Deep as a Puddle

Transmission Ends

2009-01-21T14:02:00.003+13:00

Well ive decided to put the ol blogging thing to rest for a little while. Not necessarily for ever, but at this point im hanging up the gloves. Why?

Life is pretty full with Church, Soul Survivor and my Masters study starting this year. And Ive got one or two friends that I am pretty keen on hanging out with a little more frequently.
I've realised I dont know as much as I thought I did, I think I am a bit less opinionated than I was a couple of years ago. Until I feel like I have something to say, the blog will probably stay quiet.
Anything I do want to share is best shared in the context of sharing at my Church or some of the camps and events I have the privilege of been a part of, and my favourite place to hap on of all... over coffees and meals.
Facebook has become my online communication mode of choice. I've got a crackbook addiction, its not pretty, but im running with it. Join me there if you want to stay in contact

Cheers everyone for reading and engaging from time to time. Ive met some amazing people through this medium.

Love!

Sam

Shesh

2008-11-11T10:24:00.002+13:00

Ive being super slack with this blog... and at the end of the day ive got no excuse - so many of my mates seem to be able to crank really full lives and keep their blog filled with insights and amazing thoughts. There are a bunch of things i've thought about writing but there is so much happening at the moment that it hasnt being a priority to sit down and write - again I am in awe of a bunch of cats that have way bigger responsibilities and make it a priority.

Anyway, to fill some more space and buy some more time, hows this for a cracker poltical ad.

Its a huge week

2008-11-03T21:50:00.002+13:00

Its fascinating that here in lil ol New Zealand, most people are more intrigued about what is happening in the American election than our own. That being said, its going to be an exciting to week to watch the political landscape (hopefully) change.

I am an unashamed Obama fan, check out this great vid of him stirring up the crowds.

And this website is interesting - cast your vote!

Quoatable Warren

2008-10-30T14:43:00.001+13:00

“Only secure people can serve. Insecure people are always worrying about how they appear to others. They fear exposure of their weaknesses and hide beneath layers of protective pride and pretensions. The more insecure you are, the more you will want people to serve you, and the more you will need their approval”

Rick Warren

Character

2008-10-29T12:11:00.002+13:00

Lifted and slightly tweaked from this post

The reason many of us ignore the formation of our character is because it will slow us down. Many ministry leaders want success, a big church, or a crowd. But how many of us want a real life? How many of us want a life in God? We can have that. We can have a character that produces love, peace, patience, kindness…but it will slow us down. It might mean the church won’t grow as big as quickly. It might mean the crowd will get smaller.

But the alternative is both devastating and all too common. The alternative is a ministry of high impact but shallow character. “In the bible it was a miracle when God spoke through an ass. Now it happens everyday.” Translation: God is speaking powerfully through many pastors, but their characters show nothing of God’s life. These leaders, along with their anger, pride, bitterness, and cynicism, are tolerated by many churches because they are able to “fill the room.” Their powerful spiritual gifts, like Samson’s, deflect the flaws of their characters.

Many of us opt to ignore the slow, hard work of character formation because we simply don’t want it. It is a matter of intention. We don’t want to be slowed down in our pursuit of ministry impact and tangible achievement. In order to have a life in God, a life full of his character, we have to want it more than anything else.

What do you want?

Have a great labour weekend!

2008-10-25T22:24:00.002+13:00

And if you get the chance sometime, check out this amazing documentary about a group of retired folks singing in a choir together. It made my eyes leak.

NT Wright once again

2008-10-22T16:57:00.002+13:00

I am speaking tomorrow night at Blueprint, which is unusually intimidating for a couple of reasons. Firstly I am following the exceptional Chris Marshall who has just completed a two week series on the Kingdom of God. An absolutely outstanding couple of weeks. Secondly I am attempting to explain concisely and clearly some of NT Wrights theology on heaven, resurrection, new creation, kingdom etc. Which is a big ask for a simpleton like me. And thirdly its scary because I have a couple of hours to get the guts of the talk ready, and to be honest I am pretty weary after a couple of weeks on the road.

However I am thoroughly enjoying engaging with NT Wrights writing and thought once again.

For a bit of a taster I would recommend reading this interview which gives an idea of what his book "Suprised by Hope" is all about.

Manic October

2008-10-15T21:31:00.002+13:00

October was always going to be a fairly crazy month, I am grateful for pacing myself before silly season. The last week has been fantastic, but very tiring. Spending time with a whole bunch of great friends, Tash, Stu, some old family friends, the guys from Life Fm, Aaron, as well as meeting a bunch of people from all sorts of different churches over the last couple of days with the Tear Fund guys.

In the midst of long days, lots of travel and lots of lugging gear around, the ol brain has being ticking over. Every night I am hearing this guy Grant Norsworthy talk about worship, and there are a couple of things that have got me thinking. Firstly this idea of paradox that Grant brings up in his talk. Its something I have spent a long time chewing over in the past, but again I am amazed at how much of my faith sits within this idea of paradox. I am again making a list of things that kinda sit in the paradox box in my worldview in my little notebook that may work its way into a talk (and guaranteed to work its way into a few conversations).

And secondly, Grant is a prophet - not in the download from God type of way, but in the "you've forgotten the poor, we need to bring some realignment to what it looks like to follow Jesus" more Old Testament style prophet. And it makes me uncomfortable. But I like it even though I dont (ohhh paradox). Sadly I think that prophets arent really welcome in our churches for the most part. We dont really like people challenging our culture. And we all think we are experts. Not the easiest climate for a prophet to rock on up. But then again, has there ever being a good time?

Whats Happening

2008-10-03T11:14:00.007+13:00

Things are pretty manic at the moment, its funny how there are seasons where life is really chilled, and then all of a sudden it goes nuts.

This weekend the blueprint staff, and a couple of elder type figures are spending the weekend praying, yarning and discerning the way forward for us as a church next year. If you have a moment to pray that we would have wisdom in the calls we make, that would be sweet.

On Monday I move into my new flat... im pretty amped about this. I have had rocking flatmates this year but the flat we are in is pretty lame, ive being broken into twice this year, the place is a bit of shambles. My new flat is in breaker bay in Wellington, here are a couple of pics of the view from my new lounge..

Its gona be a good flat for the surfing, the running and the general mental health.

On Thursday its off up to Auckland to join the Tearfund guys for a tour round the north Island with a guy called Grant Norsworthy to promote the Soul Survivor festival in January. Dates and locations are here, im really looking forward to catching up with a bunch of mates over that time. And the on the 18th of Oct we have a "Soul Active" day in the Manawatu, which again should be freaken sweet.

So as you can see there is a butt load to organise with all this happening, but its all such amazing stuff to be a part of.

And here is a cartoon that kinda nails where blueprint is at right now : )

This Weekend

2008-09-26T10:37:00.003+12:00

Im off to Auckland in a couple of hours for the opening of Zeal Waitakere, which will be fun. Will be catching up with my mate Tash in between Zeal events, and then coming home Saturday night. I am speaking this Sunday night at blueprint on the topic of Sabbath, which I am real pumped about after listening to a bunch of Rob Bell interviews and reading a book by a jewish rabbi called Abraham Heschel on the subject. Its a topic Ive flirted with in the past, here and more recently here, and ive experienced the fruit in learning the art of resting well (this is a journey in its infancy, I certainly have not arrived). It seriously irks me how people consider this "idealistic". I am aware that we have to battle with guilt in subscribing to this sort of lifestyle, but surely we are meant to be people that walk to the beat of a different drum. And in a world that is too fast paced, so tired, so busy, we are invited to live a life where we slow down, enjoy our friendships, take a day where we rest, where we do activities that restore our soul, bring us life, rejuvenate us, where we connect with our creator.

Have a great weekend!

Ultramarathon Man

2008-09-25T09:31:00.001+12:00

Reading Christian books takes me a lot longer than I can read biographies or fiction. I started a book yesterday called "50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days" by a crazy guy called Dean Karnazes, which I finished this morning. Its part of my recent excitement and passion with running. Im doing a typical Harvey, jump on a hobby, read, research, get the gear and crank it hard. One of the things I really want to try and do is stick at this... argghhh...

Anyway, the book is a great read, i've highlighted lots of different bits that I think we can pull and apply to the christian walk. A great line from one of the guys that took part in one of the 50 marathons; "my biggest fear was wondering whether or not I could finish it, but it was when I stopped and thought about it... the only way I would fail is if I didnt come out and try".

Go Team (warning; this may be the first of many Tony Robbinsesque posts on running)

In other news, I thought this was absolutely spot on...

Journey to Follow

2008-09-24T11:27:00.002+12:00

I have being meaning to post this for the last couple of days; I would strongly encourage you to head over to the "humanitarian chronicle" to track with Frank as he explores the issue of human trafficking.

"Poor families are selling their children who are then being used and abused in labour factories, as personal slaves in homes around the world, and in the sex industry. Men and woman are being forced into bonded labour and sex work by draconian creditors as they get caught in debt they can never pay back. The victims number in the millions and profits number in the billions of dollars. Families are being ripped apart and people are needlessly dieing - only to be cheaply replaced by more slaves".

I am looking forward to hearing more from Frank on this, in particular what practical steps we can take as churches and individuals to raise awerness and help fight this injustice at a global scale.

Please pray for Jamie Boyle

2008-09-19T00:07:00.006+12:00

A good friend of a bunch of the blueprint crowd, and the blueprint handyman, Jamie Boyle is going into surgery ugently tomorrow morning for a cancerous tumor doctors discovered in his back. Im a bit hazy on the details, but from what I understand the docs are pretty worried.

The interesting thing is that myself and Brook (with whom I co-pastor blueprint) bumped into Jamie and prayed for him on Tuesday, at which time he was in a considerable amount of pain, and couldnt work (which is a huge deal for one of the hardest guys blueprinters know). And the thing that makes me hopping mad is that at that point he had seen two doctors who hadnt taken his back pain seriously - probably because of the work he does, and partly because of the way he looks - kick ass biker beard etc. And on top of that ACC werent paying him the sickness benefit for the work he couldnt do. Absolute Shocker.

If you are reading this in the morning, he is due for surgery at 9am... please pray, be cool to see the christian community, even those that dont know this dude, praying for the surgeons, praying that it hasnt spread to other parts of his body, praying for no long term implications, praying for healing.

UPDATE; Cheers heaps to everyone who is praying!!! God is faithful..

Jamies surgery has been put of till this afternoon so he can have it in town on on the neurosurgery ward. This is an answer to pray as he will be in the hands of the finest surgeons. Andy Wordsworth

UPDATE TWO; jamie is doing well post op - Major spinal surgery and already sitting up in bed. Xrays have confirmed that jamie also has cancer in his chest. further tests will confirm exactly what type but the doctors are very confident of positive treatment.

Keep up the prayers

Green Party Electoral Campaign Ads

2008-09-19T00:07:00.005+12:00

They are brilliant. Some advertising nerd somewhere deserves a pat on the back.

Run Fat Harvey Run

2008-09-17T23:20:00.003+12:00

So its time I threw it out there, put my pride on the line, lose what little dignity I have left. Ive started running (well started for about the fourth time in my life, i dont have a great track record... hahahaha track), and plan to do a half marathon on December 13th in beautiful wangavegas ; ) Its going to be great, all my brothers and sisters, and one of my closest childhood friends are also going to do the race.

I realised a couple of months ago that it has being ages since I put a challenge down and tried to go for it. I was (and still am) incredibly unfit, and with living in Wellys, church life etc, my surfing has pretty much stopped for the winter months. So I have being doing absolutely nothing on the exercise front for ages and ages. Shocker. And so the combination of watching "Run Fat Boy Run" (cracker film!) and a long walk the next day chatting with God got me motivated to change some habits (actually it was a really deep moment where I wrote lots of stuff about who I want to become... one of those watershed moments).

And so the last six weeks or so I have being getting out of bed early most working days and going for a run or doing some form of exercise to start the day. And honestly, its changed so much of my day. I am working better - a lot more productive and foccused, Ive got an hour every morning to have breakfast and read before hitting work, Im sleeping better, my mental health is better. I am surprised by how much its changed things.

The primary reason im trying to run is that I am over being quite an undisciplined person - the fitness stuff really is an added bonus. The movie Run Fat Boy Run actually has some amazing moments in it regarding "the wall" that you hit when you run. And Will Smith harped on at one point about how "if you can beat that little man in your head telling you to stop or take a break while running, you can do anything". I want to be a person who has perseverance, who hangs in there when it gets tough and I want to quit. It has certainly being a battle every single morning... the temptation not to just roll over and go back to bed and stay warm, particularly if its wet and cold outside is intense. Im not a "morning person". But shesh it has being so good to hang in there with it. I would love this to become a habit, but I reckon the whole "it takes a month to make a habit" line is a bunch of crock. If im still doing this same time next year I might begin to think its a habit...

All I need is an assistant coach... anyone keen to be my "indian with a spatula" out there?

Billy Graham at the Ted Confrence

2008-09-17T00:59:00.001+12:00

Religion and the Gospel

2008-09-12T01:42:00.002+12:00

Amended from Tim Keller

Religion says;

My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble, but not confident - I feel like a failure.

The Gospel says;

My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am simul iustus et peccator - simultaneously sinful and lost yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved He was glad to die fro me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling.

Blueprint Confrence 08

2008-09-09T23:19:00.005+12:00

We had a cracker weekend at Blueprints Church camp, cheekily nicknamed "Blueprint Conference 08". Our speaker Aaron Walsh from the International House of Prayer knocked it out of the park, we had an amazing bunch of guys leading worship, everyone chipped in to help, and we had a number of those amazing camp moments where "God walks into the room". On top of all this we had the "blueprints got talent?" competition, and the "super hero" party which was the debut gig of my covers band "the cold sweats". Here is the video of me and Turners item for Blueprints got talent... dignity is overrated anyway.

Deep as a Puddle is Two Years Old!

2008-09-04T12:38:00.004+12:00

Its my blogs birthday! Two years ago a young naive inexperienced opinionated man with a little buddah belly sat down and wrote this post. The first birthday of this blog had better news on the stats, but I think I cared a lot more about them, and posted a lot more. The blog has had to take a back seat a little with my role at blueprint changing at the beginning of this year, and so. I also suspect I have mellowed out a bit, or chosen to direct my critiques and questions to conversation and to process less of it on the blog. Its a lot more difficult to be misunderstood while ranting to a friend, its real easy to be misunderstood on the blog. I still really enjoy processing and reflecting on this medium, its a cool way of staying in touch with peeps.

Significant posts of the last year.

This post looks at some of the change in my perspective about what was important in life. Some cool photos from my trip to Manila last year. This post stirred up the bees nest and got everyone all warmed up. This is my reflections from the

second soul survivor festival this year. The best gig of my life, and without a doubt the most anticipated show of my life finally happened, not once, but twice! This article by Mike Pilavachi is a must read. One of my big rants of the year is the place of doubt, questions, mystery and theological exploration which I gave to blueprint earlier this year. And more recently this post on the place of church was good to express.

Having a rummage round, im again just amazed at the amazing experiences and the great friends that make this life so rich.

Yearbook Photo

2008-09-02T22:22:00.003+12:00

A whole bunch of mates have gone nuts on this website - where you superimpose a photo of yourself or a mate into an old school yearbook photo. The results are pretty hilarious. Here are a couple of my favourites.

Elliot Taylor

Johnny Petterson

Brook Turner

Willy Durbin

Me!

Freedom

2008-08-29T11:38:00.002+12:00

This picture and the subsequent comments and reactions make interesting reading (in the midst of the normal internet comment nonsense about people being noobs etc. lots of naughty language)

A couple of my favourites

Thanks grafitti, I will immediately quit my job, no longer send my children to school, dress like a f***ing retard, spaz out for no reason, walk in the middle of a highway

Another one

Try and find work to feed your kids, hope that they'll live long enough to get jobs of their own, walk miles barefoot because you cant afford anything else, watch your friends and family die because of disease you cant afford to have treated, hope that you aren't hit by a stray bullet on your way home

In the light of Jesus life and teaching (especially weighing in luke 4), it is interesting to think about what a life of freedom looks like. Clearly grace has a central part in this life of freedom. In the life of Jesus we see a life of incredible self sacrifice. It makes for interesting reflection.

What the...

2008-08-27T11:47:00.002+12:00

Ok, ive seen some crap in the christian music scene in my time, but this makes me want to either cry or vomit or fall over laughing... seriously. Am I over reacting here or is this something that is wrong? The fact that there is a little industry around this.
I know where I would be if I was on the ship. Right here

Sabbath - In praise of slowness

2008-08-25T11:24:00.007+12:00

I've had a bunch of great conversations with people over the last couple of weeks in which we have looked at this idea of Sabbath. One day a week where we just have a blast doing things that feed our soul and replenish us. Its scary how many people crank it seven days a week. Its scary how many Christian leaders are some of the worst at pushing it too hard. Personally, I am completely over having a reputation as a busy person. The word busy has become one of the most insulting things I could be called - I cringe a little every time someone says "be cool to catch up - i know your busy so just whenever". And so Ive made lots of little changes in the last couple of months that have helped enormously, and while I still feel it is very early days on this whole thing, it is incredibly life giving and its flippin nice to have a day where I enjoy doing jack tweety. The picture on the right is from a walk a did on my day off two weeks ago. Last week me and my bro took the boat out and tried to kill some fish. Today its another long walk.

Two bits of media that I have found helpful. One is this talk from Carl Honore at the brilliant TED conferences on the power called "In praise of Slowness".

And I have just transcribed an interview with Rob Bell that I thought was brilliant. Its from the catalyst podcast so have a listen for yourself or just read it below. They prattle on for a while but the Sabbath yarn is at the 11:45 mark.

Interviewer: What should the sabbath look like for me, three children living in suburban atlanta, busy life, blackberry, laptop, that whole deal?

Any time legalism enters, where it has to be “this day or that day” you are gone from the get go, its not going to work. It’s a gift. So at any point when you think "Ive got to do it or im in trouble" then you have missed the gift.
Abraham Joshua Heschel says “Sabbath gives the world the energy it needs to exist for another six days”.
Really practical questions are; What day of the week do you turn your blackberry off? What day of the week do you do no email? What is the day of the week that you do not create, do not produce anything? When you work is to simply be?
I don’t think that the human soul can survive – I mean a person may still live, -but their soul will be dying.
So Saturday for our family (because I have a little gig on Sundays), we have a Sabbath… once in a while I will do something for someone, but for my wife its “no lists”. For me its generally centres around not creating anything new, so we do whatever we want. We have a blast. Our boys know that we are going to play. We make waffles in the morning, we are going to jump on the trampoline, we are going to do whatever.
I need it. Sometimes I will literally sit in a chair on the Sabbath and say to God, “God some things broke this week, some things were torn apart, I took some hits, I have some bruises and I need you to put it back together”.
This is full scale rebellion against western American culture which bows down at the altar of nexto, which says get it done. Sabbath says don’t get it done. Sabbath is out gift for leaving Egypt where out worth came from the amount of bricks we produced. And the slave master says your worth come from the amount of bricks you produce. And if you don’t produce enough bricks for pharoh, then you are killed. Because you have no worth apart from the bricks.
Sabbath was a day a week we you are going to learn about what it means to be loved simply because of who you are not because of what you produce.
For me it’s the health and survival of our soul.
You also have to be preparing for it all week. The jews on Sabbath eve will invite the spirit of Sabbath in. If you are going to take a day a week to remind yourself that God loves you just the way you are then it affects the other day.
I would say that the Sabbath leaks – it leaks and it bleeds. Literally the first couple of years that my wife and I tried to practice Sabbath, we would have a full scale depression by Saturday afternoon. I realised after much reflection and counselling that my body was physiologically addicted to the adrenaline hit, to going on to the next thing. I was terrified of silence because my body did not know how to deal with it.
So people try and pray or try and reflect or try and take a Sabbath. And they think that they are not a good Christian, that they don’t love God. No. This may have very real chemical issues in your body. Where your body is used to firing a certain way.
For example prayer – people say “I can only pray for 5 minutes and then I get distracted”. Well yes that could have deep issues of commitment to God but on a very real level it could be because your brain is used to be in a hundred different places that when you ask your brain to be in one place for an extended period of time it doesn’t know how to do this. So it taken my wife and I several years to have a Sabbath and not by Saturday afternoon at four pm bang my head against the wall.
Interviewer: So you look forward to it now?
Oh man, Yeah, its changed my whole life actually.

Arghh

2008-08-22T08:47:00.004+12:00

Really long day yesterday, 13 plus hours cranking it, was really knackered when I got home to this...

Some mongrel had smashed a window, grabbed a chair from outside, broken into my room, absolutely trashed it and made off with a bunch of stuff. I am incredibly relieved that all my guitar gear was at church, my laptop was with me and my surfboards are in the main part of the flat. So I am hopeful that nothing to major is gone. One of my good mates xbox that was on loan to me got pinched which sucks big time.

Not exactly the finish to the day I would have liked! But anyhoo, you gota laugh at life sometimes!

More Reactions

2008-08-21T23:36:00.002+12:00

More reactions to the Mike Guglielmucci here and here, and the wikipedia page on the guy is fairly fresh with more info as it comes to light. It really is just so tragic. We had a little chat about it at church tonight, and I feel like there has being a fairly healthy reaction so far. Pretty important not to make it a bigger issue than it needs to be, but also to give space and opportunity for people to process the broken trust and deception of this level.

Integrity

2008-08-21T10:52:00.002+12:00

Shesh its being a rough week and a bit for high profile christian guys having a bit of a mare. Todd Bentley with a bit of a train wreck, and today I hear from Tash that Mike Guglielmucci, someone who became a real inspiration and wrote an incredible song "Healer" may have being faking people out. Article here and here. Im ripped because we sing this song regulary at blueprint, we played the video of his testimony, just last night I was speaking at The Rock church bible school, and referred to the story....
It is gutting if its true, I might write some reflections later tonight.

Missional Church

2008-08-20T14:17:00.003+12:00

My friend stu just sent me through a paper he has written for a lecture he is giving in a few weeks. From what I have read so far it is brilliant, I hope he posts it on his site, and if he does I will link to it. I am only about a third of the way through but this quote grabbed me, and articulates brilliantly the challenge and shift we are wrestling with at blueprint at the moment.

"Derek Christensen defines a missional church as a shift in thinking from church as sender to church as being sent. There is also a change in focus from the mission orginating with us and being carried forward by our intiative, to the mission being God's mission, missio Dei, originating with God and we become partners with Him in this task."

Weekend

2008-08-17T22:08:00.003+12:00

This weekend has to be up there with one of the best. I had my birthday party/masons farewell which at 6pm friday night was completely unplanned (as in no venue, ideas, nada, nothing, zip, bugger all). So at the last minute decide to have the thing at the flat, rip out grab some food, party hats etc, by 7:30 most people have arrived and things start going crazy. Below is a video of the manic dancing the ensued for hour after hour. Im not one for dancing (see this post), but clocked up some serious hours cranking it out on friday. A stunner of a night, absolutely awesome.

And then on Saturday we had our Soul Active day, this a picture of the crew I was with, we cleaned gutters and streets for the city council. Great bunch of guys and lots of laughs and some great time of worship. It was great to hear Ants speak again, the last time we hung out together was at an easter camp earlier this year, and Rachel Oconner, who is lots of fun and very inspiring to hang with.

Church tonight was great, and I am now up the coast hanging with my bro hoping to do some fishing tomorrow on my day off. Die little fishies.

The Week

2008-08-15T15:54:00.002+12:00

Big week, had my birthday yesterday, im now a grown up mature wise 27 year old... mmm yeah right. Yikes where did the last 10 years go? Birthdays are funny things, its just another day in many ways, but also a time of almost forced reflection. This year the time of reflection has come out fairly positive outside of one or two things that are beyond my control. I am grateful for what I do, thankful for my friends, love my church. Its a good perspective kicker though, once again its a reminder that serving others is really what counts. To quote Tom Right... I mean Tom Wright
"When God acted in Jesus the Messiah, he not only revealed himself fully (God); he revealed fully what genuine human life was like – and it turns out to be deeply self-sacrificial".

Hanging with some of the crew to celebrate my bday and to say farewell to Mason, blueprinter of the year 2007. Soul Survivor is running a Soul Active day tomorrow, church on Sunday and then a chilled out day off on monday.

Podcasts

2008-08-05T15:51:00.002+12:00

There are two podcasts that ive started listening to in the last week or so which I have found quite helpful. The catalyst podcast has about 15 - 20 minutes of an interview with all sorts of great voices, McManus, Rob Bell, Seth Godin, Andy Stanley etc. You have to fast forward about 6 minutes of rubbish as the guys that host it prattle on about the catalyst confrence and other irrelevant things, but the interviews themselves are great.
And the slipstream podcast, which by the looks of things is pretty new, but so far has had some amazing interviews; Shane Claibourne, N.T. Wright (download this one if you want to get the major themes of his book "Suprised by Hope" without reading it - im looking at you Frank) and the latest podcast which I listened to this morning with Mike Frost talking about missional church.

I also subscribe and listen to podcasts from Mars Hill church, Ricky Gervais, Soul Survivor USA, Tony Campolo, and Worship Central.

Blueprint Camp Promo

2008-08-03T23:13:00.005+12:00

A productive weekend with saturday and sunday morning spent in meetings with the Soul Survivor guys hanging out sussing out our plans for the coming week, and a great service tonight at Blueprint. I'm pretty knackered tonight, looking forward to my day off tomorrow...

Here is the promo video (made by a very gifted Dave Alve) for our church camp which is happening in a month - some classic comedy from Luke and Mason... I wanted to post this all last week, now it has made its debut at church we are all go!

More Shameless Obama Propaganda

2008-07-30T11:37:00.006+12:00

Elliot just flicked me this awesome little prayer that obama prayed and stuck in the wailing wall.

“Lord - Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”

What a legend

Church

2008-07-29T12:30:00.002+12:00

My church blueprint continues to be a source of incredible life and encouragement to me... which is still a bit surprising - im used to church being something that I tolerate, certainly not a place of joy, life and hope. This paragraph from Dan Kimbals book "they like Jesus but not the church" is one that really encourages me. I read something by NT Wright last night that I might post last week that is in a similar vein, but for now, have a read over this;

The church is a beautiful, wonderful living thing. We are the body of Christ. Yet we all are sinners and make mistakes. I hope we will recognize the mistakes we make, repent and apologise. I hope we will do whatever it takes to remain pure but move ahead on our mission into culture. I also pray and hope that those who have misperceptions of the church or have being hurt by the church give us a chance. Because the reality is that the church isn’t just an organisation, or a social club but a supernatural community. We are the bride of Christ (Eph 5:25-27). So when people say they don’t like the church, they are saying they don’t like the bride of Jesus, which is like going to a wedding and telling the groom that we like him but not the bride. It’s insulting to the groom when we don’t like the bride. And the church isn’t just a human couple; it’s a supernatural part of Jesus. Jesus said he would build it (Matt 16:18). He wants to keep it pure (Matt 18:15-17). The church is his holy people (1 Cor 1:2). The church is his body (Eph 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12). He is the head of the church (Eph 1:22). Jesus loves the church and gave himself up for her (Eph5:25). So when we say we like Jesus but not the church, we have to understand what we are saying.
What I think most people mean is that they like Jesus, but they don’t like what people have turned the church into. We need to explain to those who like Jesus but not the church that Jesus loves the church, and that if they truly like Jesus, they cannot help but like the church, because its his church and his bride. They need the church because it’s the expression of Jesus as his body. If they put their faith in Jesus, whether they realize it or not, they are supernaturally part of the church. But we need to help them understand the difference between the church and what we sometimes turn it into.
We have a lot to overcome. This should drive us to our knees in prayer and motivate us to avoid ever shaming the church. It should motivate us to be humble and intelligent students of the Scriptures and to strive with all of our being to make the church known as Jesus bride, whom he loves. We need to be creating new understandings of the church so that we will no longer be seen as negative judgemental, homophobic organized religion that oppresses women, arrogantly thinks all other religions are wrong, and takes the whole bible literally, but instead will be seen as a loving and welcoming family that is a positive agent of change, holds women in the highest regard, is respectful of other beliefs, and humbly strives to be thoughtful theologians.

Randy Pausch

2008-07-27T02:14:00.002+12:00

An inspiring man died yesterday, Randy Pausch who became something of an accidental celebrity in the last year of his life. His "last lecture" is incredible to watch - if you havent had a look, check it out.

Here is a shorter clip from earlier this year, giving the charge at the graduation ceremony of his university.

Im Back

2008-07-26T00:14:00.002+12:00

So I have had a right nightmare on the computer front, I brought a dell laptop to replace my old acer which completely crapped itself (screen not working, cd drive not working, crashing etc). My new dell arrived, and I was uber excited, but after two days the hard drive died. Gutted. So after a few phone calls from India, they sent a technician round who decided I needed a new hard drive on my brand spanking new laptop. So it goes into the shop.... sigh...
Finally got it back today, have reloaded everything. I have a bunch of emails to reply to (normally I would just use my phone, but I have a new phone which is meant to send emails through like my old blackberry but thats not working at the moment).

Enough rich western winging... Discovery of the month comes courtesy or chris darnell (again)

This website rules my world, lots of beautiful high def videos. Well worth checking out. Here is a beauty I just watched

Surfing Broken Head, Australia from Geoff Charters on Vimeo.

Quotes

2008-07-16T00:56:00.003+12:00

Here are all the different quotes I used for my talk on Sunday Night entitled "Jesus calls us to do difficult things". I was really excited by some of the gems that I discovered for this talk, and they all fire me up for different reasons... Go ahead and pillage them for your own talks or conversations :)

When God calls a person, He bids them to come and die
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Jesus death on the cross was not to free us from dying but to free us from the fear of dying. Jesus came to liberate us so that we would die up front. And then live. Jesus wants to take us to places that only dead men and women can go.
Erwin McManus

One of the most insidious maladies of our time (is); the tendency in most of us to observe rather than act, avoid rather than participate, not do rather than do; the tendency to give in to the sly, negative, cautionary voices that constantly counsel us to be careful, to be controlled, to be wary and prudent and hesitant and guarded in our approach of this complicated thing called living.
Arthur Gordon.

Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials.
Smith Wigglesworth

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music… Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to praise and say; Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.
Martin Luther King

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?” Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
Nelson Mandela

Go as far as you dare,
for you cannot go beyond the reach of God.
Give as extravagantly as you like,
for you cannot spend all the riches of God,
Care as lavishly as you are able,
for you cannot exhaust the love of God.
Keep journeying as a servant
for God will always be with you,
And the blessing of God the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit
be with you always.
(Blessing used by the Bishop of Wellington)

John Piper on the Prosperity Gospel

2008-07-13T23:49:00.002+12:00

John Piper with some fairly strong words on the prosperity gospel... Good on him for saying things as firmly as he says them I say. HT Jonathan

This Week

2008-07-11T12:52:00.002+12:00

It's being a great week with Tash, Rich and Andy around bring the goodness. The week started with me getting over a flu - and I actually rested a whole bunch which meant work suffered but I got over it a whole lot quicker. Some awesome yarns with my friends has left me feeling very encouraged and hopeful, something that is very good at the halfway point in the year where it is easy to get a bit discouraged and flat.
I am off to Riversdale this afternoon to hang with a youth group from Masterton who are doing their "Holy Spirit Weekend" which should be fun. I am especially looking forward to having a long walk along Riversdale beach... beauty. Speaking on Sunday night at Blueprint.
I am in the beginning of an interesting season on the God front, one of those moments where its like "oohhhh You are the main thing, You are the centre, and all this work for You, that's just the other stuff but not the main thing". Something of a purifying work happening. Its good.
Peace Out

Arcade Fire

2008-07-01T17:40:00.002+12:00

To raise the tone somewhat, here is an absolutely stunning performance by the Arcade Fire with David Bowie, one of the surprise highlights of the Big Day Out earlier this year. This lifts my soul...

Argghh Cmon Anglicans!

2008-06-30T15:45:00.004+12:00

I consider myself something of a collapsed anglican; my dad is an anglican minister, I worked as a youth pastor in an anglican church for three years, and its only being the last couple of years serving the community of blueprint (a kind of independent churchy type thing, not really associated with any movement, just trying to follow Jesus) where I've being somewhat removed from the goings on in the anglican scene, though I still have the opportunity to share and hang with many of my friends within that denomination. As much as I hate to admit it, I still care about what happens in the anglican church.

So Im saddened that my old church has made the news in todays dominion post. I was part of the original property review committee 3 and a half years ago, and clearly it has being a very difficult process for the crew in Karori.
Outcomes aside, I get rarked up with how much these sorts of issues consume a disproportionate amount focus and energy in church life, I am saddened that the news has the appearance of "young people vs preserving our history and heritage". I am saddened at how we seem to loose focus of the Kingdom in these discussions (see recent rant on this here). I am saddened that this is what church gets known for. Chris, the current youth pastor in Karori nails it in this post. I really feel for him and the youth group this week. Chris has buckets more grace than I do, I would be spitting tacks if I was in his shoes...

Worldwide things are not in a great place for the Anglican scene.
Rich Johnson (priest at St Pauls in Auckland and guest speaker at Blueprint in a couple of weeks) has also being sifting through some of the goings on and has some of the latest news from the wider Anglican communion. Post one here, post two here.

*deep sigh*

Update: Chris posts his thoughts

NT Wright on The Colbert Report

2008-06-26T14:06:00.004+12:00

Im quite surprised, but this clip summarises NT Wright's over arching theme in his latest book "suprised by hope" quite well, but not enough to really get your head around it completely... Im still chewing over the challenge and message of this book, and have enjoyed a couple of conversations with people that have read it, or are currently engaging with it. Whatever you view, its one of those books that is a "must read".
Speaking of NT Wright, one of his good mates, Chris Marshall is speaking again at Blueprint. Scholars are the new rock stars.

Church is not the destination

2008-06-24T21:43:00.004+12:00

So occasional Blueprint attendee (actually a primal dude) Cam is a total nutter. Here is a vid of him crashing a 21st... can anyone else say "awkward"... Quote of the clip; "If you want to catch an eel, you have to work for it". And check out this excerpt of him getting arrested at Parachute.

Here are some excerpts from my talk on Sunday night entitled "church is not the destination". I am intrigued about this idea that Church finds it identity and purpose in pointing to and helping bring about the Kingdom of God. Talk heavily influenced and partly lifted from a talk by Reggie McNeal address to the Reformed Church in america that I heard recently and of course NT Wright, the man of the hour for me, and his book "suprised by hope". My text was from Mathew 6:33
It may not make huge amount of sense as I really dont want to fill in the gaps of my notes... add your own embelishments and rants...

"Church is not the destination"

In the gospels Jesus mentions the word Kingdom 121 times in 114 verses
Church is mentioned 3 times in two verses

I think there is a misconception that the Church is the destination. Its such a small bandwidth. Seek first the Kingdom.

Eg; Airport (wellington fog) When it confuses itself as the destination, thinks its winning when all the planes are on the ground and the airport ground is just packed with people. Look how many people we have! (This metaphor was used by Regie McNeal and adapted to make my own - conveniently I had being grounded on Monday last week for a number of hours at Wellington airport)

Every time it does that it screws up people’s lives.

The Airport is a connector going to somewhere I want to go.

The Church is not the destination, it’s a connector getting people to where they really want to go. To life… its pointing to the Kingdom “I came to give you church, and church more abundantly”. I came to bring life.

The role of the church is to proclaim the Kingdom. And the Kingdom brings life.

What does the Kingdom look like?

God makes a covenant with Moses.
Gen 12:2 Abraham im going to bless you, so you can bless everyone who is not in your tribe, who is not like you”.

Your job is to bless people. To be good news.

Church is a group of people on mission with God who are living out where people are living. Eg. Salt and Light.

The kingdom is every act of love, gratitude, and kindness, every work of art or music inspired by the love God and the delight in the beauty of creation; every minute spent teaching a child with disabilities to read or walk; every act of care and nuture, of comfort and support for others, all spirit led teaching, every prayer, every deed that embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honoured in the world.

in our art and the fresh songs that are written in this community;

NT Wright: “When art comes to terms with both the wounds of the world and the promise of resurrection and learns how to express and respond to both at once, we will be on the way to fresh vision, a fresh mission".

This kingdom is centred around this idea of justice and mercy (NOTE: Chris Marshal spokes heavily to this last thursday so mentioned it rather than banged this drum to hard on this occasion)

What is happening now in the world amounts to theft by the strong from the weak, by the rich from the poor.

Eg. Elliot choosing to drink only fair trade coffee… that’s a kingdom decision

Everything that is good and beautiful – that’s the kingdom. More of that! Meals and art, justice, generosity, kindness, mercy, sacrificial service.

In telling others.

NT WRIGHT QUOTE:
The power of the Gospel lies not in the offer of a new spirituality, or a religious experience, not in the threat of hellfire (certainly not in the threat of being left behind)

But in the powerful announcement that God is God, that Jesus is Lord, that the powers of evil have being defeated, that God’s new world has begun

People everywhere are gladly invited to come in, to join the party, to discover forgiveness for the past, an astonishing destiny in God’s future, and a vocation in the present.

My dream for blueprint is that we are a church incarnating thie Kingdom, sharing our kingdom stories. That we are actively involved in seeking Justice both globablly and locally, that we are bringing about the Kingdom in our art and creativity, in our relationships with everyone around us, and that seeking the Kingdom would bring much joy and life to us as a community, that it would define us.

Closing Questions;

• What do you enjoy doing? (God is interested in your life and may use what you enjoy to build the Kingdom. He may have created you to enjoy what you do for glorious purposes.)
• Where do you see God at work right now?
• Are you serving other (if you are not serving you are not growing)
• Are you seeking – looking for the KOG; Seeking it so bad that it gets good.

Auckland and Worship through song

2008-06-17T22:43:00.003+12:00

Back from Auckland - today was a good day. 5 great conversations, 4 coffees and a dodgy wendys burger later... For the record, Bruce is genuine, Tash is incredible (never forget that), Frank rules my world, Andrew Robinson is incredibly generous and Im excited about the future of Youth Alpha (cant say much more than that).

Bit of drama getting to and from dorkland; I was meant to fly out at 8:30 am on monday, and due to fog finally left at 4:30 pm.
And on the way home; I turned up to catch the shuttle (which turns up every 20 minutes in theory) at 6:30 for my 8pm flight, by 7:20 I was getting worried. I rung air nz and found out that 8pm was the last flight to wellington, and so grabbed a taxi, and egged him on to get to the airport as quick as he could. I arrived at 7:55, and $60 later got on the flight... just.

Here is a quote from NT Wrights commentary on Ephesians 5:11 - 20 that I have being wanting to post for a while - I would love to write a whole lot more on the topic of sung worship on this blog but (insert excuse here) I haven't.

"One of the main places that music was regularly employed in the ancient world was in worship. Pagan worship, Jewish worship, and of course early Christian worship all used music extensively. This passage and similar ones in the New Testament indicate that singing was then, as it has remained ever since, an important part of Christian worship and of building up the church in celebration and instruction".
And later
"Paul doesn't see these hymns and songs as simply decorative, a pleasant aural embroidery around the Christian faith and practice. Singing, whether aloud or in your heart was, he thought, an excellent way of practising the faith. If you don't want your garden to grow weeds, one of the best ways is to keep it well stocked with strong, sturdy flowers and shrubs. If you don't want your mind wandering off into the realms of darkness, one of the best ways is to keep them well stoked with wise and thankful themes, so that the words of comfort, guidance, and good judgement come bubbling up unbidden from the memory and the subconscious.
Hymns and psalms today can provide exactly this kind of Christian nurture. They are not merely entertainment; they are instruction, consolation, warning and hope. After some rather feeble attempts at new Christian hymns and songs in the late twentieth century, it would be good to think that the twenty-first century might see a creative talent in this area."

Sigur Ros

2008-06-12T23:55:00.003+12:00

Go to this site, and listen to ára bátur. Do it... now...

According to Elliot Taylor the track was recorded live in one take with the London Sinfonietta and London Oratory Boys’ Choir, with a cast list involving 90 musicians and singers.

Its amazing

Gingas

2008-06-10T20:01:00.002+12:00

I received this incredible poem on my facebook wall by one of my friends (who is herself a ginga) in response to this photo... Applecore for life...

Mr. Sam Harvey
Used to be a winner
Til that fateful morning
That he became a Ginga

'My eyebrows' he yelled
and screamed with a scare
As the orange mutation
Spread through his hair

His flatmate Jemma
Smiled with glee
‘At last there is someone,
Someone like Me!’

The hot day went by,
As Sam hid in the shade
He wondered what had happened?
What mess had he made?

Suddenly from above
A voice yelled out loud
‘Step out of the shadows
And wear that hair proud’

So Sam stepped out!
With his giant ginger mop
Proud of his morange
And carrot top

And by the end of the day
God had helped him to see
That gingers are really
Just like you and me

So next time you see a ginga
Stay by and don’t run!
Because really we know
That gingers have more fun

Books, life, more yaconelli

2008-06-06T15:08:00.006+12:00

Ok before anything else... please check out this website - oh my freaken gosh, my jaw just dropped when I started to piece together what it was about... absolutely brilliant. Another proud day for the christian community.

Speaking of great theology, thanks to amazon the ol credit card has taken a bit of a hammering recently. The latest couple of purchases; "the reason for God" by Tim Keller after this recommendation, and a book called "do hard things, a teenage rebellion against low expectations", check it out here. Im nearly finished reading "Surprised by Hope" by NT Wright which is currently winning the "harveys book of the year" award. Am very excited about chatting about it with anyone that has given it a read - its an incredibly dense book, and will need a re-read fairly soon.

Things have quietened down significantly now that Fuse is over, the foot has well and truly being taken off the gas pedal in the blueprint camp. Most of the staff have being working half days, and generally taking a breather. The bonus of working in full time ministry is that you can do that, there are a huge number of volunteers that went straight back to work.

Somewhat unrelated, but the quote below by Mike Yaconelli is a goodie, I cant remember what book I read it from, but jotted it down - feel the burn - love it :)

When you take the pagan worship of busyness and add to it the biblical mandate to reach the world, you have a lethal combination. The church has baptized busyness and activity and basically formed a pact with the devil. This pact has succeeded in silencing those who criticize the trend toward hectic, overworked, burned-out, spiritually dry ministers who—in the "name of God"— neglect their families, their souls, and their physical well-being.

If I can be so audacious as to "blaspheme" the Gospel of Growth, I respectfully suggest this modern rush to urgency is not only wrong, it's arrogance gone mad.

The moment we believe the Kingdom of God is dependent on you or me, we've either experienced a schizophrenic episode or we've misunderstood our roles as Christians.

Yes, we are to be salt and light. Yes, we are to "go into all the world." Yes, we are to "make disciples." But last time I checked, it took Jesus three years of concentrated effort to make 12 disciples—and it took them the rest of their lives to understand what discipleship means. Last time I checked, Paul suggests we are in Christ, not working for Him.

A random story and what up

2008-05-26T20:10:00.002+12:00

Random irrelevant story; So my room at my flat is actually removed from the house itself, and today while working on a talk I thought I would grab a book from my little cave/room. I walked to my room, found it locked, wandered back to the flat to discover that the front door has also locked behind me as I closed it. Not cool. With it being bitterly cold and all the rest of it, no windows were open so I wandered around aimlessly trying to work out what to do before resorting to walking across wellington to pick up keys from flatmate. I then wandered back, and continued to work.

End of Story

Im off to Nelson tomorrow to speak at the yearly Anglican Clergy School that they have for the diocese. This year is focussed on worship hence me being there. Im quite intimidated by the prospect of having to share in front of this sort of crowd, but hope that there will be some good discussions over the coming days.
Then back to lead worship at Church on Thursday night, Chris Falson is speaking which should be rockin.
Reheasal on Friday night for Fuse.
Speaking of Fuse it just round the corner! I am emceeing again (isnt that a weird word) and leading worship on the Sunday morning service. It should be a cracker weekend with some good numbers projected for the event (and after all thats what its all about)

Discernment and the pursuit of truth

2008-05-20T21:52:00.004+12:00

I'm about to start writing a talk that I reckon has being a few years in the making. We are doing a series on discernment at blueprint at the moment, looking at the place that questions and doubt have in out faith. Part of the motivation of this series has come from looking at Scott Peck's four stages of faith. The bit below is copied straight from wiki

Stage I is chaotic, disordered, and reckless. Very young children are in Stage I. They tend to defy and disobey, and are unwilling to accept a will greater than their own. Many criminals are people who have never grown out of Stage I.
Stage II is the stage at which a person has blind faith. Once children learn to obey their parents, they reach Stage II. Many so-called religious people are essentially Stage II people, in the sense that they have blind faith in God, and do not question His existence. With blind faith comes humility and a willingness to obey and serve. The majority of good law-abiding citizens never move out of Stage II.
Stage III is the stage of scientific skepticism and inquisitivity. A Stage III person does not accept things on faith but only accepts them if convinced logically. Many people working in scientific and technological research are in Stage III.
Stage IV is the stage where an individual starts enjoying the mystery and beauty of nature. While retaining skepticism, he starts perceiving grand patterns in nature. His religiousness and spirituality differ significantly from that of a Stage II person, in the sense that he does not accept things through blind faith but does so because of genuine belief. Stage IV people are labelled as Mystics.

Really we are wanting to encourage each other to move from stage II in which so many people and churches probably camp. However it takes courage to ask questions, to go through a period of deconstruction, though I think it is crucial to developing depth in our faith, and I suspect may be why we loose so many young Christians as soon as they hit uni and realise that things are quite as black and white as they may have first thought.

Anyway, I must endeavour to avoid the pull of facebook, youtube and my blog, as well as all the other little bits and bobs that lends itself to procrastination and actually write the talk. So im cranking pitchblack (the best background sermon writing music) and going for it!!!

Whats on the radar

2008-05-16T16:29:00.003+12:00

Off this weekend to hang with my friends that lead soul survivor here in NZ, kicking off with a dinner with the board members from Alpha here in NZ. It is an opportunity to continue to yarn how we continue to work with Alpha, especially as Worship Central. The rest of the weekend will be spent in worship and discussion as we continue to roll out Soul Survivor events here in NZ.

I awoke this morning to find NT Wrights latest book "Surprised by Hope - Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection's and the Mission of the Church" had arrived on my doorstep. I'm only 30 or so pages in but shesh, its like Christian cocaine... sooo good. And I finally began "Dangerous Wonder" by Mike Yaconelli last night, which kept me up well past my bed time.

In the middle of writing a bunch of fairly solid talks at the moment. One on discernment for the coming Thursday at the print, and two talks for a clergy school in Nelson the following week focussed on worship. Im enjoying the challenge, though feeling a little nervous as these particular topic need to be communicated with wisdom and clarity. Mmmm... Im feeling a little in short supply on both those facets...

BTW, check the tagline for this christian store... "essentials?" What the???

Theology Outworked

2008-05-08T11:17:00.008+12:00

Im back from a great training day in Dunedin, and a very funny night judging a talent quest at my brothers uni hostel - bizarre mix of activities but loads of fun.

The last couple of days I've being slowly working through an absolutely stunning lecture by N.T. Wright on worship (you need about a week of processing per one hour of teaching by this ninja) as well as having long yarns with people who are speaking during our series on "discernment" at the moment, amongst other reading and dialogue. This alongside the letter found at the bottom of this page... (and to hear Chris Marshall in action, cruise along to our next "Square Meal Exegetical" series at blueprint on the 19th and 26th of June) and this video of Tim Keller speaking at google (Check out the Q and A time at the end - HT Andrew Jones) has really got the noggin working overtime.

Something has clicked the last couple of days in the midst of all this thinking and intellectual stimulation. And though it is just such a simple revelation and something of a generalisation, my thoughts are this. I would contend that the best theologians are those who are involved in the nitty gritty outworking of their theology - where theory and practice are colliding. Sadly some ardent practitioners are weak on theological understanding and see little point in engaging with this stuff. And many theologians are lost in academia and are little use to beast nor man.
My prayer for myself and the community at blueprint is that we would be passionate about pursuing truth, and that it would fuel our love for serving Jesus, and for Jesus himself.

And anyway, damm its good getting stuck in to some meaty teaching... NT Wrights page is a treasure chest of bible nerdy goodness...

Legend

2008-05-06T00:40:00.004+12:00

Dont have much to say about this particular vid, except that this is fairly normal behaviour from my brother Pete... If you think thats a bit "out there", check out photo five from this story. In comparison I am but a quiet introvert who lives a peaceful and normal life.

Youth Alpha Job

2008-05-04T23:03:00.004+12:00

So Alpha are looking for someone to come on board for the National Student and Youth Alpha work. Check out the job description here Im keen it's someone who is a bit of a legend coz I have to work with them! But seriously, its a great job full of whoppertunities.

A couple of posts that have got the ol rat running on the wheel, or the monkey wheeling around the little car inside my brain...

This post by Dan Kimball is a goodie, and is one that I will be using as the means to get some discussion going at the print.
And this post got me playing devils advocate with myself, I dunno... thought provoking stuff.

And his video is very grainy, but is of my mate Andy Campbell after he fainted on our flight to singapore. This is a classic moment when the stewardess realises we are filming. Good times : )

Who am I?

2008-05-02T14:11:00.002+12:00

Twice in the last two days this Scottish preacher, Robert Murray M'Cheyne has come up in conversation. Last night as Bruce Bell spoke, and today in a conversation with my friend Ray Muller. He is credited with this quote: "What a man is on his knees alone before God, that he is and no more".
This quote is one of those "depth charge" style quotes - I can hear the ticking, and have a suspicion that this statement is going to profoundly challenge me.
I think God is challenging me yet again on the absolute importance of our private world with Jesus. Recently Mark Johnson said that if he was to summarise the bible into one world he probably wouldn't pick "love". He would pick "relationship". I know that I talk a lot about Jesus, think a lot about Jesus, discuss how we can help people get to know Jesus, plan how to serve Jesus church, give speeches about Jesus etc etc.
But Jesus is kinda whispering to me about hanging out and chatting, calling me to some time on my knees where I continue to discover who I am - and the scandal that who I am is not tied up with what I do...
Argghhh, ive got so much to learn, so far to go...

Now thats my kinda dancing

2008-04-27T23:30:00.003+12:00

Ok, the honest truth is that I cant dance... seriously. I went to salsa dancing classes once and wound up punching my flatmate in the head, falling over and cracking the face of my phone. I am destined for a life of white boy awkward dancing. But if that is my lot, I will dance like a white boy with all my might.
Which is why this clip is just so encouraging. It was like looking in a mirror. Stunning

Radiohead vid by Kieran

2008-04-24T11:27:00.002+12:00

This is my friend Kieran's entry into a radiohead video competition, i reckon its pretty awesome. Im not to sure how to vote to help him win, so leave a comment if you can work it out. The compeition is running through the aniboom website

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

Whose on the blogroll

2008-04-21T23:28:00.003+12:00

So below is the list of people that are subscribed to on my google reader blog reader thingee. I've tried to keep it pretty simple and actually try and engage or at the least read the guys on this list.

Daryl Gardiner mate and occasional controversial blogger
Roy Mitchel Cardenas Bass Player from MuteMath
John Hebenton Anglican Youth Guy
Chris Darnell Friend and Soul Survivor NZ leader
Radiohead
Edmond Ortal Ex Blueprinter and friend
Steve Taylor
Rowan Simms Blueprinter Living in Ethiopia
Christianity Today Leadership
Matt Redman
Mutemath Myspace Blog
Mutemath Google News Feed
David Hayward Known as the Naked Pastor
Andrew Galloway Mate that runs production for a whole bunch of events including Soul Survivor NZ
Paul Windsor Baptist big wig
Chez My mate who blogs like his life depended on it : )
Rich Johnson Friend from Auckland, vicar, smart man
Adam Blueprinter
Frank Ritchie Mate, Life Fm Dj, and I would say probably the best christian blogger in the country
Seth Godin Marketing Guru
Soul Survivor NZ
Stu McGregor Mate and pastor from Auckland
Andrew Jones Kiwi Emergin legend
Tash McGill Mate from Auckland
Dave Walker Cartoons
Jon Birch Cartoons
Youth Train
Michael Treston Anglican Youth Leader from Nelson
Dan Kimball Emerging Guru from States
Phil Smith Ex Blueprinter and Friend living in London
Tim Cleary Youth Worker mate from Auckland
Worship Central
Youth Alpha NZ The Blog that my mate Paul from Youth Alpha Runs
Marko The Legend from Youth Specialities in the States

So there we go... pretty simple, and there are of course links that I follow through occasionally that aren't on this list. There are bunch of blogs that I used to follow that have ceased to be updated.

The Wall

2008-04-18T22:17:00.004+12:00

It looks like a great weekend ahead, ive got my flat warming (rockstar theme - I might just come as myself - hahahahahahahaha) a Soul Active event with the incredible guys from Churton Park serving their community, im going to Hutt City New Life to share, and then to Blueprint to speak at our night service.
So ive taken today to retreat from Wellington and spend some time writing the three talks for the weekend and as per normal I find myself before this incredibly frustrating wall where I have all this stuff bubbling around inside and it is just such a mission to get it out on paper.
Anyway, we battle on. Im going to be sharing a bit on some reflections on the relationship and interaction between worship and justice (not that you can really separate them at all - though I would contend we have somewhat) which are values that we really try and outwork within the Soul Survivor community. And for our Blueprint community I going to be speaking from Luke 17:11. Im really excited about the title of the message: "what leper are you?"

Havent posted a photo or anything like for ages on here so here is a random one from Singapore last week. Eating some Satay very late at night

Gadgets

2008-04-15T21:46:00.003+12:00

I have inherited a love for all things gadgety from my dad (who cant go a couple of weeks without some new toy). In Singapore there are some amazing places to buy geeky toys, my favourite being Sim Lim Square - a mall that has about 7 stories of electronic stalls where you have to barter to get the best deal.
Anyway, ive being meaning to buy some new headphones for the last while, and managed to pick up some in-ear Shure E2C s for an absolute steal. Im very happy, especially as they are very good at sound isolation and have a crystal clear sound. For a person who is half extrovert, half introvert and something of an audiophile, it is like a personal cave that I can carry around with me and jump into whenever I need some space or to work. Plus they are a cool new toy : )

Thanks Chris!

2008-04-14T23:21:00.009+12:00

So all I am doing is repeating everything Chris has said on his blog (its nice to have him back online)... but the two discoveries of the week have come from his blog and its all gold.

Firstly this awesome little tool that has made looking or photos very very cool.

Secondly this little article by Mike Pilavachi which is one I think needs to be read and taken really seriously...

Our culture is saturated with the cult of celebrity. We are mesmerized by fame. There are a whole group of people who seem to be famous for just being famous! Magazines, newspapers and TV shows know that if they profile certain people their readership, or ratings will automatically go up. Andy Warhol prophesied in the 60's that a time was coming when everyone could be famous for 15 minutes. That bizarre scenario is virtually upon us.

The tragedy is that the celebrity culture seems to have infected large sections of the church. We get so excited if someone even vaguely famous comes anywhere near the kingdom. We not only attempt to co-opt celebrities from the secular world around us. We have learnt to do a great job at creating our own. Hundreds of years ago when I was in my teens the celebrities were the evangelists. Today it is the musicians, particularly the worship leaders. I am finding this increasingly disturbing. Obviously one reason for this is that I am not a worship leader! There is, however, a deeper reason. We will always have people to look up to, respect and trust. That is a natural and good thing. The cult of celebrity goes beyond that. The problem with raising others up and making them into hero's who appear extra ordinary is that it can disenfranchise the rest of the body of Christ. When we talk about this "great man of God" or that "anointed woman of God" we immediately create a distinction in the body of Christ. That has to mean that most of the rest of us exist on a different and lower plane to these "super apostles" as Paul would mockingly characterize them.

The truth is that we are all the same in the Kingdom. God delights to use ordinary, weak and broken people in his ministry. When we build up the few we inevitably disempower the many.

As we grasp this, we stop waiting for the guy with the great healing ministry to come and make us better. We stop depending on the visiting evangelist who comes once a year to save our town. We don’t wait for the person with the gifted teaching ministry to hear from God’s word and we don’t look for the person with the prophetic origami ministry to sort our lives out. We rush to listen to these people at conferences and queue to get the blessing when we should all be sharing in the ministry.

The other problem with the cult of celebrity is that it overlooks the fact that in the Kingdom there is only one celebrity, one hero and his name is Jesus. It really has to be all about him! He will not share his glory with another. We must repent of the idea that "if only so and so is at the meeting then amazing things will happen". No. The only thing we need is His presence. The only person who needs to show up is the Lord Jesus Christ. He and he alone makes the difference.

There’s a real danger in us pointing to one person, one place, one church or one event where God’s anointing is or through which God will change the world. The truth is the world was changed 2000 years ago by one man on a hill outside Jerusalem and every move of the Spirit since has been led by Him.

Our motto should be that of John the Baptist who said “He must increase, I must decrease”. John’s mission was not to promote himself but to prepare the way for Jesus. He recognized that the best way to ‘promote’ Jesus was to in a sense ‘demote’ himself. In an age of ‘self-promotion’, Christians are called to live in the opposite spirit. A spirit of ‘self-demotion’!

Over the last few years I have become a very minor and low grade christian celebrity. I hate it. It does no good for my pride when people treat me as if I am something. I love and need encouragement. I do not need people to think I am something I am not. Thank goodness because I get to live with me I know the truth. The truth is that I am just a lump of lard trying to serve the God whom I love and has shown unbelievable mercy to me. Some may say I have a poor self image to say that. No. I have a realistic self image.

When we put some people on pedestals, we do them no favours, we do ourselves no favours and above all we commit the sin of idolatry. We must repent. The only hero in heaven is Jesus. We must make sure he remains the only hero in the church.

This loosely connects with an ongoing joke about a fake book someone needs to write entitled: "Humility and how I got there"
Here are a couple of chapters that we came up with (feel free to add some of your own)
"Humility; some people have just got it"
"What to do post "fruit of the spirit"
"How my increasing helped Him increase a bit as well"
"Shifting units for the Kingdom"

Singas

2008-04-10T11:51:00.000+12:00

I'm in singapore with a bunch of worship leaders from around NZ at the moment, exploring how a resource called Worship Central could be utilised in NZ. We had a meeting yesterday with two great worship leaders, Tim Hughes and Al Gordon, and I think this ministry will serve many churches in time. Its great to catch up with a bunch of great friends from around the Asia Pacific and London, and I'm having lunch today with my mate Darryl who is over here training youth workers.
It has being an incredibly encouraging and restoring trip so far, and I am finding myself with renewed pasion and vision for the different ministries I have the privledge of involvment in.
At the same time I'm also missing my church family, and I can't wait to get stuck in when I get home.
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Soul Tour

2008-04-01T21:34:00.003+13:00

Im up in Auckland as we start our first Soul Survivor Roadshow tour. All the info about the events can be found on our website
Im on blogging duties updating our website this month, so check out our news section for how things go over the next week.

I thought these were some thought provoking pictures of young people from across the states...

Hope to see you in the next couple of days if you live in NZ : )

Blessing of the Flu

2008-03-29T15:05:00.003+13:00

Ive had some sort of flu for the last couple of days, which has not being cool for churchy stuff. I hate operating through the fog and achy vibe. But it has being really good to be forced to slow right down, and while ive being feelin pretty wrecked for the last couple of days, I have slowly begun to feel human again. I've watched a bunch of "house" episodes, and generally blobbed out for the last day and a bit. Im gona take it pretty easy for the next day or two before things take off again on tuesday. It has being a very long time since I have had something that resembles a normal weekend, and I am loving it.

For His Glory

2008-03-26T15:25:00.002+13:00

I have being reflecting a bit on what may be our theme for next years Soul Survivor festival "For His Glory". There is a real heavy verse in Isaiah 42:8 that says "I won't let idols or humans share my glory and praise".
Its an interesting one, on one hand it is not saying we shouldn't encourage each other, on the other there is not a lot of room for puffed up pride. In a world that has elevated anyone on a stage, they are words worth reflecting on. I like that as we look to bring God glory it incorporates our character, our serving, our songs, our attitudes, our study - all of life. I think John's words "I must decrease and he must increase" are incredible, though to be honest it looks like most people in the christian scene are often working pretty hard to increase. Anyway, they are not fully developed thoughts at this point, but it has being a good couple of days really reflecting on what this means for me. And the paradox for me has being that this period of reflection on these fairly heavy words (esp after easter camp) has being really healing and given context and perspective to the last couple of weeks charging around. Hopefully at some point in the future I can articulate with a bit more clarity the impact these verses are having...

Coffee

2008-03-23T15:27:00.000+13:00

Today is a great day for three reasons.
1 we celerbrate that Jesus rose from the dead today. My faith rests on this being true.
2 I finished my talks for the èaster camp I am at. I now get to charge around and enjoy the camp with no responsibilities.
3 lent is over!!!
I just had my first coffee since forever. It was awesome. I missed coffee a lot. I dreamnt I was drinking it time and time again. It is such an amazing drink.

Yay!!

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Neglect

2008-03-19T20:14:00.003+13:00

Wow, so ive neglected this blog like a dead house plant.

I would blame a very busy season since January - but when marko and steve taylor and frank ritchie and all the rest of them manage to blog with way bigger fish to fry, I can only blame it on a "growing phase" - And so I am learning to work smarter not harder. Perhaps blaming the fact ive moved into town and we dont have internet at home... I dunno - ive got nothing...
Im carrying a lot more responsibility at church this year which has being really great for developing areas that have not being too stretched in the last couple of years. There is a great team and crew at blueprint.

Ive visited Auckland, Palmy and Christchurch in the last three weeks, sharing with pastors and youth workers as part of the Alpha Training days, and had some great yarns with crew around the place. Im off to Hamilton tomorrow to speak at the BYM Easter Camp at Mystery Creek. It should be a good weekend catching up with friends from around the northern part of the island. Im a little daunted by the thought of speaking to 3500 kids, but im sure its going to be a blast.

A bunch of work being done towards the first Soul Survivor Roadshow around the north island in two weeks. We are visiting Auckland, Rotorua, Feilding and Wellington. Info can be found at the Soul Survivor website.

Misc Music discoveries: Jon Foreman (lead singer from Switchfoot) has a great solo album out called fall and winter
Live Worship From Victory Fellowship features worship lead by Paul Meany of mutemath fame, as well as Darren King on drums. Mutemath meets worship, can it get any better?

Books read so far this year: "They like Jesus but not the church" by Dan Kimball - good book but it was preaching to the choir.
"Couragous Leadership" by Billy Hybels, a re-read that I have enjoyed but also critiqued a bit harder this time through it.
"Irreistable Revolution" by Shane Claibourne which I loved. A very challenging and uncomfortable read.
"Spiritual Leadership" by Oswald Chambers - a classic that has being great to get stuck into.

And then a whole bunch of zone out books. My current read in this vein is the autobiography of Slash, the guitarist from Guns and Roses... the tagline "It may seem excessive, but that doesnt mean it didnt happen". Entertaining and tragic at the same time.

Alright... would love your prayers overs the weekend if it pops into your head.

P.s. I havent giving up on blogging entirely, it just may be a bit more sparodic for a while!

Obama

2008-02-22T23:33:00.003+13:00

I've being watching the presidential race in the states with some interest in the last couple of months, and thought that this vid by obama was well worth watching in regards to his christian view points. Its quite long though at just under 40 mins. Im hoping that he continues to dominate in the primaries...

And I found the following comment posted today very thought provoking, and in an odd way encouraging and convicting all at the same time- left on this post from early last year

The bloggers on the 'forefront' of the whole emerging whatever are nowhere near the front of this 'movement'. The problem with the blogging movement is that the people involved 'myself included' still have this need to be heard, and have an impact that is noticeable and measurable.

Christ was alone, He died alone, He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We esteemed Him not. Those who are on the true front line identify with Christ in this, and you have never heard of them, neither have I. Those who have truly 'arrived' are entirely anonymous and their deeds will be manifest in eternity for they received no reward here in this life, but trekked this road with Christ alone. Who is the greatest preacher on earth? Likely some poor African preaching in the congo somewhere to 10 people. Not some emergent speaker on the front line of deconstruction.

Just a thought, I appreciate your post, and agree with it, but in reality it amounts to nothing, as does this comment.

The Balance

2008-02-20T14:46:00.004+13:00

I went for a surf yesterday afternoon, as well as having a nice wave on my day off on Monday. I am trying to guard my days off a bit more as I pushed it a bit too hard at the beginning of the year. But yesterday was a working day, and as I shot out for a spontaneous surf I felt a bit guilty. And this is where the problem lies for me. If a pastor or church leader isn't pacing themselves, we get all worked about them being driven and not being a good role model and the potential for "burn out" . If a pastor or leader doesn't work their guts off for the rest of the time they are perceived as slacking off, and everyone mumbles about what a sweet gig it is. I don't know whether it makes it easier or more difficult to be personally supported rather than get a salary from a church.
And yes, the surf was cranking, so at the end of the day it was well worth it.

In other news; I went to a salsa dancing class with some of my flatmates last night. I wound up punching one of my friends in the head in a very uncoordinated move as I floundered around trying to get my groove on. I am undecided as to whether I will go back as it was incredibly traumatic and exposed how incredibly white I am. Though I suppose that you go to dance classes because you cant dance. Similar to the scripture about Jesus that I read this morning.

Mark (CEV) 2:17 Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners."

Im stoked about that... I suck at dancing and am a brilliant sinner. So I go to dance classes and hang with Jesus to try and reverse that whole picture : )

Baa

2008-02-15T13:09:00.009+13:00

Blogging has being on the back burner for the last little while because of the work needed to get church of the starting blocks for the year, amongst a backlog of other jobs. Im slowly getting back in top of things, it feels like I have gained some kind of control if life again, which is great. This year I am taking over the day to day running and leadership of my church community, and so the time of transition so far this year has required a lot of energy. Thankfully the number of emails I need to respond to is at a manageable number, things are church are ticking along, and I am getting some decent sleep and aiming to have a regular day off again. Its a horrible to feel like you are drowning under your to do list. And at the end of the day, most of it is not stuff that really count in the long run. The first thing to go in times of stress is perspective – meaning the demands carry an urgency which are probably exagerated.

And so this year I am trying to bring more balance and health to my life, I need to learn some lessons from last year, which was bizzare in some ways getting invited to speak diffrent places and finding myself with increasing responsibilities in my church. One of the key things that needed to change was my daily spiritual disciplines. I was not in a good place at the tail end of last year, largely in part because of my very loose patterns with reading the bible. To be really honest, by the end of the year I felt like a spiritual bulimic. Eating a little only when I needed to (speaking engagement normally), which would fairly quickly get thrown up over whoever had to listen to me next. As a result at the end of the year I had nothing in reserve, was exhausted, disconnected and deeply weary.
Its amazing what some basic spiritual disciplines will do. I feel like I am putting on weight again, having good bible meals everyday, trying to institute it as a habit that will see me through life. I want to be chewing over way more than I am giving out, and be developing that private world with Jesus beyond the demands of church life, speaking engagements and the relationships that count. I want to have time for people, and time for myself to just be. I am more and more aware as I go through life how very weak I am.

Part of the reason I am posting this is that I am tired of leaders trying to appear all sorted all the time. Everyone I meet carries brokenness and weakness, whether they are a leader, speaker, businessman, whether you are from a happy home, or from a difficult past. Its seems so many of us play this stupid game where we put on these masks to impress each other with how much we have things together, we have become experts in hiding the reality of our life. This is rife amongst Christian leaders, particularly speakers. I was chatting to one of my friends the other day, who mentioned this idea that many leaders think that they are a shepard looking after a flock. He pointed out that this is rubbish. There is only one shepard, his name is Jesus. Everyone else is a moronic sheep… but one who knows the shepard. Im happy with that...

Im off to hang with the Soul Survivor leadership team this weekend - to dream some dreams, and chat together about the future of the movement. Its always a blast, and its always an encouragement hanging with the crew.

Lent 08

2008-02-06T12:47:00.000+13:00

I'm having the unusual experience of being an extra on a film at the moment. James Cameron is filming a film called avatar. A whole bunch of the guys from blueprint have done days on the film, and yesterday I was a punter at a bar. It didn't take much work to get in character ; ) Back on set today, working on a talk, doin a bunch of random work as most of the time is spent waiting around in a tent. The fact that 80% of my work can be done from the phone is great. Technology rocks sometimes. At other times the electronic leash is the most frustrating thing in the world.

Lent kicks off today, and I'm giving up all drinks except for water. Good bye beer, coffee, loly water drinks etc. I feel sorry for whoever I am hanging with the next couple of days. I could be a grumpy lad. Can't do these things in halves.
Looking forward to finding out what some the others guys from church are fasting, its cool how lent has become a very popular thing to do, and its great to have such a strong lead up and focus to the Easter weekend. I hope that the coming weeks are a time of deep reflection on the implications of the Easter weekend.
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People not paper

2008-02-03T22:00:00.000+13:00

Spoke at the Rock tonight on some Kingdom of God stuff, managed to rant and rave about Rage against the Machine for 10mins, felt the tension as always of my theory and my practice being poles apart, and was reminded of some quote from someone about us all being "hypocrites in transition". Enjoyed sitting in silence at the end of the service being with God and chatting about stuff.
Up to Auckland tomorrow for meetings about Worship Central and Youth Alpha stuff, back in the evening so sadly no time to hang with mates. :(

And if you care, one of the battles that I am loosing at the moment is the administrative stuff, ive got 24 urgent emails I have to reply to, a bunch of facebook emails, the roster for the next couple of months at church is a shambles and needs a bunch of work on it, and there a number of reports and a soul survivor newsletter that are overdue. Meh... The price of rockin out to rage... and i will add a price well worth paying : )

In the words of Zach de la Rocha "it has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime. What better place than here, what better time than now".

Rage 2.0

2008-01-29T23:08:00.000+13:00

I can now die a happy man having successfully watched Rage against the Machine play live in concert twice. Round two was with my mates Shannon and Rob at the Melbourne Big day Out yesterday. This time we waited eight and a half long hours in the D (inner circle thingee) in the blistering hot sun, listening to average band after average band (apart from The Arcade Fire, Midnight Juggernauts, and perhaps Hiltop Hoods). It just served to highlight how incredible this band is. Im not one for throwing my undies at bands but for a whole bunch of reasons this band float my boat and bring a big smile to the dial. It was another huge set, with a bunch of differences to the Auckland set list that made the whole thing worth the mission.
Had a recovery day today, and going to see a bit of Melbourne tomorrow before shooting home on Thursday to get back into it...
Being mulling over a whole bunch of things recently, but have being frustrated by the lack of time to process them properly. Hoping to hit some kind of groove for the year at some point shortly.

In other news, my search for a flatmate is over, a lot less stress with that development, and im totally loving in the middle of town. Wellington flippin rocks, and living in the heart of the city is sweet. No more nasty commutes, and no more hassles with parking. I can almost hear the pressure valve going off. My plan is to get a long board and skate to work, my plan is to eat healthy, my plan is to finally act like a christian, my plan is to work out and loose my puku, my plan is to become completely sorted on every level, my plan is to master the art of administration, my plan is to fly to the moon...

Rage Gig

2008-01-23T14:50:00.000+13:00

Ok, so my apologies for the lack of activity on the blog, I got back from Auckland, had a wedding on Sunday, moved into my flat on Monday, had a full day at work yesterday, as a little known band says "the rage is relentless"

Segue to my review of the Rage against the Machine gig on Friday. Without a doubt this gig eclipses any other gig that I have ever being to. After waiting six hours in the D (the barricaded fence around the mainstages), and enjoying performances by the Shihad and The Arcade Fire, tolerating performances by Pluto, Bjork, and a few other Aussie bands, the moment came when the boys came on stage. I was surrounded by great friends, I was meters away from the stage and then...

I am still in a state of bliss. Jump on YouTube and have a look at some of the clips from the Auckland BDO, I would post more, but the language of some of the songs would probably get me in trouble (if you are not easily offended check out this clip to see how hard the crowd was going from the front to the back - warning though - offensive language). It was their first show outside of America since they got back together, and they cranked out an awesome setlist, including Tire Me, Bulls on Parade, Vietnow, Township Rebellion, Wake Up etc. They poured huge amounts of passion into the gig, and their antics on stage were mindblowing.

For a certain generation the reformation of Californian rock militants and past BDO headliners Rage Against the Machine is a certain generation's equivalent to the Led Zep reunion. After a delay to kick off, they got a heroes' welcome - and a giant crowd crush - and churned through the rap-rock anthems as if there was no yesterday. NZ herald review

I have waited all my life to see these guys - they are by far my favourite band. And the show surpassed my very high expectations, it was an awesome show. In between every song I would get all excited again waiting for them to start another riff that would send me back out into orbit. I'm off to Melbourne on Sunday to see them in action again. I'm broke as a joke, but this is one of those things that just has to be done.

Im still very happy : )

Its christmas time

2008-01-18T10:11:00.000+13:00

Today is the day I have being waiting for since I can remember. In just a few hours I will be watching my favourite band of all time, rage against the machine, play live at the big day out.
I'm uber stressed about my new flat, we urgently need another flat mate, and start paying rent on monday. Its a huge financial commitment that I can only just manage. On top of that there is just a huge amount of work that is mounting up for church - mainly to get everthing sorted for the first part of this year.

But I'm trying to put that all to one side an enjoy today for what it is. I think there is something of an art to putting aside a bunch of stress and concerns and allowing yourself to enjoy good friends and sweet tunes. Its an art I would like to try and get better at. Its scary how much life can get robbed stressing out about things.

Anyway, its going to be a great day...
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All time great Albums

2008-01-14T16:26:00.000+13:00

Ive being having a few yarns with mates about all time albums recently. The sort of album that is just great from the first song to the last song. The sort of album that when you discover a friend hasnt heard it, its almost an insult, and you are tempted to march them to a store to buy it straight away because the thought of not having it in your life is simply tragic. Im talking about albums that you just gotta have on your ipod, albums that you should go and download from itunes without hesitation. And so Ive being collating a list in my head with this blog in mind. My motivation is partly pure - there may be albums in my list that you havent heard and it would be very cool to introduce you to them. But its mainly selfish - I want to hear about new albums I should have on my ipod. And im not talking about albums like ac/dcs back in black, or pink floyds "the wall", or sergant peppers. Im talking about those sort of albums that may have flown under the radar a bit. For my friends reading this from overseas, there are a bunch of kiwi albums in the mix that are worth have a crack at.

So hear is my stab at this list, naturally its subject to my (very broad) tastes in music so if you don't like it... well... cry me a river : )

Ben Folds - Rockin the Suburbs (my hooks than a long line)
The Black Seeds - On the Sun (one of the phattest dub-reggae-funk albums around)
Breaks Co-Op - The Otherside (flippin good kiwi beach style mellow tunes)
Conray - mefalaslate (a relatively unknown kiwi - some cool electronica)
Dc Talk - Jesus Freak (i know, fillpin 90s boy, but damm its a great album and im surprised by how many haven't heard it)
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans (if you dont have this album on your ipod, I dont want to talk to you ever again)
Dire Straits - Love over Gold (mock on)
Eight - Moving (one of the best kiwi bands in recent years)
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Fat Freddys Drop - Based on a true story (another classic kiwi album, hard to pin a genre on this)
Jet - Get Born (brilliant aussie rock)
John Mayer - Continuim (it took me a long time to get into Mayer, I thought he was a bit of a tool, but this album is awesome)
Mutemath - Mutemath (surprisingly, it only just makes it on, mainly because of how much I think of the live show when I listen to it. Bring on their next album)
P.O.D. - Satellite
The Phoenix Foundation - Pegasus (Another kiwi stunner, amazing album)
Radiohead - Ok Computer and In Rainbows (pink floyd of the 90s, and the new album is the best of the summer)
Rage against the Machine - every album (suprise suprise)
Salmonella Dub - Inside the dubplates (if you dont live in NZ, this is a pretty huge album well worth getting especially if you are into dub)
Story of the Year - Page Avenue (im not normally into this style, but this album is produced like nothing else I have heard, and im into the songs)
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Switchfoot - The Beautiful Letdown
Tool - Lateralus (the metal version of pink floyd)

So there we go, the list as it stands at the moment.

Im really really interested in hearing what your particular list would be, drop a comment or blog it and let me know. Hook a brother up!

Soul Survivor 08

2008-01-12T14:35:00.000+13:00

Well the intention to post every day was wishful thinking! But the festival was an amazing week, it just got a little busy. Its taken a good couple of days to recover from the festival, ive done nothing but sleep and mooch around since Wednesday. Gone are the days of bouncing back from that sort of thing... sigh.
Anyway, im out of the cave. : )

There are a whole bunch of highlights from the week, having so many friends in one spot was very cool, and the guys that came for the event were amazing. Here are my old bible college flatmates who were at the event. Its bitter sweet having a whole bunch of mates that you can only spend a limited amount of time with due to the busyness of the event, but with whom you could spend weeks and weeks swapping yarns and still not be done!

Me, Sarah (Interserve), Jess (Attitude), Dave (BCNZ)

One of the highlights would have to be the two afternoons that were spent in acts of service in the local community where we hold the festival. Below is the front page photo from the Manawatu Standard. Is what was deeply moving to drive around the different projects and see hundreds of young people serving this town. It was a picture of the kingdom breaking in.

I was chatting to Andy (our worship leader for the event) at the end of the festival, and he said "it feels like we have taken root". This festival, and perhaps our next festival are probably some of the most important in terms of sussing out whether we are on the right track or not. With numbers doubling this year, and a great atmosphere, clear values and vision, and a great team, there is much to be grateful for.
On a personal note, I came out of the week with a renewed self confidence. For whatever reason there had being a couple of weeks leading up to the event where I was on shaky ground. It was good to get over that stuff thanks to a couple of helpful conversations and some good times of reflection.
Im looking forward to the debrief stage, there are a lot of people that were at the event who have their heads screwed on, and I am sure there will be some very helpful observations made over the next couple of weeks.

Will post some photos once we get our mittens on them, and may add some more reflections... (no promises though!)

And now its time to gear up for 2008! Church kicks off in a week, it looks set to be a good year.

Thanks to all who came, those who served, and those who inspired! Im deeply grateful for the support of many friends from around the country. Chur!

Festival 08 day 1

2008-01-05T00:50:00.000+13:00

I'm going to endevour to update my Blog throughout our second festival, mostly as a means of reflection as the festival is something of a marker for the year. Its great to have our second event underway, and we have learnt a bunch of lessons from last years event which has meant that this year it already feels like we are up a level.
That being said, I think what makes the soul survivor festival so special is that if "God doesn't walk into the room" to quote bono, the event is pretty flat. Mike Pilavachi spoke very well tonight, and it feels like we are off to a great start. Last year it certainly felt like a huge moment in my life is we kicked the thing off, this year its a place to reflect on the work that God has done in my life over the last year.
One of the bittersweet parts of this week is that the venue is filled with great people and amazing friends that I wish I could spend more time with. Its frustrating to see these guys at a rather busy time and then not see them for ages. It would be nice to push pause and enjoy un-rushed time swapping stories and ideas around. One day : )
Time for a few hours sleep!
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The Roadie

2007-12-26T13:46:00.000+13:00

It finally feels like the brief break before Soul Survivor has begun with the Christmas formalities out of the way. Its time to unwind, kill some small animals and catch a wave or two.

Its got to be something of a kiwi tradition, throwing as much fishing surfing and camping gear that you can in a car, and going feral for a week. Me and my bro are sorting through some gear at the moment, here is a pic of the material needed to survive the next week so far...

Every year a whole bunch of us shoot out to Riversdale beach for New Years. Its got to be some of my fondest memories ever. I reckon that New Years can be a hard time to be a young follower of Jesus; either you are watching everyone go crazy and wishing you could get up to mischief, of you do and know you are going to regret your actions... Anyway, the reason riversdale is such sweet times is that we crank it Jesus styles, its always good times without the regrets. We normally have a worship time on New Years eve before cranking out our white boy dance styles.

Here is a picture of us at riversdale a couple of years ago, New Years eve and the crew are showing what it looks like to have controlled epilepsy!

Blogging will slow down for the next couple of weeks, will post a bit from the festival. Have a good new years!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T00:24:00.000+13:00

Hope its a goodie!!

What the...

2007-12-19T20:18:00.000+13:00

Where on earth did this year go? I am a little freaked out that we are knocking on the door of Christmas already... yikes. I'm working hard to try and get all sorts of things tidied up so I can switch off and recharge over the Christmas and new years time before dropping into the Soul Survivor festival on the 4th of January.

A quote from irresistible revolution
Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived. Pg 32

Finally... I would really appreciate it if you could listen to "Feliz Navidad" on the David crowder band myspace. Please let me know if you think it possibly, maybe, perhaps could be mistaken for a Cliff Richard song... its for a little research project I am doing ; )

That is all

Peace - Joy

2007-12-14T16:20:00.000+13:00

My mate Chris reminded us about Advent at church last night, the celebration of joy, hope, peace and love. It was a wonderful reminder of the "good news" of this particular season in the church calendar. I was re-reading some excerpts of Yaconelli on peace and joy today as I prepared for a talk this weekend and stumbled across this quote.

Peace is supposed to be one of the fruits of conversion, and it is. But does that mean, as some suggest, that the Christian has an inner tranquility and serenity that makes him oblivious to outside conditions? Does peace imply for the Christian that tragedy, evil, suffering, pain, and discouragement are unable to penetrate his composure?

Peace describes a condition rather than a demeanor. Peace is the result of salvation, which means that man and God are no longer at war. Peace describes the state of man after conversion. He is at peace with God. Peace is not a protective shield from the battle around us. It does not make us immune to pain and suffering. Peace is not a drug which makes us oblivious to symptoms.

Biblical joy has nothing to do with our emotional state or conditions and circumstance. It is independent of all the chance and changes in life. Joy is the description of the believers’ condition, which is complete dependence on the character of God. Joy is permanent confidence in his resources and character. It’s not happiness, and it’s not a sentimental, superficial grin on your face. It’s the unchanging quality that remains despite pain, suffering, tears, changes in fortune, and even financial collapse.

If you are feeling a bit flat or discouraged, I suggest sitting down for the next couple of minutes and watching this vid of Yaconelli in action. I've posted it on my blog before, but it is so good it is worth watching every couple of months.

The Nerve

2007-12-11T14:20:00.000+13:00

Its interesting how emotive the "being single" conversation is, Im not suggesting it shouldn't be, I don't know how it can not. Its probably one of the most personal conversations you can have, and perhaps more honest dialogue is needed around this topic.
A couple of friends have posted their thoughts, raising some good questions and exploring this issue in a lot more depth. Check out what Tash, Phil and Chez have said. I wonder whether being a christian makes things more complicated? Have we made things more complicated than they need to be?

In other news, for the first time ever I have being proactive in looking after my car, not reactive. It has had a ball bearing changed, a brake fluid change and a wheel alignment before anything crapped out on it and without a warrant looming. Its a minor miracle. I find it amusing that in nearly every other area of my life I am really not on top of things, and yet the one area that normally is always a mare I am on top of... go figure.

Perplexed but not in despair : )

2007-12-09T22:11:00.000+13:00

It has being a day to remember. My mate Brook - who leads Blueprint church - was called away at the last minute due to an inevitable bereavement in his family which meant I had to run the baptism service held at the beach this afternoon and also pick up the preaching tonight. It has being an honour beyond words to baptise a bunch of my friends, my love for the guys at this church cannot be overstated. Ive never done anything like that before, thankfully the crew and their extended family were all very relaxed.
Today has brought up some of my own junk, and I'm feeling overwhelmed with a mixture of my own sense of inadequacy, and God's goodness, faithfulness and grace.
I am reminded of Mic Duncan's words after an eventful day where he was feeling particularly vulnerable... "I will take no thought seriously for the next 24 hours", advice I need to heed as I battle with a whole bunch of insecurities that have popped up out of nowhere.
Favourite scripture for the hour 2 Corinth 4:7

Being Single and Content

2007-12-07T14:18:00.000+13:00

As usual a whole bunch of us descended on Fidels to chat the night away after church last night. I had a great conversation with a couple of my friends about the whole "being single" buzz, which is a fairly common conversation when your church is packed full of 20 somethings and when you are a single 26 year old yourself. It was a great chat though, wonderfully honest. We talked about the myth that we will be "complete" when we find that special someone, the frustration from the girls that most lads need to pick up their game and be a lot more proactive in pursuing the ladies, and the whole grass is greener on the other side hoax. We started chatting about all the things that we can do as single people, which reminded me of this great article from relevant that is well worth a read. Both marriage and singleness are a gift from God, and I wonder whether we need to really enjoy the blessings that come from whatever phase of life we are in, and make the most of it instead of sulking away and being miserable. While acknowledging that there are certainly times of acute loneliness I certainly see this phase of life at the moment as a bit of a gift, and I enjoy the freedom in being able to travel with my work in Soul Survivor and Youth Alpha, and to be able to spend lots of time serving my church and hanging with the many wonderful people there.
This whole topic is a real can of worms - and one of the worms that needs to be addressed is when people are hindered from having relationship with others because of their own brokenness.
For a rather amusing read on this whole buzz, read Galloways latest post.

Check out this video from blueprints own Kathryn Baker. I have had a sneaky listen to her album planned for release next year, and it is sounding sweet.

More stuff

2007-12-06T15:56:00.000+13:00

A couple of things that have grabbed my attention the last couple of days amongst the tornado of activity, decisions and activities in recent days.
Firstly this post by David Hayward on critiquing church. Especially in light of the thoughts in my last post. Would be interested in your take on this.
Secondly, this conference promoted by Dan Kimball. I love that there are a bunch of different global leaders and church leaders getting together to yarn things out. What a great idea, something I wish the church would do more. The interaction between faith and culture looks awesome. My only beef is that I wish it was held in a different venue though, something more neutral.
And lastly, a whole lot more information is on the Soul Survivor website with all that is happening during the week. Check it out here.

Stuff (my lame title for a post I have no idea what to call)

2007-12-04T08:47:00.000+13:00

Life is pretty dam chocka block at the moment, which means the blog inevitably suffers. So sorry for that if you care. In part it has being because of some processing I have being doing. I am realising that across the board in NZ and around the world there is a huge amount of diversity in theology and style, and normally there is way more that unites us than divides. On my part, there has probably being too much energy spent "majoring on the minors" in the past, and my attitudes have changed a whole lot.
In saying that there are three things that I would say I am still very passionate about.

Firstly that christianity was never meant to be a sub-culture, but rather be within culture, counter culture, subverting, challenging and changing culture. Im still saddened and probably a bit gutted about the bubble, and how ingrained the christian subculture industry is.

Secondly, I am still very passionate about honesty and authenticity in the framework of our faith, probably reflected most clearly in our gatherings. There is far too much language that is just plain weird. There is still a lot of "victorious living" talk going on which doesn not reflect the struggle and reality of most peoples life. There is still a whole lot of "fake it till you make it" pressure for people to behave in a certain way. . And while no one would probably argue me on this point (no sam we need things to become more artificial?!?!), in my experience it requires huge amounts of courage to be authentic people, its often painful, its vulnerable. In the same breathe its liberating and life giving, and finds us relating to Jesus with more honesty and authenticity, which breeds humility, depth and a greater understanding of grace. There are a bunch of stories connected to this post, ask me next time I see you for some illustrations from my own life... perhaps I have being too honest in some of my talks?!? There have being some awkward moments : )

And lastly, I think that we need more places where we can externally process sensitive issues, where we can flesh out that uneasy discernment feeling we get when we read, hear or see something we dont agree with. Clearly this needs to be one or two close friends, not something worked through with every tom, dick and harry, but I wonder whether we have those sort of places. Places of brutal honesty, the sort of conversations that would get you in trouble if overheard, but are completely safe in that context. I am grateful for a couple of close friends whom I know will not judge me as I process things, and is probably part of the reason I have grown to enjoy far more the diversity of people's thinking and practice in recent times. Once things are out of the head and verbalised, things become a whole lot clearer.

In other news, my day off was spent vomiting over the side of a boat... me and dad won a fishing charter a while ago and so were very excited about having a sweet day on the ocean. A long day with no fish, and lots of barfing due to rough seas. I was trying to find some un-confessed sin in either my dads life or my own that would explain why we have such miserable luck fishing.

And lastly, check out this photo essay narrated by the subject. This dude was wrongly imprisoned for 16 years. He talks about what it’s like to enter the world outside of prison after spending all of his adult life behind bars.
(HT Marko)

Meh

2007-11-28T21:35:00.001+13:00

Got dusted with some weird virus thing the last couple of days, and so kinda felt a bit on the back foot. But feel like I am getting on top of things now. Spent the day up in Feilding today, im very excited about the upcoming festival. Its great being on the site today picturing how everything will look, and there are an amazing group of people that are the area heads which are cranking it out. Registrations are more than double what they were this time last year, its going to be sweet.

Anyhoo, we have Bron and Phil from Grace Vineyard up this weekend to do some teaching at Blueprint. Should be an awesome couple of days, they are great communicators, and I love their depth in things like prophetic and healing ministry. There is no denying it... I love the charismatic flavour.

Here is a clip from my old band Agentc that I uploaded, back in the day with my dreds and playing the metal tunes that have nailed the hearing in my left ear. Its me on the left. Good times, and some great gigs over the time we were playing together. Something I really miss is playing music in a band. I am looking forward to the day that I can slam out some dirty covers as a middle aged washed up rocker in low life pubs.

Meet the Sibs, and some great NT Wright

2007-11-23T00:48:00.001+13:00

All the siblings were together for the first time in nearly a year tonight. Very good times, these guys are living legends. From left to right, Gabrielle, Pete, Me, and Rach.

And here is some great NT Wright sent through by my mate Rob Munro... full talk can be found here

"Paul, we heard you'd been shipwrecked. Fancy having to go through such a thing. In fact, that's exactly what they said on Malta: he's obviously done something wrong, so blind justice is determined to kill him, whether by sea or by snakebite. Foolish ones, Paul would reply, and slow of heart to believe; was it not necessary that the gospel and its carriers should follow their Master, should pass through the dark waters, in order to come to Caesar's city, Caesar who kills but cannot make alive, Caesar in whose empire Mammon, Aphrodite and Mars reign unchecked and unchallenged? Did you expect that the gospel would stroll in to Rome of all places with its hands in its pockets and whistling a cheerful tune? Was it not necessary that it should arrive having gone through fire and water, embodying the truth it comes to tell, the truth that you only live if first you die, that you only celebrate if first you suffer, that you only preach if first you drown. God forgive us for our pseudo-gospels of cheap grace, of cossetting self-fulfilment, of a Christ without a cross and a church which never got its feet wet."

Damm thats good stuff... and he's Anglican.... go the Anglicans!

I had a great time speaking at Primal church in Wellington tonight, and Im off to Auckland tomorrow to go the Muse gig tomorrow night, and then spend a couple of days on a retreat with the Blueprint Zeal guys from Auckland, Petone and Wellington Central, should be a sweet time : ) Its going to weird being in Auckland and being without transport, and Im a bit sad that I cant catch up with more of my friends on this trip. Next time

Help out the Wellington City Mission

2007-11-20T20:31:00.000+13:00

At blueprint there are two absolute heroes who have enabled our community to serve the poor in our neighborhood for well over a year now through a number of efforts and initiatives. They have a great relationship with the Wellington City Mission which is needing help this weekend. Go Debs and Nomes!

This is a message from the Wellington City Mission.

We are in urgent need of volunteers for our Street Appeal next week on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 November.
Each Christmas we provide more than 3,000 food parcels and hundreds of toys to clients and children in need. We also give to other social services agencies and food banks in the Wellington area.

To run our four programmes and to provide food and toys, we have to find $2.8 million each year.

Our Street Appeal on Friday 23 November along with the Supermarket and Mall Appeal on Saturday 24 November 2007 are our major fundraising drives.

On those two days we hope to have close to 500 collectors out in the streets throughout Wellington, Lower and Upper Hutt and Porirua. At present we only have around 160 collectors.

If you are keen to help, click here, or donate here

A song, the charasmatic movement, and the paperwork

2007-11-18T23:58:00.000+13:00

A couple of things you may find interesting. Firstly a clip of the guys who were in the Philippines singing the song "Draw me close to You" at the end of a day filming.
The idea of the director, it was great to be able to sing in our own languages. After my start we have Indonesian, followed by Thai, followed by Burmese before the whole group does a round in English. It may seem a little cheesy, but the depth in the faith of these guys is something really special, and its pretty awesome to think that God doesn't speak English. I dunno, I kinda get moved by people singing worship in other languages. And for those that are interested, Blueprints favorite Filipino, Edmond, is blogging here. He makes an appearance in the video below, see if you can spot him!

And these two pictures by Jon Birch got me thinking... would be interested in your thoughts on both. Has the charismatic movement completely run out of steam? I consider myself and Soul Survivor to still be in the charismatic vein, so maybe not... but things have definitely changed, and the occasional abuses and excesses, perhaps the self-centeredness of the movement in the 90s has definitely changed the landscape a bit.

And this one... well it speaks for itself. I am so stoked that we have people that are prepared to wade through all the paper work for Soul Survivor here in NZ. It certainly seems that things are a little out of control when it comes to how much paper work needs to be done to do an event these days... anyway, if anyone can be bothered fighting the battle to see less paper work on a political level - good luck to you and all the best!

Thought provoking stuff

2007-11-14T20:54:00.000+13:00

Would be interested in your thoughts on these two thought provoking posts. The first by "Naked Pastor" on the place of suffering in our life. I read this in the midst of feeling the "ache" in my own heart over a couple of recent things in my life and so it grabbed my attention. The post can be found here.
The second by Dan Kimball on the discussion around "hell" in our theology - particularly in evangelism. This topic always grabs my attention, and I was challenged by what I read. Check it out here.

On the radar for the next couple of days: Ash Barker is speaking tomorrow night at blueprint, the author of one of my favourite books, I am really looking forward to hearing him speak. If you are around I suggest you get down to the print for a sweet night. And then its off on a retreat with Rosemary and Brook. I am amped about spending a couple of days getting some vision for next year, and working on some talks for the festival over the summer. Your prayers that it would be a good time of rest and that we would have some sweet "God times" would be appreciated.
And then I am speaking at Blueprint Sunday night, drawing from the tail end of Romans 7 and the beginning of Romans 8. I am looking forward to it : )

Photos from Manila

2007-11-12T17:19:00.000+13:00

Here are a few selected photos from Manila with the associated stories.

The guy who funds a lot of the Alpha work in Manila is a guitar collector, and lost track of the numbers of guitars in his collection at 250... he estimates he has around 300+ guitars. Every guitar was top shelf, limited editions. No junk there. On top of this is every type of guitar amp you could imagine. Matchless, Vox, Carr, Mesa Boogies, Fender etc etc etc. And remember, he doesn't play guitar, only a collector.... crikey... ching ching

The Beatles covers band that played the last night we were in Manila at the personal club of the guy mentioned above. One of the sweetest covers bands I have ever heard, and took requests for any Beatles song you wanted. I threw out "Day in the Life", a song I had studied at high school and by no means a simple song. They absolutely nailed it, complete with weird orchestra crescendo. A very cool night, and hearing the song live was a musical highlight of the trip.

Walking back to the place where we were staying after some heavy rain which had flooded the streets - at places knee deep. A lot of the kids were having the time of their life, getting some relief from the 29 degree heat. The poor kid on the left was getting a bit cold though! Check out the gangsta hand signs : )

In the middle of filming a clip for the Youth Alpha training dvd. We actually did very little filming, it was mainly the guys from Asia who cranked it out. It is quite something hearing talk after talk in Burmese, Thai, Malay etc and having to sit in the audience and act like you understand in case they pick you for a crowd shot... After day four of non-stop shooting, you get into this weird twilight zone.

At the street kids ministry that we visited. This night has deeply challenged me again to step up and live more simply and share more passionately for the many people around the world who live in tragic humiliating conditions. In the midst of it all they are some of the most gracious, generous and fun filled people.

Typical street scene in Manila, lots of people, crazy driving, and Mc D's! Its weird being in a place like this and seeing Starbucks on every other corner, Burger King, Maccers and other parasites everywhere.

We were warned as we arrived that we would have a very hard time paying for anything as the Philippino people are ridiculously generous people despite 30 million of them living on less than $2 a day. It was true, we had to be very sneaky to pay a bill before they did. There are stories of fights in the villages outside of the Manila as to who will pay the bill. Pretty humbling stuff really, something we could all learn a little bit more here in out western world.

Back to NZ, and its time to quickly recover from the travel and get back into it tomorrow morning. Lots happening as we approach the Soul Survivor festival, and start looking at 2008.

Thriller in Manila

2007-11-07T01:53:00.000+13:00

Im in Manila at the moment, and my blackberry isnt doing emails so the blogging is going to slow down for a little while. Its being wonderful surrounded by the richness and beauty of the third world - the smells, the people, the driving, the craziness, the food. Memories of our families years in South America have being flooding back as there is a definite South American influence throughout their culture and history. A highlight so far has being a visit to an orphanage/children's ministry in the slums last night, it has deeply impacted me, and broken my heart once again for those who live in such poverty and brokenness and yet have so much life and joy.
There has also being the occasional glimpse of the underbelly of this city, which again has really shaken me. Dont really want to go into this at this point.

I miss my church family to bits, its being the first time in a while that I have missed two consecutive thursday night gatherings, and I am very mindful that it is crunch time for the upcoming Soul Survivor festival, but it has being so good to get outside the NZ culture and be surrounded by the reality most of the world live in once again. Its being a while between drinks, and the last couple of days have being very invigorating, and an incredible encouragement and blessing to me.

If you live in NZ, and have yet to go to the third world, even for a short time, then I would urge you with all the passion I can muster to save up, fund raise, whatever... and go and spend time surrounded by these incredible people in these culturally rich places. From my perspective there is no excuse, and is more transforming than 100 conferences combined. You may not be called to living in these sorts of places long term, but it is so important to get your head around how most people are living.
I feel a rant coming on, and I have to jump off this computer in a minute, but will try and explain myself more fully down the track.

Other than that, check out Phil's "Week in Review" and I hope movember is rocking!

Hugs

2007-11-02T21:59:00.000+13:00

This cartoon is dedicated to my friend Stu, in memory of his infamous "hands round the waist" hug given to my dad the first time they met.

Some Photos

2007-11-01T23:27:00.000+13:00

All the best to those who are bravely embarking on the movember adventure, this year I will definitely not be joining you... last year was just too traumatic.
It sounded like the Supergroove and Crowded House gig rocked, looking forward to hearing reports from it from the lads back home.
Had lots of good meetings and lots of great conversations the last couple of days. My jet lag has persisted, hits about 5pm and I just have to operate through this fog - an overwhelming desire to sleep. Im normally a night owl, and so have being getting used to early mornings and early nights, seeing life from the otherside! Here are a couple of pictures from my travels the last week or so.

At the West End in London - Being people of culture, we chose to watch "spamalot"

Tim Hughes, most humble dude on the planet

The rockin worship team from the camp in Nelson. Note the dude with the toilet paper in his nose! Why would anyone do anything else but youth ministry?!

Same camp, this time the "primo puke challenge" underway

Withdrawls

2007-10-29T20:30:00.001+13:00

I'm getting a bit itchy to plug back online. I haven't checked my blog reader, facebook, digg, my youtube account, or how my car is doing in its auction since last Thursday.
Thankfully I can get my emails and txts on my ph. I could probably jump online via my ph, but I got a txt from Vodafone when I arrived here informing me that it cost $30 a mb. I'm not that desperate.

But still... what a nerd.
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Observing humility

2007-10-28T23:37:00.000+13:00

In the last couple of days I have being deeply impressed by the humility of certain people in the christian scene. Firstly the guys from life fm in Auckland, in particular Frank Ritchie. Warm hospitality, and a heart to serve and cheer others on. And yet again, those here in the UK have challenged me in their obvious and attractive humility, it is very hard to articulate how much a culture of humility permeates the christian scene here. The guys from the Asia-Pacific area that I am spending time with are very gracious and humble people.

Here are a bunch of quotes I've picked up in the last couple of days as I try and soak in and learn as much as I can from these extraordinary people.

Live for the success of others. (Sy Rogers)

There is no limit to how you can be used by God if you don't care who gets the credit.

Meekness and lowness of heart should be the distinctive of the disciple.

Humility is always rooted in serving others.

Humility is knowing you stand before heaven all the time. (Tash McGill)

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. (Augustine)

Galatians 5:22-26 and Colossians 3:12-14 have being key scriptures for me in the last week. Its deeply challenging stuff. I don't think humility can be really taught, I think its caught. Its good to be really challenged by the character of people around us.
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UK - Philippines

2007-10-24T23:13:00.000+13:00

You wouldn't read about it, but on the eve of my sojourn to the UK and Philippines, my laptop breaks down on me. So there goes any work on the flights, which is frustrating, as well as being a blessing of sorts. I was hoping to do some work on some talks for a couple of camps I am doing next year, as well as some of the writing for the festival in January. Thanks to gmail a lot of that stuff can be accessed and worked on in some down time. And it will probably be a healthy thing for me to switch off for the flights there. I am looking forward to the much needed cave time. And cheers for the suggestions on the books, a couple have grabbed my attention, so will try and track them down. And no, it wasn't Asterix : )

So what am I doing? I'm in London for the first week, basically Alpha and Soul Survivor in the UK co-sponsor an training resource called Worship Central. NZ has a very similar partnership between Alpha NZ and Soul Survivor NZ, and so this development has being a natural progression in our work here. I am going to be joining about 20 others from around the Asia Pacific area in working out how it could look in our context. We have some amazing guys lined up to roll this out here in NZ.
The second week of my trip sees me in the Philippines, its my first time in this country and I am really looking forward to it! No disrespect meant to my London friends, but Manila appeals to me a wee bit more. Here I will be joining others from around the region helping in developing some training resources for Youth Alpha which will be filmed and shared around the place.

I feel a bit weird that I get to do this sort of thing. I don't deserve such hook ups, and I am certainly no different than others that don't get these opportunities. I dunno how to describe it, this lingering sense of guilt maybe. Maybe its the tall poppy fear. I'm not sure.

Anyway I am running with it, so I'm off. Will be blogging from my various locations via phone and internet cafes etc. Im hoping it will be an adventure (which means, I am hoping that things dont go to plan... it makes for better blogging).

Good Fiction

2007-10-22T21:55:00.000+13:00

Can anyone recommend some good fiction to read? I've never got a shortage of chrispy creme christian books to read, but have some space in some travels the next couple of weeks and so keen to disengage and kill time with a good read or two... and I am a guy, so its a better read when people die, the world nearly ends but doesnt due to some gadgets or outlandish Macgyver manoeuvre's.... actually whatever, just a good story...

Nelson

2007-10-19T21:30:00.000+13:00

In Nelson for the long weekend, speaking at the spring camp for the Anglican youth groups of the area. Its a beautiful part of the country, and hopefully will be a fun couple of days.
I always wind up a bit nervous before speaking, full of self doubt and feeling like the worst christan and biggest hypocrite etc. And then I sometimes get hyper critical of myself after talks and all insecure. I'm slowly "chilling out" as I get used to who I am in God, and who He is, but with an average of two speaking thingees per week this year, I've spent most of the year either gearing up or recovering from talks. Its a miracle I'm not in the loony bin. I wish you could script God to "walk into the room". I'm so conscious that its just empty words and noises without God mysteriously taking the offering and speaking through it somehow.

Anyway, no reception out at the camp which will be nice. firing this off from the phone
Before I drive back out to the camp.

Have a great long weekend if you live in nz!
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Soul Survivor Promo

2007-10-18T14:43:00.000+13:00

The promo vid for Soul Survivor here in NZ is now on youtube. Take a look at it. This is the longer one that explains something of our values, and there is a shorter one for the

Would love it if you want to put either this one, or the shorter version on your website of blog to promo the event. Check them out here