A few more …
Go Cats!
Tonight the 2009 Australian Football League Season kicks off with a sold-out game at the MCG between traditional rivals the Richmond Tigers and the Carlton Blues. It's also former team-mates Ben Cousins vs Chris Judd.
The excitement amongst avid footy fans is building … while many others are wishing for a longer break đ
I'm more excited about tomorrow night's Grand Final re-match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Geelong Cats. The Cats should dominate … Jeff Kennett's recent comments will only add fuel to the fire.
I am predicting that Geelong will go all the way this year. No choking on the big day … like last year!
GO CATS!!
Some Laughs
Here are a few laughs that a friend sent me …. Enjoy!
The Husband Store
A friend (a woman!) sent me this … you've gotta laugh …
THE HUSBAND STORE
A store that sells new husbands has opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:
You may visit this store ONLY ONCE!
There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights.
The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 – These men Have Jobs
She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 2 – These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.
'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.'
So she continues upward.. The third floor sign reads:
Floor 3 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the fourth f loor and the sign reads:
Floor 4 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.
'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'
Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 5 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:
Floor 6 – You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
PLEASE NOTE:
To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.
The first floor has wives that love sex.
The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.
Melbourne
Here are a few statistics from our beautiful city of Melbourne given at the recent Transforming Melbourne research launch:
- Melbourne is growing by 44,000 people per year. It will become Australia's largest city in the next 20 years.
- Although church attendance is not keeping up with population growth, there are still more people attending church than the AFL (Australian Football League)! Over 1.2 million people attend church during a year (excluding another 1.3 million who attend events such as funerals and weddings) while about 1 million people attend AFL games. About 520,000 people attend church monthly while 360,000 attend the AFL frequently. Over 300,000 people attend church weekly.
- There are 1700 churches in Melbourne made up of 100s of ethnic churches, 22 large regional churches (of over 500 people), and 100s of emerging and house churches.
- The fastest growing municipalities in Melbourne are Casey, Whittlesea, Hume, Melton, and Wyndham. These have the fewest number of churches per population.
- Let's keep praying for our city and the many churches already it in. It takes all different sorts of churches to reach the many different types of people. We need all existing churches to reach out more and we also need many more churches to be planted.
Transforming Melbourne
Transforming Melbourne is a ministry that exists to unity, servanthood, and prayer to see the church become a united missionary movement for our city. Recently, this ministry has been a catalyst for a major research project aimed at giving an accurate picture of the current condition of the church in Melbourne, a metropolis made up of 31 different cities or municipalities.
For the first time ever, the National Church Life Survey results from participating denominations have been combined with additional surveys carried out by Transforming Melbourne. The Christian Research Association research has been added, and all this put alongside the National Census figures to compare church data with the demographics of the city.
The result is a snap shot of the size, vitality, diversity and trends in the life of the Body of Christ in our city, together with descriptive reports on many vital aspects and ministries of the Church.
The Report reveals the strengths of the Church and something of the great range of resources and the vital support provided for the people across Melbourne by local churches, Christian welfare agencies, Christian schools, health care and chaplaincies in many sectors of society.
There are many encouraging aspects of the report, but the statistics of the Church as whole and the current trends are quite a shock. The good news is they provide a basis for developing effective and strategic plans for collaborative mission and ministry to reverse these trends.
To learn more, consider attending the All MELBOURNE MATTERS report on Wednesday 1st April from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm at New Hope Baptist Church (Cnr Middleborough and Springfield Roads, Blackburn Nth). This is an especially relevant event for all church pastors and leaders from any ministries and movements across Melbourne. Hear the report. Listen to key speakers. Be part of practical Workshops. Ask questions. Raise issues. Share insights.
Click here to register online or here to order any of the research reports.
Generation Y
The Silent Generation … people born between 1925 and 1945.
The Baby Boomers … people born between 1946 and 1964.
Generation X … people born between 1965 and 1982.
Generation Y … people born between 1983 and 1997.
Why do we call the last group of people Generation Y? I had no idea until I saw this caricaturist's explanation. Double click on the picure below. A picture is worth a thousand words … đ
The Extreme Future
In his book The Extreme Future, James Canton shares the top trends that he believes will reshape the world in the next 20 years. Canton is a renowned global futurist, social scientist, keynote presenter, author, and visionary business adviser. He is also the CEO and Chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, a think tank founded in 1990. He has been forecasting trends for over thirty years.
Here is a brief outline of his top 10 trends:
- Fueling the future – energy will play a critical role in every aspect of our lives in the future, especially energy alternatives such as hydrogen.
- The innovation economy – emerging technologies include Nano, Bio, IT, and Neuro.
- The next workforce – more multi-cultural and more female.
- Longevity medicine – will new medical breakthroughs lead to longer and healthier lives?
- Weird science – where will science take us next?
- Securing the future – threats to our freedom include criminals, terrorists, and mind control.
- Globalisation: cultures in collision – more global trade and competition; the rise of China and India; the clash of cultures and values; and the ideological battle for the future.
- Future of global change – the environment is changing, including global warming, pollution, and threats to health.
- Future of the individual – how will individuals navigate personal threats from technology, governments, and ideologies in the struggle for human rights, liberty, and freedom?
- The future of America and China – the destiny of these two nations will have a big affect on the future.
No doubt, there is a lot of uncertainty and even fear about the future today. Life is getting more and more complex. New thinking and new ideas are needed to find solutions for many of the world's current and future challenges.
As followers of Christ, we want to be like the people of Issacher, who had understanding of the times so they knew what they should do and how they should respond (see 1 Chronicles 12:32).
The prophet Isaiah was given an interesting picture of the future during his generation …
"Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance." Isaiah 60:1-3. NLT
Whatever our future may be, may we continue to be God's light in the world and a channel for his love to reach out to all people.
re-Imagining Church (Pt.5)
The church that Jesus is building is a community of Christ-followers empowered by the Spirit to …
4. Participate in God's Mission in the World.
God was not comfortable to continue for eternity with the amazing loving community he has always experienced. He decided to spread this community by creating human beings. When human relationships broke down and community fell apart, God did not remain aloof. He came and lived among us, taking on human form. He left the comforts of heaven to come into the brokenness of earth to make a way for people to be restored to God and to each other. God is a missionary God! He loves and has a passion for those who are outside his love.
Jesus came for outsiders, those far from God and his love. As Jesus called his disciples to be with him (community) and to become like him (discipleship), he empowered them with the Spirit, not just so they could feel good, but so that they would have the boldness and the wisdom to reach out to people … locally right nearby them, as well as eventually in all nations of the earth and all sectors of society.
The church is NOT a closed group. Right now God is reaching out to this world. Mission begins and ends with him and his heart for people. When we engage in mission, we simply participate in what God is already doing in our world.
The church is extremely important to God. He loves the church and it is central to what he is doing in the world today. In fact, the local church is the hope of the world because it has been entrusted with the gospel, which is the only thing that can change a human heart â both now and for eternity. Jesusâ intention is that the church be united (John 17:20-21), glorious (Ephesians 5:25-27), and victorious (Matthew 16:17-19). We are not there but God always finished what the starts!
This leaves us with some important questions:
- Am I part of Christâs community?
- Am I following Christ?
- Am I empowered by the Spirit?
- Am I participating in Godâs mission in the world?
[See also BLOG posts on 'Evangelism and Mission']
re-Imagining Church (Pt.4)
The church that Jesus is building is a community of Christ-followers …
3. Empowered by the Spirit.
One of the most important keys to Jesusâ life and ministry was the fact that his entire ministry by being empowered by the Spirit (Mark 1:10; Luke 4:1, 14, 18-21). This infilling of the Spirit is to extend to his followers too. Jesus clearly declared that the power of the Spirit was an indispensable requirement for their lives (Luke 24:49. Acts 1:4-5). The fullness of the Spirit is to affect our character (the fruit of the Spirit) and it provides us with an anointing or enablement for life and ministry. Prayer is a key link to receiving and releasing the Spiritâs power in our lives (Acts 1:14; 4:31).
The Holy Spirit is a person, not just a force, power or influence. We are to be âborn againâ by the Spirit (John 3:1-21). We are then to live daily âin the Spiritâ, being regularly filled with the Spirit and led by the Spirit, as well as demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. Finally, we are to be empowered by the Spirit both to overcome the enemy and be witnesses to the life that is in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives INSIDE every follower of Christ (Romans 8:9. 2 Timothy 1:14. 1 Corinthians 6:9). He is our Counsellor – the Comforter, Helper or Friend (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). You canât live the Christian life by yourself. You and I need the help of the Holy Spirit.
Paul further defines the ministry of the Holy Spirit, our friend and helper (see 2 Timothy 1:7). He comes to break the power of fear in our life, to give us power and ability to do the will of God, to fill our hearts with love for God and others, and to give us wisdom for life.
The Holy Spirit is a person who lives within us. We are to have fellowship with Him on a daily basis (2 Corinthians 13:14). Fellowship involves sharing, association, mutual participation and friendship. We are to live in the presence, company, help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are to call on him in our time of need and seek to live by his power each day. When we think we can do it by ourselves, He lets us. When we come to a point when we recognise that we need His help, He then comes to our assistance. We need help to live the Christian life and thankfully we have a Helper â the Holy Spirit. Paul said, âI can do all things (thatâs confidence) through Christ who strengthens me (thatâs dependence) â who makes me equal to every task (Philippians 4:13)!â
[Part 5]
re-Imagining Church (Pt.3)
The church that Jesus is building is … a community of
2. Of Christ-Followers.
When Jesus called his first disciples, it was not just about community. He was calling them to leave what they were doing and to follow him, and eventually to become like him. His goal was to change them from the inside out. This involved a full surrender of their lives to his leadership. Throughout his time with them, Jesus was re-shaping their values, their priorities, their way of interacting with people and the world around them. He then told them to go and do the same â to âmake disciplesâ, or to call people to follow Jesus and pattern their life after him.
As the church began, thousands of people joined the disciples not just to be part of their community but to begin living their lives as Jesus would in the world. This new community devoted themselves to a number of things, including the apostles teaching, which was everything that Jesus had commanded them (Matthew 28:18-20).
Becoming a Christian places you in a new family but it also puts your life under new leadership â under King Jesus. We enter and become a citizen of a new kingdom. The goal of every true disciple is to be like their Master so the goal of every Christian is to be like Jesus. Our very calling and destiny is to be conformed to the image or likeness of Christ.
Spiritual growth is a process and it is also a partnership between God and us (Philippians 2:12-13). We are to âwork outâ our salvation as God âworks inâ us by His Spirit. Spiritual growth or godliness is a result of spiritual âtrainingâ not of merely âtryingâ hard to be like Jesus (see 1 Timothy 4:7-8). We have to be intentionally serious about learning from Jesus how to live our lives. It really is possible to be âlike Jesusâ … IF we are willing to engage in the kinds of activities that Jesus did to draw upon the power of His Father. We need to develop âspiritual practicesâ that help us be positioned to receive Godâs transforming grace on a regular basis.
Spiritual practices includes activities such as: celebration, prayer, the Bible, fellowship, serving, solitude, silence, fasting, sacrifice, and secrecy. These practices are not a way to earn favour with God. They exist for our sake, not Godâs. They have value only as they help us to change and grow. They are a âmeans of graceâ. They are activities that we engage in to open ourselves up to Godâs transforming power. Also, these practices are not a measure of spirituality. The true indicator of spiritual maturity is growth in the ability to love God and people. The real issue is what kind of people we are becoming NOT the exercises or spiritual practices we may be engaging in. Practices such as reading the Bible and praying are important â not because they prove how spiritual we are â but because God can use them to lead us into life.
[Part 4]
re-Imagining Church (Pt.2)
The church that Jesus is building is …
1. A Community
God, in his very nature, is a community of three persons united as one, existing in loving relationship. When God created human beings he created them to also do life in community. When Jesus came to earth he lived out this value of community and priority of love. He did not do life in isolation. He was born into a family and he grew up in a family. When he began his ministry the first thing he did was choose twelve disciples to be with him. They ate together, walked together, talked together, travelled together, and ministered together during that entire time. He established a community and he infused it with his kind of love so that it would be a continuation and a reflection of the community he had always experienced with the Father and the Spirit before coming to earth.
When the church was birthed, this same kind of community continued (see Acts 2:42-47). Placing your faith in Christ was not just about beginning a new relationship with God but it was also about becoming part of a new community â a new family of brothers and sisters in Christ. In the first century, there was no such thing as being a Christian without being part of a community of other Christ-followers. Church is NOT a building that you visit from time to time OR even an event or meeting that you go to. It is a family or a community that God wants you to be a vital part of.
How does 'community' happen practically today? I think that there are a variety of ways, including building friendships, participating on a ministry serving team, or being part of a small group. A sense of community doesn't just happen. It can be awkward at times. It takes time and effort.
[Part 3]