role of any Cornerstone staff member is to 'inspire'. In other words, it's not enough for me to educate someone about what it means to follow Christ. It's not even enough for me to bridge that gap and then go on to show them how to follow Christ. What I cannot afford to fail to do is stir in them a desire to want to follow Christ. There must be something about me that causes restlessness in others. People must sit in one of my lectures or work with me or eat with me or play boardgames with me and come away unable to sleep because they just can't get the stench of the Kingdom of God out of their nostrils. If people do not cross my path and walk away saying "I want to be like him..." then I don't deserve to be in a position of influence. I am unashamed in my desire to be the sort of person who arouses greatness in others.
Does this offend you? Does it jar against some carefully formulated doctrine of humilty that you hold to? It would have done so with me once, but I have come to believe that, when it comes to following Christ, if I can't honestly say "The world would be a better place if there were more people like me" then I'm not doing it properly. I long not just to teach, nor just to equip. I long to inspire.
(Not literally, of course. That's something that I would Tweet rather than blog).
Yesterday's blog was really me thinking out-loud, and thanks to the wonders of modern technology I can now inflict unedited internal musings on the whole world. In reading it back to myself I do feel that it's a bit 'all-over-the-place', but there's something precious in there that you can do with what you want.
Today I wanted to write about something else; another personal impression.
Although, as far as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship is concerned, I am here as an 'vocational educator', I'm not really an educator. I don't see my role here as 'to educate'. The world is full of Bible colleges that do a good job of 'educating'. I don't think Cornerstone is or should be attempting to add to that number. There are plenty of schools that would do a better job than we do.
Another label that has been applied to what we do is 'equipping' or 'training'. Now we're getting closer to the mark. It's one of the crimes of Western thought to assume that 'educating' is the same as 'training'. There are a lot of Christian places that 'educate', but fewer engage in 'training'. In Cornerstone we attempt to train and equip people to live as a follower of Jesus, regardless of where He sends them. I think we could do a better job at this, but at least we recognise the distinction between 'education' and 'training' and have a go. But I don't really want to be a 'trainer' either.
What I long to do, and what I pray for, and what I believe is the role of any Cornerstone staff member is to 'inspire'. In other words, it's not enough for me to educate someone about what it means to follow Christ. It's not even enough for me to bridge that gap and then go on to show them how to follow Christ. What I cannot afford to fail to do is stir in them a desire to want to follow Christ. There must be something about me that causes restlessness in others. People must sit in one of my lectures or work with me or eat with me or play boardgames with me and come away unable to sleep because they just can't get the stench of the Kingdom of God out of their nostrils. If people do not cross my path and walk away saying "I want to be like him..." then I don't deserve to be in a position of influence. I am unashamed in my desire to be the sort of person who arouses greatness in others.
Does this offend you? Does it jar against some carefully formulated doctrine of humilty that you hold to? It would have done so with me once, but I have come to believe that, when it comes to following Christ, if I can't honestly say "The world would be a better place if there were more people like me" then I'm not doing it properly. I long not just to teach, nor just to equip. I long to inspire.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Purpose and Happiness
So is the message of the gospel to find happiness by living out your God-given purpose, or to find happiness in denying your God-given purpose?
Or - I believe that God wants us to be happy, but is happiness caused by circumstances or character? When I put the question like that, the answer seems self-evident.
One of the reasons that we moved to Australia was because I believed that what Cornerstone was doing resonated with my God-fuelled desires in a way that church ministry did not. In what seems like an unapologetically selfish statement, we moved to Australia because we believed that it would make us happy. And it has, and I remain convinced that God was steering the whole ship.
However, if we are where God wants us to be, why do I still suffer from angst and discontentment? If I am living out my dream, why do I still occasionally long for something else? The answer is obvious to me - because there is something inside me (let's call it 'the Dead Man' ala Romans 6) that is not content when God is calling the shots. The Dead Man is oblivious to his own state of non-vitality, and needs me to constantly club him over the head with a shovel and drag his carcass back to its burial spot at the foot of the cross. The Dead Man fills my head with phantasms about how things would be better if I were in charge. The Dead Man lies, yet sometimes I'm a willing audience.
In other words, my lack of happiness is a character issue and not a circumstance issue. But, this leads me full-circle to what, for me, is the real question.
When do you stop and say "Enough is enough"? At what point do you step away from a job worth doing because it, ultimately, is making you unhappy and clashes with what you believe God has called you to? If happiness is a character issue then surely I should be able to devote myself to thankless tasks that need doing and remain joyful. Yet within me stirs something that balks at the idea of a lifetime spent pushing paper and ticking boxes. That is not what God made me for. Yet (if you'll forgive the torturous metaphor) if everyone is Indiana Jones then there are no stay-at-home curators who provide the museums for the archaeologist's findings.
If God has placed something within me that longs to be an adventurer, but what the world really needs is a curator, how do I live out the gospel? Do I pursue the adventure for the sake of my happiness and fulfilment, or do I find some kind of topsy-turvey kingdom happiness in rejecting my dreams and becoming what the world needs me to be. What is the real call of God?
Again, when I put it like that, the answer becomes self-evident. The key is to become what the world needs you to be. The world doesn't ask "How can I help you fulfil your dreams?" The world (being populated, as you would expect, by Dead Men and Women) asks "What can you do for me?", and the only answer a follower of Christ can give is "Well, I can die - and I can die well".
This post might be interpreted as rumblings of discontent with what we're doing in Cornerstone. Not at all. This is where we should be, and we're doing what we should be doing. But it is a question about whether or not I am willing to do what needs to be done even if it costs me a dream. There's never a bad time to ask yourself that question.
Or - I believe that God wants us to be happy, but is happiness caused by circumstances or character? When I put the question like that, the answer seems self-evident.
One of the reasons that we moved to Australia was because I believed that what Cornerstone was doing resonated with my God-fuelled desires in a way that church ministry did not. In what seems like an unapologetically selfish statement, we moved to Australia because we believed that it would make us happy. And it has, and I remain convinced that God was steering the whole ship.
However, if we are where God wants us to be, why do I still suffer from angst and discontentment? If I am living out my dream, why do I still occasionally long for something else? The answer is obvious to me - because there is something inside me (let's call it 'the Dead Man' ala Romans 6) that is not content when God is calling the shots. The Dead Man is oblivious to his own state of non-vitality, and needs me to constantly club him over the head with a shovel and drag his carcass back to its burial spot at the foot of the cross. The Dead Man fills my head with phantasms about how things would be better if I were in charge. The Dead Man lies, yet sometimes I'm a willing audience.
In other words, my lack of happiness is a character issue and not a circumstance issue. But, this leads me full-circle to what, for me, is the real question.
When do you stop and say "Enough is enough"? At what point do you step away from a job worth doing because it, ultimately, is making you unhappy and clashes with what you believe God has called you to? If happiness is a character issue then surely I should be able to devote myself to thankless tasks that need doing and remain joyful. Yet within me stirs something that balks at the idea of a lifetime spent pushing paper and ticking boxes. That is not what God made me for. Yet (if you'll forgive the torturous metaphor) if everyone is Indiana Jones then there are no stay-at-home curators who provide the museums for the archaeologist's findings.
If God has placed something within me that longs to be an adventurer, but what the world really needs is a curator, how do I live out the gospel? Do I pursue the adventure for the sake of my happiness and fulfilment, or do I find some kind of topsy-turvey kingdom happiness in rejecting my dreams and becoming what the world needs me to be. What is the real call of God?
Again, when I put it like that, the answer becomes self-evident. The key is to become what the world needs you to be. The world doesn't ask "How can I help you fulfil your dreams?" The world (being populated, as you would expect, by Dead Men and Women) asks "What can you do for me?", and the only answer a follower of Christ can give is "Well, I can die - and I can die well".
This post might be interpreted as rumblings of discontent with what we're doing in Cornerstone. Not at all. This is where we should be, and we're doing what we should be doing. But it is a question about whether or not I am willing to do what needs to be done even if it costs me a dream. There's never a bad time to ask yourself that question.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Let me whinge about how tired I am...
Last week was a very punishing week. We had two staff members away on holiday which had a knock-on effect for my workload. I already had a full week on, so this was not appreciated. It was such a tough one for me that I've decided to miss this week's Games Night so I can have an evening in. Let me repeat that. I'm choosing to miss an opportunity to play board games. That's how weary I am.
(Was going to say 'shattered' but you don't use it that way in Oz. It means 'distraught' rather than 'blooming tired'.)
It drives home again all those considerations and challenges about commitment and choosing to respond well to circumstances. At times like this I'm always reminded of that part in Matthew 13:13-14 where Jesus is trying to take a break and the crowds won't let him. John the Baptist has just been executed and he wants some time alone to grieve, but the people follow him. I'm humbled and broken (perhaps 'shattered') by what Matthew tells us - that Jesus saw them, had compassion on them and attended to their needs at the immediate expense of his own. I'm also reminded of the description of Jesus (by Bonhoeffer if I remember correctly) as 'The Man for Others'.
There's no such thing as 'me time', or at least if there is it's merely time spent selfishly, for which we can expect no honour from God. There's time spent wisely making sure that my ministry is sustainable, and there's time spent feeding my egotistical conviction that "My needs are the most important thing in the world". The problem is that I can rarely tell the difference between the two.
Can I ever be Son of God enough to selflessly respond to the needs of others even when all I want is an evening by myself? I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to put it to the test, and maybe I will prove myself to be a Christian after all.
On a less introspective note, I think it's about time I put some family photos up so that you can see how well we're all looking.
(Was going to say 'shattered' but you don't use it that way in Oz. It means 'distraught' rather than 'blooming tired'.)
It drives home again all those considerations and challenges about commitment and choosing to respond well to circumstances. At times like this I'm always reminded of that part in Matthew 13:13-14 where Jesus is trying to take a break and the crowds won't let him. John the Baptist has just been executed and he wants some time alone to grieve, but the people follow him. I'm humbled and broken (perhaps 'shattered') by what Matthew tells us - that Jesus saw them, had compassion on them and attended to their needs at the immediate expense of his own. I'm also reminded of the description of Jesus (by Bonhoeffer if I remember correctly) as 'The Man for Others'.
There's no such thing as 'me time', or at least if there is it's merely time spent selfishly, for which we can expect no honour from God. There's time spent wisely making sure that my ministry is sustainable, and there's time spent feeding my egotistical conviction that "My needs are the most important thing in the world". The problem is that I can rarely tell the difference between the two.
Can I ever be Son of God enough to selflessly respond to the needs of others even when all I want is an evening by myself? I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to put it to the test, and maybe I will prove myself to be a Christian after all.
On a less introspective note, I think it's about time I put some family photos up so that you can see how well we're all looking.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Daylight Savings
Easter has come and gone again, and I missed the opportunity to post about it on my blog. Thankfully Easter continues to shine throughout the year, so there's no worries there.
I preached on Easter Sunday morning at Cowra Baptist church. This was my first pulpit appearance at the church, and as votes of confidence go, giving over Easter Sunday is a pretty big one. I am due to preach again in July, and as that has yet to be revoked I guess I did OK on Sunday. I spoke about the idea of God doing some of his best work in the darkness. I was taken by John's throwaway line in his ressurection account that when the women go to the tomb it is 'still dark'. The darkness holds all kinds of terrors for us, but God works in the darkness regardless. John throws up all these contrasts in his gospel - light and darkness, life and death, those who believe contrasted with those who don't - and yet by the end of the gospel we are left in no doubt who is Lord over both light and darkness, life and death, and those who believe and those who don't. Easter is God working with the lights out, and those of us who live in the light of the resurrection are called to follow our Lord and Master by serving in those dark places.
I preached on Easter Sunday morning at Cowra Baptist church. This was my first pulpit appearance at the church, and as votes of confidence go, giving over Easter Sunday is a pretty big one. I am due to preach again in July, and as that has yet to be revoked I guess I did OK on Sunday. I spoke about the idea of God doing some of his best work in the darkness. I was taken by John's throwaway line in his ressurection account that when the women go to the tomb it is 'still dark'. The darkness holds all kinds of terrors for us, but God works in the darkness regardless. John throws up all these contrasts in his gospel - light and darkness, life and death, those who believe contrasted with those who don't - and yet by the end of the gospel we are left in no doubt who is Lord over both light and darkness, life and death, and those who believe and those who don't. Easter is God working with the lights out, and those of us who live in the light of the resurrection are called to follow our Lord and Master by serving in those dark places.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Posting Time.
I've been meaning to throw something up here recently, just for the discipline of keeping the blog alive. This morning seems as good a time as any to vent my spleen.
Things are ticking over nicely here. There's not much to report in terms of activity. We've started pumpkin season, which is something new for the guys here. I think that they prefer watermelons, but they wouldn't have said that a few weeks ago.
I feel like one of the things that I need to be aware of and fight is stagnation. I'm talking spiritually, of course. Once you get over the excitement and stress and change, it's so very easy to settle into routine and habit and begin to get by on autopilot. I need to make sure that I'm challenging myself to keeping growing. I'm still thinking about what that might look like.
Things are ticking over nicely here. There's not much to report in terms of activity. We've started pumpkin season, which is something new for the guys here. I think that they prefer watermelons, but they wouldn't have said that a few weeks ago.
I feel like one of the things that I need to be aware of and fight is stagnation. I'm talking spiritually, of course. Once you get over the excitement and stress and change, it's so very easy to settle into routine and habit and begin to get by on autopilot. I need to make sure that I'm challenging myself to keeping growing. I'm still thinking about what that might look like.
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