Mark Conner Humour

5 Old Ladies

189 Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a police officer saw a car puttering along at 26 KPH. He thinks to himself: "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he noticed that there were five old ladies, two in the front seat and three in the back … wide eyed and white as ghosts. The driver, obviously confused, said to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?" "Ma'am," the officer replies, "You weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."

"Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly … Twenty-two kilometers an hour!" … the old woman said a bit proudly. The police officer, trying to contain a chuckle then explained to her that 26 is the highway number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.

"But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask … Is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken, and they haven't made a peep this whole time," the officer asked. "Oh, they'll be all right in a minute officer. We just got off Highway 189."

Mark Conner Relationships, Theology

Love (Pt.2) – Beloved

Love The foundation of our love for others is a revelation of God’s love for us. The most important question in your life is not how much you love others or even how much you love God. It is how much do you think God loves you. Everything flows from this. Once we grasp and fully understand how much God loves us and allow that love to transform our lives, we are in a much better place to reach out in love to those around about us. In contrast, when we are unaware of God’s love for us, we can tend to relate to others from a point of need, seeking to get them to fill the emptiness in our own lives, an approach that often leads to disappointment and even dysfunction in relationships. Deep inside every human heart are all sorts of longings – for acceptance, for approval, for a sense of identity, for a sense of belonging, and for significance. We will do anything to fulfil these longings and desires within us. Ultimately, as St Augustine once said, “O Lord, our hearts our restless until they rest in thee.”

The Father’s Love

We come to God through Jesus – the One who is our Saviour and Lord. He came to earth, lived a perfect life, then died on a cross so that we could be forgiven and become children of God. Jesus described himself as “the way” – the way to the Father. Through Jesus we come to know God as our Father (Jn.1:11-13). The Holy Spirit then comes to live inside of us and fill us with the Father’s love so that His love is the foundation of our lives (Rom.5:5. Eph.3:14-19). It is so important that we fully consider the amazing love that God has for each one of us – not just in our heads (knowledge), but deep in our hearts (experience). This love of the Father for us is even greater than the love he has for us as our Creator (Ps.139:1-18). John puts it this way: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1)”

Continue reading “Love (Pt.2) – Beloved” →

Mark Conner Spirituality, Theology

Oh Love of God

Quyill I believe that this lyric contains the most profound statement about the love of God outside the Scriptures:

    Could we with ink the ocean fill,
    And were the skies of parchment made,
    Were every stalk on earth a quill,
    And every man a scribe by trade,
    To write the love of God above,
    Would drain the ocean dry.
    Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
    Though stretched from sky to sky.

These words were found pencilled on the wall of a patient’s room in an insane asylum after he had been carried away to his grave, the general opinion was that this inmate had written the epic in moments of sanity.

They now form the third verse of a well-known hymn called “The Love of God.” The words are by Frederick M. Lehman in 1917 (music by his daughter Claudia L. Mays). The lyrics are based on a Jewish poem written in Aramaic back in 1050.

Here are the rest of the lyrics of this hymn.

Continue reading “Oh Love of God” →

Mark Conner Humour

The Travelling Salesperson

Sales A newly-hired travelling salesperson sent his first sales report to the home office. It stunned the management in the sales department because it was obvious that the new salesperson was ignorant and uneducated. This is what he wrote:

"I seen this outfit which they ain't never bot a dim's worth of nothin from us and I sole them some goods. I'm now goin to Chicawgo."

Before this man could be given the heave-ho by the sales manager, along came another report from Chicago:

"I cum hear and sole them haff a millyon."

Fearful if he did, and afraid if he didn't, fire the ignorant and uneducated salesperson, the sales manager dumped the problem in the lap of the president. The following morning, the ivory-towered sales department members were amazed to read a company-wide message from the president:

"We ben spendin two much time trying to spel instead off trying to sel. Let's watch those sails. I want everyone should read these reports from Gooch who is on the rode doin a grate job for us and you should go out and do like he done." 

Obviously, any sales manager would prefer a salesperson who can both sell and spell – however, there's no substitute for getting results. 

[Story from John Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You, p.26-27]

Mark Conner Relationships, Theology

Thinking about the Trinity …

Trinity Here are a few insightful quotes about the Trinity:

“In Christianity, God is not a static thing … but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance.” [C.S. Lewis]

"The Trinity is a communion of three persons, three centers of consciousness, who exist and always have existed in union with one another and in dependence on one another … Each is essential to the life of the others, and to the life of the Trinity. They are bound to one another in love, agape love, which therefore unites them in the closest and most intimate of relationships. This unselfish, agape love, makes each more concerned for the other than for himself. There is therefore a mutual submission of each to each of the others and a mutual glorifying of one another. There is complete equality of the three." [Theologian Millard Erickson] 

"The oneness of God is not the oneness of a distinct, self-contained individual; it is the unity of a community of persons who love each other and live together in harmony … They are what they are only in relationship with one another. Each only exists in this relationship and would not exist apart from it. Father, Son and Holy Spirit live only in and with and through each other, eternally united in, mutual love and shared purposes … There is no solitary person separated from the others, no above and below; no first, second, third in importance; no ruling and controlling and being ruled and controlled; no position of privilege to be maintained over against others; no question of conflict concerning who is in charge; no possible rivalry or competition between competing individuals; no need to assert independence and authority of one at the expense of the others. Now there is only the fellowship and community of equals who share all that they are and have in their communion with each other, living with and for the others in mutual openness, self-giving love, and support; each free not from but for the others. That is how the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are related in the inner circle of the Godhead." [Professor Shirley Guthrie]

Continue reading “Thinking about the Trinity …” →

Mark Conner Relationships

LOVE (Pt.1) – Original Love

Love This weekend we began a new series on LOVE. Here's a quick summary with some discussion questions.

Responding to a World in Turmoil

Despite the fact that there are many good things happening in our world today, it doesn’t take a lot of insight to realize that we are a world in turmoil – especially in our relationships. At our very core, human beings are relational creatures. We have this tendency to ‘herd’ – to want to be together with other people. Deep inside, we have longings for belonging, for acceptance, for love, for intimacy and for meaning – all of which are found in relationship with others. Yet despite our obvious need and our best efforts, there is evidence of fractured, broken and dysfunctional relationships everywhere: between and within nations, in the marketplace, in families and even in the church.

The apostle John, one of Jesus’ closest followers, faced similar challenges in his lifetime. The Roman Empire of his day was ruthless, harsh and abusive, creating fear in every citizen’s heart. Even in the church, there were tensions, divisions and conflicts. The threats from the inside were as great as the persecution from the outside. John was a pastor placed over a number of church congregations. What could he say? How would he address these relational problems? Let’s reads some of his words, no doubt inspired by the Holy Spirit:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [1 John 4:7-11. NIV]

For John, the remedy to the problem was to get back to the source of everything: God as love. He doesn’t use fear or guilt as a motivator. He painted a picture of God’s very nature. If they could only catch a fresh glimpse of God, as he really is, it could radically change their own hearts and lives. People grounded powerfully in God’s love are able to experience a transformation that will affect all aspects of community life … and ultimately the world.

The Dance of Divinity

We need a fresh revelation of GOD. It begins by looking at Jesus. In his gospel, Mark wastes no time in boldly declaring Jesus to be the “Son of God (Mark 1:1).” He then moves quickly to the scene of Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:9-11). Here we see the Father, who is the voice; the Son, who is the Word in human form; and the Spirit fluttering like a dove. Mark is deliberately pointing us back to the original creation of the world. Creation and redemption are both the work of a Trinity, one God in three persons.

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is that God is one God, eternally existent in three persons (Mt.28:19. 2Cor.13:14. Eph.2:18). This is a mystery and difficult for the human mind to comprehend. There are not three Gods. Neither is there one God posing in three different forms. Here are three persons, who in some amazing, mysterious way constitute one God.

In the Trinity, none is before or after the other, none is less or greater than another, none is subordinated in being or function to another. The members exist as three equal yet differentiated persons in the most intimate communion. There is a radical, relational, co-equality. C.S. Lewis puts it this way: “In Christianity, God is not a static thing … but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance.” Each person of the Trinity moves, flows and draws life from the other in a community of perfect love. It’s the dance of divinity – sometimes called perichoresis by theologians (peri = around; choresis = to move or dance).

Continue reading “LOVE (Pt.1) – Original Love” →

Mark Conner Bible, Spirituality

A Prayer of David

David Despite his imperfections and failures, King David will always be remembered as the man after God's own heart. What was it about him that God so loved? Here is a prayer that David prayed after collecting a generous offering for the Temple which his son, Solomon would build:

David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.” [1 Chron. 29:10-19. NLT]

What do you notice about David? What character qualities emerge in his prayer? What do you learn about his inner world – his heart?

I observe: loving devotion to God, gratitude, humility, sincerity and an eternal perspective on life. 

May we too be people after God's own heart today. 

Mark Conner Personal Development

Feeling the Weight of it All

Weight In 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that 67.4% of Australian adults are overweight. Obesity is becoming as great a threat to health worldwide as hunger.

When you are overweight, you tax your body and vital organs. The strain tires you out and causes fatigue. Feeling overweight can also be emotionally depressing. 

Over the last six months or so, I have managed to lose 10 kilograms. It was hard work … but I feel so much better and have so much more energy. As I was carrying in the groceries the other day, Nicole pointed out that the bag of oranges I was carrying was 3 kilograms. I was shocked to realize that I had been carrying around the equivalent to 3 of these bags every day. No wonder I was more tired then.  

Losing weight starts with a decision of the will (what you tolerate you will never change) but it takes much more than that. Willpower alone is not enough to change strong ingrained habits.

Human energy expert, Tony Schwarz says, “Will and discipline are wildly over-rated. Even when the need for change is obvious and our intentions are strong, we often fall short. Making change that lasts requires building positive rituals – highly specific behaviours that become automatic over time and no longer require conscious attention … We are creatures of habit. 98% of our behaviour occur automatically, unconsciously or in reaction to an eternal demand … resistance to making change is built into the process, and long-term success requires addressing the reasons we don’t want to make any given change.” [This quote and some of the statistics and tips below are from his recent book Change Anything]

  • 98% of people fail to keep resolutions to change their bad habits. 
  • Americans spent forty billion dollars a year on diets, but 19 out of 20 people lose nothing but their money.
  • Only 1 in 20 dieters with a history of obesity are able to lose weight and keep it off for 1 or more years.
  • A group of Stanford scholars examined the four most popular weight-loss programs in the USA to see what works and what doesn’t. They discovered that ALL of the programs worked, IF people used them … but people rarely used them. ALL popular diets work  – but only for people who stick with them, and pretty much nobody does. ANY approach that causes you to eat less and exercise more will lead to weight loss and improved fitness. They work only if you keep them up.

We need some practical strategies. Here are a few that I have found helpful:

Continue reading “Feeling the Weight of it All” →

Mark Conner Personal Development

Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.4)

Energy 3. Renewing Your Spiritual Energy.

Physical health and emotional health are both vital. However, spiritual health is probably the most important and it can have a positive affect on our every area of our life. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus was "full" of the Spirit (Luke 4:1)!

How do we increase our spiritual energy? Let’s look at a few of the most important practices

a. Meditate on God’s Word.

The words that God speaks are like food to our spirit. While Jesus was fasting for a period of 40 days, the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread to satisfy his natural hunger. His answer? “People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matt.4:4).” God speaking to you is like life and energy to your spirit. Establish a practice of feeding on God’s Word daily, asking God to speak to you by His Spirit. You can even get the Bible on audio now and listen as someone else reads it to you, if that is helpful. The main thing is to ask God to speak to you by his Spirit. 

b.  Pray in the Spirit.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to serve and give his life for others. Yet one of his habits was to regularly pull aside from the crowds of people and from the busyness of ministry to spend time alone with his Father. Jesus knew what it was to work hard but he also knew what it was to stop working and get aside with his Father (Lk.5:15-16). If anyone  could have avoided prayer and just kept going without ever getting to empty, it was Jesus. Surely he could have just kept going, talking to himself now and then – after all, he was God! But, NO – he stopped, he left the hustle and bustle of all the people around him, and he found a place where he could be alone and talk with his Father. If Jesus needed this, how much more do you and I!

Often when we’re starting to burnout, it can be linked back to a drift in our time alone with God. Like Martha, we’ve become so busy working for God or doing life that we have neglected our time just sitting and being with Jesus like Mary did (see Luke 10:38-42).

Prayer is not a formula or a ritual but rather it is a conversation with a relational God. Talk to him about your life and His will. The very acting of speaking with God through prayer has energising power to it, especially when our prayer is prompted by the Holy Spirit who lives within us (Rom.8:26-28).

Continue reading “Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.4)” →

Mark Conner Personal Development

Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.3)

Energy 2. Renewing Your Emotional Energy

Physical health is very important as is renewing our physical energy. However, just as important is what is happening in our inner world. Unfortunately, this is often one of the most neglected areas of our lives.

Our SOUL is made up of our MIND (our thoughts), our WILL (our decisions) and our EMOTIONS (our feelings). Generally speaking, most people don’t invest time in the health of their soul. Our ‘emotional gauges’ are often the ones we least observe. Those with leadership responsibility are often the ones who are most vulnerable, because they can become so busy looking after others that they neglect their own “soul care.”

How do we increase our emotional energy? There are many things. Let’s look at a few of the most important.

a. Deal with your internal stress.

Every one of us faces certain external stresses unique to our own life. For those of us in who work in a church environment, the work is never done, there are no boundaries, success creates more pressure, not everyone likes you, and sometimes you face the pressures of high visibility. But of greater danger is what we could call "internal stress." Internal stress comes from unrealistic expectations (about God, other people and ourselves, often resulting in disappointment), unresolved offences and negative emotions.

Do you best, with God's help to keep your internal stress as low as possible so you have all the energy you need to keep up with the demands of life, that are often beyond your control. Resolve conflicts as quickly as possible. Confront problems and issues – they usually don’t goo away; in fact, they get bigger. Renew your mind - often it's not what's happening to us that is the major issue but what we are thinking about it. Talk with someone – a safe person who can assist you to process what is happening in your inner world (James 5:16).

Continue reading “Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.3)” →

Mark Conner Personal Development

Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.2)

Energy 1. Renewing our Physical Energy

How do we increase our physical energy? God made our physical bodies – one of the most amazing of his creations. It has been designed for optimum performance IF we look after it and ensure that we take time to renew our physical energy on a regular basis.

When we are sick or unhealthy it is hard to have the energy we need to do what God has called us to. That’s why looking after our physical health must be a priority for us.

Jesus also, in all his busyness of ministry, took time to look after his physical health. Jesus, though completely God, was fully human. He experienced our physical limitations and he had to look after his physical body. This meant adequate sleep, healthy eating and proper exercise.

a. Get a good night’s sleep

Jesus got adequate sleep. When he was tired, he rested. He even took a power nap from time to time. Interestingly, in the Hebrew worldview, the day starts in the evening – “the evening and the morning were the first day.” God intends for us to rest and sleep in order to fill our energy for the coming day of work. We are to work from a place of rest and fullness of energy.

Human energy expert, Tony Schwartz says this, “Sleep is the foundation of physical energy. No single behaviour more fundamentally influences our effectiveness in waking life. Sleep deprivation takes a powerful toll on our health, our emotional well being, and our cognitive functioning … 95% of us require 7-8 hours of sleep a night to be fully rested yet the average person sleeps 6-6.5 hours per night … Sleep is one of the first behaviours we’re willing to sacrifice in order to attempt to get more done. However, numerous studies of great performers suggest that they sleep more not less, than average.” 

We need all the sleep we can get. In the old days, people used to go to bed when the sun went down and get up when the sun rises. We do damage when we try to burn the candle both ends of the day. Get a good comfortable mattress, create a dark quiet room, wind down a bit (30-45 minutes) and don’t get to bed too late. What a difference that can make …

Continue reading “Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.2)” →

Mark Conner Personal Development

Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.1)

Energy It's half way through the year. How is life going for you? 

A few weeks back I came across this statement from the apostle Paul in one of his prayers …

Oh, the utter extravagance of God’s work in us who trust him — endless energy, boundless strength! All this energy issues from Christ. [Eph.1:19-20. Message Bible] 

What an amazing promise for us! God has “endless energy and boundless strength” that he wants to impart to us. This is confirmed all through the biblical writings (Ps.23. Is.40:28-31. Matt.11:28-30).Yes, God has a purpose and a plan for each one of our lives – a contribution He wants each of us to make to his work in the world. But, God also wants each of us to have all the energy and strength that we need to live out the calling he has for us.

Maybe you're feeling full of God's energy and strength right now or maybe you're not. Maybe you are only half full - conserving your energy a bit by pacing yourself so you don’t run out. Or possible you are even running on empty – feeling tired, drained, worn out, exhausted, overwhelming or even on the verge of burnout.

Let’s face it: the pace of life is increasing. The expectations we put on ourselves and that other people put on us are being lifted all the time. Many of us live with a relentless urgency. Some workplaces are trying to get more done with less people (because of layoffs). Life’s challenges are becoming more complex, and the problems just don’t seem to go away. Many of us live with very little ‘margin’ in our lives and it doesn’t take much to push us over the edge. Most of us expend more energy than we adequately renew. People talk today about a “global energy crisis.” I’d like to suggest that in our generation we are facing a “personal energy crisis” – and, yes, it’s taxing us!

What about you? 

Continue reading “Solving the Personal Energy Crisis (Pt.1)” →

Mark Conner Humour

The Perfect Pastor

Perfect pastor I found this on the internet the other day. It's a church joke with just a hint of exaggeration 🙂

The Perfect Pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly, but never hurts anyone's feelings. He works from 8 a.m. until midnight, and is also the church cleaner.

The Perfect Pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 40 years' worth of experience. Above all, he is handsome.

The Perfect Pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his church. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed.

The Perfect Pastor always has time for church meetings and all of its committees, never missing the meeting of any church organization. And he is always busy evangelizing the unchurched.

The Perfect Pastor is always in the next town over!

If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this notice to six other churches that are tired of their pastor too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of your list. If everyone cooperates, in one week you will receive 1,643 pastors. One of them should be perfect.

Have faith in this letter. One church broke the chain and got its' old pastor back in less than three months.