his name is freedom

Destiny and the Bishop

2012-01-19T00:04:00.001+13:00

There’s been a bit of a stir lately over Tamaki’s latest plans to establish a new centre for the Auckland church, mainly because Tahu Potiki has written a column in the “Press” newspaper claiming there is rampant hypocrisy directed at Tamaki and the Destiny fellowship stream in general. Whilst Mr Potiki is making some reasonable points, the real issue is the strong similarities between Destiny and one of our mainline churches which I am not going to name here. If you apply that consideration then Tamaki can in theory be justified as one who is copying what he has seen in another mainline church and with apparently similar justifications to theirs. Of course, this also means what is negative about Tamaki should also reasonably be reflected similarly negatively onto that mainline church and its practices. I write not as one who supports Tamaki, but would nevertheless like to see some of the scrutiny being directed his way, also apply to that mainline church, which in itself is a far larger and more established organisation than the Destiny fellowship.

New Year, new outlook

2012-01-01T17:47:00.001+13:00

What will 2012 bring? Everyone hopes for a better year than 2011. Whether that transpires is entirely a matter of our personal approach to whatever life throws at us. Here in Christchurch, we endured a very difficult 12 months because of the impact of earthquakes. It has brought us a new reality about life in our city. Life has changed and it will never be the same again. A great many people are having difficulty in adjusting to this reality. Commonly heard refrains are “how long will this go on” or “I want my life back”. But this is the new nature of life in this city. We will best adjust to it if we simply accept that this is the reality of our lives now. It is quite understandable that the earthquakes have brought change that is not always good. We can fully sympathise with people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. We fully empathise with the challenges this has brought them and hope that they will be able to remedy this in the coming year. We hope that the coming year will also bring better economic opportunities as the city rebuilds damaged housing, commercial property and infrastructure. But we must accept that earthquakes are a part of our present reality of day to day life in this city for an unknown period into the future. So our lives must be adjusted to deal with this and we must pick up the pieces and go on with living. This will require some adjustment as suggested in a previous post recently. Our priorities will need to change and our lifestyle be adjusted to make sure there is a healthy work-life balance occurring as an essential rather than desirable component.

I think that many people struggle with this adjusted reality. Some who have struggled most have simply packed up their belongings and moved to another part of the country or the world. This is not, of course, an option for everyone. Another way of looking at it is not to fear earthquakes or what they can do. If we take this perspective, and put our lives into God’s hands, which they are in anyway, then we have the right sort of mental attitude that will carry us above the storms of life. That is why I have no intention of leaving. Sure, there is danger from earthquakes, and sure, I have found every single one of them challenging, like everyone else. I have had to go through the same sort of recovery challenge as everyone else, and at times I have found that exceptionally demanding. The past year has brought me more “down time” than at any other part of my life except back in the 1990s when I was depressed, unemployed and unemployable. Like everyone I have taken as much leave as possible, about five weeks, in addition to the three weeks which our employer generously paid for when our workplace was closed by February 22. The challenges have at times been monumental. But God has carried me through every one of them, and as He did so, my faith has grown and prospered. 2012 will be a year with new challenges to face up to, yet it will be an opportunity to seek out a new career path and direction that I have spent 20 years preparing for. At this stage the form of that is unclear but many pieces are starting to fall into place and I expect significant progress on some of these pieces over the next 12 months. I will be posting more about these in forthcoming weeks.

Therefore our challenge for 2012 is to accept that our lives are not our own. We live primarily to serve God and submit our lives to his direction and guidance. With that approach firmly established we are equipped with everything we need to deal with whatever 2012 throws at us.

Here is a reading for today: Psalm 1 (NIV)

¹ Blessed is the one
   who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
   or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
   and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
   which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
   whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!
   They are like chaff
   that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Tragic

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000+13:00

By now I expect everyone has heard about the sexual assault on a five year old tourist at Turangi. Police have charged a 16 year old boy with various offences related to the case and he made his first court appearance yesterday. The Police Detective Inspector leading the investigation told a press conference “New Zealand society probably needs to take another good look at itself.” With respect I think that is understatement. There are three (groups of) victim(s) here: the tourists, the boy’s family and the boy himself (this is not to excuse the crimes of which he has been accused – it is in the sense that he has messed up his own life very drastically). Yes, society does need to take a good look at itself. Society needs to ask itself hard questions about things like sexualisation of children at ever younger ages, tolerance of pornography, sexually explicit media programming and advertising, etc.

In the sense that gross sin is promoted and tolerated by society today we bring ourselves under the wrath of God’s judgement. At the same time God is seeking out for those who will stand in the gap for Him, who are willing to count the cost and courageously and selflessly be His agents in a degenerate, faithless world.

³⁰ “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” (Ezekiel ch.22 NIV)

⁵ “So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶ My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.” (Ezekiel ch.34 NIV)

¹⁸ “The hearts of the people
   cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
   let your tears flow like a river
   day and night;
give yourself no relief,
   your eyes no rest.

¹⁹ Arise, cry out in the night,
   as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
   in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
   for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
   at every street corner.” (Lam 2, NIV)

Reclaiming Christchurch

2011-12-29T06:00:00.001+13:00

If there’s one thing I could impress as being important, it’s adapting to the situation we find ourselves in. That means adjusting our lives to what is important. For us as Christians that is something we should always have at the top of our list. In the aftermath of each earthquake, we have to deal with the disruption to everyday life that is caused by these circumstances. A lot of people out there are not adjusting and not coping, because their lives have been shaken up more than they are prepared to admit is good and necessary. Lots of people in general have had to readjust to a life in which they cannot admit to being fully in control any more, in which they have to face up to their own selfishness, with mixed results. Some of the headline stuff that is coming out of certain areas of the city with each new series of shocks is justifiable, but as someone who used to live there, I can’t admit to agreeing with every word spoken. I think a certain amount of it is according to the social gospel (which fundamentally I have a theological disagreement with) rather than the spiritual one. We can’t rely on the government or politicians to deliver the full solutions because they never actually can in all circumstances. That doesn’t mean I’m an anarchist or support some of the fringe associated groups that have sprung up masquerading as recovery campaigns. It just means that I accept that the government will never be able to address all of the needs out there because they are not perfect, as none of us are either.

Some people are going to suffer financial loss or hardship because of the earthquakes. That is as inevitable as it is unfortunate. It tends to be seen a little differently, however, with some of us who don’t own a home or have lots of assets. I could move house as I did back in August very quickly without strings attached. In some ways I was blessed by this, even though I aspire to home ownership one day. But those sorts of realities bring things into perspective, and you have to question whether our priorities are right. A lot of people will come out of this situation in relative financial hardship compared to where they were before the earthquake but it is unrealistic to expect Government to pick up the tab. Aren’t we lucky we are just the biggest natural disaster in NZ’s history and it is not happening all over New Zealand right now because if there was a lot more of it then there is no way the government could afford to pay. In that light, the attacks on the government’s red zone offer are unjustified. People also fail to appreciate the privilege that we enjoy living in the prosperous First World and how massive the gap is between our standard of living and a vastly greater proportion of the rest of the people on this earth. I have been heartened by the way the government responded in the hours immediately following February 22 to get relief supplies and resources into Christchurch. Try and believe that would have happened in Haiti or Bangladesh or wherever.

We all live in a new reality and we have to get used to that, come what may. Life may be unfair but so what, life was never meant to be measured by human standards. What matters is what is important in life and adjusting our present situation to what is most important, which for Christians is our faith. What matters most is reorienting our priorities in life to put Jesus at the top. Some people, organisations and churches I know are not doing that. They will have to change things around or else God will do it for them, and they won’t like how He does it. It’s been happening this year and it will continue for sure. Whether you believe theologically or not that God has caused the earthquakes to happen, the fact is that He has a purpose to be worked out in all of our lives through adverse circumstances such as these. Step up to it and accept it, and change your life around to work with it. There’s a harvest coming and God calls us all to step up to bringing that harvest in, to make sacrifices to bring it in, get out of our comfort zone and our comfortable self-focused lifestyle and endure a few hardships to win for the cause that never loses.

trust me girl God has not forgotten
He knew Mary Magdalene and the Woman at the Well
He knows everything that happened and in His arms she fell

- J Medeiros, “Constance”

¹ In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. ⁹The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.

“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. ¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.

¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” (Daniel ch.9, NIV)

Looking out

2011-12-24T23:21:00.001+13:00

This is the sole decoration I have in my household to Christmas. Years ago our extended family decided to stop giving presents – the reality is that as Christians we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas every day of the year, and a pagan festival that was taken over by the RCC doesn’t really have relevance. Tomorrow being a Sunday will be a day of rest as commanded in the Scripture – apart from that I don’t have any special food in the house or anything like that. Since I don’t have any annual leave to take over this period, I will simply be making the most of the two four-day breaks over Christmas and New Year to rest and relax.

It’s been a very tough year for a lot of us and the earthquakes yesterday, although their impact was minor, has upset a lot of people who would rather have forgotten the previous events. For me though, I am in a place of greater blessing, one part of which is that I moved away from the East where liquefaction and power cuts have been the rule again. I have got myself a very good Christmas present, if you can call it that – an NIV audio Bible from the Listener’s Bible website. This means I can load it onto my phone and listen to it wherever and whenever I want. It has 365 tracks for the whole Bible in one year. The second thing I am looking forward to over the holidays is to apply to Laidlaw College to do part time study. I guess this would be half of a full time courseload and hopefully eligible for a student loan.

Worshipping God or “his house”?

2011-12-10T14:41:00.001+13:00

Originally I posted this directly on Facebook. In the aftermath of the earthquakes and destruction of many church buildings it is important to look at the spiritual consideration of whether we need these massive edifices. At the moment the Catholic Church are deciding whether to build a new cathedral (covered by $40 million of insurance) or restore the original (estimated at $100 million). Part of the story around the demolition of the cathedral was covered in a recent TV documentary, "Battle of the Basilica". A few weeks ago we also heard about the demolition of Holy Trinity Avonside Church and the controversy which erupted from heritage conservationists. And this debate is also raging in a very divisive way over the Anglican cathedral and other churches. When you look at the Basilica (see my photographic record of the work on it at https://picasaweb.google.com/pjrdunford/Earthquake2011A ) it is clear massive efforts have been made to prevent it from collapsing, yet it is crumbling away week by week. Is it really worthwhile or necessary to deconstruct rather than demolish? When the demolition of Holy Trinity Avonside was authorised by the Anglican Diocese a critic called it "sacrilege", an interesting choice of words in the circumstances. We were enjoined to believe that this church had to be preserved at all costs due to the meritous design of its ceilings and the name of the architect associated with it. How did we arrive at the conclusion that a church building becomes either a shrine to its architect or other builders, or some sort of consecrated hallowed ground to be adored by its parishioners and the public alike?

When we look into the Biblical record we find that consecration, relating to buildings, is an Old Testament concept. The temple and many of its articles were consecrated according to an elaborate set of rituals well documented in several of the earliest OT books. People were also consecrated (or called, set apart or dedicated) as priests, for example. Coming into the New Testament era of church history, the old order involving the temple and its rituals was abolished. There is no reference at all in the NT to the consecration of objects or buildings, but there are references to calling and dedicating people to the service of God. The only explicit NT reference to consecration outside people is in 1 Timothy 4:4-5, and this specifically in the context of rejecting consecration rituals practised by some sects. Regardless, certain churches mainly connected to the Roman Rite persist in consecration of their physical premises and by extension of this concept, constructing very elaborate buildings drawing on elements of the Old Testament temple designs and with the intention of denoting some kind of special or exalted status of the premises.

As Christians however it falls upon us to draw a clear distinction in the New Testament Era and to declare that the Church is the people rather than a building, and that a Temple is a common reference to a person's body who receives the indwelling of the Spirit of God. For post-Reformation churches which have drawn a clear boundary between the Roman Rites with their OT allusions, and the plain instructions and teachings of Jesus and his disciples, church buildings are to be considered as merely convenient places in which to hold services, and not as special, hallowed or sacred ground. We can meet in any particular building, or none at all. There is no need for any church building to be constructed in any special way, nor is there to be any allusion to any special stature that it has over other buildings. God does not indwell in stone temples built by human hands, but He lives within each one of us as His followers. Consequently in churches which are true to the New Testament teachings, church premises are typically functional plain buildings when seen from the outside, in which financial resources have been largely expended in providing functionalities and capabilities, rather than in form and appearance. That is the appropriate and correct way for a Christian church to establish itself in its own premises for holding meetings of its congregation gathering together to worship God.

I sincerely wish that all of the Christian churches would recognise these principles and that instances where church members have demanded that their building be preserved as a shrine or monument would cease. There have been numerous instances around New Zealand when ministers making changes in the layout of their churches have met fierce opposition from a clique which protests that a part of their building must be kept in a certain way to honour the memory of a certain former member or constructor. The same sentiments have been seen in the insistence that a historic church must be dismantled stone by stone or brick by brick and enormous sums of money and physical efforts be expended in preserving at all costs the construction materials and records of the physical appearance of the former building so that it can be reconstructed in a similar form in the future. At that point the building has ceased to serve its primary function of being a meeting place for God's people, and has been turned over to the service of godless anti-Christian beliefs of worshipping the building rather than the Creator. The preservation of "heritage" churches to such ends not only make it nearly impossible for congregations to adapt a building to new needs and requirements, they also impose unreasonable operating and maintenance costs. We are no longer serving God, but bound in servitude to the building itself.

The Catholic Basilica is clearly crumbling away, week by week. It may well collapse without any further human intervention. The Diocese has run out of funds to dismantle it further. They will come under pressure and expectation to reconstruct in a grand and expensive style. The old building was very difficult (not to say expensive) to heat. The materials it was made of were not conducive to high structural strength. The resources of the Diocese were stretched to maintain it. These are all the things that happen when the people are bound to serve the building, rather than the building serving the people. Many of these heritage churches fell down in the first place because it was insisted that their heritage features such as appearance were more important than the strengthening needed to make them safe. Many of them also were not able to be insured for their replacement value. Their disappearance will be decried by heritage enthusiasts but secretly welcomed by their congregations who are no longer compelled to meet in a building unsuited to modern needs. Since a lot of these older churches were kept operating in a hand-to-mouth existence with funding constraints, they may not be replaced at all. The disappearance of these churches will not spiritually disadvantage their members one whit. So why do we spend so much time wailing and gnashing teeth over the decrepit state of some churches post-earthquake?

I look forward to a post-eq Church community in which we have restored the proper place of buildings to New Testament standards, and where therefore our focus is on the needs of people first and foremost above the form and appearance of the buildings we choose to meet in.

Pilgrim

2011-12-02T12:00:00.001+13:00

pil·grim

A person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons
A member of a group of English Puritans fleeing religious persecution who sailed in the Mayflower and founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620
A person who travels on long journeys
A person whose life is compared to a journey (freedictionary.com)

Canterbury Pilgrims – the early settlers in Christchurch, Canterbury, NZ. The Canterbury Association was founded in London on March 27, 1848, and incorporated by Royal Charter on November 13, 1849. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, presumably after the Archbishop of Canterbury, the seat of the settlement Christchurch after the Oxford college. (wikipedia)

Pilgrim - New Zealand's First Locomotive. The first locomotive imported into New Zealand was landed on 6th May, 1863, at Ferrymead Wharf (Heathcote River), for the Lyttelton-Christchurch Railway, and was of the 5ft. 3in. gauge. It was named “Pilgrim” as a compliment to the Canterbury Pilgrims, the first settlers of the Canterbury Association. The branch to Ferrymead closed 1867 with the opening of the Lyttelton Tunnel and subsequent conversion to NZ standard 1067 mm gauge. In 1964 the Ferrymead site was re-established as a heritage railway and transport museum. (nzetc)

Pilgrim Place – A street in Christchurch named after the Pilgrim locomotive. Pilgrim Place is located on the site of the former Christchurch railway stations on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Colombo Street.

SCCC Pilgrim – A series of three open air meetings held at 9 Pilgrim Place on the 27th November and the 4th and 11th December 2011 at 7:30 pm by South City Christian Centre.

View Larger Map

Breaking the Ground

2011-12-02T10:18:00.000+13:00

One day we will have a new church building here.

[2] But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have people who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. (Malachi 3 : NIV)

More photos (link to first): https://picasaweb.google.com/114045016785073872305/0000ChurchC#5679955912743316850

Repent

2011-11-29T13:57:00.001+13:00

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/columnists/martin-van-beynen/6039300/A-long-road-for-Josie-and-the-cross-she-bears

Genesis 4:26 At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD

Matthew 3:2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

Somerfield – Sadness, Sorrow

2011-11-24T22:43:00.001+13:00

This is where it happened, down Barrington Street next to the entrance of Cashmere High.

I think people are getting used to the idea that these situations happen in all neighbourhoods. We have to learn how to rely on God as our refuge and strength because unless we are very wealthy we cannot isolate ourselves from the incidence of crime in the community. This one in a straight line was only 2.5 km from my home. Two men were arrested very soon after the event and one of them has been charged with murder.

I wrote this devotional for our staff the next week. It is based on an adaption of the scripture shown on the top right corner of all pages of this blog.

Arise, cry out in the night,

as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water

in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to him

for the lives of your children,

who are beaten, abused and murdered

on the streets of the city.

This is an adaption from Lamentations 2:19. Jeremiah is believed to have written the original verse in the time when God’s judgement fell on Jerusalem in 586 BC. I have adapted the last two sentences to describe current conditions which are relevant to our society today, and in which we as staff of this school have an interest.

The day is coming, the hour is coming when God seeks out all who will take a stand for His name, who will stand up for righteousness and for the lives of His children. I don't know how that specifically applies to individual staff of this school, just that it is an ever present consideration for us as Christians, and with the ability to have input into the lives of children and their families who are in this school as well as in other schools and the wider community. I pray that each and every one of you would be inspired to consider how you could best fulfill these things.

A father to the fatherless, a reconciler and restorer

2010-08-29T14:15:00.001+12:00

One year ago, I said goodbye to my Dad. He was admitted to the hospital early one morning, and three days later, to the hour, he departed this life for Glory. We made our farewells a few days later and lowered his simple pine coffin into the North Canterbury soil. We as a family have spent the last year reflecting on what Dad meant to us and the gap he has left in our lives. For me, I reflected on the relationship I had with him throughout the 43 years that I knew him. When I grew up, I didn’t have a very good relationship with Dad, and it was not until I had got into right relationship with my heavenly Father that I knew how to be reconciled to my earthly Dad. A key principle of our faith as Christians is reconciliation and restoration. For those of us who have had struggles in our lives in being able to form normal and healthy relationships with people around us, we need GOD’s restoring power in our lives in order to develop the necessary skills. Reconciliation is a Biblical concept that is found in 2 Corinthians 5 (I only accept this meaning of reconciliation as relevant to our Christian faith):

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from GOD, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that GOD was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though GOD were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to GOD. ²¹GOD made him who had no sin to be sin^[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of GOD.

Being reconciled to GOD opens the way for us to be reconciled to key people in our lives. The reconciliation in our relationship to GOD provides the means for restoration in human relationships. I greatly value the last 18 years that I had with Dad after I became reconciled to GOD, which to me has been much richer than the 25 “unreconciled” years that preceded it. Psalm 68 refers to GOD as a father to the fatherless:

⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
       is God in his holy dwelling.

⁶ God sets the lonely in families,
       he leads forth the prisoners with singing;
       but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

If I apply this verse, then the loss of Dad from my life, while significant, is made up by my spiritual Father GOD. My heavenly Father can meet my deepest needs in a way that no human father ever could. Human relationships are important and valuable to us, but key people in our lives, such as parents and authority figures, while they can act as ministers of GOD, cannot replace the need for us to have a personal relationship with GOD.

I may have lost my human Dad and I still miss him, but my heavenly Father GOD is just a prayer away, and He is continuing to restore me to be more like a reflection of His heavenly Glory every day.

End Sexual Exploitation In New Zealand

2010-08-24T09:59:00.001+12:00

Essentially this is my response to A21, EHT, I Am Constance, et al, that we have heard about, and that is to focus on a part of what they are campaigning about, and its context in New Zealand society. When I grew up in the 1980s, we used to have these things called Telethons, that raised lots of money for various charities. One year, the cause was childhood sexual abuse, and shocking claims were made about the incidence of CSA: that it impacts 1:3 girls and 1:5 boys in NZ. I have never attempted to verify these claims, but some studies place the incidence in North America at 15-25% and 5-15% respectively. Whichever numbers are correct, it represents a tragic trend in society that brings untold suffering and brokenness into the lives of its victims. CSA is implicated as a key causative in rates of female prostitution and incarceration in NZ. Studies in our context have suggested that the rate is much higher for Maori women than Pakeha, and for rural women than urban.

I just want to write a little bit here about my interest in the subject. I am an adult survivor of CSA, which affected my life for a very long time. I have spent the last 20 years in recovery, receiving a very significant work of healing from GOD, especially in the last seven years, with the support of a lot of friends and family. Just in the last few weeks, GOD lifted such a big black cloud off my life, that my whole spiritual horizons have shifted dramatically. My perspective on what I can do has shifted beyond the community where I live and fellowship, to the city where I live, perhaps to the nation, maybe even nations… who can really tell? That is my testimony to the transformative, restorative power that GOD is capable of bringing into our lives, and how He can reshape our horizons and futures.

trust me girl God has not forgotten
He knew Mary Magdalene and the Woman at the Well
He knows everything that happened and in His arms she fell

- J Medeiros, “Constance”

Careforce Lifekeys Valiant Man

2010-08-23T01:01:00.001+12:00

Valiant Man from DV2 Media on Vimeo.

Valiant Man is a personal growth program of Careforce Lifekeys. The aim of this program is to fortify and restore the moral and spiritual integrity of men living in a highly sexualised world.

The course is usually conducted as a series of 10 weekly sessions. Each session begins with a video address from Dr Allan Meyer, after which the meeting is broken into small groups of about 10 participants with a facilitator. Each participant receives their own manual (approx 200 pages) which contains all of the material taught along with space to record a personal journal through each day of the 10 weeks.

valiant man introduction from Careforce Lifekeys on Vimeo.

Grace Vineyard Church first taught this program in Christchurch in May 2007. Now they are running the course again next month. I attended that first course and continue to apply the material from the workbook to my everyday life. Although I have experienced many challenges and some setbacks in this journey over the past three years, there is no going back on the commitment because the requirement for men to achieve personal sexual purity is undeniable and essential for the good of our churches and other Christian institutions and ministries inasmuch as it is a personal journey that impacts everything around us.

Constance by Mr. J. Medeiros (official version)

2010-08-22T22:26:00.000+12:00

Constance is a story about a girl in the Philippines victimized by Human Trafficking. It was created by Mr. J Medeiros and directed by Sam Sanchez of Stick Productions. It was produced by Ramses Jiminez of Legacy Street Productions. It has inspired an international human rights movement called the "Constance Campaign." Mr. J spearheaded the movement, and has partnered with Non-Profits like IamComing.org, XXXChurch, and HumanTrafficking.org. In May 2007, Constance was featured on CBS Evening News in an expose' on internet pornography.

The artist says: "A large part of hip-hop's identity has been formed through a consistent disregard to a women’s civil rights...Most of the album is about what we (I) make gods out of, the idea's men have about women and how those two interact in both a dangerous and beautiful way...there is a focus on women in this album with a hope that in man’s recognition of woman as an equal we will be creating safer environments for women in what, for the most part, has been a "mans" world...hiphop."

The A21 Campaign Against Human Trafficking

(first published on this blog on 26 december 2007)

the beginning of sorrows?

2010-08-21T22:26:00.000+12:00

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for allthese things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

I’m no theologian and I am not going to comment on the theology of this passage. However the relevance of the term “sorrows” is very relevant to many things that have happened in society in recent years, much of it involving personal tragedy. As Christians, it falls on us to remember that we have a hope that the world is crying out for. We have the answer to many of the sorrows that people experience in their lives. I experienced many sorrows in my life. Jesus came into my life 19 years ago and He has spent that time restoring me towards what He wants me to be, and leading me into His purpose and His glory. Through that I have a sense of being called to reach out. If only more of us were willing to be called to reach out to the hurting and broken in society. Think about how that would transform our world. Think about how, when Jesus returns, will he be speaking to you the way he is speaking in the passage below?

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Which would you rather be, a sheep or a goat?

Breakdown or Breakthrough?

2010-07-24T15:38:00.001+12:00

This week I had a very difficult time at work. I got into a tizz over some issues that I had perceived as a significant level of conflict between myself and another person. I got so worked up that I couldn’t work for a day until I got a chance to talk to someone and calm down. It has taken me, in fact, the rest of the week to get back to normal, and a lot of prayer.

Now, thinking about it, some people have much larger instances of similar things, where they have a complete “nervous” or “mental” breakdown. The Wikipedia article on the subject suggests that such a breakdown is basically an acute episode of a disorder presenting with features of anxiety or depression. There is however a lot of debate about the terms of “nervous” or “mental” breakdown because they do not appear as a recognised condition under DSM-IV or similar. As such there are a variety of recognised conditions which allude to N/MB and perhaps one way of considering it is just as an acute depressive episode, where the person is so overwhelmed by the negativity and blackness of their circumstances that they just can’t see a way out of the situation.

My experience is of many years of depression and equally just as many years of healing as God has worked on the situations in my life. I am at a point where I can see that this small episode this week results from letting myself be drawn into a situation of believing something that is false and not in accordance with God’s Word. Even when things look black and difficult, we must cling to the hope and the promise that God has put into each one of us, that will get us through one more difficult day – and I’ve lived through many of those.

The special insight that I gained through this short episode and which I think is just as much applicable to the major instances of breakdown (may be spiritual oppression) which put people into psych wards is to see it as a signal that we need to move on and break free from the kind of thinking or acting that led us into the situation in the first place. For the Christian, this means claiming God’s promises and believing them, it may also mean a time of healing with specifically directed prayer, perhaps with the help of other believers who have intercessory gifts. I’m not going to pretend that everyone’s experience of this is going to be the same as my own, because the circumstances leading up to it vary. My own experience has come a long way into my healing journey and so it is very straightforward to move on from it, however for someone who is just starting out that journey, their recovery could take a lot longer. But I think the key insight to be learned is that what looks like a breakdown can become a breakthrough if we are prepared to change our attitudes to the situation and put it behind us.

The Left and Right of Christianity

2010-06-07T16:21:00.001+12:00

This title sounds like a political one, and in a way it is, yet the discussion is not about political parties, so it is not really about Christian involvement in national politics. But all the same, Christian churches can typically be classified in political terms and being on a Left or Right alignment, in which the kinds of beliefs they have are based around the normal Left and Right ends of the political spectrum.

In church circles, the Left is that end of the spectrum where a principal focus is on Jesus’s teachings about social justice. These churches tend to focus on political activism and social service agencies. Churches which are strongly along these lines include the Catholic Church and most of the mainline churches. They classify sin as anything which does not follow to their social justice teachings. As far as I can tell this is by reinterpretation of the scriptures (which is quite common in liberal left churches). For example the Catholic bishops of New Zealand have a strongly held view that the existence of a prison system in our country is sinful and evil and must be abolished as being contrary to social justice principles.

On the other hand, the Christian Right is that end of the spectrum where a principal focus is on Jesus’ teachings about spiritual matters, the need for everyone to find personal salvation and to live a Godly life. Rightist churches tend to focus on activities such as evangelism and ministry conferences where there are opportunities for personal conversion and spiritual growth. Churches which are strongly along these lines are most Pentecostal churches, conservative evangelical fellowships and some individual congregations of mainline churches. Sin is what Jesus said it is in the Bible (which is not reinterpreted): rebellion against God. Given the example above, the prison system, we know that Jesus said nothing about prisons or their relevance to social justice. We also know that the prison system is a necessary component of a secular justice system that is founded on Old Testament principles which are still relevant today.

I am writing this because I am on the Right end of the church, and I believe it is the place that is most relevant to the spiritual truth of the Christian faith. I grew up with left wing political beliefs and voted for Left wing parties until such time as I experienced my own personal Christian conversion. After that my beliefs shifted to the right and have remained there ever since, nearly 20 years later. That is because the spiritual growth component and the personal faith experience has been the strongest part of my Christian walk in that time. But in mainline churches, some people have had their own personal conversion of faith. How is it, then, that those persons have adhered to the Left side of the church, rather than the Right? I believe that it is simply the case that those persons have chosen to become part of the fabric of Left churches, which have distinctively different spiritual teachings than Right churches. They have chosen that what they will be a part of in church circles has a Left focus to it. That divide between churches, in general, comes down to what each Christian chooses to believe and how important those beliefs are to them. They may choose that social justice (Left) matters more than personal spiritual growth (Right). The lines become somewhat blurred these days, especially with so many new independent churches springing up to displace shrinking mainline numbers, but are still readily distinguishable.

The Gospel of Banks

2010-02-14T22:03:00.001+13:00

Joseph Banks (1743-1820) sailed with Captain James Cook on his first great voyage of 1768-71. Cook’s ship the Endeavour reached the New Zealand coast in September 1769 and they spent six months charting the coastline until they sailed to Australia. Whilst sailing to the east of our Canterbury province, Cook named the feature Te Pataka o Rakaihautu as “Banks Island” – later corrected to its present English name of Banks Peninsula.

The European history of the Peninsula in the early colonisation of Canterbury is rich; Akaroa was the scene of the French attempt to establish sovereignty themselves and many prominent street names are a witness of this. The many now-abbreviated settlements around the numerous bays indicate that the earlier population was much larger than today. There are, nevertheless, still many small churches around the area of which some remain in use. The Gospel has been preached in this area for more than 150 years and it will continue to be heard in all settings and contexts. I myself have been visiting the Peninsula for more than thirty years and am aware of many instances, including the Scripture Union youth camps all around the coastline, Eastercamp at Charteris Bay, Living Springs at Governors Bay, and the YMCA camp at Wainui; these are all non-church settings, distinct from regular church services around the settlements. Many consider that the Peninsula is Christchurch’s playground, yet it is not immune from the wicked wiles of the big city. At the time I am writing this, we had just returned from our school staff retreat at the beautiful YMCA Wainui Heights centre over Waitangi Day. Three days later the police were out searching along the northern coastline for a missing woman, whose body was found at Godley Head and became the subject of a murder investigation. In June 2008 a man was murdered at Port Levy nearby.

While I was worshipping in church this morning I had an impression of God’s tears washing over the Peninsula, washing it clean of impurities and the stain of sin, washing it clean. Ultimately this doesn’t really refer to a washing of the land; it means the washing of people’s lives. To do this the Gospel must continue to be preached all around the Peninsula, and it will not just be in traditional church settings; it will also be in places like those mentioned above. Scripture Union’s last camp on the Peninsula was at Pigeon Bay in January 2004, the same time as Eastercamp moved out to Spencerville. Where will the Gospel be preached now? God’s tears are going to wash all over the Peninsula and wash away the stain of sin and sorrow and sadness and suffering from people’s lives. How is it going to happen? When I wrote this I was reflecting on at least four visits to Wainui, which was established more than 80 years ago. Everyone knows that the C in YMCA stands for Christian. Every visit I have made out there was with a church or church-based group, over several different churches; I would presume that a significant number of fellowships visit there every year. I know almost nothing at all about the organisation itself, but most YMCAs worldwide are in agreement with Challenge 21 with the actual implementation being subject to the autonomy of each local association. I feel a heavy burden to make that question a regular feature of my prayer diary this year.

(EC 2003; Pigeon Bay Panacea 2003/04; Wainui Heights 2007)

Celebration of ordinariness

2010-01-24T13:58:00.001+13:00

Who am I? I’m just an ordinary person living in an ordinary house in an ordinary street of an ordinary city. I do an ordinary job and have ordinary interests. I live an ordinary life. The first listing from an online dictionary for this word reads “of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional”. Some of the other listings are even more dismissive than this. But ordinariness is something to be treasured and even esteemed because it is what makes up so much of our everyday lives and gives us a firm grounding into the essential and important qualities of everyday humanity.

When we open our newspapers, turn on our TVs and radios, or go onto a news media site on the Internet, the reports are dominated by headline grabbing events. In many cases it is people themselves, who are commonly known as “celebrities”, who are the events, as a great deal of their public and in some cases private activities are followed with great interest by the news media and relayed to fulfil a public appetite for sensationalism. Whilst some of these people are great leaders and inspirations, others are not, and people often become obsessed with their activities. The point is that everyone has a part to play in the world, however ordinary it might seem. While there are those who will stand out more because of their fame or infamy, most of them started life in a very ordinary way, and the parts of their lives that are private are often very ordinary indeed. Their “celebrity” status does not immunise them from the realities of the ordinary everyday things that happen to all of us.

This is an ordinary blog, to be sure. I don’t know how many people read it. I don’t write it to be noticed. I write it as an outworking of my ordinary faith in GOD. As such it is principally an expression of worship. There are two exceptional things about the Christian faith that I want to draw attention to in this posting: an extraordinary GOD and the extraordinary way in which He seeks to reach out to His humanity every day. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were and are extraordinary events in which GOD set out to draw humanity into a relationship with Him. The fact that we can be brought into this relationship is extraordinary. These are some of the core reasons why Christians devote themselves above all other things to serve and worship GOD.

By doing so we don’t lose the ordinariness of our lives and must not despise it. The ordinariness is what gives us the ability to relate to the common elements of humanity, and therefore reach out and interact with other ordinary people and their needs. GOD calls ordinary people to serve Him. It’s a challenge that I have accepted for my life. I have accepted also that the ordinariness, while at times it may seem boring or demoralising, is the way in which GOD uses me to serve Him in the world. The value of that might only be seen ultimately in GOD’s eyes during our ordinary lives in this world, but since our lives are ultimately also in servanthood to Him, we should not despise this ordinariness, but we should value and treasure it. I am sure if you ask almost any of those celebrities if they would like to have ordinary life away from the publicity glare, that they almost all would. The ordinariness of our lives is where the things that matter the most happen. Great things happen in our lives in the ordinary times, whether we are alone or with other people. It is what must be treasured and guarded as the core of our humanity, and for Christians, it is what GOD honours in our humility and service to Him.

Gloriavale Christian Community

2010-01-09T15:55:00.001+13:00

It was in the paper this morning that Hopeful Christian’s cult at Lake Haupiri near Greymouth is undertaking oil exploration around Lake Brunner. Old Hopeful (he’s 82/83 now) is going to kick the bucket one day and I hope the real Christian church is getting ready to deal with the consequences of that.

The rise of evil

2010-01-09T15:44:00.001+13:00

Yesterday I wrote about the Sea Shepherds organisation and how I believe they represent a trend towards evil in environmentalism. Incidentally if you had any doubts about what they stand for here is Sea Shepherd’s own account of their campaign of vigilanteism which is total lawlessness not justified in any situation whatsoever. Today I’m going to write about the rise of evil in wider society. At this point you might remember a Christian teaching about “the last days”. Are we in “the last days” where all this is prophetically foretold? I honestly don’t know; it depends on your context. When “the last days” was first written about was 2000 years ago. In a certain sense, therefore, “the last days” have lasted for all that 2000 years so far. Maybe there is another 2000 years to go. Who really knows? I’m not focusing on that so much as the here and now. There is a definite trend of a rise of evil in our world but what it means longer term is anyone’s guess.

Here are some examples of the rise of evil:

“Anti social road users” e.g. Boy racers and other groups terrorising the roads with extremely noisy vehicles, abusing people, congregating, damaging roads and property. We used to call this hooliganism, now we just can’t do anything about it.
The rising rate of violent crime in society.
Businesses at each others’ throats, for example the supermarket chains which play all sorts of tactics to maximise their profits. Or large computer companies that play off suppliers against each other to make the most money, etc.
Businesses are forming into ever larger corporations to maximise market share and profit, and force competitors out of business.
Cyber crime, the development of botnets that can force down whole sections of the Internet. Masses of spam email has provoked huge resources spent trying to shut down the spammers who tie up a huge volume of traffic on the internet. The development of “bulletproof” hosting of criminal activities etc.
The flood of filth, the huge rise of Internet porn, plus more and more smut creeping into mainstream media and “family” television programmes. Child pornography growing in volume and demand.
Population have their heads in the sand over major issues like climate change. We grant resource consents almost without question to dairy farmers despite huge environmental cost – the massive volume of methane that each cow contributes to global warming, the drain on water resources, pollution from cow poo, runoff into our streams, groundwater contamination etc.
Constant attacks on true morality by politicians who claim their own misguided meaningless “moral” beliefs count for something when they don’t.

Hmm, I managed all the above without resorting to conspiracy theories. I don’t subscribe to the anti-climate-change cant that Ian Wishart and others are getting into, or any of their other favourite conspiracy theory. I think conspiracy theory is a favourite retreat of people when they want to avoid having to face up to reality or truth. I believe on the whole that the scientific evidence supports global warming. A lot of conspiracy theory is paranoia that plays into the devil’s hands. Now that I mentioned something from the Bible, here’s a verse of relevance to this time and place:

Isaiah 59:19 (New King James Version)

¹⁹ So shall they fear
      The name of the LORD from the west,
      And His glory from the rising of the sun;
      When the enemy comes in like a flood,
      The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

Even in these evil times in which we live, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up (or raise up) a standard against the enemy. Does that give you hope today? It does for me.

That well known passage in Matthew 7:1 – Judgement vs Judgementalism

2008-10-26T22:39:00.001+13:00

Mt 7: 1 - 5 (NIV):

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Now, some Christians believe that this passage and others say that we shouldn’t exercise judgement at all, especially in relation to other believers. It is a thorny subject that many Christians have struggled with or given a lot of thought to at various times.

Let’s look at a wider question of how judgement works in society. Apart from the criminal justice system, where the officials are called judges, after the Biblical office in Old Testament times, lots of everyday situations exist where people, including Christians, practice judgement, and for the latter in particular, do so in a Godly way. Parents, for example, judge their children. Teachers judge their pupils. Bosses and managers judge their underlings. If none of this judgement existed, civil society would descend into lawlessness and chaos. That it has headed that way so much in recent decades is due to a breakdown in the exercise of parental authority and discipline, to the extent that the police and criminal justice system have become more like the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, instead of the fence at the top of it.

Now, in say a Christian school, a Christian workplace or even a church, Christians are exercising judgement against other Christians. But this verse says they shouldn’t do that, doesn’t it?

Well, no. The verse is targeted at hypocrisy in judgement. This is quite clear in the second verse, which says “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. The subsequent verses go into this in more detail. Moreover, if no judgement at all was to take place, there would be a major conflict with other parts of the Bible, where judgement is able to be exercised as mandated according to scriptural principles; for example, by those who are in authority or leadership over others.

Verses 3 and 4 go into the hypocritical aspect in more detail. Verse 5, however, clinches the argument against any judgement. “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”. It doesn’t say “Don’t try to remove the speck from your brother’s eye”.

What is an example of a practical application? I work in a Christian school. I have a Christian boss. We’ve spoken on many subjects related to my work performance over the last five years. In that time I’ve gone from being classed as “unemployable” to being offered a permanent full-time position of employment [under negotiation at this time]. If I didn’t accept that he has the right of judgement over me then I wouldn’t have had any hope of making that kind of progression in my employment situation. I have professional supervision as well because of the nature of the workplace, being a school, and last month my supervisor called me in to tell me plainly that an issue in my life had to be addressed. If I chose to ignore him, I would be closing another door of opportunity to bring about worthwhile change and growth in my life. In any Christian situation, people in leadership have the ability to speak prophetically as well, meaning they are conveying God’s own message that He wants us to hear.

Does that mean we should uncritically accept everything that everyone tells us? No. The Bible tells us to test everything to see if it agrees with the written Word of God. In all cases where I’ve accepted what my boss or supervisor said, it’s because I went away, prayed and reflected on it and my reaction to it. There are some situations where it is very difficult to do this. A child growing up is not in a position to be able to test or discern the rightness or wrongness of judgement that they receive from their parents or other adults such as teachers at school. Quite often this leaves them with problems to resolve in adulthood. Unfortunately that is one of the negative aspects of living in a fallen world. Our response should not be to condemn the exercise of judgement, but to rise above a judgementalistic response and seek the exercise of God’s grace and healing in generous measure. The problem is, if we reject all judgement out of hand, we can so easily miss the pearls of wisdom or the disguised compassion in what is being said. Children face this challenge when they make the transition through adolescence to adulthood; then they have to learn to discern what is right and wrong to a much greater degree in order to be able to make the right decisions for their lives as responsible adults. The foundation their parents gave them in childhood will in large measure help to determine this. Therefore it is the duty of all God-fearing parents to bring up their children according to the ways of the Lord. Obviously this doesn’t occur perfectly, but most parents do very well most of the time.

Agnew case trial starts

2008-10-06T08:35:00.001+13:00

Today, the trial of the man accused of murdering deaf woman Emma Agnew begins. She went missing mid-November last year and her body was found two weeks later at Spencer Park north of Christchurch. Some of the factors of interest for the Christian community include the increase in sexually motivated violence against women such as this case represents, the involvement of Spencer Park where we hold Eastercamp every year, and the special connection for the Christian deaf community, which is active at Seaview Christian Centre which I attend. There was a special focus at Eastercamp for the prayer team, and as in my role I spent a considerable amount of time biking through the bush surrounding the camp, it was difficult not to think about the EA case.

This week in fact, police are investigating another, somewhat similar case that has begun a literal stone’s throw from home, the victim in this case is not deaf. Figures for violent crime were released last week. They show an increase, but can that be explained away solely by increased reporting rates? I think not. A criminologist at Victoria University claimed there has been no substantive change in the murder rate adjusted for population. This is also nonsense. The role of our churches, in part, is to take a strong stance against all of the evil influences that have been prevalent in these cases – violence and murder, especially sexual violence, which results from the perversion of sexuality and breakdown of the traditional model of the family.

Arise, cry out in the night,

2008-08-08T17:52:00.001+12:00

as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
at the head of every street.

That is the full text of Lamentations chapter 2, verse 19. The second part of this verse is permanently displayed on this blog at the head of the right hand column. The original context in which Lamentations was written was not particularly inspiring either for Jeremiah or the Jewish people at that time. One might think on examination that there is not much of interest in the Book. However most people can quote the better known passage from chapter 3, verses 21 to 23.

I work in a school. A school is a place where children are educated. The school staff have a very significant role in shaping children’s minds and guiding their future paths in life. In a Christian school this has a special relevance when we take into consideration the importance of our faith, the significance of that faith in everyday life, and the ability of staff to take pastoral roles either as their main duty or in addition to another role. Some inspired State schools are also appointing chaplains to roles and we have the great benefit of many church run youth worker programmes in schools (e.g. Spreydon Baptist 24/7). In all of these situations, Christians will at some level feel that they are called to serve God in, perhaps, a pastoral kind of role.

I’m writing about that situation because that is a call I feel at times. My specific job in a school does not actually involve classroom work with pupils and is not expected to in the foreseeable future. However the fact that I am in contact with school staff and parents, gives me an insight into the kinds of situations and problems that they are concerned about, in relation to their classes or families. Some might think that because we work in a Christian school, dealing with Christian families, that there would be fewer problems than would happen in a State school. Whilst we do have an actual advantage in that our school community strongly supports the role of our faith and the core beliefs that underpin it, meaning that morality and discipline are important components of the school programme, every Christian knows that in our society it is virtually impossible to “innoculate” our children against the evil sin-filled world and its wicked ways. The period of adolescence when children make the transition to adulthood and independence is especially relevant because the questioning of parental values leads to a lot of mistakes, bad choices and taking of wrong paths. At this time, the only constant that we can hold up is the unchanging timeless character of God.

Christian schools do see less behavioural problems than State schools, but they aren’t immune from seeing problems in families of their pupils because bringing children up in a Christian environment doesn’t guarantee that they have fewer problems in life or that those children will make the right decisions as they grow into adulthood. There are nevertheless important differences that people who work in Christian schools can make, and there are different ways in which school or youth workers can have a positive influence in an educational setting. For example, I have an interest in intercessory prayer. I don’t think that anyone who works in any occupation that involves working with children could ever, at any one point in their career, ever be unaware of the vulnerability of children in an adult-dominated society. That awareness of vulnerability should invoke in all of us the desire to protect and nurture. I’m sure that staff in secular schools have similar feelings, but in that instance they lack the referential anchor that our Christian faith provides. All Christians in all areas of life should at some time consider the relevance of the Gospel message and how to apply it in everyday situations like the workplace or occupation they are in. It is that aspect of our faith that imbues us with a sense of purpose and fulfillment to rise above the mundane everyday realities of schooling and apply the Gospel message in relevant and practical ways. We need to seek God individually to discover exactly what we can be called to and how we can make a difference in the lives of children in our schools.

Australian Senate Report: Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media

2008-06-27T10:52:00.001+12:00

Extract of recommendations from the report published June 2008:

The committee considers that the inappropriate sexualisation of children in Australia is of increasing concern. While noting the complexity of defining clear boundaries around this issue, the committee believes that preventing the premature sexualisation of children is a significant cultural challenge. This is a community responsibility which demands action by society...

...The committee recommends that the Commonwealth through the National Health and Medical Research Council or other appropriate body commission a major longitudinal study into the effects of premature and inappropriate sexualisation of children...

...The committee recommends that broadcasters review their classification of music videos specifically with regard to sexualising imagery...

...The committee recommends that the Advertising Standards Bureau consider adopting a process of pre-vetting advertisements either (a) at the request of the advertiser where they are concerned that the content of the material may be pushing the boundaries of the codes or (b) where an advertiser or agency has regularly produced advertising material that has been the subject of complaints...

...The committee recommends that, to ensure that the Advertising Standards Board is able to make determinations that are in keeping with prevailing community standards, the Advertising Standards Bureau should develop a formal schedule or process for community consultation, including the use of focus groups, and research to act as a benchmark for board determinations...

...The committee recommends that the Advertising Standards Board rigorously apply standards for billboards and outdoor advertising to more closely reflect community concern about the appropriateness of sexually explicit material and the inability of parents to restrict exposure of children to such material...

...The committee recommends that state and territory governments, which have the responsibility for education, consider the introduction into all Australian schools of comprehensive sexual health and relationships education programs which are inclusive of both young people and parents, adopting a consistent national approach to the question...

From another article

More than a third of those who made private submissions to the inquiry identified themselves as parents or grandparents concerned that their children and grandchildren were being subject to sexualisation by the media.

Many were worried about children losing their innocence due to premature sexualisation.

Low self-esteem, problems with self-image and emotional development and eating disorders were widely thought to be the result of premature sexualisation.

Report of the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (2007)

This particular report is more concerned with the better known trend of objectification of women. Ironically it is this trend that is cited by sexual liberalisers and feminists who seek to address it by "breaking the shackles" of a patriarchal society. The content of this particular report, while it does have some relevance to this debate, could seek feminist solutions which have taken New Zealand and other countries further down the negative path that is being identified here.

Let me say that as far as I am concerned everything in the Australian Senate report is probably just about as applicable to New Zealand as to Australia. The difference is that in our prevailing political climate we would probably never get any such enquiry. I'm curious to know what sparked off this enquiry to be held in the first place, and how much debate there has been or is about this issue in wider New Zealand society. The Family First senator Steve Fielding was a participant in the enquiry.

Let it not be forgotten that in New Zealand we have the same trends as other countries which consist of political agendas that demand full scale sexual liberalisation. The devaluing of sexuality that has resulted is the primary reason why this sexualisation of children trend is developing in our societies. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd stated May 28th that he is "passionate about children having innocence in their childhood". It remains to be seen how practical his belief will be as leader of the Australian Government over future Parliamentary terms. For example, what kind of sexual health and relationships education programmes could be proposed for introduction into Australian schools, and would parents have similar rights to those that they have now in New Zealand?

The full report can be read here.

I intend to write further in the near future on the subject of sexual liberalisation and how it is producing these consequences by devaluing sexuality in society.

God Is Love, His The Care

2008-05-31T14:49:00.001+12:00

Tending each, everywhere
God is love, all is there!
Jesus came to show him,
That mankind might know him!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
Sing aloud, loud, loud!
God is good!
God is truth! God is beauty! Praise him!

This hymn is most often set to the tune of Personent Hodie (Theodoric) which comes from Piae Cantiones Ecclesiasticae et Scholasticae, veterum Episcoporum in Inclyto Regno Sueciae passim usurpatae, a collection of 75 canticles published by Theodoricus Petri and Jaakko Finno of Finland in 1582. Some of this music dates back to the 10th century although the majority is from the 15th. Personent Hodie comes from the 14th century and is said to be most often associated with the Catholic Feast of the Holy Innocents (commemorated December 28th), referring to Herod's slaying of all boys under the age of two as described in Matthew 2:16-18.

The lyrics were written by Percy Dearmer (1867-1936), an Anglican priest who held the position of Professor of Ecclesiastical Arts at King's College, London (1919-1936). He was a liturgical proponent of Anglo-Catholicism and also advocated for Christian Socialism. Along with others he published The English Hymnal (1906), Songs of Praise (1925) and The Oxford Book of Carols (1928). "These hymnals have been credited with reintroducing many elements of traditional and medieval English music into the Church of England, as well as carrying that influence well beyond the walls of the church" (Wikipedia). The High Church influence is notable in the English Hymnal and it was not widely accepted in the Anglican Church upon its publication.

Freedom and Christianity: how this blog gets its name

2008-01-02T01:05:00.003+13:00

The name of this blog reflects a few different things. Today in the context of "freedom" we are going to have a look at the contribution that Christians have made in wider society over the centuries.

Firstly, some context. Lots of people claim to believe in human rights all across the political spectrum. However, the kind of beliefs I am about to articulate tend to be found more on the centre-right of the political spectrum. You see, on the Left, you have moral relativism. There can be human rights, but they are relative to whatever the government of a country wants to allow them to be. The UN came out with the UDHR in the late 1940s which is all very fine sounding, but a country can sign up to it and yet not bother to implement bits it doesn't want to. Another example is our Bill of Rights, brought in by the Labour Government. The rights of that are restricted by the precedence of all conflicting statutes. There are no absolute rights under that law. Some Christians, generally those aligned with liberal churches, assert that this is the stream that all Christians should align themselves with. However, this philosophy condones many countries, mainly socialist or Muslim, in which individual citizens are not allowed to freely choose or practice their religious beliefs.

Come over to the Right and the prevailing ideas tend to be based on moral absolutism. We say a right is a right and it never changes. It overrides all other laws and can't be subjugated to them. An example of this is the United States Constitution. The Government of the US can't override any of the clauses in the Constitution by statute. Few countries have gone as far as the US in protecting the rights of their citizens in the way that their Constitution does. It is one of the reasons why the US is such a strong country.

In the history of the Christian church, we know that in the first millennium, Papists established what we now call the Roman Catholic Church, and they eventually elevated the Church hierarchy to assert absolute monopolistic control of all congregations and also theocratic government over a significant part of the developed world of those times. We know that monopoly (one-party state) and theocracy (religious government) are bad ideas because the states that practice them today are those countries where people do not have any human rights as we would describe them. Practically all theocratic countries today are Muslim; the US is not such one. In the second millennium, people began to object to this state of affairs, and to assert their rights to worship God in their own way, free of the control of the religious hierarchy. It took hundreds of years of persecution and martyrdom to build up to what we now call the Reformation. This didn't just produce religious liberty; it also resulted in civil and social reforms and freedoms being developed in countries.

Perhaps the greatest of the contributions that Protestant Christians have made in this context has been in the development of Western democracy as we know it today. The beginnings of this were found in the establishment of the Church of England with the monarch as its head instead of the Pope. This monumental step paved the way for other Protestant denominations to become established and eventually the opposition to the new Episcopal theocracy became so strong that Parliamentary democracy took over all of the monarchy's political powers and duties. England went through brutal civil wars, as did other European countries, and many Protestants emigrated to the US to escape persecution, eventually influencing the development of anti-monarchical government there. Democracy as we know it took hundreds of years to develop and history shows that it is a fragile thing. Yet democracy was in very large part due to Christian statesmen who asserted their beliefs in their absolute rights to freely choose and practice their religion.

The result that they wanted, however, was not a theocracy, and no Christians have ever established one. Muslim theocracies are countries where for the most part, human rights are repressed. The only state in which rights and freedoms can be guaranteed is a secular democracy, and there must be appropriate protections against overthrowing this democracy. Most Westminster democracies have a shakier foundation than the US; the checks and balances that exist in the American Constitution are absent in many countries, including New Zealand. That is why we must remain ever vigilant of attempts to take us down an undemocratic path. This sits well with the Christian faith and with the conservative strand of the Church. We remember the heritage of the great Christian humanitarians of Victorian times and earlier who helped bring about great social reform in Europe and in New Zealand. In recent years governments have sought to wind back these reforms and in so doing, the country has become more violent and disorderly. There can only be one end to this and that is a socialist police state in which our freedoms will be lost. History shows that is a very bad trend and must be opposed.

Emma Agnew - killed in action 15-11-07

2007-11-27T19:29:00.002+13:00

The police found a body at Spencer Park last evening and although a formal identification is yet to take place, a man has been arrested and charged with murdering Emma Agnew. For clarification, I have never met Emma Agnew. All of what I know, like most of the wider community, has been published in newspapers and on TV and radio. When I wrote my reflections on one of my other blogs, it was written from a deep sense of the loss that parts of the wider Christchurch community have experienced and expressing in my own way my wish to affirm and uphold the value that her family and the deaf community which she was a big part of have placed on her.

Every year for the past several years at Easter we have taken over Spencer Park for the weekend to run Eastercamp, a Christian youth festival that has grown to numbers of 3000. Through this event I have got to know a number of people who live in the local community and at Spencer Park and I also identify with how they must be feeling right now. I have cycled through that area recreationally many times and know the location that was shown on the news well. Eastercamp is going to be different this year.

In all of this a lot of questions are going to be asked, as they always are, and I am going to, quite simply, ask one of the most obvious ones, and that is what sort of society are we building? It will be some time before we have an idea of the circumstances behind this shocking crime. Regardless of that, life has become cheap. The incidence of murder in this country has increased over the years. It has become almost commonplace. It represents a shocking failure of society to protect the weak and vulnerable. This failure has many facets to it. Lawlessness is one of them. The justice system has been weakened, laws have been weakened, family units have been weakened, authority and discipline have been weakened.

We see all of the detriment of that every day. But we do not see any willingness to address the root causes of that detriment. The same process is being continued whilst increasing the State's intervention into all of our lives and moving us down the path towards a totalitarian police state that Eastern Europe would have been proud of. At that point, people cease to be valued individuals and instead become expendable cannon-fodder whose sole purpose is to serve the State, epitomised in the purges of Soviet Russia and Communist China. Inasmuch as this murder was a shocking and senseless act, it is symptomatic of the extent to which people are being devalued in society, and the constant denial of this in the corridors of power.

Signs of the End of the Age

2007-11-10T19:31:00.000+13:00

Matthew ch.24 (NIV):

[3] As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said..."what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

[4] Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. [5] For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. [6] You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. [7] Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are the beginning of birth pains.

[9] "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. [10] At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, [11] and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. [12] Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, [13] but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

[29] "Immediately after the distress of those days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

[30] "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. [31] And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

What do these verses mean and what are their significance for Christians today? The Book of Revelation is another part of the Bible in which similar terms are used to describe an apocalyptic time or times. There have been many differing streams of eschatological thought arising out of the different parts of the Bible where such prophecies have been made. Some of the apocalyptic prophecies definitely applied to a particular time and place. Others are more mysterious.

However one chooses to interpret these scriptures, many Christians believe that the world as we know it today is heading inexorably down a path towards a final showdown between Good and Evil that is alluded to in the passage quoted above and in other books like Revelation and Daniel. The important questions for us in terms of our faith are:

If Jesus were to return tomorrow

Would we be ready to welcome Him

Would we be doing what He has called us to do.

The relevance of the first of these is, are we assured that we are maintaining spiritual communion with God on a regular basis. And for the second, is He the Lord of our life so much that we are doing His work in this world. We do not know the hour of His return, so that means that we must always be ready for that event.

These important concepts are best summed up in the last part of Matthew 24:

[36] No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. [37] As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. [38] For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; [39] and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. [40] Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. [41] Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

[42] "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. [43] But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. [44] So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

[45] "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? [46] It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. [47] I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. [48] But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' [49] and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. [50] The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. [51] He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

From this, I take as important that we do not defer decisions on either of these two things, being firstly, the decision to commit our lives to Jesus Christ, and secondly, the decision to serve Him and do His will in this world. The time is always right now to make that commitment and to serve Jesus regardless. It may not be in the community you grew up in; it may be in another country where needs are greater. I do believe myself that the world we live in is in a downward spiral that is affecting all countries, and that New Zealand is firmly traveling down this path to the extent that many Christians are already facing or will soon face the challenges referred to in the opening verses of Matthew 24. The question is, are we ready and will we be those who are prepared to

stand firm to the end