Went to Blackstump with Mil just for Saturday and Sunday. It was good, quite different from other times I’ve been. I didn’t really hear much music or talks but I spent a lot of my time having chats to different people. I had some very interesting chats with Urban Seed related people.
Hillsong and the AOG churches are now blessing the divorces of domestic violence sufferers. I didn’t even now it was an issue but some people are quite upset about this relaxation of the rules including the Family First member Andrew Evens.
I spent most of Sunday with people at church. It was quite good fun. I was hanging out with Rob some locals, and some miscellaneous white people. It was kind of weird. There was a woman who had just got back from Duncan Hospital and then another guy who was off to Duncan Hospital. I had spent a reasonable amount of time in Duncan on my last trip to India.
So anyway I went to the 11am service, went out for lunch, then hung around church until the 5pm service. After that we went out for coffee. It was all good fun. I’ve found a few people with whom I can express my somewhat sarcastic humour with. My views though on church and theology still leave me feeling a little lonely.
I read a bit of a book on “being a woman” and it offended my feministic ideals. I so think that this whole Eve created out of Adam bit from the Bible is taken way too far. I just can’t abide by an argument about a woman’s purpose being to serve a man. I have no problems with a mutual support argument. I almost prefer the Greek myth about how man and a woman used to be formed in one being. Then the god’s were jealous and split them in two.
I am finding sermons here hard to deal with. I really am so in a different place then where most of the sermons are targeting. It’s interesting I have problems culturally and theologically with them as well. I think I want to explore two areas of spirituality. I want to find more on liberation theology and explore more of the mystical side of the Christian walk.
I miss renevore, I’d like to set one up here.. I don’t have enough friends to do that though. I’d like to setup some kind of commie dinner too but I have no stove and no table.
I’m thinking about doing some volunteering in a children’s slum project. I feel like it might be a practical way of addressing some of the issues I face living here. I feel that I should do something to help. So I think I’ll knock on a few doors and see if they open. Though I am a bit unsure if I really have enough time to be of any use.
Not much else to report really. Life is going well. I miss people from back home.
TEAR is definately a place where I fit. It is like a big extended family. Full of odd, crazy and cool people.
India’s draw is still strong on me. I enjoyed talking to people about it. The size of my next project there is still overwhelming me. I wonder if I am skilled enough to do it. It’s hard to keep it all in my head.
I feel a strong desire to travel to South Africa now too. One of the speakers at the conference was from there and she was fantastic. So articulate and humble. The projects her organisation do seem so well thought out.
How I work is also a challenge.
Incarnation ministry is a very intresting concept. It’s all about downward mobility living like the people you are ministering to. I wouldn’t mind getting an upward mobility assignment though :-). In the IT context working behind the scenes it’s hard to work out what to do in terms of downward mobility.
Interesting talk on the language of lament. I should write more about it latter.
Another good one about the church. It talked about how the church was inherintly human and that it is in its weakness that God works. Powerful stuff.
God is good. He both humbled and honoured me tonight. It was tops.
I was at a Sydney Anglican church tonight. They did a good job welcoming me unfortuanatly that was about all that was good. Well I talked to a guy who had done a medical elective at a hospital in India I’d been too that was cool to.
However the music was dead, so dry no passion. The songs were pretty mediocre.
The sermon though is what concerned me most. It was talking about Romans 8 and being conquerors as Christians. The person giving the sermon went on today about how difficult it was to be a Christian in Australia. How we are persecuted. I think that the concept of Christian’s being persecuted in Australia is rubbish. So maybe you get picked on every now and then big deal. Fat people probably get far more picked on.
He talked about being a Christian as being hard. I agree with this to a degree. It’s hard to be an authentic follower of Christ. Being a nominal Christian is a piece of cake. No one will do anything bad to you. That’s the problem. In a land so rich, in a posh suburb why not just be a nominal Christian. It’s so much safer. So easy to do. Requires a little bit of faith and effort and you get your get out of Hell free card. You can even keep your sports car or luxury 4WD.
Where as an authentic and deep rooted faith in Christ changes everything. I think if you take the Gospel and the Bible seriously you can not help but be changed by God. Take a look at the sermon on the mount. Have a read of Isiah, or Michah. Read the parables Jesus told. Such a hard path to truly follow Jesus. Maybe you can keep your luxury car but I doubt it. I think Jesus meant it when he said it was easier for a camel to parse through the eye of a needle then a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Trusting God is to risk everything you hold dear on earth. God may ask you to give up all that you hold dear. My prayer is that I will be authentic enough to allow God to have his way totally. Then I will be able to say I am a conqueror in Christ.
P.S
I don’t for a minute think that there weren’t authentic Christian’s at the church I went to. However I think that the middle class churches of Australia are breading grounds for shallow Christians.
We had a discusion about evangalism and social justice tonight at commy dinner. I was thinking about it walking home in the rain(I left home walking in the rain too).
The particular area I began thinking about was seeking God. I think one of God’s biggest concerns is justice. I think God cares more for the widows and orphans then we can imagine. From my reading of the Bible God spends so much time talking about social justice. The Old Testement has long passages denouncing injustices perpatrated by the people of the time. Jesus spent so much time on the fringes of the society when he was on Earth in physical form(Is that the theologically correct way of saying it Tom). Jesus said he came to save the lost. He healed the sick and reached out to the outcasts.
I wonder sometimes if we Christian’s in the West need to become outcasts if we need to lose our posesions. I think we could learn a lot if we were forced to depend on God.
When I look at the World the places I see God moving most strongly are not the affulent places. Not amoung the educated and rich. I see my God working on the fringes of society. I see God moving amoung the poor. Where their apears to be no hope there my God is.
This is the God who gave us parables about reckless abandon. The parable of the lost sheep tells of a shepard who risks the 99 safe sheep, all to find the one lost one. And when he finds them there is celebration.
What does this mean? For me I want to seek out my God and I think I have a pretty clear idea of where to look. The place which many try to avoid seeing, the fringes of society. The hopeless causes and the places of loss and suffering.
It reminds me of the “Seek Your Face” song from St John’s Darlinghurst about seeking God in the face of even domestic violence.
God truly is Merciful. He is love. He is God the great I AM.
I like Stephen. I think his a good honest chap.
I love it when other people get up and talk passionately about social justice. So nice to see. Two people did that at church.
I feel very icky when looking through Christian Bookshops. Even on the web they feel so tacky. I went to Koorong’s and Word’s online stores. I think Border’s will remain my favorite Christian bookshop. I can browse there without having to see the full covers of the books and not feel like I am in a getto.
I am very concerned. An alarming trend is starting to happen. I am finding it harder to be cynical about the Christian groups I am involved in. I have fewer sarcistic comments to make, and occasionally I feel a glimmer of hope. It’s very scary and I am not sure what’s going on. These groups are organising things holistically, using foriegn things like product values. They seem to be doing a pukka job at the moment
Thankfully I am still exposed to many less pukka organisations. Catching City Rail on a frequent basis helps provide me with my daily doses of cynicism and sarcasm.
Today was one of the most beautiful days in my life. I can’t quite explain how or why it came to be that but I’ll do my best.
Today was the wedding of Emily and Martin. It was the best wedding I have been to in my life. It made me cry a lot. But the tears were of joy not sorrow. From the moment the bridesmaids started walking down the aisle to colour blind by Counting Crows, (played acoustically by two fantastic musicians) I was sold. The day and the service were both so authentic, a true expression of love.
I am a very cynical person and yet the whole service I did not have a cynical or even sarcastic thought. Every stage of it was true to the people involved. The vow’s and prayers were honest and extremely meaningful. Declarations like “Do you want to share your life with me, all your joys and pains, all your hopes and failures with all your body, mind and soul?” Are truly moving. The way they included God also was great.
The music was well chosen. It fit beautifully with the service. The messages given were very authentic. They somehow managed to get a Catholic, an Anglican and a Uniting Church minister together to run it.
The reception was also great. It was very homely, who would of thought it being in their house and all. I loved it also. Speeches that are usually the most painful part of the wedding were good. Martin’s Mum who has come out from Peru for the wedding was particularly good. Emily of course was great and Jo was fantastic too. However Martin simply shone in his speech, sure he stumbled through it but his feeling was there for all too see. Struggling to put into words (in English his second language, though I am sure he would have had trouble in Spanish too) what is surely his great love for Emily just made it all the more real.
The variety of people who were there was also outstanding. There were people from nearly every walk of life. So good to see that happen. The food was fantastic and all were genuinely happy about the wedding (as far as I could tell). I even joined in some dancing tonight. That’s how good the night was.
Emily is a person who has greatly enriched my life. It is wonderful too see her so happy. Her journey has not been very easy through this life. She is an inspiration in her passion for justice and her love of humans particularly the outsider.
I can remember finding out a bit about Martin in Australia whilst Emily was still over in Peru. Gemma’s trip there helped us too learn a bit more about him. Then sharing with Emily in the struggles of trying to get Martin a Visa. I can still remember the joy and excitement I felt when whilst in Raxaul I find out that Martin’s Visa had been processed and accepted. The other time I really remember is meeting Martin at the airport on my return from India. It was exciting to finally see him, he embraced me a stranger as his friend.
Martin who I barely know is still one of the most kind and openhearted people I have met.
Emily and Martin may the Lord God in His power truly bless you. May you live out your days together through the joys and pains of this life. May you live up to the grand promises you made today.
I am going too stop now, though I could go on forever. But it’s past midnight so the day is over.
yawn. So un-enthused. Maybe I should just have another night to myself.
Spent most of the day in Belrose today. It was actually quite good. The 18’s-30’s thing was nice. I got to chat to some great people. I was wondering when I came back from India whether Belrose would still be the place for me. Spiritually and socially. I think I can see myself going to Belrose for a while. I really felt welcomed back into the community tonight and this arvo. Maybe it was my fasionable attire. I don’t know. I didn’t even hang around the same people all the time. There was no Tom either. I think I am developing party skills.
I am also feeling much more spiritually alive at the momment which is cool too. I think God is breaking through my stupidity. I am even getting a little less cynical. Don’t worry only a little less no major changes.
Have to get my license though. Bit easier now I don’t have to compete with my sister for the car. Belrose sucks to get to and from.
I feel now like Belrose is my home church. A couple of people were really nice to me tonight, right when I needed it. It was good. Also talked to quite a few people who were there. That was good fun. So many good value people in one place, it’s awesome.