All my friends are getting married ...

I am blessed to count my sons as good friends ... so I guess it's true.

Shane is engaged to Kim (from Thailand/Norway) and so we are off to Thailand for a wedding next year. They reckon that surprises come as a surprise !!! and this one came from left field. It's been a whirlwind romance, with Shane meeting her at Chiang Rai DTS earlier this year - falling in love - arranging for Kim to visit Perth recently to meet the family (country cousins included) and then making the decision on a recent visit to DTS base in Chiang Rai to go back and staff a DTS next year with Kim.

And Thomas has a Thai girlfriend (Tuu is her name) whom he met during DTS in Chiang Mai early this year.

As I said, all my friends are getting married ...

And I know someone else who met a nice girl at Chaing Rai DTS ... but thats a secret! And he's a friend ...

Punish those YWAM Discipleship Training Schools.

Shalom,
Steve

Random stuff ...

Switched onto ABC2 tonight ... watched a Crowded House gig (those guys are so good) followed by a Roy Orbison show. Just goes to show ... if you're patient, a good show(s) will eventually appear on ABC2.

Other breaking news ... cancelled my trip to Hong Kong, China and Taiwan this week. Too much to do this side of Christmas !!!

My daughter Camille has got a blog (well she's actually had it for some time now) and she posted today ... yay !! Welcome to blogland for real Camz. Your shoutbox has been doing some serious trade though.

Work is crazy (as per normal).

Church is great ... I am Worship Leading on 17th Dec ... doing some carols, and invited my good friend Alan Flanders to play keyboards while we do "Oh Holy Night" as an item. What a blast. Should bring back lots of good memories of Carols in the Park while at Bethel Church in Cannington.

Listened to Selah Christmas carols album last week ... their version of "Oh Holy Night" is definitely up there. Must buy that album next time I am in Koorong.

Well that's it ... just random stuff.

I'm blessed ... because Jesus came to redeem me from the curse of the law ... hallelujah!!!

Shalom,
Steve

God does answer prayer ...

The West Coast Eagles are AFL Premiers for 2006. What an amazing game.

I'm worship leading at Southern Districts tomorrow morning, and I think I'm losing my voice from all the cheering. Should be interesting.

Go the Eagles ... bad luck to Sydney who tried to undo their pathetic first half, but just didn't make the grade.

Shalom ... and commiserations to all the Swans supporters.

Coming up to breathe ...

Have been punishing the new Mercy Me cd - "Coming Up To Breathe".

This is definately their best album yet. It mixes up so many different styles of music on the one CD. Some of them are traditional Mercy Me style, but some songs like "Where I Belong" are radically different, and still keep me glued to the seat until the last note has ended.

So thanks to my nephew Tim, who bought it for me as a present. I know it will continue to get punished for a long time yet :D)

If you don't own it yet, you are missing out on the best contemporary Christian music CD to be released so far this year. IMHO!!

Shalom,
Steve

A long lost love ...

I'm rekindling a long lost (well ... maybe not lost ... just put aside) love for Christian fiction.

It started with the Frank Peretti novels in the late 1980's that grabbed my imagination, and started my interest in the concept of using fiction to portray truths (in this case, it was the concept of spiritual warfare as being real and everyday). Once a Peretti fan , always a Peretti fan ... I read everything of his I could get my hands on, including his bio.

Then I got hooked on the "Left Behind " series. I would wait eagerly for each new book in the series to be released, and then devour it as soon as I got it home - sometimes reading until 2 or 3 in the morning. Being a Pre-trib believer helped there a little I suppose - as many of my friends did not share my enthusiasm for fictional accounts of the last days.

I have always been a SF fan (Star Trek, Stargate, Sliders, Terminator, Total Recall, Time Cop, etc) and love the excitement of the constant battle between good and evil.

I stumbled across several bloggers sites (Rulan and Curm for starters), and then meandered to Michel Archer, Chris Well, Bonnie Calhoun, Brandilyn Collins, and so on. There is an awesome amount of Christian Fiction novel and short story writing going on out there, with many people using their God given gifts to write stories that are captivating and uplifting.

It is a pity that Michel Archer has put her series on "orientalisms" on hold for now. I would eagerly visit her blog every few days to see the latest installment in the drama of Yeshua and Max. Hopefully she will be able to deal with the people who were ripping off her story, and return to writing great stories for all to enjoy.

The only downside is that hardcover books are so darned expensive in this country. Most publishers take forever to release soft cover versions, and so it becomes an expensive hobby or interest to read good books when they are first released. Many of the Left Behind series that have been out for 3 or 4 years here in Australia are still only available in hard cover.

If you're interested in Christian Fiction, then take the time to visit some of these blog sites. It will be worth the effort.

Shalom - peace, prosperity and healing.

Steve

SDA ... a really cool church ...

With all that Karen and I have been through over these past few years, the thought of finding a church where we would really be happy seemed distant most of the time.

And so surprise, surprise when God leads us to a church just down the road from where we live, and one which I drive past everyday on my way to work. I am sharing this because for the first time in nearly 5 years we feel at home in a church, and loved, and accepted, and valued, and involved. So much so that we are going to do the dreaded "M" word ... yes, thats right ... MEMBERSHIP.

The church that I am speaking so highly of is Southern Districts Alliance church - which is on Warton Road in Canning Vale. And once again today we had an awesome service with the many new friends we have made in our short few months there. The worship is great, the teaching is great, and the leadership is great. We have become involved in a home group (something I have not been able to for nearly 20 years for a number of reasons, the main one being that most home groups I have experienced in the past are a waste of time) which I look forward to every week.

I have missed this church and home group sooo much over these past 4 weeks that I have been overseas. And they all missed me ... makes me feel kinda loved by others outside my family. So if you are looking for a great church that will make you feel loved and accepted, come and visit one day - services start at 10-00AM. Like most people who visit SDA, you might end up staying!

Praise the Lord, for He is good.

Steve

The top of the world ...

To have been in the Himalayan mountains (or a close relative of it - the Tien Shan mountain range ) in Krygyzstan is the most inspiring experience I have had in a long time.

The drive from Lake Isyk Kool up to the Kumtor Goldmine in the mountain range is the most amazing experience. To Reach a tundra at about 10,000 feet and then drive for almost a half hour along flat grassy plains with snow capped peaks all around you is to stare in wonder and amazement at God's creation. Then, to finally reach the minesite and actually see a real glacier right alongside the open cut mine pit is even more amazing. I stood on the roof of the mine office with my new JVC 30GB HDD video camera and rotated around slowly with the scenery filling the lense.

I marvelled at how our wonderful creator God could make a human body that can so quickly adapt to breathing air that only contains 40% of the normal level of oxygen. The secret of breathing three quick deep breathes regularly was one I learnt quickly, otherwise you become very ill. I was able to maintain my blood oxygen levels at around 96% to 98% during the day, which impressed the mine clinic doctors greatly.

It made me realise how complete was my healing from the Aspigillus lung infection that nearly killed me when I was about 21 years old. For years after that I learned to live with the severe lung tissue scarring that plagued my health for years. The outcome of that was that I learned to breathe deep and long as my lungs were incapable of absorbing normal levels of oxygen for my blood. Several years ago the regular x-rays I had as part of my medical check-ups started to reveal absolutely no scarring evident - and my health has been almost perfect the past 5 or 6 years, since I started claimed God's healing over my whole body.

The lung infection that nearly killed me 27 years ago taught me how to cope with high altitude - further proof that God takes every bad thing that has ever happened in our lives, and turns it for our benefit, and for His glory. I was able to tell several people about how my lungs had been completely healed, and how a miracle had happened in my life.

And just today (here in Perth at work) God revealed why I met a young Kyrgyz man named Andre whilst in Bishkek. He had breiefly shared with me about his wife and new child who had just been christened in the Orthodox Church, and I knew in my spirit that God had a purpose in all of this, but I believe He revealed the full purpose today. Brett, who travelled to Kyrgyzstan with me, left 3 days after me to return to Perth, and he had a chance to speak further with Andre after my departure. It turns out that Andre's oldest daughter (who is about 3) has Spina Bifida or some similar disease, and is only expected to live for another 5 years or so. I now know why God is going to send us back to do further work for this company - so that I can witness to Andre, and to lay hands on her and pray for his daughters healing.

God ALWAYS has a higher purpose ... sometimes we just need to wait upon Him to reveal it.

If you are able, would you join with me in praying for Andre's daughter that God would miraculously heal her, and reveal himself in all of His glory to Andre and his wife.

Whilst I was not particularly looking forward to returning to Kyrgyz because it is so demanding physically and mentally, I now know that God has a purpose in sending us back ... not just to do business of an earthly nature, but of a Heavenly nature.

Praise God, for He is good.

Steve

Forever is a long, long time ...

Seems like forever since I last blogged.

Lots has happened in the past month or so ... I have been almost right around the world in that time. To actually sit down in front of a computer (not work related) and log in and update - well it seems like a luxury.

Since the end of June I have been to Thailand for Shane's DTS graduation in Chiang Rai, and then for work went to Kyrgyzstan in central Asia. This entailed flying to Dubai, Istanbul and then Bishkek, and then return the same way to Perth.

I have spent the last week trying to catch up on everything - including reading my favorite blogs. It is perhaps hard to believe that you can be in a situation these days where you don't have internet access, but trust me - it is quite common, especially when you are at a goldmine site in the Himalayan mountains at 11,000 feet altitude - struggling to breathe because the air is so thin!

It is soooo good to be back home in Australia, and it truly is the best place on earth ... Perth, I mean!!!

I will try to catch up on posting, and relate some of the awesome things that have happened in my life lately (especially visiting the Haggia Sofia in Istanbul). In the meantime, know that God is good, and His mercies endure forevermore.

Cheers,
Steve

45 today ...

My beautiful wife Karen turns 45 today!

Happy birthday sweetheart - I'm so glad that you've spent 25 of those years with me. Thanks for three wonderful children, and for being my friend.

Have a great day celebrating with your family and friends.

lots of love,
Steve

Miracle of healing ...

Brandilyn Collins is a writer of Christian fiction novels who has an amazing story to tell.

Here is an excerpt ...

After that prayer session, by God’s design, I’m sure, the place was unusually empty. No more sick people to pray for. The prayer teams were just sort of standing around. So I felt I should take advantage and go in a second time with a different prayer team. The second time Brandon went in with me. The team prayed for me, and this time (as one ACFWer had said I should do) I prayed too, commanding aloud that the illness leave my body in Jesus’ name. Brandon prayed also. Again I felt absolutely nothing. The prayer team said sometimes people don’t feel anything, but then the healing just swiftly comes. When I went out of that session, I was walking a little better. But to tell the truth I wouldn't admit it. I was disappointed, because I'd expected to be healed right then--and FEEL it. For some reason, I said to myself, God hasn't healed me. Still, I willed myself to praise Him anyway.

As I read this article from her webpage, I was so reminded of how God did a similar miracle for me in Laos.

This is a very inspiring read. Follow the link to her website to read it in full. You will be blessed and encouraged.

Prosperity, health and peace in the name of Jesus,
Steve

Swanee River ...

In the short time Karen and I attended "119" home church in Langford ( started last year by Tony Dower - former Missions/World Changers Director for PCLC) we became friends with a fellow named Graham. He was baptised on Sunday afternoon in the Swan River (near Coode St jetty).

It was cool (literally) to be there. I have never attended a baptism outside of a church building before. A couple of guys were standing on the end of the jetty with their stubbies - watching the whole thing. I 'm not sure if they were amused or intrigued by the sight of Rob and Clarita dunking Graham in the water. I had (just briefly) a small glimpse of what it must have been like for Philip when he baptised the Ethiopian official in the lake, or when John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the river.

There were hundreds of people all around the place, and we must have looked strange to them - standing around on the shore, cheering Graham on. It reminded me of the scripture where Jesus said "if you confess Me before man, then I will confess you before the Father".

There are some words from a great old hymn that go like this ...

"I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
or to defend His cause.
Maintain the honour of His Word,
the glory of His Cross."

It's worth thinking about!

Shalom,
Steve

Heaven ... hmmm ... can't wait ...

I am almost finished reading "90 minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper - a Baptist Pastor in the US who died and went to Heaven's gates.

What an amazing story. I have been through every emotion whilst reading this book. I've cried more tears over this book than any other than I can remember. I identified with Don in so many parts of the book. Especially the parts where he describes the pain he endured during his recovery from the accident that "took his life for 90 minutes".

It took me back to when I trashed my left knee in that accident on the "biscuit" a few years back. I can still clearly remember the incredible pain that shot up my left leg when the knee snapped as it hit the water. And I can still remember the pain that followed week after week as the knee tried to recover from the trauma. I remember the MRI scan, and the physio sessions. I remember my specialist telling me that I would need to undergo knee reconstruction surgery, and I also remember my response to him. I was believing God for a miracle - I didn't want to undergo an operation to re-attach the ligaments to my bones.

As Don relates the anguish at being brought back from the gates of Heaven, and how he wished that he could die again, I identified with him so much. I know what it is like to go from a perfectly healthy, active, beach and water loving person to an invalid in a few seconds flat. We both know what it is like to live with the consequences of the decisions we made on the day of our accidents.

I am so glad that God healed Don Piper so that he could write this book. If I could recommend one book as a must read this year, then this is surely it!

I think I will buy a few extra copies and give them away. I will never be the same after reading this book - it has changed my attitude towards heaven and this life on earth forever.


For His glory,
Steve

Cyclone Glenda ... wow

This is a picture of Tropical Cyclone Glenda.

This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on March 29, 2006, at 10:40 a.m. local time (02:40 UTC). It shows Cyclone Glenda as a well-developed storm, sitting 525 kilometers (330 miles) west of Broome. Clouds from the storm covered most of the northwest coastline of Western Australia. Sustained, peak winds in the storm system were roughly 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour) at this time. The storm’s spiraling clouds appear as a nearly solid white disk, but in several places, it appears as though some clouds are “boiling” up above the rest.

It struck me as I was thinking about how awesome is the power being unleashed by this storm, that the words of Jesus calmed a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee. I realised that it is not the size of the storm we are going through that matters, but the size of our God!!!

The word that Jesus actually used to calm the sea was "Shalom". Most people know that one of the meanings of this word is "peace", but if you ask a Jewish person what "shalom" means to the Jews, they will tell you that it actually means three things - "peace, health and prosperity".

Makes you think, doesn't it!

Shalom ...

Back to front is good ...

Have you ever heard sayings which when mixed up a little, make a whole lot more sense?

Here's a couple of well known sayings (or not so well known - depending on where you're from) and their rehashed context.

1. "That person is so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly use"
... and turned inside out by Steve Beckingham to read ...
"That person is so earthly minded that they are of no heavenly use".


2. "Don't just stand there - do something"
... and turned inside out by Mark Geppart - author of The Attack Lambs - to read ...
"Don't just do something - stand there (and pray!!!)".

3. "I'll believe it when I see it"
... and turned inside out by Kirsten Williams - YWAM New Zealand - to read ...
"We'll see it when we believe it".

If anyone has anymore sayings that make more sense when reversed, then leave a comment!

An evotional blog ...

Thanks to Bruce over at His Method blog for introducing Pastor Mark Batterson, who has some really neat things to say. Here are some examples from his blog called "Evotional.com" ...

This one is an excerpt from a message called "Lame Parties" - to read the full post, go here.

Luke 15:10 is one of those verses that gives us a glimpse through the glass floorboards of heaven. There is a holy party happening. It says, "There is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."

One person putting their faith in Christ sets off a cosmic celebration. According to the latest research I've come across, approximately 100,000 people put their faith in Christ all around the world every day! And there are only 86,400 seconds in a day. Do the math and you discover this: there is a cosmic celebration of infinite proportions initiated every second or every minute of every hour of every day! Heaven is a non-stop celebration! The church ought to be a mirror reflection of that reality!

I'm absolutely convinced that our biggest problem isn't the fact that we don't feel bad enough about what's wrong with us. Our biggest problem is that we don't feel good enough about what's right with God. We let what's wrong with us keep us from worshipping what's right with God. Our gravest sin is under-celebrating the greatness and goodness of God. We don't celebrate half as much or half as well as they are celebrating in heaven. But that's the holy standard. Our church parties ought to approximate heaven's parties. We've got to throw better parties! In the words of Rob Bell: "The church has nothing to say to the world until it throws better parties."

I must confess I've never been to a really good party, except for my 40th birthday party! It was so good, I wished it would never end. Sad and tragic I know.

Here's another excerpt from another good one ... strangely titled "12,771".

I have a growing conviction: the Church should be in the business of redeeming technology and using it to serve God's purposes.

Isn't that what Johann Gutenberg did? He redeemed the printing press and used it to get more Bibles into more hands. Why not redeem the iPod and turn it into a high-tech tool for e-vangelism or digital discipleship? The message is sacred, but the medium isn't. The church needs to use any and every medium at its disposal to share the gospel with as many people as possible. It's a stewardship issue. We're far too analogical in our approach to ministry. We've got to carpe digital.

Who said preachers have to preach from behind a pulpit and parishioners have to listen while seated on wooden pews?

In 1728, John Wesley was ordained into the Anglican priesthood. It was assumed that preaching would take place behind a pulpit inside the four walls of a church sanctuary. The hierarchy within the Church of England considered preaching outdoors a violation of canon law. John Wesley broke the law and broke the mold.

And finally, here is the best of the bunch, IMHO ... from a post called "Ten Buzz Commandments".

I'll expound on them in a future blog, but here are the Buzz Commandments. I've got to narrow it down to ten commandments. Here are twenty:

Buzz I--Thou Shalt Hang Out at Wells
Buzz II--Thou Shalt turn Water in Wine
Buzz III--Thou Shalt Touch Lepers
Buzz IV--Thou Shalt Not Wash Thy Hands
Buzz V--Thou Shalt Offend Pharisees And Call Them Names
Buzz VI--Thou Shalt Be Shrewd as Snakes
Buzz VII--Thou Shalt Speak in Parables
Buzz VIII--Thou Shalt Wash Feet
Buzz IX--Thou Shalt Not Put New Wine in Old Wineskins
Buzz X--Thou Shalt Seek Lost Sheep
Buzz XI--Thou Shalt Not Wear Extra Long Tassels
Buzz XII--Thou Shalt Heal on the Sabbath
Buzz XIII--Thou Shalt Curse Barren Fig Trees
Buzz XIV--Thou Shalt Climb the Mount of Transfiguration
Buzz XV--Thou Shalt Defend Adulteress Women
Buzz XVI--Thou Shalt Turn Over Tables In The Temple
Buzz XVII--Thou Shalt Be Innocent As Doves
Buzz XVIII--Thou Shalt Ride Donkeys
Buzz XIX--Thou Shalt Withdraw To The Wilderness
Buzz XX--Thou Shalt Walk On Water

I highly recommend that you go have a look see on Mark's blog, and be challenged and entertained at the same time.

You liddle bewdy ...

Thomas is back home from Thailand, the shed is up and almost finished, the new landscaper is coming here on Monday, the new Hyundai Sonata car is soooo nice to drive, and my wife gets more beautiful every day! What more could a guy want?

No seriously, in spite of all the crap things that get thrown at us in life, God is consistently good. Full of mercy, and rich in love. I love the way our God is always exactly how He describes Himself in His word.

We have become overcomers because Jesus has overcome the world. It has absolutely nothing to do with us!

The trip to Thailand was the best ever, and it was such a blessing for Karen and myself to visit the Chiang Mai DTS (YWAM) base that Thomas has been staffing at, and to participate in the graduation ceremony. It was especially good to see the way the kids we met back in October at the beginning of DTS, and to see and hear about what God has done in their lives. Awesome stuff! It was also cool that Shane was able to get a leave pass for Friday arvo and Saturday to travel down from Chiang Rai with some friends and attend the graduation as well. It was so good to just hang out with him, and to share our hotel room with him on Friday night. In the house Shane !!! Sweet MacGregor.

On the Wednesday after Thomas had finished de-briefing from DTS, the three of us (Karen, Thomas and me) jumped on a bus to Chiang Rai, and went to visit Shane's DTS base. We got to meet with Paul Willcox - the base director - and met all of the crew. We stayed in CR for three days, and stayed (off base) with a young couple called Uab and Jesse Ford (who have the most delightful little boy named Silas). We were so blessed that they invited us into their home.

It is always awesome to see the way that God uses DTS to challenge and change peoples lives. In the few days that we were there, we saw how DTS can be a life changing experience. Karen and I both came away from there feeling strongly that we would like to do a DTS one day. In fact I think I would prefer to do a DTS rather than Bible College (in Thailand of course).

This week ended on a high note. I was invited to speak to two classes at Lumen Christi College here in Perth about building electric vehicles for the high school electric vehicle challenge coming up later this year. It was just so cool to be able to speak into these kids lives, and to impart something to them. Some of the heavy technical stuff went over their heads, but they were so keen to learn, and they blessed me at the end of it with a nice bottle of red wine, and the school photographer took some photos of me with the kids - which will be used in an article in the next school magazine.

And Thomas flew in from Thailand yesterday morning ... ready to go back to Curtin Uni to finish his degree. How much better can it get?

Oh well, I'd better go and finish painting the floor in my new 12m x 7m shed ...

Proverbs says that "the Lord's blessing is our greatest treasure, and He adds no trouble to it!"

Memories ...

The words of an old hymn just popped into my head. Here they are ...

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing, I will sing.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

With my mouth, will I make known
His faithfulness, His faithfulness.
With my mouth, will I make known
His faithfulness to all generations ...

God is soooooooooo good ...

My new shed/workshop/garage is going to start being erected today - yay!!! (Only been waiting since October)

Things are busy already at work - 2006 is going to be a fantastic year for our (God's) business, because He is blessing our efforts. Did He not say that He would cause us to prosper in everything that we do!

I am believing for many opportunities this year to preach and teach more. My desire is to get back involved in worship ministry, and to sow truth and life into every one that I meet or minister to.

I found someone who is going to possibly be able to fix all of our brick paving and limestone wall messes that we were left with. Another yay!!!

And I am married to the most wonderful woman on planet earth, who truly rocks my world.

And it's all because of God's promise to me - that He knows the plans that He has for me, and they are plans to prosper me and not to harm me. Plans to give me a hope and a future.

Where would I be without Him? Where would I be without Jesus and His finished work of the cross? Where would I be without His Holy Spirit?

Jesus nailed it when He said that only God is truly good. Only God could truly love me and bless me the way that He does.

Leadership in the relational church ...

Continuing on with the theme of life in the relational church, here are some more thoughts from Wayne Jacobsen ...

Clearly Jesus warned his disciples that in God’s reality leadership serves a different function than it does in the world because it is not based on management. Yet many books on Christian leadership today are so easily adapted to the business world. That alone should make us stop and question.

Jesus didn’t view leadership as the power to command, but the passion to serve people as they sort out what it means to live as God’s children. In the last decade my understanding of leadership has changed completely. I used to see it in terms of power—thinking leadership was defined by influence, institutional power or the value of their giftedness.

That’s not so in God. Those who have helped me most to grow in Father’s love, surprisingly enough, don’t hold positions of power but simply loved me enough to point out the way to God’s heart and then let me decide if I wanted to follow it...

I guess that it's true (when I think back) that the pastors/teachers who have influenced me the most over the past few years were all gracious, humble, and yet were not perfect!

It is also so true that we are all looking for the perfect church … which means something different to every person I know. The one thing “perfect church” seekers have in common is a desire to find a place of community where they can grow in Christ – a place where grace is the rule (we already have grace from God, but rarely receive it from man) – where we can exercise our gifts for the glory of God, and for the building up of His body.

I want to be in a church were the spiritually lost take priority over programs, buildings, and every other thing that gets in the way of being missional in the true sense of the word.

Why are churches spending tens of millions of dollars on flash buildings and other frivolous pursuits when children and women in Tanzania (I have been there and seen it with my own eyes) have to walk 10 kilometres or more to collect muddy disease infested drinking water from a well or creek?

My desire is to be Christ centred, Christ focussed, and as a result of that, to become more like Him. To act like He would act, to do what He would do, for His priorities to become my priorities, to rejoice when He rejoices, and to grieve when He grieves.

I feel like He is gently guiding me in the direction that He has planned for me – to make a difference in this world. To declare all of the awesome things that He has done for me, so that others can catch the vision.

And church can be a very good training ground …

Why house church isn't the answer ...

Found an interesting article by Wayne Jacobsen on the website "Lifestream.org" which has an excellent discussion on why "House Church" may not always be the answer people are looking for.

Here is a small excerpt ...

We've taught for years the mistaken notion that we need to go to church to fill up on the life of God. Not true! We can only fill up on God's life through a transforming relationship with the Father through his Son. We were never meant to come to fill ourselves with church, but to live full of him and then share his life together with God's people.

Here is the problem with most of what passes for church life today, including many house churches: Rather than teaching people how to live dependent on Jesus Christ, it supplants that dependency by its misguided attempt to take the place of Jesus in people's lives. Instead of teaching them how to live in him, they make them dependent on the structures and gatherings of what we call church. Our expressions of church life just become another thing to stand in the way of people living deeply and fully in him.

It's well written, and Wayne earnestly encourages people to centre their dependence on Jesus himself. Well worth taking the time to read in my opinion, as are many of the other articles on Lifestream.org website. Click here to read the full article.

Oh... and by the way, we recently left a mainstream Pentecostal church to join a brand new home church.

Let's get rid of the Pastor ...

Seems a bit radical doesn't it. But if this article from "Present Testimony Ministry" is anything to go on, if begs a thought or two.

Frank Viola has written a book called "Pagan Christianity: The Origins of Our Modern Church Practices."

The article in question takes excerpts from this book and unpacks them in quite an orderly and well researched fashion. To say that he challenges the position of our modern church pastor is an understatement. Here are some excerpts from the article ...

The Pastor.

He is the fundamental figure of the Protestant faith. He is the chief, cook, and bottle-washer of today’s Christianity. So prevailing is the Pastor in the minds of most Christians that he is better known, more highly praised, and more heavily relied upon than Jesus Christ Himself!

Remove the Pastor and modern Christianity collapses. Remove the Pastor and virtually every Protestant church would be thrown into a panic. Remove the Pastor and Protestantism as we know it dies. The Pastor is the dominating focal point, mainstay, and centerpiece of the modern church. He is the embodiment of Protestant Christianity.

But here is the profound irony. There is not a single verse in the entire NT that supports the existence of the modern day Pastor! He simply did not exist in the early church.

Pretty much in your face for an opening statement, but I must admit, it did keep me reading right to the end of the article. The bluntness continues ...

The Pastor is in the Bible . . . Right?

The word “Pastors” does appear in the NT:

And he gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as PASTORS and teachers (Ephesians 4:11, NASB).

The following observations are to be made about this text.

* This is the only verse in the NT where the word “Pastor” is used. One solitary verse is a mighty scanty piece of evidence on which to hang the entire Protestant faith! In this regard, there is more Biblical authority for snake handling than there is for the modern Pastor. (Mark 16:18 and Acts 28:3-6 both mention handling snakes. So snake handling wins out two verses to one verse.)

* The word is used in the plural. It is “Pastors.” This is significant. For whoever these “Pastors” are, they are plural in the church, not singular. Consequently, there is no Biblical support for the practice of Sola Pastora (single Pastor).

* The Greek word translated “Pastors” is poimen. It means shepherds. (“Pastor” is the Latin word for shepherd.) “Pastor,” then, is a metaphor to describe a particular function in the church. It is not an office or a title. A first-century shepherd had nothing to do with the specialized and professional sense it has come to have in modern Christianity. Therefore, Ephesians 4:11 does not envision a pastoral office, but merely one of many functions in the church. Shepherds are those who naturally provide nurture and care for God’s sheep. It is a profound error, therefore, to confuse shepherds with an office or title as is commonly conceived today.

On the subject of ordination, here are Frank's views ...

The Fallacy of Ordination

In the fourth century, theology and ministry were the domain of the priests. Work and war were the domain of the laity. What was the rite of passage into the sacred realm of the priest? Ordination.

Before we examine the historical roots of ordination, let us look at how leadership was recognized in the early church. The apostolic workers (church planters) of the first century would revisit a church after a period of time. In some of those churches, the workers would publicly acknowledge elders. In every case, the elders were already “in place” before they were publicly endorsed.

Calvin and Luther apparently did their bit ...

From Priest to Pastor

John Calvin did not like the word “priest” to refer to ministers. He preferred the term “Pastor.” In Calvin’s mind, “Pastor” was the highest word one could use for ministry. He liked it because the Bible referred to Jesus Christ, “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Heb. 13:20). Ironically, Calvin believed that he was restoring the NT bishop (episkopos) in the person of the Pastor!

Luther also did not like the word “priest” to define the new Protestant ministers. He wrote, “We neither can nor ought to give the name priest to those who are in charge of the Word and sacrament among the people. The reason they have been called priests is either because of the custom of the heathen people or as a vestige of the Jewish nation. The result is injurious to the church.” So he too adopted the terms “preacher,” “minister,” and “Pastor” to refer to this new office.

And my final snippet from Franks article/book is bound to raise the ire of most people ...

Now that we have unearthed the roots of the modern Pastor, let us shift our attention to the practical effects a Pastor has on the people of God.

The unscriptural clergy/laity distinction has done untold harm to the Body of Christ. It has ruptured the believing community into first and second-class Christians. The clergy/laity dichotomy perpetuates an awful falsehood. Namely, that some Christians are more privileged than others to serve the Lord.

Our ignorance of church history has allowed us to be robbed blind. The one-man ministry is entirely foreign to the NT, yet we embrace it while it suffocates our functioning. We are living stones, not dead ones. However, the pastoral office has transformed us into stones that do not breathe.

Permit me to get personal. The pastoral office has stolen your right to function as a member of Christ’s Body! It has shut your mouth and strapped you to a pew. It has distorted the reality of the Body, making the Pastor a giant mouth and transforming you into a tiny ear. It has rendered you a mute spectator who is proficient at taking sermon notes and passing an offering plate!

All in all, a pretty interesting read. And I thought I was being radical reading Mark Geppert's book - "Bridges: Getting from A to B" which seriously and convincingly challenges the pyramid shaped style of modern church hierarchical leadership. Sounds like I'm talking up the emergent/post modern church model doesn't it?

I'd be interested to hear your comments on Frank Viola's article, but I would ask one thing. Please read the article first!

Also, has anyone else read Mark Geppert's book "Bridges: getting from A to B"? Definitely worth the read in my opinion. I think it may be hard to get hold of here in Australia though, as it is published in Singapore.

Good stuff ...

One blog that I enjoy reading is His Method by Bruce Chant. Bruce has this uncanny knack of finding the most interesting links and articles.

One excellent gem he recently dug up was this post by Bob Kauflin on his blog "Worship Matters". You can read it here, or read Bruce's subsequent post on Bob's post here. (It's interesting that Bob's blog address is Worshipmatters.blogs.com and mine is Worshiprules.blogspot.com) So thanks Bruce for alerting me to Bob's excellent blog - I am sure that I will become a regular reader.

There's a link on this comment about backmasking which has a subsequent link to a website known as talkbackwards.com - this is a very interesting read. Brings back memories of the John Todd tapes we all listened to in the late '70s. Hmmm ... I think I still have my copies somewhere!!

Another goodie is the link Bruce has to Ed Stetzer, who is a church planter ... among other things. Bruce's post is here. The page that the link goes to is pretty ordinary, but at the bottom of the text are these words ... For fun, you could read a scathing critique of Dr. Stetzer here.

And so I did, and it was very interesting. It links to a site called "The Christian News and Views On-line Newsletter". It's an article about several aspects of the modern church, including "worship". Here is a sample line from that text ...

In the world of the church, promoters of "ancient-future" faith are making a splash with a theology of worship that blends early Christian practices with a postmodern culture.

Whilst I agree with some of the things the writer says, I found myself disagreeing with most of what he wrote in the complete article.

Here is another example of what the author says about "there's a new faith in town" man Ed Stetzer ...

He says that people want something mystical-magical-supernatural and spiritual. Too often, postmoderns feel they're meeting an alien culture when they encounter evangelical Christianity, Stetzer says. He says it’s not the job of the unchurched postmodern to enter our culture. It is our job to invade theirs. In other words, the lost in sin should not be expected to make a “change”, it is the job of the church to “change” and CHANGE it is doing.

Stetzer says that churches should worship “experientially”, while Christ says we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23) The Nehemiah Project church-planting center at “Southern Baptist Seminary” in Louisville, Ky. says, “postmoderns want to “experience” God. They want to FEEL God. They want to MEET God on familiar, informal, personal, relaxed terms. BUT, the Bible teachers that people are to FEAR God.

Dunno about the magical/mystery thingy, but the supernatural and spiritual is a given when God is involved in Church by His Spirit.

The article raises lots of issues about worship such as drama, dancing in church (worship dancing??), banners, pageantry, and reciting creeds, etc.

I have my own ideas about these things, and I am what most people would call traditional in this respect (if there is such a thing as traditional post modern). Having been involved in using some powerful YWAM dramas during missions outreaches in Thailand, I have seen the Holy Spirit mightily annoint these dramas with amazing results. They never cease to impact me, and I have seen some of them dozens of times. The question remains in most peoples minds though that do these things belong in a church worship service? In my mind, if they cause people to seek God's face, then why not! If they are there purely for entertainment, then I say forget it!

Banners and pageantry? Symbolism for the sake of symbolism is just symbolism - nothing more. Meeting around the Lord's Table for Communion is Sooooo much more than symbolism - it is obedience to Christ's command.

A very thought provoking article, and worth reading just to understand how some people think.

Whoops, I did it again ...

I (and Karen ... and Camille) just sent our second son Shane off to Thailand to do a DTS with YWAM in Chiang Rai. And our first son - Thomas - is still leading a DTS team outreach with YWAM students from the Chiang Mai DTS that ends in Feb this year.

What an experience! Firstly getting Shane (love you son) onto that plane, and then dealing with the adrenaline deficit that has hit since yesterday morning. And then hearing (last night) that Thai Airways misplaced his backpack - in other words it didn't turn up at Chiang Rai airport baggage carousel with the rest of his gear!

Karen was feeling the stress a bit when she heard the news ... and she reminded me this morning that it wasn't fair because we had specifically prayed that his baggage would NOT get lost. Hmmm ... crisis of faith here potentially for me ... until God inspired me that if we prayed it in Jesus name, then it would surely come to pass. And so I said to Karen, it's not lost - just misplaced. Shortly after, I rang Shane on his mobile to be informed that he was at the airport picking up his backpack :-)

Isn't God good, and He is true to His word.

It seems so strange having our two boys both overseas on missions. As I just said ... God is good. Just when we thought it would be really quiet around here with only Camille (my daughter) and Karen home, and knowing that Karen and I are going to Thailand to help Thomas bring all of his stuff home in February, and Camille would be by herself (no bro's or folks) - one of Camille's old school friends decided to move back to Perth and needs somewhere to stay. So Camille has temporarily lost another bro, but gained a "sister". So as Shane would say ... "welcome to the hood Rebecca!"

Tomorrow morning I am preaching (sorry ... bringing the word) at 11/9 Church in Langford. This is the new house church Karen and I have been attending. It started on September 11th, 2005 - which expains the name (pronounced "eleven nine church").

It's funny how God's Spirit moved in a number of loosely connected people at the same time last year to leave their established churches and to step out into something new. Karen and I had both felt that it was time for us to leave Bethel Life Centre for several months, and eventually decided to make the move in August last year. When the pastors there asked us where we were going, we answered that we didn't know yet, but that God was leading us into something new to do with missions. Maybe a church with a HUGE focus on missions, or a new church! After all, missions is our passion ( oh okay ... and worship).

Karen and I both feel that one day we would like to do a Crossroads DTS with YWAM (thats a DTS for oldies like us). I have known in my spirit for some time that we were destined to be a missionary family. It is slowly coming to pass!

I remember during one of the last services that I worship led at Thornlie CoC about 5 years ago, that I played a segment of a video recording of Bill Gaunson's message (just before he was killed in that car accident) where he says "the only kind of Christian God wants is a missionary minded Christian". Those words obviously really impacted me, and it was not long after that when God turned our lives upside down and started preparing us for what lay ahead.

And so Shane is just beginning a 5 month experience of discipleship and cross cultural missions in nothern Thailand, and Thomas is drawing to a close his 3 year involvement in the Chiang Mai DTS - firstly as a DTS student, and then 2 years of staffing.

God has grown Thomas into an awesome leader, and a fine young man whom I am looking forward to spending time with again when he returns to Perth in February. If you want to read what God is doing in Thomas' life at the moment, go here ...

If you want to follow Shane's journey over the next few months, go here ...

And in 5 months it's back to Thailand for Shane's graduation. We're already praying for God to bless us with cheap airfares so that all 4 of us can go back for the big event. Hmmm ... I wonder if the kids will come to Karen's and my graduation if we do a Crossroads DTS?

To quote Napoleon Dynamite ... "peace out".