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7 July, 2008 3:33 PM
A few weeks ago I started receiving SMS text messages from an unidentified phone number urging me to pray for different 'issues' in Australia.
- The first was to pray 'against' polygamy (there was a news story that day that a small group of Muslims wanted the laws changed to allow it).
- The second was a call to pray 'against' an 'axe murdering spirit' that had come to Australia and that had last visited us in the 1800's.
OK - so the messages were a little 'odd' but I ignored them. I've got nothing against prayer and while I probably spend a little more time praying 'for' situations than 'against' them (a whole other discussion) I just put it in the 'quirky basket'.
A few days ago I got another message from the same number welcoming me to 'PrayerForce 1 Prayer Ministries'). Their goal is to 'take Australia for Christ'.
I replied asking who was behind this new 'ministry' and how they got my number. They refused to do so but said that they are a group of 'christians prayer warriors' who have gathered numbers from a variety of personal contacts, phone books, internet and church denominations.
My ensuing 'conversation' of messages with the nameless 'Prayerforce 1 Prayer Ministries' representative was frustrating at the least.
I attempted to communicate that I felt unsolicited and anonymous SMS messages were perhaps not the best way to promote their organization. To me they come across as spammy and border on being illegal (here in Australia organizations generally have to ask you for permission before they send emails or SMS marketing messages).
The response to this was a little disturbing but also slightly amusing - they said that they would 'treat ur church as illegal & spammy' and they threatened that as they had been around for 20 years that they could 'nform the people 2b wary of u'.
From what I can tell they've either got my number from an old Baptist Union contact list or perhaps from an old White Pages telephone book. I think I've managed to get off their list for future SMS's but the whole deal has left me feeling quite frustrated and annoyed.
So How Would I Promote a Ministry
I was going to leave this post at that - but perhaps I would not be taking my own blogging advice. I have written many times about how when you critique others that perhaps it'd be more effective if you also proposed some constructive ideas. Let me turn my attention to how I'd advise Prayerforce 1 to promote themselves more effectively. Here's two ideas that come to mind.
1. Permission Based Marketing - I think SMS is a potentially very effective way to run a prayer type ministry. It's a fast and effective medium to get messages out there to large numbers of people. However I'd strongly recommend that they get permission before sending these messages. My understanding of the law is that it is actually the law to do so. I run numerous email lists and am required to have people confirm their subscription twice before I send emails - this is as a protection against spam.
2. Be Personal and Identifiable - A personal name and tone in writing and communication goes a long way. The fact that Prayerforce 1 refuses to tell me who they are (ie who their leaders are) leaves them looking a little suspicious. I'm sure they are great people but this approach simply leaves me feeling wary from the get go. Personal introductions and names would help a lot.
11 October, 2007 9:11 PM
Tim Challies just published an Interviewing with Me that explores some of the themes of my last few years of blogging where I've transitioned both in thinking and action from seeing myself as a 'Christian Blogger' to being a Christian who is a blogger. I won't rehash it all here - but will leave you to read it for yourself - enjoy.
29 November, 2006 1:14 PM
I'd like to introduce readers to a great new resource called The Fight - a DVD based resource for guys struggling with pornography addiction.
The resource has been produced by my brother Adrian over the last year or two and is going to help a lot of people.
When you get the DVD you get 2.5 hours of teaching, testimony and encouragement on the topic - broken down into short bite sized pieces to be watched over a 30 day period as a daily devotional.
It also comes with a 14 track compilation album of Aussie artists and a workbook that is designed to be used in a small group.
It's designed either to be used by individuals or groups.
Adrian is also working on 'Fight Club' which is an online space where guys working through the material can connect online together in forums and journals.
Prices range from $18.15 (AUD) for bulk purchases up to $36 (AUD) for single purchases to overseas buyers.
19 November, 2006 2:45 PM
LivingRoom has had some great gatherings of late. I've been a little (or a lot) lax in keeping up to date with reporting on what we've done. So I'll try to do a little catch up and describe a couple of resent gatherings.
Last week our Sunday afternoon group had a great afternoon on the topic of 'everyday spirituality'.
Our leader (I'll call her 'E') started the gathering by pulling out a sock (I've never been in a church service that involved socks before). The sock was full of something/s and had a knot in the end of it.
E told us that inside the sock were 13 household items and that we had to pass it around and write down what they were as accurately as possible. We passed the sock around and over 5 or so minutes most of us had a list of 13 things. We've got kids in our group so this appealed to them and they got into it too.
After we'd compiled our lists E got the kids to open the sock and reveal the items and we ticked off what we'd got right and wrong. There was everything from a clothes peg, to a toothbrush, to a coin, to a wine bottle cork, to a phone plug/jack etc in the sock (I scored 12 out of 13).
Then with the 13 everyday household items in the middle of the group E handed out quotes to everyone. The quotes were all on the topic of 'everyday spirituality' and were from a variety of perspectives. Some of the quotes talked about finding God in everyday moments, others talked about how everyday spirituality 'watered down spirituality', others were people's own personal experiences of everyday spirituality.
After reading the quotes we were invited to choose one of the 13 items that represented something to do with everyday spirituality to us. We were then invited to share it and what it triggered for us.
What people shared was great and included some practical ideas on how people found God in the everyday, through to people sharing some of the personal things they'd been going through lately.
The three parts of the gathering appealed to me for a couple of reasons. Firstly they were inclusive of the kids (less so the quotes). We're still learning how to incorporate children into our gatherings and it was a good experiment and engaged with them well.
Secondly while the three parts of the gathering were quite separate they all added to it and engaged people on different levels. The sock exercise wasn't particularly 'spiritual' but it actually conjured up numerous ideas and thought processes for me.
17 July, 2006 11:01 AM
I'm running a seminar on 'Internet: Mission and Ministry - Online Mission Possibilities' in a couple of weeks for my local denomination's 'Rev Up'.
I'm looking forward to sharing a little more about blogging and online ministry (as I see it) and hopefully generating some discussion on the topic to hear what others are doing and have seen.
As part of the session I'd love to feature a list of creative online ministries, sites and resources that are examples of what people are doing around the world. I already have some but would be interested to hear other people's suggestions.
I'm particularly looking for examples of how people are using sites for:
1. Mission (the outer journey) - actual web evangelism and online justice projects
2. Community building (the together journey) - sites that attempt to build community between Christians (either within churches or wider fellowship)
3. Worship and Prayer (the inner journey) - sites that are about helping people to grow closer to God (ie the focus is spiritual formation).
For those of you unfamiliar with the 'inner, outer and together journeys' - they refer to LivingRoom's core values and I'm attempting to find examples of people, churches and groups of Christians who are exploring how each can be done via the web. They need not be 'emerging church' type resources - I guess rather than pushing one approach to faith or theology I want to use this list simply as a showcase of the types of things people are doing.
If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them either in comments below or via email (from my contact form).
17 July, 2006 9:14 AM
A couple of weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with a guy that I'd not seen for a few years. Last time we saw each other I was working part time for a fairly large church as a youth pastor and was studying theology with the rest of my time.
As we chatted and caught up he mentioned that he'd heard that I had 'left the ministry'.
It was an interesting phrase - one that I'd not heard for some time and had not considered as applying to myself.
We chatted about what I was doing now and despite my best attempts to explain the processes I've been through in the last year or so he seemed to be disappointed with my decisions. I got the feeling that he saw my move from being a paid minister as being something of a failure or a loss (not his words - but his tone of voice and words indicated that it was disappointing).
I've been pondering this quick conversation (it ended prematurely as he had to go) ever since - not because it upset me in any way (it didn't) but because I'd not really considered anyone else had any real feelings about my journey and I found it ironic that others see my move from paid ministry as being a loss of some kind when I actually see the move as helping me to do more effective 'ministry' than I've ever done before.
Now I don't want to critique anyone who does 'paid ministry' - I've got nothing against it at all and think it's appropriate for many people. God's used people who work full time as pastors, missionaries, ministers etc for centuries and I'm not about to write that off. Ultimately discerning sorts of decisions and calls are between an individual and God (within the context of the wider Body).
However the last couple of years of my own journey has taken me off the path of paid ministry and into a territory that both has excited and (if I'm honest) has terrified me. Having spent 10 years of my life working for churches and studying theology I've entered the ranks of the self employed small business owner.
I don't want to sugar coat the last year or two - the transition has not been one without moments of doubt and disappointment. There have been moments when I've wondered why I studied theology for so long to end up in business, there have been moments when I've felt guilt about earning an income that is quite a bit more than my part time student minister salary and there have been moments where I've wondered whether blogging as a job is as worthwhile an activity as working in a church preparing sermons or visiting congregational members etc.
However amidst the moment of doubt are glimpses of purpose, meaning and confirmation that we're on a good path. As I ponder the experience I can't imagine life in any other way than it's unfolded so far.
I've alluded in this article (and elsewhere) to the idea that I feel like I'm doing more effective mission or ministry now than I ever used to do as a paid minister. I've had people ask for examples of this since last time I made the statement and have struggled a little as to whether it's appropriate for me to share them. My struggle is two-fold:
1. I've become increasingly uncomfortable over the past couple of years of telling the 'success stories' as people in ministry. I'm a little torn on it to be honest. On the one hand it's great to be able to share what God has been doing around us and how he's calling us to join him in that work. On the flip side I sometimes get the sense when I'm seeing people talk about such stories that they are presented in ways that are more about celebrating the work of the person telling the story than in celebrating God's work. I also worry a little that there is an element of telling war stories and not really honoring the fact that we're talking about real people who deserve respect and privacy. To be honest I'm not sure where I stand on sharing examples except to say that I'm not completely comfortable with it.
2. The second reason I've resisted sharing examples is that most of my interactions with people in my business are in the online medium. While there are increasing opportunities for face to face conversations and relationships - most of what I do happens via email, instant messaging and blogging with people who are very tech savvy. To share of what I see God doing in these interactions not only feels odd in terms of honoring their stories (point #1 above) - but it also feels a little bizarre as the examples I could give of what's been happening could well be ready by those I'd be writing about.
So I've resisted the calls for specific examples and stories and hope in doing so that I don't offend or frustrate anyone.
What I will say however is that I continue to find God working around me.
Here are a few general thoughts that come to mind in terms of some of the lessons I'm learning:
- While the internet is often talked about for it's 'evils' I'm constantly discovering it to be a 'sacred space' where people explore what it means to find life.
- I'm finding that when you connect with people around topics that they are passionate about, that are life giving for them, that you have an opportunity to connect in some wonderful ways.
- Non churchy types could actually teach the Church a thing or two about building community, generosity and making a difference in the world we live in.
- Mission is about living with people on their turf. It's also often about letting go of your own agendas and assumptions and learning to wait for the other person to set the agenda and invite you to journey with them.
- Living out Kingdom values is not always easy.
- While it's possible to speak about the Kingdom of God in very 'religious' or 'spiritual' terms - it's often when we talk about it in everyday language in the natural rhythms of life that it has the most impact.
- The words of St Francis to 'preach the gospel always - if necessary, use words' really are very wise.
None of the above is rocket science. Most of it I've known 'in theory' for many years - but it's only been the last few months that I've begin to understand some of it. I'm still working it out and much of what I'm learning is solidifying in my mind - but the journey is fun so far.
16 May, 2006 11:18 PM
Robert Bruce has written and posted a thought provoking and challenging poem on his blog titled Love Thy Neighbor.
15 May, 2006 10:33 AM
I'm fascinated by the response of the church here in Australia to the Da Vinci Code.
On one hand there have been a number of 'campaigns' that I've come across encouraging Christians to boycott the Da Vinci Code movie and book. The reasoning is that if we all avoid it we send a clear message that it's not something that we believe in. The fear behind the boycott is that if people do see it that their faith will be rocked and that it will lead people away from the Church and Jesus.
On the other hand I've seen a number of churches who have booked out cinemas on opening night and who are going to see the movie as a group. Not only that, they're encouraging their members to bring along non church going friends and family. They are seeing the Da Vinci Code as an opportunity for evangelism. The theory behind their approach is that people will be going to see the movie whether the Church boycotts it or not and that they think that rather than it being a potential threat to faith that it's one of the few natural opportunities that Christians will get these days to have a conversation about faith, Church and Jesus.
Quite a few people have asked me over the past year or so what I think about the Da Vinci Code and whether I'd read it or not.
My own opinion of the book was that it was not particularly well written in a literary sense but that the story was a good one from an entertainment perspective. I read it as a novel and not as non fiction (as it's been intended to be read). I don't understand why anyone would read it in any other way.
I didn't feel my faith or beliefs were impacted by the experience in one way or the other but do see it as an interesting discussion starter on the issues that are contained within it. In fact I've had a number of conversations with people who have read the book that have led into what I call 'God moments' where people seem to have new encounters and understandings of God. I believe that God used the Da Vinci Code in these conversations to do something significant as people were stimulated to ask questions and search deeper as a result of the themes that were raised in the book.
I think the second approach (of churches actually engaging with Da Vinci Code and seeing it as a connecting point) is a great one. I've seen similar approaches work really well when people have engaged with children around Harry Potter.
I find that in the culture that I live in that there are not a lot of things that cause people to talk about the deeper issues of life (this is especially the case for men).
Movies (and books) are things that people still do talk deeply about (some movies more than others of course). Rather than purposely stepping out of the discussions that people will have about Church, the Jesus story and faith I think we need to intentionally step into it.
I believe that God uses all types of things to draw people to himself. Some of these things we might classify as 'Holy', others might be more unexpected. The question I guess we need to answer as Christians is whether we'll join him in the unexpected places to be a part of his work?
17 October, 2005 2:33 PM
A number of fellow bloggers have emailed me this past couple of weeks to ask if I'm going to the God Blog conference.
To be honest I didn't really consider it for a couple of reasons - Firstly it's been a question of Expense Distance and Time - I'm not critiquing the conference - it has to be held somewhere but wherever it is the distance makes it hard for some bloggers. For me I couldn't justify the expense or time away from other priorities to go.
Secondly I have been pondering the question 'Am I a 'God Blogger?'
This blog (LivingRoom) has become less of a focus for me of late for many reasons including a lack of time, many other competing projects needing time, a maturing of the LivingRoom community (we're probably not in such a phase of learning/development now so there is less to share) and (if I'm honest) a frustration with where I saw the 'God Blog' community as going.
I don't want to write this as an attack upon those who identify themselves as God Bloggers - but after a couple of years of heavy participation in the God Blog scene I began to grow increasingly frustrated with it. I met many wonderful Christian bloggers along the way and learned a lot about blogging, faith and relationships through it - but I also saw a lot that concerned me including:
- attack - I saw some of the most vicious and personal attacks on people that I've ever experienced in online forums. Having spent the last year blogging in the wider blogging community I can honestly say that while there is bickering across the whole blogosphere - that what I saw in the 'Christian blogging community' was often at the more vicious end of the spectrum. At times (and especially in the first year) I found myself being drawn into this negativity at times (something I'm not proud of) and at times found the God Blog community took more life than it gave.
- insular focus - Something that I wrote about many times on this blog was the insular nature of the 'God Blog Community'. I saw some amazing and rich discussion on many occasions (I don't want to paint it as all bad - it wasn't by any means) yet I saw a distinct lack of Christian bloggers engaging with the wider blogging community. I think I used the term 'holy huddle' on many occasions in my critique of the Christian blogging community - on reflection I'm not sure if my critique was completely fair. I do see the need for 'holy huddles' from time to time - I think it's a biblical thing to gather with fellow believers for worship, learning and encouragement - however I also see a call for action/engagement/mission/justice. These were things that I felt a distinct lack of of within the Christian blogging community.
At LivingRoom we have three core values/journeys - inner journey (worship, prayer - spiritual formation), outer journey (mission, justice, service) and together journey (community, fellowship etc). If I was to 'review' the God Blog community as it stood a year ago I would have rated it pretty highly on the 'inner' and 'together' journeys (although as I've written above there was also a lot of disunity) but I would have been forced to rate it pretty low on the 'outer' journey.
It was this area of lacking that was probably largely the reason that I've slowly withdrawn from active participation in the 'God Blog' community and an increased involvement in the wider blogging world.
I have been amazed by what I've found as I've undergone this transition. I don't wish to discuss all of these lessons and experiences here in a public forum (because much of it has to do with individuals who I have had opportunity to build wonderful and personal relationships with) however I will say that in the past 12 months of blogging outside of (or less connected with) 'God Blog' circles I've found and experienced God working in some pretty profound ways. I've also seen God's invitation to join him in his work both in the lives of individuals but also on a larger scale.
I'm also really encouraged to see quite a few Christian bloggers exploring similar things - some of whom have in the past (and even continue) to participate in 'God Blogging' but many of who have widened their focus.
I'm not sure this has been one of my more articulate posts - I've been considering writing it for months but have hesitated for fear of it being seen as a critique - but I guess I'm interested to see if anyone else has been pondering any of these things. Perhaps the God Blogging community has changed in the last 12 months since I've pulled back - I hope it has - but I'd be keen to hear of how others view the health of the God blogging community? Where is it strong, where is it in need of growth and how has it been changing and growing?
29 September, 2005 11:27 PM
Matt Glover has started a series of posts over at his blog on the topic of Manhood. He's working through a book by Steve Biddulph called Manhood.
It starts with a post titled 'The Problem' (I can just imagine what fun some will have with a title like that on the topic of Manhood..... but I digress.
His second post is Seven Steps to Manhood.
Looks like an interesting series to follow.
31 May, 2005 6:02 PM
As part of my current research position I get to interview all kinds of interesting emerging church, missional church, church planting, denominational type people. Today my colleague and I went and spent some time with Steve Addison.
Steve is an insightful fellow that I've heard speak on a number of occasions on the topics of 'movements' and 'church planting'. I've always found him to be someone with something helpful to say. Today was no different as he brought together in a concise and productive way some of the messages I'd been hearing in my research.
After our interview I found out that Steve recently started a blog. So now you can share in his wisdom also.
Recent posts include:
I know that many of the readers of this blog will find Steve's insights helpful and strongly recommend you stopping by to say hi.
26 April, 2005 2:45 PM
The past few days I've been getting random invitations to group instant messaging conversations on my MSN Messenger. I'll be happily blogging away when suddenly a window opens up with a group conversation going on with 10 or so others. They have been a pretty friendly group who randomly invite people to join their conversations which range from the gross, to the deep to the disturbing. My initial reaction to them was not a positive one but I decided to try and be a little gracious and hang around the other day to see what they were doing.
I was particularly interested in how others reacted to the invitations to the chat. You see I was not the only person to get an invite - they were constantly inviting people to join in and on the whole the reactions from those dragged into this conversation ranged from the mild displeasure to outright outrage. It seems people don't like like being approached by strangers randomly on the internet - in some ways what these MSN chatters were doing was SPAM.
I watched this cycle of invitation, attempt to engage and rejection over and over again. As I worked I left the window open and I saw the same process repeated many times. Only occasionally would anyone stay for a chat (perhaps 5% or less) - even when they did they didn't usually last long and probably stayed more out of curiosity than anything.
As I watched the cycle repeat itself - seeing angry people leave the conversation every minute or so I found myself remembering a similar cycle in real life. It was a couple of years ago when I was in the CBD of Melbourne waiting for a friend to go see a movie. I was sitting on a bench on a busy city street/outdoor mall. I was early (as usual) and settled in for a 20 minutes of people watching (one of my favorite hobbies).
It was lunch time and a lovely day so the mall was busy and people were milling about. One person caught my attention the most - he was a middle aged guy who had strategically stationed himself on a street corner where he had a prime view of those coming towards him from a number of directions. He systematically scanned the crowd as people walked towards him and after spotting a target would shuffle across to them and put himself directly in their path.
Whilst I couldn't hear the conversations I could tell from the body language that this guy was selling something. He interrupted the person's journey - making it very difficult for them to continue - attempted to engage the with words (and a pamphlet). The person usually looked very defensive and quite annoyed, usually trying to physically edge around the guy - sometimes they simply side stepped him and continued on but often they were forced to stop and listen to his sales pitch.
Very few stayed with him for more than 10 seconds - the majority of them left obviously angry or with more negative body language than when they'd first been approached. The cycle was the same as the MSN conversation I was observing - interruption, invitation, rejection, anger - with only a tiny proportion of those 'interrupted' responding and most leaving angry.
Of course the guy doing the selling was, on closer investigation, a Christian doing evangelism.
In a sense I came away from my observation of his style feeling I'd just watched a Spammer at work.
Whilst I don't doubt the earnestness of the heart of this guy I wondered at the overall impact that his strategy was having - was the Kingdom of God brought about in any fuller way through his efforts? I certainly hope so - however I wonder if the fruits of his labors left more people further from the Gospel than close to it.
It's easy to pick on Spam Evangelists like this guy - but as I pondered his actions I wonder if more of us are guilty of it than we might think - in more subtle ways.
Evangelism training these days talks more about 'relationship or friendship evangelism' but I still wonder as I flick through the books on the topic if there is something a little manipulative about the process. Is befriending someone because we'd like to see them converted just a slightly more subtle way of doing what our Evangelism spammer was doing?
I agree its probably more of an effective way of doing it - but something about the process leaves me feeling like its still manipulation - an interruption - with ulterior motives.
I'll be honest with you - I haven't worked out a nice answer to these feelings and hunches that I get. I take seriously the call to make disciples - but I wonder whether there is another way?
These are half finished thoughts - interested in others experiences and ideas.
25 April, 2005 7:31 PM
I've just had one of my adapted posts here at LivingRoom adapted and published over at Spero News. The article is titled Spirited entrepreneurship.
In it I talk about my recent grappling with a tension between Ministry and Business. Here's a taster:
'If a disciple is someone who loves God, loves the world they live in and loves their fellow believers; then I can't see why someone exclusively focusing upon doing church based ministry is responding in a more dedicated way than anyone else.
I'm starting to realize that especially when it comes to mission (or loving the world), it can be more advantageous to actually be in business than locked away in church ministry.
I'm not wanting to put down the idea that God calls some to full time, church based ministry. No way. I know many people who I genuinely feel that God has gifted for and called to work with Christians in churches. What I'm describing is a rebalancing in my own mind and life.'
Read more at Spero News | Spirited entrepreneurship
1 April, 2005 8:20 AM
The breaking news is that the Pope has just been read his last rites. Looks like a pretty hard week for our Catholic brothers and sisters.
Update -
Of course in the last few hours the Pope has sadly passed away. I'm tracking the news at the Pope Watch Blog if you want to get the latest news or if you'd like to leave a message, memory or prayer in memory of the Pope.
23 March, 2005 1:36 PM
Those of your in Melbourne might be interested in this event being held on 7 April on Business and Spirituality. Check out the blurb below or click the picture to the left to download a short PDF with details.
Christianity’s relationship with the business world seems to be tenuous at best. Christians who are not directly involved in some form of local church leadership often feel alienated and experience a profound sense of invalidation insofar as their church experience is concerned. It seems as though Christians who feel alive in business have no place in the church.
How do we move beyond this awkward relationship to a place where Christians in business are connected to their sense of vocation and calling, a sense that their activities in the business sphere could somehow intersect with God’s Kingdom agenda?
Postcards from the Corporate World is a window into a chaordic network called Catalyst Innovations, a member network of the Forge Mission Training Network. Founded by Paul Steele, Col Duthie in conversation with Alan Hirsch, Catalyst seeks to create a supportive and creative environment that nurtures entrepreneurial business leadership that will hopefully lead to the redemption of one of the most influential spheres we experience, the business world.
Paul Steele and Stephen Said will facilitate the evening. Stephen will be introducing Catalyst, and describing the innovative relationship between Forge and Catalyst, including the entrepreneurial internship run in partnership with Forge. Paul will be facilitating a conversation around the notion of Transformational Business, one of the key concepts at the heart of the Catalyst Network, and a source of liberation for many Christians in business.
DATE: Thursday April 7 th
WHERE: Retro Cafe 413 Brunswick Street Fitzroy (upstairs)
TIME: 7.30pm - 9pm or come at 6.30pm for dinner (cafe prices) COST: $10 for students and $15 for workers
MORE INFO: Contact me
23 March, 2005 9:34 AM
Who was Jesus?
He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.
Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.
Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest.
Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.
Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.
Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.
Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.
Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.
Gregory of Nazianzus, A.D. 381
21 March, 2005 12:53 PM
I've held off on posting about this until the event was over - but today I feel its appropriate to say a few words about it. I hope this doesn't come across as a Rant - but I've been pondering it for a while and wonder if perhaps the Church needs to think through its approach to marketing.... let me explain...
This weekend was 'Festival Victoria' (Victoria is the state I live in).
It sounds like a pretty normal event really - like the 'comedy festival', the 'fashion festival', the 'film festival' - Melbourne has a lot of festivals so 'Festival Victoria' fits in doesn't it.
The question is - what is 'Festival Victoria'?
If you're a semi observant Melbournian you'd have noticed posters plastered all over Melbourne about 'Festival Victoria' for the past few months - there have been radio ads also this past week or so on some of the commercial stations and I suspect there were ads in newspapers and perhaps even on TV. They were all advertising 'Festival Victoria'.
But what is 'Festival Victoria'?
The first ad I saw for it was a poster plastered on the brickwork on the outside of a local cafe with all the other posters there advertising upcoming rock concerts. Right in the middle was an ad for Festival Victoria that advertised a 'Hip Hop' concert with a number of bands. The art work was in red, black and white and it stood out from the posters around it. I didn't take much more notice of the poster than that - not being into Hip Hop.
Then I started seeing ads on the sides of bus stops again in Red and White. With big words like 'IS', 'GET' and 'WHAT' with smaller writing around them advertising Festival Victoria. They had messages on them like 'IS there more to life than this...', 'WHAT if there is life after death?' Underneath these ads was a picture of some guy I didn't recognize who had a name that at first didn't mean anything to me - Franklin Graham. They were promoting some event with music, entertainment and 'featuring Franklin Graham'.
The next I heard about it was on the Radio - a commercial station that plays light rock/pop music. The ad was for 'Festival Victoria' which was an event with bands, famous sports stars (with messages on video clips) and musicians and 'featuring Franklin Graham'. Of course by now I knew what Festival Victoria was because a number of my minister friends had asked me if I was going and had explained that Franklin Graham was actually Billy Graham's son and that the event was a big evangelism weekend - it was a modern day 'Crusade' - a... Festival.
They gave me brochures, pointed me to the website and told me there were ads on the Christian Radio Station advertising it too. I tuned into the Christian radio station to see what they were saying there and heard an ad that was quite different from what was on the commercial stations - it was spelt out much more clearly what the event was - it was something to bring unsaved friends to - there would be preaching, prayer, worship.
I checked out the website and saw similar language being used - 'prayer over Melbourne', 'preaching of the word' etc.
Interesting. I began to ponder the different messages I was hearing and as I did became more and more uncomfortable with was I was seeing and hearing.
Whilst I am totally behind the idea of evangelism and mission - I worry that the marketing and promotion that is being done of this event could be seen as somewhat manipulative and getting people to attend under false pretenses.
As far as I could see on the more public advertising on posters, billboards and radio - there was very little indication that this was a Christian event, that there would be preaching, prayer, worship or a call to faith given. There were a few hints that there might be something a little deeper going on - for instance the radio ad said that the sporting stars appearing on video would tell stories about what they'd found to be helpful for their lives (thats a paraphrase) - but really the statement was open to interpretation.
I mentioned my concerns to one of my minister friends and his defense of the Festival was that it was clear that Franklin Graham was going to be speaking and 'eveyone knows who Franklin Graham is'. The implication was that his name would be enough indication for people to know what the event was about. Of course until someone told me I didn't even know who he was - and I've been hanging out in church for 32 years - I'm not sure any of my non churchy type friends would have any idea.
I questioned the use of the word 'Festival' and was told it was a more relevant word these days than 'Crusade'. I agree - its a more relevant word - but wonder if perhaps its been used to mask what the event really is.
The word Festival does get used a lot in Melbourne - but it usually gets used in conjunction with a word that describes what the event is - 'Film Festival', 'Comedy Festival' to name just two examples. 'Festival Victoria' - what's that say about the event?
Ok - I'm probably sounding like I hate the idea of 'Festival Victoria' by now. I don't - I just have some concerns about the way it was marketed. I know of people who went along and enjoyed it, that took friends who had conversion experiences - I think thats great.
We could probably have a good discussion about the place of event evangelism vs relationship evangelism at this point. I personally don't find the big 'event' style fits with my own experience of evangelism - but do acknowledge that it has its place and has obviously had an impact upon many people over the centuries - however I do have a problem with people showing up to an event thinking that its going to be one thing and finding out when they get there that its another.
How many people showed up to the 'Hip Hop event' expecting a night of 'Hip Hop' only to find that as a special extra they actually get a message from a middle aged (and probably very nice) man from another country telling them about Jesus?
Now I'm not wanting to doubt that God can't move through a middle aged man from another country sharing the gospel to a bunch of hip hoppers (is that what you call hip hop fans?) - but I wonder how transparent and genuine it is. I wonder what the cost of such an approach is on the Hip Hoppers who don't respond to the gospel positively - the one's who go home furious about being sucked in possibly a step further away from Christ when they went to the event?
Again - I'm speaking as someone who is passionate about mission and as someone who didn't attend - but as someone who works among people who are skeptical enough about the Church without having to be exposed to this kind of marketing campaign.
Ok - I'm happy to be put back into line here and have others share opinions and experiences of Festival Victoria - am I a looney for thinking this way?
26 February, 2005 10:31 PM
Marcus blogs a benediction he wrote for the alt worship night a couple of us put together for Forge last week. The theme was incarnation. His benediction was one of the highlights of the night for many. Here's just a little bit of what he's written:
'May you love your neighbour, not the ones you wish you had but the ones you have; human and creature!
May you be connected to community built on good sex and intimate friendships.
May you know peace and reconciliation in the war zones of relationship, family, household, church and culture...'
He also posts a few pictures.
29 January, 2005 12:03 AM
Darren from
planet telex has decided this year to run a
lent blog to help him reflect upon this special time in the Christian calendar. It looks like a great project that would be worth getting involved with - unless of course you're giving up blogging for lent.....then it might be worth avoiding.
'So, I've decided to spend some time during lent reflecting on a blog and I've invited a number of people to participate in the experience. Many of those I've invited don't already have a blog up and running (yet) but are people who's reflections I'd like to hear during this lenten period. If anyone out there in the blogoverse would like to participate in the Lentblog please let me know by commenting here or emailing me.
The Lentblog's theme in work is 'relationships' but can spread further than that if participants would like, I'll provide some bible readings and reflections if people wish during the period to help with kickstarting their reflections.'
Read more at
planet telex - Lentblog 05
24 January, 2005 8:30 PM
Just spotted this article in Christianity Today, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience - which examines the difference between what Evangelical Christians believe and how they live their lives:
'Then the pollsters started conducting scientific polls of the general population. In spite of the renewal movement's proud claims to miraculous transformation, the polls showed that members of the movement divorced their spouses just as often as their secular neighbors. They beat their wives as often as their neighbors. They were almost as materialistic and even more racist than their pagan friends. The hard-core skeptics smiled in cynical amusement at this blatant hypocrisy. The general population was puzzled and disgusted. Many of the renewal movement's leaders simply stepped up the tempo of their now enormously successful, highly sophisticated promotional programs. Others wept.
This, alas, is roughly the situation of Western or at least American evangelicalism today.
Scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most “Christians” regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment.'
Read more at The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience
16 January, 2005 10:34 AM
Have been doing some teaching down at Soul Survivor this weekend and having a good time meeting some pretty passionate young people.
Yesterday we did a session called 'Spiritual Fitness Test 1' today I'm heading back down for part 2.
If you've surfed in from Soul Survivor welcome to my little blog. Some of the pages that you might like to check out that related to my sessions on 'Spiritual Fitness' include:
- Journey Resources
- Living Room Core Journeys
You might also like to check out a series of posts that I did on developing a 'holistic spirituality'. That series gives a bit of a different framework for thinking about your spirituality than what I gave you at Soul Survivor this weekend - but its got a similar vibe to it.
Feel free to say hi below in the comments section - happy for your feedback and comments on the sessions as I'm always looking to improve them. Thanks for stopping by.
25 November, 2004 3:02 PM
A few of you have emailed to ask for my notes from the Sex talk I did on Sunday. I actually don't use notes - I spoke off a powerpoint (actually it was a 'KeyNote' (mac program) presentation which is a very big file. However if you're interested you can actually download an mp3 version or hear a streamed version of it. Yep - you can actually hear my voice!
I'm a bit hesitant to to put this up as its a touchy topic.
In listening to it - keep in mind:
- that this is a talk mainly for young people
- that there is a powerpoint that fleshes some of it out more with visuals (including some book covers from Amazon, my main points, pictures etc)
- that there was another sermon two weeks before this that I'm building on - it talked a lot more about God, bible etc.
- it contains a few explicit words - I'd recommend this for over 16 year olds. (it is about Sex afterall! Have I now guaranteed you'll download it?)
- it goes for 40 or so minutes and contains periods of discussion that are not picked up by the microphone - you might want to fast forward through parts.
17 November, 2004 12:31 PM
I'm still preparing for an upcoming talk about Sex (it is this Sunday).
Thanks to those who have left their tips and encouragement in the previous post - its not too late to have your say.
One of the themes I'm going to be exploring is 'the messages we hear about Sex' in today's culture and in the church. I'm going to break people into age and gender groups to answer some questions including:
- 'Where and from whom did you first hear about sex?'
- 'What are the messages (both positive and negative) that you hear about Sex from Media and your peer group?
- 'What are the messages you hear about Sex from Church?'
I've done the exercise previously in another setting and the feedback time at the end where groups shared their findings were fascinating. Especially of interest was the difference in answers between generational groups.
The other thing that I found interesting from the exercise last time was that the 'messages' about sex from 'culture' were not all negative. In fact when compared to the list of 'messages' that people from Church there was almost an equal proportion of 'positive' and 'negative' messages from each.
So I thought I'd do the exercise here and open this up for discussion in comments. How do you answer the three questions above? If you feel comfortable to let us know your gender, age (approx is fine) and location then that would be helpful too.
5 November, 2004 9:25 PM
I'm a little worried - it seems that for some reason the word has gotten out that I'm good at talking about Sex.
Let me qualify that - the word seems to have gotten out that if you want someone to speak to your youth group or young adults - that I'm good at talking about Sex.
In my last church we had a four week series on the topic - we called it 'Sex Fest' (the service was called 'Festival' - hence the 'Fest' part). The service was aimed primarily at 14 to 30 year olds and we had a lot of fun with it. In fact some of what we did bordered on irreverent (it got pretty wacky) but the aim of it was to get people talking about a topic that Church often largely ignores - except when its says 'don't do it'.
'Let's talk about sex, baby
Let's talk about you and me
Let's talk about all the good things
And the bad things that may be' Salt-N-Pepper
I think churches should take Salt-N-Pepper's advice.
We had a lot of fun, but in the process took a good long look at what our culture says about sex (the truths and lies), what the bible says about it, the realities and pressures that we face with it, some of the health issues etc etc etc
Anyway - since that time I've had calls from a number of people who've heard about it and wanting me to do something similar in their churches/camps/youth groups.
I've got another one in the next week or so and I thought I'd open up the topic for discussion here and ask you if you've seen any creative ways of teaching young people about Sex? Have you seen any good resources? Any ideas or thoughts? Anything goes (well almost). Looking forward to your thoughts and experiences in comments.
Update - here is a starting point that I've already found. It is four MP3s of a record (remember them?) from the 1970's of a Christian educator. They are quite hilarious. Here are the links - its worth the download.
- How Babies are Born
- Girls and Menstruation
- The Problem with Growing Boys
- The Marriage Union
25 September, 2004 12:26 PM
Josué from Sonrie emailed me today about a piece he'd written about the internet and evangelism which I've taken a look at and would recommend as a good read. Head over and add your thoughts.
'Should we say that internet is evil? Far from it. Should we burn our computers and go to the mountains? Not yet! We just need to look at the reality (pixelized or not) and face it. We cannot go around the bushes. There is too much at stake.
Not everything new is bad—it is just different and… new. The best-seller printed book is the Bible. Millions of people have turned their lives to God by reading the pages of the Holy Book. However, there are so many evil books on circulation! We don’t ban publishing houses, though—we choose what we read.
If God had to start the Bible all over again, chances are that He would inspire a group of committed webmasters. The internet is the medium of today as the publishing material was the one of yesterday.'
Read more at Sonrie: finding Jesus in a pixelized reality -- internet evangelism
24 September, 2004 7:34 PM
On Sunday I'm speaking at a church and I've been drawn to the idea of 'Compassion' as a topic. I'm not really sure why - I just can't get it out of my head. I'm particularly drawn to the story in Mark 6:30-44 - the Feeding of the 5000. Taking into consideration the context of this story I'm quite challenged by the response of Jesus to the hoards of people around him that day.
Jesus and his disciples have had a real roller coaster of a ride the previous few chapters - the highs of his calming the storm, healing the paralytic, bleeding woman, the raising of a young girl from the dead but also the lows of his time in Nazareth and the news of the death of John the Baptist.
It is no wonder in Mark 6:30 that Jesus suggests that they get away to a solitary place for a bit to get some rest. I'd be positively exhausted by that point - the introvert that I am - and to be confronted by a crowd of over 5000 at that solitary place would have probably tipped me right over the edge. I'd probably have either curled up in the fetal position and done some rocking back and forwards or just gotten straight back into the boat and kept sailing on. At the very most I would have grudgingly gotten out of the boat to do a few token healings and maybe tell a rote learned sermon - only to disappear immediately after.
I can't imagine 5000 people all showing up to see me - and not just to see me but wanting something from me - its pretty likely that these would have been needy and demanding people - you see thats who seemed to be attracted to Jesus. Some would have been asking for teaching, others healing, others blessings, other a touch, others trying to trick him. Quite honestly (and I'm a bit ashamed to say it) - its my worst nightmare.
But despite his own exhaustion and grief - Jesus reacts a little differently to my imagined reactions - and its his response to the needy hoards that surrounded him that sunny day (ok - I'm taking some poetic license - sunny days are always nicer for picnics).
'When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.' v34.
Compassion - sounds nice doesn't it. Makes one feel all warm and fuzzy. Memories flood my mind of laying sick in bed as a child and mum laying her cool hand on my head to comfort me in my distress. Compassion - nice.
The problem is that the word for compassion in Greek isn't really a nice warm and fuzzy feeling kind of word. 'Splanchna' is the little beast I'm referring to and (there is really no nice way to put this) it seems that the word probably had more to do with bowel movements than anything else. The verse in question could almost be translated:
''When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, his stomach turned..... his bowels moved..... it was gut wrenching..... he was sick to his stomach....'
The reaction to the lost, bewildered, needy crowd before him that day was gut wrenching for Jesus. He was moved in a very deep - almost physical kind of way. Perhaps today we might say 'his heart ached'. Pretty intense stuff.
And its not just a one off experience for Jesus - it seems that he often has this tummy trouble - he has it when meeting two blind men, a leper, a mother grieving her child, a demon possessed man - to name just a few instances.
Interesting in Colossians 3:12 we see Paul endorses this kind of reaction to those in need around us but saying 'clothe yourself with Compassion'.
Doh! I was hoping this was just the kind of stuff Jesus did and that we could leave it at that. Alas poor Reader we cannot. Clothe yourself with compassion has something of intentionality about it.
I watched my wife prepare for work this morning as I lazed in bed attempting to wake up (I'm a bit slower off the mark than her) and I realized how much effort some people put into clothing themselves. Whilst I tend to just clothe myself with whatever is clean, close to hand and temperature appropriate 'V' has a wonderful way of carefully considering what she puts on.
Sometimes V's 'clothing' process can take 20 minutes (or more) as she lays out an outfit (often more than one) after considering not only the day's weather, but also her days schedule, what she's previously worn to work, the season's colors, matching shoes and accessories, what colleagues are likely to wear etc etc etc (ok, I might be exaggerating slightly - but you get my point - V is quite intentional about the clothing process).
This is the kind of image I have when I hear Paul's call to clothe ourselves in Compassion. Clothes don't just leap on our bodies - we consider what we wear - we have to put them on - its an intentional process. In the same way, something like compassion doesn't just accidently jump into our lives. It takes consideration, effort and intentionality to live in a way that causes your stomach to turn.
So how do we 'put on compassion' anyway? This is the question I've been pondering today. You see I think I'm a compassionate kind of guy most of the time. I feel a bit of a stomach flip when I watch the world news. I've written my fair share of cheques to a wide range of charities - I've even got a sponsor child! Hmmm....
Let me share four aspects of the way I see Jesus interacting with people that make me wonder if I really have any idea at all what compassion is.
1. Jesus went to places where he would encounter people with real needs. Strange how he kept bumping into the blind, paralyzed, leprer and dead. It hit me today that whilst perhaps there was a higher incidence of people with these types of afflictions in Jesus day that these were not the kind of people who are that mobile. Without wanting to make light of their predicament - it isn't that hard to avoid a blind, paralyzed or dead person. Lepers might have been a little harder to avoid - but they were generally kept away from the rest of the population. I suspect that Jesus didn't cross to the other side of the road when he saw needy people - in fact I suspect he may have made a beeline directly for them.
The day at the pool of bethesda comes to mind (John 5). This was a place where the sick went. It was an ancient hospital of sorts. What was Jesus doing in a place like that - did he just stumble upon it one day? I doubt it - Jesus hung out in places where compassion was actually needed.
So do we allow ourselves to go to such places? I know in my life it is pretty easy to avoid needy people. The choices we make each day can either put us in their path or not. Choices about who we will be friends with - where we will live - where we will socialize - what parts of the newspaper we'll read. Unless we're willing to go to these places we drastically decrease the ability we have to put on compassion.
2. Jesus really saw people - deeply. He didn't see people's problems but their potential. He had this way of looking at people and seeing deep into them. He saw them as people, not objects. He saw them as made in God's image not as failures. He didn't label people but saw into them in a deep way. He saw their true issues and needs - not just the ones on the surface that we often look at when we interact with others. He really saw people.
Again I think we often fail in this area too. You see one of the ways I (we?) cope with the needs of those around us is to see them as objects. Often we do this by labeling people - grouping them together and making gross generalizations about them. We think we know them because we've read about that type of person - we think we know their issues because we see the symptoms or some of their behavior - but do we really see them? Do we see their potential? Do we really see them as humans or do we cope with their neediness with a quick glance rather than a deep soul searching look.
3. Jesus allowed what he saw to impact how he felt. This is where the 'stomach turning' comes into it. We see Jesus react to situations and people with emotion. We see him weep, we see him angry, we see him fired up, we see him respond with pity. There was no keeping people at an arms length with Jesus - his response to people was heart felt.
Again I am confronted by this. Too often I think we keep people at an arms length. We disengage our emotions from the hurt and brokenness we see in the lives of other because we don't want to feel the pain that might result in being impacted by others. Perhaps its fear, perhaps its our own insecurities or disfunction - but often its just easier to be clinical and removed from people than to actually let our guard down a little.
4. Jesus allowed what he saw and felt to move him into action. In the situation in Mark 6 he responds first with words and teaching and then with food. At other times where we see the 'compassion' word feature to describe his response to people he's moved to heal, cast out demons, comfort, raise from the dead, touch and defend.
True compassion cannot remain an internalized feeling - it must work itself out and respond in some tangible way. Someone once said to me - 'compassion is a feeling of pity that causes one to want to help or show mercy.' I'd probably want to put it a little stronger than that - but its heading in the right direction.
If we actually get to the stage of responding to the needs of others (and more often than not I suspect I've already bought out of compassion in one of the earlier stages) this can be the place where it all just gets too hard. Sometimes there is a hopelessness that can paralyze us from responding, other times its fear, other times plain laziness. We also live in a world where its becoming more and more normal to pay someone else to respond to the needs of the world - whatever the case the temptation is often to leave the feelings we have as just feelings and not to respond.
So - this has turned into quite a rave - unexpected really - I got a little carried away. The question remains though - are we compassionate people? Do we allow ourselves to go to places where there are needy people - do we really see them - do we allow ourselves to be impacted by what we see - are we willing to be moved to action?
4 August, 2004 3:11 PM
The Pope is experimenting with an interesting approach to Mission....
"The Vatican now has a sports department.
Pope John Paul, who was athletic in his younger days, has established a sports bureau in the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Lay People.
The Vatican announced the initiative, pointing to the (m) millions of people who will follow the Olympics in Athens this month as proof of the important role sports plays in today's world.
The Reverend Kevin Lixey, an American priest who's setting up the department, says the pope has always been interested in sports "as a means of evangelization and a great way to form youth."
Lixey adds that the initiative also is aimed at countering negative examples in sports -- to "let people know that there are sportsmen who are also virtuous.""
Continue reading Pope sets up Vatican sports department.
Also read about it at Once athletic pope sets up sports department as church seeks new ways to reach young people
26 July, 2004 11:50 AM
One of the things that I've started in the last month is an internship in 'Missional Entrepreneurship'.
'Huh?!?' you say....that's what I said too when I first heard the term.
Let me explain a little with a story.
When I was 9 or 10 I started my first business. I noticed back then that the boys in my class started doing some 'weird' stuff. They started talking about girls. Actually at first it wasn't really 'girls' - they started with women, women they'd never met. To be more specific the woman they all seemed to be interested in was Brooke Shields. They talked about her incessantly. Not only did she invade our conversation but she also started to invade their school books. They would stick her picture all over their books, on their pencil cases - anywhere they found space.
I was at home one day and I noticed one of my mum's magazines lying on a the table. I'd seen them around the house before, but had never taken any notice until now - Brooke Shields was on the cover. Not only that there was around 10 pictures of her inside. A light went on in my mind. The boys at school wanted pictures of Brooke Shields - I had 10 of them.
I hadn't heard of 'Supply and Demand' or any other economic terms, but I knew an opportunity when I saw one and the next day at school I set up my 'Brooke Shields Shop. I 'mentioned' my stash of pictures to the biggest loud mouth in the class and soon I had more customers that I could supply - I also had $4!
Mum's old magazine collection kept me going for a while - plenty of Brooke in them. Once I ran out of Brooke pictures I started talking up other models, pop singers and movie stars. I even sold a few pictures of male movie stars to the girls in my class.
Once mum's old magazine ran out I started buying women's magazines myself (I got a few weird looks from the newsagent). I could make $4-$5 per magazine profit. I was rolling in money (or so I thought) but my windfall was short lived as my teacher soon caught wind of my venture and told me it wasn't appropriate for me to fund my candy habit by taking advantage of the hormones beginning to appear in my class mates. My first business promptly died.
My second business was similar - it took place in my second year of high school - my mum had a big stash of rulers, pens, pads and pencils left over from a school fete. Once again I saw an opportunity and opened up a mini stationary shop selling them out of the empty locker next to mine to my classmates who had lost their pen or forgotten to bring their pencil case to school. Once again the business didn't last long because I soon sold out of my supply of pens and rulers.
Growing up through high school I was always drawn to 'business' type subjects. I did Economics, Accounting, Legal Studies, Politics and English in my final year of high school and studied Marketing at University. I always wanted to expand on these skills and saw myself as a business man.
As I've shared before on this blog - this all came to an end when I had a 're-conversion' experience as a 21 year old. I decided that I wanted to give my life over to God in the best way that I knew how - 'Ministry'. The advice I received from some influential people was to quit my Marketing degree and go to bible college. Seemed like good advice at the time - I mean how could someone truly be a Christian in Marketing right - isn't that just about greed, manipulating people and accumulating money?
Surely truly dedicated Christians showed their commitment to God by giving up such things and going into mission or ministry?
So for the last decade I've suppressed any inkling of business or enterprise that may have existed within me. I saw such a focus as not being compatible with what God would want for my life. In fact at times I secretly I quite arrogantly looked at some of those around me who had chosen to work in the 'secular' workplace as being second rate Christians.
The past few years have seen a turn around in my thinking on this topic (one of the many changes in my life lately). I'm still thinking and praying it through, but I alongside my changed thinking on 'what a church is' I'm feeling challenged to rethink what it means to be a 'disciple' also.
If a disciple is someone who loves God, loves the world they live in and loves their fellow believers (inner, outer, together journeys/calls of Jesus) then I can't see why someone exclusively focusing upon doing church based 'ministry' is responding in a more dedicated way than anyone else.
In fact I'm starting to realize that especially when it comes to 'mission' (or loving the world) - it can be more advantageous to actually be in business than locked away in 'church ministry'.
Before I go on I'm not wanting to put down the idea that God calls some to full time, Church based ministry. No way - I know many people who I genuinely feel that God has gifted for and called to work with Christians in Churches. What I'm wanting to describe is a rebalancing in my own mind and life. I guess I'm discovering a place of balance in my own life after the pendulum has swung to an extreme over the last decade.
Basic mission principle 1 - if you want to be effective as a missionary you have to have proximity to them. Where do most adults spend most of their waking hours each week? The Work Place. So on a very micro level I think we need to start seeing the work place, business, enterprises etc as a place where we need to encourage Christians to be in, not just to put food on the table and to help fund 'real ministry' but as a primary place of ministry/mission/faith itself.
I'm also thinking on a macro level also. Business/Commerce/Enterprise is perhaps the most powerful influence on our society in the West today. The Church used to play a pretty influential role in society but has been pushed aside (some would say its forfeited the right to such influence by its own behavior). More and more I'm noticing that businesses are taking on the role of providing avenues for social concern/welfare that previously would have fallen back upon the Church and Government. I suspect this will happen increasingly in future.
The power that Business wields on our society is often labeled an 'Evil' - often rightly so. But rather than protesting from the fringes could another way forward be for Christians to influence from within? Maybe a twin approach is a way forward for us.
Perhaps I'm being naive, but most business people that I've met don't want to be manipulative, they actually do care for the society they live in, they do want to make a difference - they often just need to be encouraged to do so and see ways of ethical, life giving business to be modeled for them.
My realization of late - Mission and Enterprise are not necessarily mutually exclusive - ok its not profound - but I'm a little slow off the mark.
So recently I've decided to stop just thinking about these things and actually explore ways to test and actually implement some of them.
A few months back I looked around at the skills and experiences that I've had in life and decided that one of my passions is 'communication'. I love to communicate with people, especially on a mass communication level via speaking and writing. Communication energizes and inspires me and I take virtually every opportunity to speak or write that I can
Up until the last year or so I've exercised this passion almost exclusively through preaching and writing a few 'Christian' articles.
My experience in blogging over the past 18 months has also given me a few skills in developing websites, (not designing them but rather in search engine optimization, content generation etc). For me there is a natural meeting between this passion and the skills I've developed and so a small (micro) business has emerged.
Those who read this blog regularly will have sensed this as my blogging on this site has changed, been a little lighter and I keep mentioning other blogs that I've started. Some of you have expressed some concern to me over this change in my approach - I hope this post sheds some light on some of my thinking.
I'm not moving away from 'church ministry' - working intentionally for LivingRoom is still important to me and I foresee that I'll continue to do so in the years ahead in some paid part time capacity. However at this time I'm also wanting to explore re-igniting the entrepreneur within me and will explore how the skills and experiences that I've accumulated in my 32 years of life can be transferred into other arenas.
I'm not sure if I've expressed myself very well here - I'm sure there will be more posting on this topic over the next weeks as I continue to mull it over. If anyone is still reading this (sorry its been rather long and muddled) I'm interested in your thoughts as I always learn so much from what you all have to say.
19 July, 2004 9:06 AM
Thanks for the well wishers and encouragement that people left in the last post. I appreciate your kind words.
Last night I spoke at the church my brother and sister-in-law work at (it does run in the family). It was a good night. I spoke about Mission using the 4 P's of mission material that I have previously posted about here.
Last week I was speaking to someone about this approach to mission and they told me that it was an 'interesting' way to look at it, but that they just didn't have time to develop 'presence' with any new people. They said that they were in so many relationships with people that they couldn't possibly commit to any more. We unpacked the relationships that they were in and soon found that every single one of them was with other believers. The other reason they were so busy was that they were so heavily involved in church activities (2 services a week, one bible study, worship team practice, occasional preaching duties, prayer meetings, deacon's meetings and a men's breakfast once a month).
They simply didn't have time for mission because they were so busy in deep relationships with Christians and doing Church activities.
Something has to give doesn't it? Either we excuse ourselves from the great commission or we perhaps need to make some room in our lives to actually respond to it and develop significant relationships with those who do not belong to our communities.
11 July, 2004 7:39 PM
Alan Creech has another good post asking the question - Why the Liturgy Helps?
'I see it helping like this: you have a simple, organic, emerging faith community who wonders what to do. You have the church planter/leader/pastor of that community who has likely been trained (read: almost ruined) in a system that makes them the be all and end all of everything that goes on there. They must perform. They must get people to "come" to their thing. Then, they must keep them there by providing a rich worship experience and feeding them until they are fat little Christian piggies who can't move. There's a fair amount of pressure in something like that. "I've got to come up with something to talk about on Tuesday night!" "I've got to feed these people the Word!" "I have to come up with a system for discipleship!" AaaagghhHhhhhh!!! We be trippin'! One really practical way the liturgy can help is that it is a very basic structure that is simply there.'
He goes on.... (but I'll let you read that yourself along with his Part 1
At Livingroom we don't use liturgy on a regular (or even really a semi regular) basis. It isn't because I disagree with it or anything - but really to be honest I've hardly ever seen it used/modeled. Perhaps I need to go hang out with Alan and his crew. Having said that - the few times I've been involved in groups that have used liturgy I've found it to be a really refreshing and meaningful experience. Maybe its something to explore for the months ahead....after all I am trying to come up with something for Tuesday night!
6 July, 2004 8:58 AM
Michelle over at Serenity Dawn had one of those blogging frenzy days yesterday when she posted five posts in just a few hours.
One that caught my eye was Where's your focus? where she talks about 'money'.
'What would people say if I sold everything, if I gave it all away to the poor? That I was being stupid not to make a plan and a future for my son? That I am naieve, living with my head in the clouds, not making sense?
Do I REALLY, truly trust God to supply my needs if giving it all up is what He'd require of me?
Paying lipservice to Christianity, being good and nice and kind - that's easy. But REALLY living what Jesus taught. That's just plain difficult. It goes against all safe and logical action, it recognizes the temporary status of this planet and another kingdom not of this world, it defies worldly economics.'
I left my long comments there.
17 June, 2004 12:07 PM
Does anyone out there have any experience of using online discussion forums within a church community?
A group I've had a little bit to do with has started one - it has some great discussions going on in it but there is some real tension being expressed between a small group of individuals that is perhaps getting a little destructive. I've been asked for some advice.
If anyone uses discussion forums in their church (ie mainly used by church members) I'd appreciate any thoughts on what guidelines, rules, boundaries you might set. Are there some internal issues that you don't discuss online but would reserve for face to face interaction? How do you deal with conflict? etc
Your thoughts in comments would be appreciated.
28 May, 2004 2:04 PM
Bene Diction points to an interesting survey that a social psychology professor named Dr. Mark Vincent is trying to find Christians to fill in. Its on the topic of 'Love Thy Neighbor'. Check out the survey on this interesting topic. Will be interested to view the results.
23 May, 2004 1:46 PM
Anita is wanting to have some discussion over what we mean by 'the Bible is inerrant'. Head over and have your say.
18 May, 2004 10:12 AM
Tonight at LivingRoom we're beginning a series on Everyday Spirituality - specifically tonight focusing upon the workplace. In doing some searches on the net for resources on the topic I was surprised to find very little at first. Strangely enough my own site came up a number of times in Google simple because I'd mentioned it in passing a couple of times. Scary how Google makes a person an expert in something simply for using the right words repeatedly in the one paragraph. I had to dig a little deeper to find some quality stuff online and thought I'd share some of what I found (which comes at the topic from different perspectives and locations around the globe) here:
If you have any other suggestions of books, sites or online articles that might add to this conversation please feel free to add them in comments below.
4 May, 2004 12:06 AM
The Greenman has been writing about pain:
'A scar is a physical record of earlier pain that has made us the complex and, hopefully, balanced individual that we are today. Pain is integral to life and we all experience it. It is an interesting phenonemon that, largely through medical advances, we have come to see pain as completely negative. This was not always the case. Primitive cultures often viewed pain as not only unavoidable but also a path to a more complete person. It was integral to so many initiation ceremonies across the world that it is likely that it vested something in a young man that they would have had difficulting gaining without it, generalised perhaps as "maturity".'
This reminds me of The Gift of Pain by Philip Yancy and Paul Brand. Like their other work together this is an excellent book which examines how Pain is a gift rather than something to be avoided. Pain has a purpose and a life without it is actually actually one of the most terrible afflictions - just ask someone who suffers with Leprosy. Whilst few of us enjoy the sensation of pain, it gets our attention and alerts us to something that is wrong.
I might have to get the book out tomorrow and write a quote or two.
3 May, 2004 4:59 PM
After I sat down last night after speaking, my mind began to wander a little while the congregation sang their last couple of songs.... I'd drawn on the 3 circles diagram (pictured left) on the whiteboard up the front as a basis for some of what I'd talked about and I began to ask myself how many dollars and resources the average church put into each journey. It'd be an interesting survey to do.
As I reflect upon my experience in two previous churches I suspect that the answer would be that the 'inner journey' attracts most of our resources and the 'together journey' the second highest proportion. As a minister I would have spent at least 50% of my time planning for services, preaching, worship leading, in worship planning teams, pastoral teams reviewing services etc. Of the rest of the time, a fair chunk was also spent doing similar preparation, planning and participation for small groups/bible studies or meeting one on one in pastoral care situations.
As I think about the church budgets in I suspect that the majority again went to 'inner and together journeys'. Most of the money in those budgets would have gone to pastoral wages, a significant amount of the rest was spent on buildings which were used mostly for worship services and pastoral teams, also significant amounts were spent on administration to keep the logistics of a community running and upon resources to build up members.
As I think about the content of services I suspect that again we focused the most upon the 'inner journey'. The biggest push seemed to be in being stronger in one's spiritual journeys of prayer, worship, scripture etc. There was some preaching on relationships (togetherness) and at times some on the outward journeys of mission and occasionally justice, but mostly on a personal individual journey of faith.
It is no wonder that the majority of times that I ask people to identify which journey they resonate with most that they generally select the inner and together journeys and that on almost every occasion I've asked them to choose the one where they are least comfortable or weakest in that they choose the outer journey...
3 May, 2004 1:30 PM
Today I've been thinking about the way Jesus called his first disciples and comparing it to the way we tend to do it today.
Matthew 4:18-20 - One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" And they left their nets at once and went with him. - New Living Translation
Jesus gives one simple reason why they should follow him. 'I will show you how to fish for people'.
After 32 years of growing up in church, I cannot ever remember anyone giving an altar call like that. I've heard a number of altar calls in the last year that have taken different approaches...
- Fire and Brimstone - You could get hit by a bus on the way home tonight, where would you go? Hell is a reality, if you don't make a decision tonight you could end up there....
- Life, Purpose, Meaning - Are you feeling lost? Are you in a dark place? Jesus offers purpose, meaning and life. Come to him and you'll find these things....
- Prosper - Do you want the best life that you can have? Do you want to live to your potential, achieve everything that you can achieve, see your dreams become reality? Ask and you'll receive, seek and you'll find, knock and the door will be opened to you - name it, claim it...
- Sinner - There is a cliff, God is on one side, you are on the other side. There is a chasm between you which is your sin. Jesus is the bridge...pray this prayer and believe tonight and....
Of course I'm paraphrasing and generalizing but I wonder how our approach of today compares to the call of Jesus. It strikes me that a lot of the above approaches are very much about the state of the individual being called. Follow Jesus and YOU will find purpose, prosper, not go to hell, be united with God etc...
Jesus seems to take a different approach in this particular calling... 'follow me and I'll teach you how to have an impact on others - I'll teach you how to do what I do.'
I know I'm looking at three verses in isolation here, that I'm ignoring other examples of people being called to follow Jesus - but sometimes I wonder if set new Christians up for a rather selfish, passive and consumeristic Christianity right from the very beginning.
Thinking out loud here - interested in your thoughts...
27 April, 2004 2:46 PM
I'd like to introduce you to an online buddy of mine who comes from the same city as me (Melbourne) but whom I'm yet to meet in person.
His name is Nathan and he runs an excellent blog called My Virtutal Faith. Actually if you head over to his blog today you'll find that he's closing it down....
So why am I introducing you to him? Well he's about to start a new project that I'd like to encourage you to give your feedback on.
Some of his thinking on it came out of a little post/rant I wrote a few weeks back called Holy Huddle Blogging II.
So he's decided to start a new project that aims to engage with not just Christians but also those who are not coming at faith from that perspective. Nathan explains it a whole lot better at his My Virtual Faith Project Page where he asks you for your feedback that will help him develop this brand new site.
I'd love to encourage you to head over and lend your support and wisdom to Nathan - reading his stuff I'm touched by his genuine desire to do something outwardly focused through his online presence and think that together we can be a part of the discerning process he's going through.
22 April, 2004 5:47 PM
Posting is light at the moment because I'm in the books researching an Old Testament essay. The topic is 'In what sense is the story of Saul a tragedy?'
It is calling for an literary critical examination of the genre of Tragedy.
I've always felt uncomfortable with the story of Saul in 1 Samuel. The story of a guy who doesn't want to be king, yet he's thrust into the lime light, chosen and anointed by God to do the job. Then he makes a blunder or two (that almost seems where he's caught out on technicalities). As a result he's told that he's going to lose his position as King to someone who is better than him. He seeks to repent, approaches God on numerous times, but God is silent except for the evil spirit he sends to afflict Saul with....
He spends the rest of his time seemingly struggling with himself - its a bit of a no win situation really - chasing the guy who is supposed to replace him, even though you get the feeling he knows he's doomed to fail and is doing the wrong thing.
He ends up alone, afraid and isolated on a battlefield where even his servant isn't even willing to help him out of his misery and he has to take his own life. His body is captured and mutilated and carted around by his enemies....
In contrast we have his successor (the 'better' one) who ends up a murderer and adulterer (to name a few of his sins) being glorified as one of the great kings!
I've never really quite known what to make of a story like that. In fact I'm beginning to wonder if I'm actually supposed to do anything with it! Previously I've always wanted to find the 'point' of biblical narratives. What does it mean? How can I explain it?
Stories like these are more complex than that - I wonder if in our attempt to 'explain' them whether we somehow gloss over something deeper and more profound in the story itself.
I'm still not sure 'what to do with it' (maybe the next book or article I read will tell me!) but I'm beginning to see that Saul's story is actually a story of life that many of us see aspects of our own stories in. For me it touches on some of those deeper, nagging, incomprehensible and usually unspoken questions that float around in many of our minds like - Why is their 'evil' in the world? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is God sometimes (often?) silent?
I've got more reading to do...
20 April, 2004 3:26 PM
‘The experience of Divine Presence wholly satisfies, and there are a few who, like those on the Mount of Transfiguration, want to linger there forever and never return to the valleys where people live, where there are demons to be cast out. But there is more to the experience of God than that of being plucked out of the world. The fuller experience, I am sure, is of a Love that sends us out into the world’. A Testament of Devotion p63.
