God in the month of August gave me financial blessings that I am incredibly thankful for. In recent months the American dollar became very weak in the Australian economy. Seventy seven cents of our currency was equivalent to one Australian dollar when I came in January 2007. In July the cost had risen to ninety six cents on the dollar and it was expected that both dollars would have the same strength soon.
While I am a single young man and can live easily on a small amount of money, the weakening of U.S. Currency was frustrating. Especially since I was hoping to move in a year to an area that had higher rent costs. In my heart I knew that God would care for those financial needs in his perfect way. But there was still anxiety and fear about the financial situation as well.
Then earlier this month the American dollar began to gain strength. For weeks now it has held strong at eighty-six cents on the dollar! The change is probably the result of Americans driving less and using less fuel. It results in more than one hundred dollars of new income for me in the month of August. I am fairly certain the American dollar will go down again. But for now I am rejoicing in the financial help God is giving.
The fuel here in Australia has become less expensive as well. In July gas was as expensive as $1.70 a liter ($6.80 a gallon) during the week. It was reported that families could not pay for necessities such as groceries because of the high fuel prices. Many people in both the U.S. and Australia stopped driving as much because of those prices. As a result the price went down and in July fuel could be purchased for $1.50 or less per liter. This was a great blessing for me because I do a lot of driving.
This morning as I checked the balance of my missionary account I found yet another pleasant surprise. A Church had taken me on for $75.00 of support a month! This was surprising because I had not been contacted by the church or talked to them recently. That extra support will definitely be useful as I continue serving God here in Australia. The last month has been one of great encouragement as God reminded me he knows what my financial needs are. He will not always meet them in a dramatic way like new support, or lowering fuel costs. But that does not mean he is blind to the needs I have. I am so grateful that God this month reminded me he knows my needs.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Lend Us A Hand
Recently I read this story about a catholic minister and the boys he met one day. It made me think about how many times the unsaved call out to Believers for help. Sadly most times we are too preoccupied to ever hear their voices.
“While walking to his parish one day in clerical garb, a couple of kids called to him from across the street. ‘Hey mister would you stop being a minister long enough to give us a hand?’ Stunned by the words but braced for the challenge he crossed the street. When he arrived on their side he found that the chain of one of their bikes had broken and needed to be fixed. So he knelt down right there on the sidewalk and started to dismantle the bike and remove the chain. The two young brothers couldn't believe that this minister would actually get down to help them. And they were even more surprised when he proved skilled at fixing their problem.
When he had finished repairing the bicycle, they apologized for making him get his hands so filthy with oil and grease. He shrugged it off. ‘No problem fellas. Want to learn how to get off grime like this?’ ‘No way’, one of them said, ‘you cant get that off here.’
‘Let me show you,’ he continued. Once again he got down on the ground, but this time he gathered up dirt and washed his hands in some loose soil. After he scrubbed the dirt into his hands he turned to them and said, ‘do you know where we can find some water?’ The boys said, ‘we live right around the corner. Come with us.’
So the three of them went marching right into the kitchen of their house, much to the surprise of their mother, who was asked to move over at the sink as she stood open mouthed at the strange priest her children had brought home with them. ‘Thank you for letting me wash my hands here,’ the priest said as the boys watched the water work its magic on his hands, restoring them to spotless purity. The mother then asked him to stay for tea. He confessed that this was one of the strangest pastoral calls he had ever made, but also professed to having learned a lot about ministry in the postmodern culture from this one incident.[1]”
[1] Dr. Leonard Sweet, Introduction to Organic Church (Neil Cole)
“While walking to his parish one day in clerical garb, a couple of kids called to him from across the street. ‘Hey mister would you stop being a minister long enough to give us a hand?’ Stunned by the words but braced for the challenge he crossed the street. When he arrived on their side he found that the chain of one of their bikes had broken and needed to be fixed. So he knelt down right there on the sidewalk and started to dismantle the bike and remove the chain. The two young brothers couldn't believe that this minister would actually get down to help them. And they were even more surprised when he proved skilled at fixing their problem.
When he had finished repairing the bicycle, they apologized for making him get his hands so filthy with oil and grease. He shrugged it off. ‘No problem fellas. Want to learn how to get off grime like this?’ ‘No way’, one of them said, ‘you cant get that off here.’
‘Let me show you,’ he continued. Once again he got down on the ground, but this time he gathered up dirt and washed his hands in some loose soil. After he scrubbed the dirt into his hands he turned to them and said, ‘do you know where we can find some water?’ The boys said, ‘we live right around the corner. Come with us.’
So the three of them went marching right into the kitchen of their house, much to the surprise of their mother, who was asked to move over at the sink as she stood open mouthed at the strange priest her children had brought home with them. ‘Thank you for letting me wash my hands here,’ the priest said as the boys watched the water work its magic on his hands, restoring them to spotless purity. The mother then asked him to stay for tea. He confessed that this was one of the strangest pastoral calls he had ever made, but also professed to having learned a lot about ministry in the postmodern culture from this one incident.[1]”
[1] Dr. Leonard Sweet, Introduction to Organic Church (Neil Cole)
Flawed Extremes
I have been thinking a lot lately about the terms conservative and progressive. Here in Australia the conservative Christians are the ones who are very rigid and do things the way it was ten or fifteen years ago. The progressive Believers attempt to bring change into the church and are constantly looking for the next new idea. It is not surprising that both of these groups don't like each other and encourage people to adopt their ministry philosophy instead of the others.
I sort of got caught in the middle of this war between conservative and progressive Christians when I came to Australia. Both groups wanted me to make a decision on whether I would be conservative or progressive. The situation was very hard for me because I didn't completely agree with either group.
I agree with the strong doctrinal stand that the conservatives take. On the other hand, I personally feel that the church should grow and change its methods of ministry in order to make a stronger impact upon their community. Doctrine is never changed under any circumstances though.
I liked some of the new methods that the progressive churches used. But could not agree with all of their methods, or the weakened doctrinal position that those methods were based upon.
My response was to become involved with both groups. Friends told me that this was not possible and sooner or later I would have to choose one group. But after a year and a half I still have strong relationships with both conservatives and progressives. We don't always agree on everything but that is just part of life. In those situations we agree to disagree except when major doctrine is in jeopardy. Sometimes it feels like I am walking a tightrope hundreds of feet in the air while working with both groups. But that is a small price to pay in order to become a “balanced Christian.”
Both the conservative and progressive extreme have their problems. A part of me feels as if a new group of Christians should be developed. A group that takes the doctrine of the conservatives, and blends it with the creativity and growth of progressives. The doctrine will give us a foundation to evaluate and judge all new methods. And the methods will allow us to share God's timeless truth in a way that is applicable to the current culture. The problem is nobody is really clear on what balanced Christians look like. We as Believers must spend time studying the Scriptures and meditating upon God's character (Holiness balanced with love). As we study God's Word he will show us what it means to live the balanced Christian life.
It is important that we start thinking about what it means to live in a balanced way. This doesn't mean that we totally accept all of the new spiritual growth books that come along. It means we come to the realisation that both extremes are flawed in their own way. And in order to reach the next generation, we must allow God to help us think outside of our categories.
I sort of got caught in the middle of this war between conservative and progressive Christians when I came to Australia. Both groups wanted me to make a decision on whether I would be conservative or progressive. The situation was very hard for me because I didn't completely agree with either group.
I agree with the strong doctrinal stand that the conservatives take. On the other hand, I personally feel that the church should grow and change its methods of ministry in order to make a stronger impact upon their community. Doctrine is never changed under any circumstances though.
I liked some of the new methods that the progressive churches used. But could not agree with all of their methods, or the weakened doctrinal position that those methods were based upon.
My response was to become involved with both groups. Friends told me that this was not possible and sooner or later I would have to choose one group. But after a year and a half I still have strong relationships with both conservatives and progressives. We don't always agree on everything but that is just part of life. In those situations we agree to disagree except when major doctrine is in jeopardy. Sometimes it feels like I am walking a tightrope hundreds of feet in the air while working with both groups. But that is a small price to pay in order to become a “balanced Christian.”
Both the conservative and progressive extreme have their problems. A part of me feels as if a new group of Christians should be developed. A group that takes the doctrine of the conservatives, and blends it with the creativity and growth of progressives. The doctrine will give us a foundation to evaluate and judge all new methods. And the methods will allow us to share God's timeless truth in a way that is applicable to the current culture. The problem is nobody is really clear on what balanced Christians look like. We as Believers must spend time studying the Scriptures and meditating upon God's character (Holiness balanced with love). As we study God's Word he will show us what it means to live the balanced Christian life.
It is important that we start thinking about what it means to live in a balanced way. This doesn't mean that we totally accept all of the new spiritual growth books that come along. It means we come to the realisation that both extremes are flawed in their own way. And in order to reach the next generation, we must allow God to help us think outside of our categories.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pulling the Plug
About a year ago I began working with the youth group at a local Church on Wednesday nights. This was a very exciting thing for me because I love working with teenagers. I also believe that youth work is part of my ministry here in Australia. The ministry was a challenge because I did not know any of the young people at that church (I attend another one on Sundays). But I prayed as the ministry began that God would give me wisdom and guidance in what to do on Wednesday nights.
We started out small with five teens coming regularly. That actually helped things because I was able to get to know them better. Over time I began to learn what kind of ministry made the strongest impact upon their lives. And adapted my teaching style to one that met their needs. Instead of spending twenty minutes on Scripture I gave a fifteen minute devotional and followed that up with lots of discussion.
After adapting to their way of doing things more teens started to show up on Wednesdays. We started getting around thirteen every week! This made it a lot harder to control the larger group but it also was encouraging to see the ministry grow. Over the summer the youth group did not meet on Wednesdays. This gave me a chance to talk with the other youth leaders and plan what we wanted to do in the coming year.
Unfortunately for a number of reasons the youth group meetings have struggled greatly. Partly because the parents don't come to Church on Wednesday nights. Part of it is because the teenagers have other obligations at school or with sports teams. Some families with children are no longer attending the Church. For whatever reason we now two teens showing up each week, and three at the most.
This situation is hard because I am faced with a very difficult decision. I could continue ministering to the few teenagers that come on Wednesdays and pray that others start coming. Or I could totally change the way we do the youth ministry. The first choice means I just keep doing what I have been but with more energy. In the latter situation we would shut down the meetings on Wednesday for a short amount of time (a month to two months) and spend those weeks praying about what to do next. Planning and thought about future plans will take place during that time as well.
A few weeks ago I gave serious thought to that decision on the way home from a Wednesday evening service. It was a bit discouraging to think about going from thirteen teens to one or two. But at the same time it helped me understand what to do in the situation. Before getting home that night I decided to temporarily pull the plug on those youth meetings. There were a few reasons for my making that decision. But the strongest one was the fact that the ministry was simply not working any more.
Surprisingly there was a voice in my mind that did not want me to do that. It practically screamed that it would be too embarassing to admit that the ministry was not working. The voice encouraged me to simply go out and continue doing what I had been. Only this time I needed to put more of myself into it. And above all other things it told me that admiting the ministry on Wednesday nights did not accomplish its purpose made me a failure.
I know that voice all too well. It is my human pride that demands I never show any kind of weakness. It is in direct conflict with another voice in my mind. That of the Holy Spirit which reminds me that change is not a sinful thing. And that adapting or recreating a ministry when necessary brings great glory to God. I am not sure what the new ministry on Wednesday nights will look like. The new plan may fail miserably. But I do know that it is better to change and grow as a ministry than to ignore the fact that you are slowly dying.
We started out small with five teens coming regularly. That actually helped things because I was able to get to know them better. Over time I began to learn what kind of ministry made the strongest impact upon their lives. And adapted my teaching style to one that met their needs. Instead of spending twenty minutes on Scripture I gave a fifteen minute devotional and followed that up with lots of discussion.
After adapting to their way of doing things more teens started to show up on Wednesdays. We started getting around thirteen every week! This made it a lot harder to control the larger group but it also was encouraging to see the ministry grow. Over the summer the youth group did not meet on Wednesdays. This gave me a chance to talk with the other youth leaders and plan what we wanted to do in the coming year.
Unfortunately for a number of reasons the youth group meetings have struggled greatly. Partly because the parents don't come to Church on Wednesday nights. Part of it is because the teenagers have other obligations at school or with sports teams. Some families with children are no longer attending the Church. For whatever reason we now two teens showing up each week, and three at the most.
This situation is hard because I am faced with a very difficult decision. I could continue ministering to the few teenagers that come on Wednesdays and pray that others start coming. Or I could totally change the way we do the youth ministry. The first choice means I just keep doing what I have been but with more energy. In the latter situation we would shut down the meetings on Wednesday for a short amount of time (a month to two months) and spend those weeks praying about what to do next. Planning and thought about future plans will take place during that time as well.
A few weeks ago I gave serious thought to that decision on the way home from a Wednesday evening service. It was a bit discouraging to think about going from thirteen teens to one or two. But at the same time it helped me understand what to do in the situation. Before getting home that night I decided to temporarily pull the plug on those youth meetings. There were a few reasons for my making that decision. But the strongest one was the fact that the ministry was simply not working any more.
Surprisingly there was a voice in my mind that did not want me to do that. It practically screamed that it would be too embarassing to admit that the ministry was not working. The voice encouraged me to simply go out and continue doing what I had been. Only this time I needed to put more of myself into it. And above all other things it told me that admiting the ministry on Wednesday nights did not accomplish its purpose made me a failure.
I know that voice all too well. It is my human pride that demands I never show any kind of weakness. It is in direct conflict with another voice in my mind. That of the Holy Spirit which reminds me that change is not a sinful thing. And that adapting or recreating a ministry when necessary brings great glory to God. I am not sure what the new ministry on Wednesday nights will look like. The new plan may fail miserably. But I do know that it is better to change and grow as a ministry than to ignore the fact that you are slowly dying.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Pulling the Plug
About a year ago I began working with the youth group at a local Church on Wednesday nights. This was a very exciting thing for me because I love working with teenagers. I also believe that youth work is part of my ministry here in Australia. The ministry was a challenge because I did not know any of the young people at that church (I attend another one on Sundays). But I prayed as it began that God would give me wisdom and guidance in what to do on Wednesday nights.
We started out small with five teens coming regularly. That actually helped things because I was able to get to know them better. Over time I began to learn what kind of ministry made the strongest impact upon their lives. And adapted my teaching style to one that met their needs. Instead of spending most time on lecture I gave a fifteen minute devotional and followed that up with lots of discussion.
After adapting to their way of doing things more teens started to show up on Wednesdays. We started getting around thirteen every week! This made it a lot harder to control the larger group but it also was encouraging to see the ministry grow. Over the summer the youth group did not meet on Wednesdays. This gave me a chance to talk with the other youth leaders and plan what we wanted to do in the coming year.
Unfortunately for a number of reasons the youth group meetings have struggled greatly. Partly because the parents don't come to Church on Wednesday nights. Part of it is because the teenagers have other obligations at school or with sports teams. Some families with children are no longer attending the Church. For whatever reason we now two teens showing up each week, and three at the most.
This situation is hard because I am faced with a very difficult decision. I could continue ministering to the few teenagers that come on Wednesdays and pray that others start coming. Or I could totally change the way we do the youth ministry. The first choice means I just keep doing what I have been but with more energy. In the latter situation we would shut down the meetings on Wednesday for a short amount of time (a month to two months) and spend those weeks praying about what to do next. Planning and thought about future plans will take place during that time as well.
A few weeks ago I gave serious thought to that decision on the way home from a Wednesday evening service. It was a bit discouraging to think about going from thirteen teens to one or two. But at the same time it helped me understand what to do in the situation. Before getting home that night I decided to temporarily pull the plug on those youth meetings. There were a few reasons for my making that decision. But the strongest one was the fact that the ministry was simply not working any more.
Surprisingly there was a voice in my mind that did not want me to do that. It practically screamed that it would be too embarrassing to admit that the ministry was not working. The voice encouraged me to simply go out and continue doing what I had been. Only this time I needed to put more of myself into it. And above all other things it told me that admitting the ministry on Wednesday nights did not accomplish its purpose made me a failure.
I know that voice all too well. It is my human pride that demands I never show any kind of weakness. It is in direct conflict with another voice in my mind. That of the Holy Spirit which reminds me that change is not a sinful thing. And that adapting or recreating a ministry when necessary brings great glory to God. I am not sure what the new ministry on Wednesday nights will look like. The new plan may fail miserably. But I do know that it is better to change and grow as a ministry than to ignore the fact that you are slowly dying.
We started out small with five teens coming regularly. That actually helped things because I was able to get to know them better. Over time I began to learn what kind of ministry made the strongest impact upon their lives. And adapted my teaching style to one that met their needs. Instead of spending most time on lecture I gave a fifteen minute devotional and followed that up with lots of discussion.
After adapting to their way of doing things more teens started to show up on Wednesdays. We started getting around thirteen every week! This made it a lot harder to control the larger group but it also was encouraging to see the ministry grow. Over the summer the youth group did not meet on Wednesdays. This gave me a chance to talk with the other youth leaders and plan what we wanted to do in the coming year.
Unfortunately for a number of reasons the youth group meetings have struggled greatly. Partly because the parents don't come to Church on Wednesday nights. Part of it is because the teenagers have other obligations at school or with sports teams. Some families with children are no longer attending the Church. For whatever reason we now two teens showing up each week, and three at the most.
This situation is hard because I am faced with a very difficult decision. I could continue ministering to the few teenagers that come on Wednesdays and pray that others start coming. Or I could totally change the way we do the youth ministry. The first choice means I just keep doing what I have been but with more energy. In the latter situation we would shut down the meetings on Wednesday for a short amount of time (a month to two months) and spend those weeks praying about what to do next. Planning and thought about future plans will take place during that time as well.
A few weeks ago I gave serious thought to that decision on the way home from a Wednesday evening service. It was a bit discouraging to think about going from thirteen teens to one or two. But at the same time it helped me understand what to do in the situation. Before getting home that night I decided to temporarily pull the plug on those youth meetings. There were a few reasons for my making that decision. But the strongest one was the fact that the ministry was simply not working any more.
Surprisingly there was a voice in my mind that did not want me to do that. It practically screamed that it would be too embarrassing to admit that the ministry was not working. The voice encouraged me to simply go out and continue doing what I had been. Only this time I needed to put more of myself into it. And above all other things it told me that admitting the ministry on Wednesday nights did not accomplish its purpose made me a failure.
I know that voice all too well. It is my human pride that demands I never show any kind of weakness. It is in direct conflict with another voice in my mind. That of the Holy Spirit which reminds me that change is not a sinful thing. And that adapting or recreating a ministry when necessary brings great glory to God. I am not sure what the new ministry on Wednesday nights will look like. The new plan may fail miserably. But I do know that it is better to change and grow as a ministry than to ignore the fact that you are slowly dying.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Teaching with Passion
Last week I began teaching my second semester class at Victoria Baptist Bible College. The feeling I experienced during the first class session was very different from the one I felt when beginning first semester. I didn't know the student who I was teaching, had very little experience in teaching on campus, and was not totally sure what would be expected of me during the class. All these things made a bit nervous when teaching my first class in April. But my first second semester class session last Tuesday was totally different.
Actually this new attitude started about a month and a half ago. I was reading from a book on leadership that discussed the importance of being passionate about what we do. The author began to explain that many individuals do their jobs without energy, enthusiasm, or creativity. While they accomplish their jobs these individuals are left feeling unsatisfied because it isn't something they are passionate about.
As I read from the book it became clear that I was one of those people with no passion. I covered all of the information that I had in that class and did it very well. And I did put energy and hard work towards my teaching. But there was no real passion in first semester. I completed my goals, but did not look forward to teaching during the week. The morning I read about the importance of passion I decided that next semester would be different.
I began by thinking about the burden that God has placed upon my heart. It was a calling for discipleship that teaches truth in a practical way. Then I developed a teaching style that fit with that calling. Last year my teaching style involved covering the questions or reading that the student completed the night before. Then I would take some time to focus on the Biblical principles found in that lesson. There may have been some discussion questions at the end.
This semester the class session still revolves around the students homework. But pointing out the principles in that class work is not the end. Instead I use illustrations to show how the principle works in daily life. Some come from research and others come from personal experience. I also use video clips and audio to illustrate the truth that we discussed during the class session.
One of the core values in my class this semester is being able to think about what you have learned. In other words, it is not important to just know information. But the student should be able to think about the principles he learned. In most classes I bring up a hypothetical situation or belief that is different than the one he holds to see if he can defend his view or show the weaknesses of others.
Another core value is application. We get into many interesting conversations about how the Biblical Truths we learned can be applied to the Australian Culture. As I write this article I am excitedly thinking about tomorrows class period when we discuss whether sarcasm (good natured joking is a huge part of the Australian culture) is honoring to God. I realize that it has only been a few classes, but I truly feel that God is using my teaching ministry more now.
What does that mean for the rest of us? Find the passion, burden, or dream that you have from God and invest your time in it. It is true that not everyone that not everyone can do something that they are passionate about (current statistics tell us few are). But we can all find those passions and invest our time, energy, and perhaps finances into them. Even if it is for a few moments each week, taking time to do something you love makes a real difference. It will give you an excitement and adrenaline rush that is absolutely amazing.
Actually this new attitude started about a month and a half ago. I was reading from a book on leadership that discussed the importance of being passionate about what we do. The author began to explain that many individuals do their jobs without energy, enthusiasm, or creativity. While they accomplish their jobs these individuals are left feeling unsatisfied because it isn't something they are passionate about.
As I read from the book it became clear that I was one of those people with no passion. I covered all of the information that I had in that class and did it very well. And I did put energy and hard work towards my teaching. But there was no real passion in first semester. I completed my goals, but did not look forward to teaching during the week. The morning I read about the importance of passion I decided that next semester would be different.
I began by thinking about the burden that God has placed upon my heart. It was a calling for discipleship that teaches truth in a practical way. Then I developed a teaching style that fit with that calling. Last year my teaching style involved covering the questions or reading that the student completed the night before. Then I would take some time to focus on the Biblical principles found in that lesson. There may have been some discussion questions at the end.
This semester the class session still revolves around the students homework. But pointing out the principles in that class work is not the end. Instead I use illustrations to show how the principle works in daily life. Some come from research and others come from personal experience. I also use video clips and audio to illustrate the truth that we discussed during the class session.
One of the core values in my class this semester is being able to think about what you have learned. In other words, it is not important to just know information. But the student should be able to think about the principles he learned. In most classes I bring up a hypothetical situation or belief that is different than the one he holds to see if he can defend his view or show the weaknesses of others.
Another core value is application. We get into many interesting conversations about how the Biblical Truths we learned can be applied to the Australian Culture. As I write this article I am excitedly thinking about tomorrows class period when we discuss whether sarcasm (good natured joking is a huge part of the Australian culture) is honoring to God. I realize that it has only been a few classes, but I truly feel that God is using my teaching ministry more now.
What does that mean for the rest of us? Find the passion, burden, or dream that you have from God and invest your time in it. It is true that not everyone that not everyone can do something that they are passionate about (current statistics tell us few are). But we can all find those passions and invest our time, energy, and perhaps finances into them. Even if it is for a few moments each week, taking time to do something you love makes a real difference. It will give you an excitement and adrenaline rush that is absolutely amazing.
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