Category: Travel

Thinking of travelling any time soon?

My first overseas trip was when I was 9 years old and my family visited the USA. I love travel and enjoy the whole experience (well, most of it!) – airports, airplanes, visiting other countries, and meeting new people.  

As an experienced traveller, here are a few tips that you might find helpful for your next trip:

1. Preparation. I always read ahead about the places I am visiting, learning aspects such as weather, culture and the local religious environment (Operation World is a good guide for this). 

2. Clothing. When I travel, I usually wear a track suit with slip-on shoes. That way I am not wasting time taking off belts and jewelry or untying shoelaces at the security check. I always travel with a light jacket as it can get quite cold on the plane. 

3. Packing. I travel light but always allow enough clothes so I don't have to do a wash while away. I check the local weather ahead of time. I have a packing list which I keep on my phone, so I don't forget anything.

4. Seating. I usually travel Economy, unless the people who invite me cover a Business Class airfare, which is always nice, or I use my frequent flier points to upgrade. In Economy, I always try for an exit row, since I am so tall. For a long flight, I go for the window seat (it's easier to lean against the window when you want to sleep) and for a short flight, I like an aisle seat. Check out www.seatguru.com which is an excellent site that rates every seat on every plane.

5. Travel Documents. I have a special wallet for travel that holds my passport, tickets, cash (I exchange some Aussie money for foreign cash ahead of time), boarding passes, credit cards and frequent flier cards.

6. Check in. I always check in online so I can choose my seats and print my boarding pass ahead of time. Most airlines allow you to do this within 24 hours of flying. This saves a lot of time at the airport. 

7. Sleeping. If I want to sleep, I use some eye covers and earplugs and take a sleeping pill (I use Restavit, which you can purchase at your local Chemist). I try not to eat or drink too much before hand, so I don't have to get up and use the toilet.

8. While Flying. I always take reading material – newspapers, magazines and some books, with my Kindle for iPad fully loaded. I sometimes listen to music too or watch a movie. Before flying, I ensure all of my devices are fully charged and synced.

On a long flight, I get up and walk around frequently and stretch my legs out while seated. I also take an aspirin the day before flying to ensure adequate blood circulation. 

9. Food and drink. I eat relatively healthy all the time but especially when travelling. I avoid too many carbs and sugars. 

10. Time Zone changes. I try to immediately get into sync with the new time zone once I arrive. I go to bed in the new time zone, taking a sleeping pill the first 1-2 nights, just to help me get a good, long sleep. I do the same when I return home.

11. Electricity. I take a multi-country A/C adaptor with me plus an Australian power board, so I can charge my multiple devices simultaneously. 

12. Travel Apps. My iPhone has some excellent travel apps. My favourites are: World Clock, World Weather, FlightBoard, World Atlas and any kind of Travel Guide like Frommers.

13. Communications. While away, my primary communication back home is via email and Skype. I plan ahead and find free Wi-Fi spots.

Happy flying!

I was privileged to participate in the recent Word of Life Europe Conference in Upssala, Sweden. This event is hosted by Ulf Ekman, the founder of Word of Life, a thriving network of churches based in Europe. The conference draws thousands of people from all over Europe, include over 300 Russians. Translation of the messages is available in a dozen or so languages. The conference has vibrant worship and a diverse array of speakers from the wider body of Christ.

This year, other speakers included Dr. Cho from Korea, Sullasi Kurulo from Fiji, John and Carol Arnott from Canada, Anne Chistianson from Norway, and Father Raniero Cantalamessa from Rome. Father Raniero has been the papal household preacher for the last 33 years and has an amazing story of the work of the Holy Spirit in and through his life (watch here).

It is wonderful to see what God is doing in and through his church around the world. Good days are ahead! 

Ever since I was kid, I have loved to travel. I remember as a 9 year old taking my first flight from Australia to America with my parents. I remember the feeling of looking down from the airplane and seeing the city looking smaller and smaller – like a model of tiny roads, cars and buildings. Rising above the clouds was also a surreal feeling. They looked like a sea of cotton wool. I've been travelling regularly ever since.

A certain amount of travel is good for a church leader. It lifts you out of your context and helps you see what God is doing in other places and cultures. There is so much to learn from seeing things in a different way and from a different perspective. It is also a great honour to be able to serve and input to others. Of course, there is a danger in travelling too much where too much pressure is created for the local leadership team because the senior leader is away so much. Outside ministry can become a distraction if you allow it too.

For many years now I have limited my travel (other than family holidays) to five weekends a year. That is because my priority is leading and ministering in our local church where I am the senior minister. I also endeavour to choose strategic invitations where my time is well invested. This usually includes at least one mission trip a year.

Last year I visited the USA, Sweden, Singapore and Indonesia. This year I have been to Singapore, Moscow, and I have a trip to Africa coming up. Next year, I already have plans to visit Korea and the USA. Over a few decades of ministry now, I have been able to visit and minister in many other nations too, including China, Czech, England, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Uganda.

It's a big world out there and God is at work in every place. We can't all go (although we should at least consider it!), but we can pray and get behind mission ministry in our local churches. Together we really can impact nations for the kingdom of God.

Another place we visited on our tour of Israel earlier this year was Masada. It is a stunning section of isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea.The cliffs on the steepest side are over 400 metres high. However, the top of the site is easily reached today via a cable car (although you can hike up the Snake Path, if you are keen).

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Herod the Great built a refuge for himself here (between 37-31 BC) in the event of a revolt. After the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, a number of families from a Jewish sect fled here. It became the site of an infamous siege in AD 72 with the Roman governor surrounding the refuge for 2-3 months. During this time, the Romans built a rampart that eventually enabled a battering ram to break through the outer wall of the fortress. 

When they entered the fortress the Romans discovered, to their surprise, that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed mass suicide rather than face certain capture, defeat, slavery or execution by their enemies. The story of the siege was communicated to Josephus by two women who survived.

The fortress is now a World Heritage Site. In 2007, a museum was opened on location with a theater that tells the story of the siege. It is quite moving and is a motivation for Jewish nationalism still today. 

Slavery or death – what would you choose?

During our tour of Israel earlier this year, we visited the Dead Sea. It is an amazing body of water. It is 67 x 18 kilometres in size at it widest points, and it is over 400 metres below sea level. The reason it is called 'dead' is because there is inflow but no outflow. As a result, there is no life in this sea – no fish and no plants (except bacteria). What an interesting metaphor for our lives. We all need inflow – God's life flowing into us day by day – but also need outflow – giving, serving and helping others. When we don't have this balance in our lives, we become stagnant and, as it where, 'dead' on this inside, bringing no life to others.

The Dead Sea is comprised of one third salt (maybe a little left over the from the judgment of Sodom nearby back in Abraham's time?).  That's a lot of salt (8.6 times more salty than the average sea). As a result, you can virtually float on the top of the water with little or no effort. What is fun, is to cover yourself with some black mud from the shore area (full of minerals), then soak in the water util it all washes off. it is quite an experience.

To the right is a picture of our oldest son, Josiah – with mud all over … about to go for a Dead Sea float!

A few more thoughts on my recent trip to Israel …

Jerusalem would have to be the most fought over city in the history of the world. It has been controlled by so many different civilizations throughout the centuries – the Egyptians, the Jebusites (who King David captured it from), the Israelites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, the Turks, the British and now modern state of Israel (since 1967). You can still feel the tension in the air – religious tension (Jerusalem plays a central role in the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam), racial tension, and political tension. No doubt, this tension is only increasing in our time. Commercialism is alive and well too – with markets, hawkers and moneychangers everywhere, including along the Via Dolorosa, the supposed route Jesus took to his cruel death by crucifixion at a place called Golgotha.

The humanity of Jesus comes to the fore while visiting Israel. Jesus was born as a man into a specific culture and grew up as a Jew. Understanding this is essential to understanding so much of Jesus’ thinking and teaching. Christianity is an off-shoot of first-century Judaism, though its roots go directly back to Abraham. There is much to learn from how God established and related to the Old Testament nation of Israel. Although, Christians see themselves as saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not through good works or obedience to the law, there is much wisdom in the ways of God and the principles we can learn from the heritage of men and women of faith from ancient times.

I have just spent ten days touring the land of Israel – my first trip. It was a very enjoyable and insightful time. We based in Jerusalem for half the time, visiting many sites around the city and also venturing out to visit Masada, En Gedi, the Valley of Elah (where David fought Goliath) and Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered). The rest of the time we stayed in Tiberius right on the Sea of Galilee. From there we visited Capernaum, Nazareth (loved the Nazareth Village display), Cana, Mt Carmel (where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal) and Ceaserea. We also visited ancient Joppa where Jonah boarded a ship headed away from God's call and where Peter had a vision about God's call for him to reach the Gentiles.

I saw a quote on a tour guide book while in Israel: "Five gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and one you will find in the land they call holy. Read the fifth gospel and the world of the four will open to you." I think there is a lot of truth to that statement.

In many ways, visiting Israel turns your Bible from black and white into colour. The cultural and geographical contexts comes alive. Suddenly you know what it feels like  to "go up to Jerusalem" which is high up in the mountains and to "go down to Jericho" which is down by the Dead Sea, many hundred of metres below sea level.

Of course, there is a lot of religiosity too. There are two supposed sites where Jesus was transfigured. In Cana there are two different churches each claiming to have the jars that Jesus used to turn water into wine. There are two different locations where he was supposed to have been crucified and then buried. No one knows for certain. After all, there were many hundreds of years after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 before Jews or Christians came back into the city and started to re-trace some of these locations. In fact, it was Emperor Constantine's mother, after his supposed conversion to Christianity in the 4th century, who officially tried to establish some of these holy sites In Jerusalem. Since that time, thousands of people have come to the holy land on some sort of pilgrimage – out of interest or looking for an extra blessing. We saw people kissing stones and relics, buying crosses and making sure that they touched various so-called holy places. Superstition is alive and well in Israel.

One thing we know for sure is that we as believers in Jesus are now his temple, his dwelling place. God is now at work in all the world and every place where he is at work is sacred. Visiting Israel can enhance our understanding of the biblical world and what God did in past times … but we don't worship the past. We appreciate it, we learn from it … and we move on … seeking to live each moment with an awareness of God and what he is doing .. right here … right now … wherever we are.