Thank you to all of those who attended or watched the thanksgiving service for my dad, Kevin Conner, today at CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia. We also appreciate the many messages that people have sent in, offering support and prayers, as well as commemorating my dad’s life.
A link where you can watch a video of the funeral service.
Eulogy of his life – 92 years, well-lived.
A Poem I wrote about him, called Nearing the End.
A dedicated web page where you can leave a personal tribute to his life.
Information about what’s next in my dad’s ongoing ministry impact.
Dad was a remarkable man, rising above adversity and rejection to make a significant mark on his Pentecostal religious world at this time in history. He grew up as an orphan, without a mum or a dad, yet he did his best to be the dad he never had to my sister, Sharon, and I. Our loss is heaven’s gain. No doubt, he is hearing from Jesus, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”
My dad, Kevin John Conner, passed away peacefully today at 2.00 pm in Melbourne, Australia. Having just turned 92 years of age, dad has spent the last year or so in an aged care home where he has had excellent care and regular visits from family and friends. He lived a full life, touched a lot of lives, and was ready to go. Our loss is heaven’s gain.
Dad was a wonderful dad to my sister, Sharon, and I, and to so many others too. He has influenced untold thousands of lives through his life, his books, and his teaching. No doubt, he is hearing, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord” as he graduates to heaven today.
A public thanksgiving service for Kevin’s life will be held at CityLife Church (1248 High Street Road. Wantirna South. Victoria. Australia 3152) on Wednesday, 27th February at 5.00 pm Melbourne daylight saving time. All are welcome.
UPDATE: This thanksgiving service will also be live-streamed over the internet. Please note: this internet link will not be live until 4.45 pm local Melbourne time (which is 9.45 pm Pacific Coast time in the USA on Tuesday 26th February). A video of the service will be available shortly afterwards for those unable to watch online.
If you would like to leave a brief tribute of how my dad has influenced your life then please do so on the post “Tributes for Kevin Conner“. Enter your thoughts in the ‘Comment’ section. This will help ensure our dad’s legacy continues. NOTE: Please allow up to 12 hours for your comments to be seen on the website.
Jesus said and did many things, a lot of which is recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament. But not everything Jesus said and did was written down (see John 21:25). The apostle Paul rarely quoted Jesus, but one statement that must have been passed on to him through ‘oral tradition’ (it’s not recorded in the Gospels) is Jesus saying this:
“It is more blessed to give than receive.” NIV
“You are far happier giving then getting.” The Message Bible
“More blessing come from giving than receiving.” CEV
Acts 20:35.
Paul used this statement as the foundation for his life of generosity. In the city of Ephesus, where he had lived and ministered for three years, he had worked hard with his own hands – to meet his own needs and to help other people (see Acts 20:32-38).
Jesus is saying that we are far happier, better off, fortunate, and blessed when we are in the giving mode than the receiving mode. This sound unnatural, doesn’t it, even counter-cultural!?
Well-known Jewish psychologist, Martin Seligman, an influential leader in the positive psychology movement, tells a story in his book on Learned Optimism about lecturing students in university on the subject of happiness. He gave them an assignment of doing two things during the week – (1) something pleasurable for themselves (e.g. eat a hot fudge sundae, or see a movie) and (2) something for others that had no personal benefit (e.g. work in a soup kitchen, give flowers to someone, or help an elderly person across the street). They were to measure their emotions before, during, and after these two seperate events.
The students returned from their assignments and unanimously noted that when doing something pleasurable for themselves there was a sudden spike of positive emotion that quickly faded away. However, when they did something for others, their positive emotions built up toward the event and then lingered long after.
They could have saved all the work by just listening to Jesus! Yes, it is true – we are far happier when we are giving out to others than when we are self-obsessed. It’s a fact of life.
In what ways are we happier giving than receiving? That was the subject of my message at One Community Church last weekend where I spoke on this teaching of Jesus. You might want to listen to the audio online (26 minutes) OR check out my new podcast. Enjoy!
Finally, may you find great joy in looking out for others this coming week and serving them in love. You will be glad you did.
A few years ago, TIME magazine published an article stating that distraction was the pre-eminent condition of our time. Not only are we busy, we are pulled in multiple directions constantly by distractions of all kinds. The antidote? Mindfulness.
Mindfulness is about taking time to be still, to reflect, to meditate, to contemplate, to be quiet, and to think. Mindfulness is being encouraged by experts in the fields of sport, medicine, health and well being, and religion.
For people of faith, it is interesting to note that meditation has roots that go way back to Isaac.
Genesis 24:63. One evening as Isaac was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming … NLT
I am sure Isaac had plenty to do. He inherited great wealth from his father Abraham in the form of livestock and he had a large household to manage. Yet, he took time to get out of the house simply to meditate.
Jesus did the same.
Matthew 14:23. After Jesus dismissed the crowd, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.
By retreating regularly, Jesus was able to replenish himself from the demands of his work in helping people and to gain perspective for his life.
It is so easy to be driven by the clock, which is all about speed, and fail to look at the compass, which is about the direction we are going in.
Here are some retreat ideas:
Begin each day with a few moments of stillness in order to prepare yourself for what is ahead.
End each day with some time of reflection. Ask yourself some key questions. What went well? What didn’t? What did you learn? What energised you? What drained you? How could tomorrow be different?
Make an appointment with yourself at the beginning of each week to have a Weekly Review. Take time to reflect on the previous week and prepare for the coming week.
Take a half or full day each month to retreat.
Have a quarterly review time (every 90 days).
Take time to have an annual review. After all, experience isn’t the best teacher. Only experience that is reflected on becomes insight for positive change.
Let’s face it – retreating is not easy, especially for activistic types like myself. It’s a little like stopping to fill your car up with petrol on a long trip. While you do so, all of those trucks, caravans, and slow drivers that you have been meticulously passing are now passing you! How annoying. Yet if you don’t stop, you won’t make the distance.
P.S.S. To listen to a recent message summarising these five habits, check out the Discovery Church podcast of my message given there on Sunday morning 4th February.
