David's Success

In Christianity I often find the most profound truths are also very simple. I was amazed at the simplicity of two keys to King Davids success in 1 Chronicles 14:2

"And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel and that his kingdom had been highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel."

David knew that his calling was not from man, that it was the Lord who had established him. To be successful in any God given task or any ministry position we need to realise that we are their because of the Lord.

Psalm 75:6-7
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another

How else will we ever truly endure in a particular work. Surely the only thing that enables us to hang in when the going really gets tough is the revelation that we have not been appointed because it is a good idea, we are not just fulfilling another position but the God of the universe had a plan and wants to use in a special way. Another example of a leader who knew that his ministry was of God and not man was the Apostle Paul who wrote in Galatians chapter 1

1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

Oh Lord help us not to be people that think we do things to impress man but let us realise that you are the one who truly calls us fourth.

However in the second half of the Chronicles text we see that David didn't just understand who he was called by, he also understood who he was called for.
He knew that the Kingdom has been made great for the sake of the people. He realised that any success he had was not for himself but success in the kingdom was for the people of God. How important it is that Christian leaders do not get caught building an empire instead of God's Kingdom. That the Holy Spirit would constantly remind us that what we are doing and any success we experience is truly for the so others can be blessed. Oh God let our ministry be strive to have something of worth to impart for the sake of others.

In short we are not called by man but we are called for man

Call of God

For a while I have been thinking about the call of God. As pentecostal churches we often focus heavily on the individual call of God for a persons life. We always need to ensure we keep the balance between what God wants us to do and what God wants us to become. I had been thinking about this then I read a fantastic part in the book Church@community by Ed Delph, which puts it far better then I could.

"Our primary purpose as Christians and churches is to be conformed to the image of Jesus(it is predestined), and secondly to fulfill calling. If your calling comes before being conformed to Jesus, you are in danger of becoming sectarian, judgemental and one-dimensional ... Your calling is never the standard, Jesus is! Every emphasis needs a context. You are a Christian first, a prayer warrior second. You are a Christian first, a theologian or church historian second ... "

Church@Community page 161

Video store

When the man at the video store tells you not to get the film that you have picked because "just between us it iis really silly" and tells you to get American Dreamz instead DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM

Atheism scary in its sheer conceit

The New Zealand herald published an article today about an Anglican bishop who claimed himself to be an angnostic. An interesting opinion piece was written by Colomnist John Roughan (a non believer) titled "Atheism scary in its sheer conceit" here is a snippet

The bishop also noted, happily, that the parliamentary prayer is under review, as is the nature of prayer at Anzac Day services.
"As a church leader I feel uncomfortable leading prayers in public that have an exclusively Christian ending, thus excluding people of other faiths."
It should not fall to an unbeliever to say this but, God help us. This country's religious heritage is Christian; people of other faiths know it. They do not feel excluded when our ceremonies reflect our heritage.
They probably worry, as I do, that if we dilute that identity into some arid catch-all we lose a little more of our society's spiritual roots.
Possibly politicians who fear to declare themselves atheist, understand that better than today's church leaders do.
It is a tragedy the modern church has been divested of much of its ancient splendour.
Political leaders understand, I think, that though we are as secular as Mr Barrington says - most people don't admire or even like religion and turn away from its display - we find atheism just as repellent.
Atheism, humanism, rationalism, call it what you like, is a conviction that offers nothing beyond the reach of human knowledge, when their plainly are such things. Not just the obvious: the boggling infinity of the universe and its density that suggests matter we still cannot see. Or the apparently random behaviour of subatomic particles that comprises everything we see. Quantum physics sounds like metaphysics to me.
Our very brain remains largely unexplained. How do thoughts happen? Physically, what is going on in there? How do neurons compose a symphony? What makes us love?
I like mysteries in existence. I'm not religious about it but there are things I sense spiritually, for want of a better word. I want to be awed by infinite possibilities.

The full article can be viewed at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10418878

End of the first week

Well my first week as a Youth Pastor has officially ended (Friday is our day off). I have been spending mornings and early afternoons in the office doing some of the prep for the coming year and then have been catching up with some of our young people and leaders during the afternoons and evenings. It is very exciting seeing things begin to take shape!

Great quote

"To say their is no absolute right and wrong is in essence to say their is no tangible difference between the lives of Adolf Hitler and Mother Teresa" - Steve Kumar (Christian apologist)

new beginnings

Well from tomorrow I am officially the full time Youth Pastor at Tauranga City Elim Church. I am really looking forward to a fresh start and a new challenge. It is quite a change after working for the Inland Revenue for nearly 8 years.

It is sure to be a real challenge and I am looking forward to sinking my teeth in and really growing in God over the next 12 months.

Hmmm do you suppose people would rather meet a Pastor or a Tax collector?

Holy Spirit

Just been thinking about how good the Holy Spirit is and how sad all the controversy surrounding him is. It really upsets me that because of these controversies so many people decide to live with 2 3rds of God.

Sometimes in the game

Our network 90% of the time seems to block blog sites, but the other 10% I am free to post and read, so if I happen to be in the library when our net guradian isn't do its proper job then I can blog!

Interesting things happening on the political front. It is ridiculous of labor to refuse to pay their pledge card money and I am very pleased the Greens are not going to give them an easy out. We got away with it in the past is the most ridiculous excuse to try and conjure up for breaking the law.

I was saddened to see that Don Brash has been having an affair. I was never a huge Brash fan but it is sad to see that people who are putting themselves forward to lead a country cannot even lead their own family life. I believe this is surely an appropriate reason for Don Brash to step down. Still I guess these days affairs are considered the norm and it is a reflection of society that someone can still hold a key leadership position in the nation and openly betray those who are meant to matter to them most.
Despite my opinion I really hope Dr Brash can get his marriage sorted out.

Back in the game part2

Well so much for being back in the game! Hmmm sometimes real life takes over eh! I am now back living on Bible College campus but it appears some sys admin must have realised that BLOGs are not the devil and they are no longer banned sites! So the good news is I can now post on mine and read others!

Parachute 07 is looking good! They have some pretty sweet speakers with Joyce Myers, Christine Caine and Jurgan Matheius(sp?). Yeah I know it is more about the bands but hey I will prob end up going to hear the speakers! If anyone is thinking of making the trip up let us know if you wanna spend a couple of nights in the best city in the north island afterwards (that would be Tauranga) as I am sure a spare bed could be arranged for the right$$$$$

Anyway preaching at church tomorrow in the morning service (topic is sinner or saint) so I best go and run through once more before getting my beauty sleep!

Back in the game

Well it has been a long time between drinks (so long in fact I doubt my meager readership are still checking!) This was due to an over restictive firewall at college.

Much has happened in the last while, I have graduated, started working for IR (again) and will be doing part time work at Tauranga City Elim. Sarah and I are also going to Fiji on a mission trip in a few weeks time so it is all go

Well I am sure I will find something to rave about soon

Living the high life!

I am an avid radio sport listener and today it paid off! Through phoning in and answering a sports question I then went into the draw and won...... A trip for two to Auckland to go to the peoples choice sports awards gala dinner. This is a $280 a plate dinner with limited tickets sold! They also put us up in the Hyatt and pay for the hire of some flash gears to wear on the night. Just what a poor student needs

Oh if anyone is wondering I am taking Sarah (my wife)

Verse of the week

Job 36: 5-12

God is mighty, but does not despise men;
he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.

6 He does not keep the wicked alive
but gives the afflicted their rights.

7 He does not take his eyes off the righteous;
he enthrones them with kings
and exalts them forever.

8 But if men are bound in chains,
held fast by cords of affliction,

9 he tells them what they have done—
that they have sinned arrogantly.

10 He makes them listen to correction
and commands them to repent of their evil.

11 If they obey and serve him,
they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity
and their years in contentment.

12 But if they do not listen,
they will perish by the sword [a]
and die without knowledge.

A case for door to door evangelism?

Jehovah's witnesses claim that they need to knock on 740 doors for each convert. I am not sure if they have exagerated this to make their evangelism see more effective, but if this is accurate then it is a lot lot better "odds" then I would have guessed. I know what is true from talking to Jaydubs is that many more people are open to door to door evangelism then we may like to think. So should we all put on our shirts and ties and get door knocking?? LOL

Where have all the deacons gone?

The number of men involved in churches in NZ has said to have dropped over the past 30 years. I wonder if in part this is due to the reducing of the roles similar to that of a deacon?
A lot of the worship songs in church use particularly honeymoonish type lyrics. Personally I quite like the modern songs as a way of worship, but many men don't enjoy that as their primary way of worship.

A lot of men get their sense of worth out of being able to be of pracitcal use. Maybe its just the churches I have been to but you don't seem to see as much the guy who sits in the foyer making sure everything is ok. Or the man who is on car security during the night services. It used to be the deacons job to collect up the offering, but now I see it done by many different people each week. What does it matter who collects up the offering? If that was part of a role that was giving someone importance and enabling someone to worship God in their local church then it does matter.

Also on a side issue I am interested in what people think. Do you think contemporary church services cater more for male or female preferences? I know that even asking such a question may seem like a large generalisation but obviously men and woman are different so who is more catered to?

smoking vs fastfood

Is it strange that a lot of Christians judge smoking based on the fact that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, yet the same emphasis does not seem to be focused on unhealthy eating and lack of exercise? (I don't smoke btw just interested in what people think)

Weather

Since moving to Tauranga I have been amazed about the pride that Taurangites display in their weather. Everytime you tell people you have moved up here from Christchurch you get a response about how much you must be enjoying the warmer weather. IF this happened on the odd ocassion you would smile and nod but when EVERY SINGLE person does it too you, it begins to get slightly frustrating. It gets to the point where you have a standard answer for all these weather worshipping nutcases. Had I realised being a worshipper of the weather was a necessity for lving in Tauranga then I may have thought twice about the move.
I think I am going to get a tshirt made

YES I AM ENJOYING THE WEATHER (although it rains lots)

Cool night

A couple of weeks ago we went into town on a Friday night. I had a few too many drinks, but it was so good stopping just short of puking ... NAH Just kidding!

We went into town on a Friday night outreach equipped with a sound system, music team, BBQ sausages and coffee. Man it was an awesome night. Their was just a real peace about what we were doing. We didn't need to bible bash people, we were trusting God to bring the right people along and he did!

Towards the end of the night we had a cool discussion with a guy who had recently been divorced. It was a real God appointed moment, after I talked to him for 10 minutes my friend was able to share for about 20 minutes and ended with sharing salvation with him. The guy didn't want to commit that night because he was still hoping to get lucky but he genuinely wanted to know how to have a relationship with God.

Islamic heaven

Isn't it strange that Muslims spend their life avoiding sexual impurity and alcohol but their heaven is to be fulled with fine wines and pleasure mates. Based on all the immorality that goes on in Islamic heaven I would of thought America and western culture would literally be heaven on earth!!

God is good

After many years of wanting to go to bible college it is awesome to be here, in the time of God and at the place where God would have me be. Faith Bible college has so far been amazing! The teaching is just superb, the ministry opportunity are fantastic. But most of all I love Thursdays where we have hour of power (basically a Holy Spirit hour - although the term hour would have to be used very loosely as it is often 90 minutes to 2 hours). Each week without fail the manifest presence of God comes and ministers at that time. It is so great to be in a environment where the Holy Spirit is moving.

I would appreciate your prayers as I have been asked to share at a halfway house this Tuesday. A lot of the guys in the house are recently out of prison. I am really looking forward to the challenge although it is a bit dauniting. I am believing that God is going to mininster and move.