Secret Women's Business

women, society and sobering statistics

2012-01-27T06:14:00.000+11:00

Some rather interesting statistics have crossed my desk in the past few weeks. The first study was an Australian Communities Report by Olive Tree Media. It noted that the perceived role of women in the church was a “belief blocker” for 60% of Australians. This composite figure included the respondents who named the perceived roles of women a “belief block”, completely (20%), significantly (14%) and slightly (26%).

The second study that came to my attention was completed by psychologists at MIT and Carnegie Mellon in the US. They divided people into teams and asked them to complete intelligence tasks together. Interestingly, the IQ scores of the group members barely affected collective performance. The number of women on a team, however, affected it a lot – the more women, the better. It seems that the capacity of women to raise the “collective intelligence” of a group is related to the fact their “social sensitivity” is usually stronger than that of men. Thus they tend to draw out more and deeper responses from a greater number of people, increasing the capacity of the group to make well thought-through decisions.

Another couple of studies that came to my attention suggest that (in the US and the UK at least) women are now leaving the church at a significantly faster rate than men. I wonder whether this is true in Australia? I have heard some anecdotal evidence this may be the case. See here and here.

The vast majority of Churches of Christ in Vic/Tas are “theoretically” egalitarian. The issue was discussed and for the most part resolved by most of our churches here decades ago. (Churches who have theological reservations about women’s ministry are invited to consider and discuss the paper I have written on the topic here). However, it remains true that some of our churches are egalitarian in theory, but in practice men dominate in positions of authority.

Why should this be an issue for us? Well for one thing, Churches of Christ have an opportunity to counter one of the community “belief blockers” by actively involving women in all levels of ministry. Churches of Christ affirm that all believers are set aside for ministry at baptism. We have the opportunity to counter a common “block” to faith by publicly affirming the full value of both men and women in the life of the church. We can also hope to address the possible “drift” of women from the church by affirming them and involving their gifts in every level of church life.

Another reason it is worth doing a quick “audit” of the participation of women in leadership in our churches is related to the study on “group intelligence”. It is hardly news that the Australian church is in decline overall and that society is in a period of rapid, discontinuous change. The Christian story is a distant memory for many, and an unknown for many more. These difficult times call for exceptional Christian leadership: for passion, for prayer, for discernment, for creativity, for experimentation, and for novel attempts at engaging our surrounding communities with Christ. I suspect if we were to wind 30 years forwards, the church will look far more diverse than we can even begin to imagine. I do not anticipate there will be one model of church: rather that the Kingdom of God in Australia will look more like a bio-diverse rainforest than a monotonous franchise.

The pathway to the future will require teams of church leaders to think more deeply, pray harder, and experiment in mission more creatively than ever before. If the study on group intelligence is correct, increasing the numbers of women who actively participate in church decision-making can only help increase our collective wisdom.

I encourage you to reflect on the proportions of men and women involved in decision-making in your own church communities. (While doing such an “audit”, it may also be worth looking at the age and ethnic profile of your church leadership). I also encourage you to reflect on who are the women in your church community who would benefit from being encouraged to grow in their leadership and ministry capacities. This is one way to help the health of the church into the future.

Women and Ministry - Again!

2011-12-02T14:22:00.005+11:00

I do apologise for the ridiculous length of this blog post: this is really a discussion paper so it will take a little while to read! Feedback here or on Facebook is warmly invited.

Cultural assumptions and reading scripture

One human characteristic is to interpret what we read through the grid of our assumptions and world view. We interpret texts (including the bible) according to the norms of our culture, our family of origin, the style and level of education we have received, and all manner of subtle and not-so-subtle socialisation experiences. We interpret what the church should be like through the grid of our personal experiences of church, often with greater passion and clarity than with anything the New Testament has to say about church. Anyone who has had a battle in their church over hymns versus choruses, where the communion table should sit, how long the service should run, a building program or a management problem, can testify that passions can run high over issues that have NOTHING to do with good theology or the bible, and everything to do with the expectations people have based on their prior experiences of church and family. This is perfectly normal and to be expected.

The problem with our tendency to “read” text through the grid of our culture is that we very easily “baptise” practices that have far more to do with our socialisation than with our rigour in biblical interpretation. People from any side of a controversial question need to be aware of their own tendency to impose their own assumptions, emerging from their own experiences, onto their reading of the bible. We all need to exercise wisdom and humility in order to hear the scriptures afresh.

Hermeneutics (interpretation of the bible)

Hermeneutics, or the methods we apply in interpreting the bible, is a theological discipline in its own right. Good hermeneutics not only protects the church from heresy and cultic practices, but also from distracting eccentricities (the “snake handling church” that places high value on Mark 16:18 comes to mind). The church over the ages has developed protocols around how we interpret scripture. It would be fair to say this is a living discipline not a settled science, but there is broad agreement that it is very important to consider genre (e.g. Law? Poetry? Gospel? Epistle?), the cultural context of the writing (who received the writing and what did it mean to them in that time?) and the “weight” of scripture when engaging in biblical interpretation. It is also important to analyse the original languages, and for the majority of us who are not proficient at biblical languages, to make use of good translations and contemporary bible commentaries that engage with best practice biblical scholarship. The discipline of hermeneutics helps us to set aside our biases and to gain new insights into the word of God.

Hermeneutics and the “weight” of scripture

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (II Tim 3:16). As noted however, the bible is written in many different genres, in many different times and cultural contexts, and it is not “evenly” weighted throughout. For example, when questioned why divorce is permitted in the law of Moses, Jesus’ replied: “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” In other words, the Mosaic Law had concessions for human sinfulness, but Jesus Christ promoted a higher ideal of God’s intention for marriage. Jesus had conflict with the Pharisees on a number of occasions because for him doing good deeds (such as healing the sick) was a higher principle than obedience to conventions around Sabbath laws. (e.g. Luke 13:10 – 17) Jesus commended the “expert in the law” who recognised that to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ were the most important principles of the law (Luke 10:25 – 29). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states certain laws and commands, then sets the bar even higher based on an underlying principle (e.g. Matthew 5:21 – 22; not only is murder forbidden but Christ forbids hatred as well, for love is the highest principle guiding right behaviour). These examples are illustrative of the fact that Jesus recognised some principles revealed in scripture are “weightier” matters than particular laws given for a particular context. The way we understand and apply the bible to our practices in church and life is based on the way we “weight” certain passages of scripture. For example, Paul’s inspired reflections that we are set free from the law (see Romans 8, Galatians 3 and in many other passages) that means Christians today do not practice many of the laws revealed in the law of Moses, even though this is quite a large portion of our bibles. “Weighting” scripture is a very important part of the practice of biblical interpretation.

Interpreting the epistles has some quite distinctive challenges to our hermeneutics (practices of interpretation). It must be remembered we are reading other people’s mail. What parts of these letters contain specific advice to a church in a particular time and place, and which parts of these letters contain universal principles that apply to all Christians and all churches for all time? Are we to greet one another with a brotherly kiss, as instructed in Romans 6:16, I Corinthians 16:20, II Corinthians 13:12, I Thessalonians 5:26, and I Peter 5:14? Does this command apply to all Christians for all times, or is it simply a 1st century cultural practice that we are permitted to “translate” in culturally appropriate ways? These kinds of decisions are not as straightforward as they may appear, and as noted earlier, we need to be aware of our tendency to “read” scripture through the lens of our own prejudices and experiences.

What biblical principles carry “weight” around equality issues?

The highest principle in interpretation of any scripture is love (Mark 12:30 – 32). All people are of high value of all people in the eyes of God, who in love did not spare His only son but “gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). In Christ we are all children of God who are to love others in the way Christ loved us. (John 13:34) I believe that the gospel is inherently egalitarian because it affirms that we are all loved equally. The body of Christ is called to unity and mutual service, and it follows that distinctions between people tend to dissolve.

Matthew 23:8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

I Corinthians 12:25 “there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.”

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:10And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remoulded into [fuller and more perfect [a]knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.11[In this new creation all distinctions vanish.] There [b]is no room for and there can be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, [nor difference between nations whether alien] barbarians or Scythians [[c]who are the most savage of all], nor slave or free man; but Christ is all and in all [[d]everything and everywhere, to all men, without distinction of person]. (Amplified bible)

A case study: Proof texts versus biblical principles

A couple of hundred years ago there were Christian people who vigorously defended the practice of slavery using the bible. They could show that the Old Testament spelled out in great detail laws around slave ownership. (e.g. Leviticus 25:44, Exodus 21:20 – 21, 26 – 27) The father of our faith Abraham was given slaves by Abimelek (Gen 20:14). Paul directed slaves to serve their masters wholeheartedly in Ephesians 6:5 -8, Colossians 3:22 – 25, I Timothy 6:1 -2, as did Peter (I Peter 2:18). These and other “proof texts” were used to argue that slavery was part of God’s will, if not in the next life, certainly in this.

William Wilberforce, the Earl of Shaftesbury, Thomas Clarkson and a number of other concerned evangelicals believed earnestly that a higher principle was at stake… that of equal worth of all people in the sight of God. They mounted a very long campaign to overturn the practice of slavery in the British Empire, until the passing of the slave trade act in 1807 after a twenty-six year-long parliamentary campaign.

I personally feel that there is a much stronger case for slavery than for forbidding the public ministry of women, as there are many examples of women exercising public ministry in the bible, but no New Testament examples of masters freeing slaves (or being commanded to do so). I should make clear however, I oppose both slavery and ministry discrimination on the basis of gender!

Biblical principles and gender equality?

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

I believe the underlying principle of equal value in the kingdom and in the eyes of God is an important foundation for consideration of gender issues. Just as the message of God’s love for all has radical implications for the status of Jews and Gentiles in the eyes of God, and radical implications around the dynamics of slavery, so also God’s love for all has radical implications for gender relationships.

Pentecost marks a new era in human history, where rather than dividing humanity into priests and ordinary people, men and women, Jews and Gentiles, the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh. The divisions in the temple are irrelevant in the new era of grace. In Peter’s Pentecost sermon he quotes Joel 2:28 -29:

Acts 2:17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.

Is there any evidence women exercised leadership or speaking roles in the early church?

As noted above, Joel predicted that both men and women would experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the “last days”. This also would involve both men and women exercising the gift of prophesy. Is there any evidence this actually occurred?

Acts 21:8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. (The fact they were known for this suggests they did not do this privately!)

Acts 16:40 “After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.” (It appears that Lydia, Paul’s first convert in Philippi, was also the host of the Philippian house church.)

Romans 16 has references to many notable women in the church, who are specifically greeted by Paul. Phoebe is named as a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, as well as a benefactor. (It is interesting to note that translator bias means this word is translated in some bible versions as “servant”, while men in an equivalent context are called a “deacon”: the word is the same).

Priscilla and Aquila 16 v 3 are named as co-workers with Paul… those who work alongside him in ministry. Timothy is also called a “co-worker” in v 21. The normal cultural practice was for the husband’s name to precede the wife’s name, and it is suggested that Priscilla’s name is given first as she was the more noteworthy teacher of the two. She has been suggested as one of the possible authors of the book of Hebrews, and was one of the people who instructed Apollos in the way of the Lord in Acts 18:26.

Junia 16 v 7 is described by Paul as someone who had “been in prison with me” and who was “outstanding among the apostles”. There are two possible ways to interpret this (and it seems to be done depending on the prior bias of the translator). One way is that she was an outstanding apostle. Apostolic ministry is of course the ministry of planting new churches where Christ is not known. The other way to read this is that her leadership was sufficiently noteworthy that her reputation was “outstanding” among the 12 apostles. Either way, this is a woman with a very high profile in the early church, so much so that the Romans saw fit to imprison her in their attempts to crush the church.

Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis are all described as hard workers in the church in Romans 16.

II John 1:1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth—

This is the clearest evidence that women were elders in the early church (or at least, that there was one known to John!)

I Corinthians 11:4Any man who prays or prophesies (teaches, refutes, reproves, admonishes, and comforts) with his head covered dishonours his Head (Christ).5And any woman who [publicly] prays or prophesies (teaches, refutes, reproves, admonishes, or comforts) when she is bareheaded dishonours her head (her husband); it is the same as [if her head were] shaved. (Amplified bible)

Discussing whether head coverings are still required of women engaged in prayer or prophetic ministry is outside the scope of this short paper, but many modern Protestant commentators would see this as an issue of public decency in 1st century Corinth rather than a binding practice for all time. The point I wish to emphasise is that coverings were to be worn by women engaged in public ministry in the church. (As is revealed in the Amplified translation, the word “prophesy” in Greek implies one who “teaches, refutes, reproves, admonishes, or comforts”). This is important to consider as we go on to reflect on the two passages that have been used to suggest women may not speak in church. (I Corinthians 14:34 – 35 and I Timothy 2:11 – 15)

Women in the gospels

The 12 apostles are the most prominent followers of Jesus, who are promised to “sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matthew 19:28), male heads of the 12 tribes. The important role of the women in the gospels is understated by comparison. However, the faith and deeds of women in commended in many places in the gospels. (Matthew 9:22, 15:28, 26:10 – 13, Mark 12: 43 = 44, Luke 7:50). Matthew breaks with Jewish tradition and names several women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1). Mary, Martha and Lazarus were close friends of Jesus, and it is Martha (rather than Peter) who confesses that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God in the book of John. (John 11:27) Mary and Elizabeth are prominent women chosen by God to bear the Messiah and the one who “prepares the way for the Lord” respectively. Anna was a prophetess (Luke 2:36) who witnessed that Jesus was the Messiah.

Many of the events occurring over the Passion of Christ are known to us because of the discipleship of women. Luke claims the gospels were accounts handed down by “eyewitnesses” (Luke 1:2). How do we know what Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane when all of the disciples were sleeping? (e.g.’s Mark 14: 32 – 42 and Luke 22:39 – 46) How do we know what happened at the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, before Herod, and before Pilate after “all the disciples ran away”? (Matt 26:56) One explanation is revealed in Matthew 27:55 – 56, Mark 15:40 – 41, Luke 23:49. According to Mark’s account of the crucifixion: “Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.” It appears these women who had accompanied Jesus all the way from Galilee and continued to follow him through his trial, crucifixion and burial (Luke 24:55) while his male disciples absented themselves. It was the women who returned to Jesus’ tomb on the Sunday morning, and were the first eyewitnesses to the resurrection. They are the first bearers of good news to the unbelieving disciples (Luke 24:9 - 11). In Matthew they are commissioned by an angel then by Jesus himself to tell the disciples of the resurrection Matt 28:7 – 10).

Women in the Old Testament

One prominent woman in the Old Testament was Deborah, who was both a prophetess and a judge of Israel (Judges 4:4) who went into battle with Barak against Sisera. (Judges 4:8 – 9). Aaron’s sister Miriam is also called a prophetess. (Exodus 15: 20) Huldah was a prophetess living in Jerusalem (II Kings 22:14) whose prophetic word was sought out by King Josiah (II Kings 22:12 – 13). It appears Isaiah’s wife was also a prophetess (Isaiah 8:3).

Esther’s courage and faithfulness leads to the salvation of the Jews. Rahab is a foreign woman who protects the spies of Israel and is one of the human ancestors of Jesus. Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi and to Naomi’s God means she is in the line of David and a human ancestor of Jesus. Hannah’s prayers and faithfulness releases the great prophet Samuel to Israel.

In my opinion, it would be extraordinary if God chose women to be prophets and key players in the story of God’s work in Israel, and forbade all public ministry of women in the New era where the Holy Spirit it poured out on “all flesh”. With this background in mind, let us examine the two passages that seem to suggest that this is the case.

Two difficult passages for egalitarians:

Problem passage 1: I Corinthians 14

1. I Corinthians 14:29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. 34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. 36 Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. 38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. 39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

Possible egalitarian explanations:

Given that Paul went on at length about what women should wear on their heads when praying of prophesying publicly in chapter 11, one plausible explanation is that the “speaking” he is forbidding is “asking questions of their husband”. It seems the church in Corinth was noisy and chaotic, and he felt that one person should be speaking at a time. It may be that the church in Corinth adopted the seating patterns of the synagogue, where the women would all sit at the rear and the men would all sit at the front. If this is the case, the “asking questions of their own husbands” would involve more than disruptive murmuring, it would involve yelling across the room! Paul is concerned that the gatherings of believers should be conducted in a “fitting and orderly way” (14 vs. 40)

Another explanation is that 14 vs. 34 – 35 are a direct quote from the Corinthians letter to Paul, and his response in vs. 36 is sarcastic. (The Q and A section of the Corinthian letter begins in Ch. 7:1 “Now for the matters you wrote about:” and continues for much of the remainder of the letter.) Ancient Greek had no punctuation: no full stops, commas, quotation marks, or even gaps between words in the first century! Translators therefore look for “cues” to work out where punctuation marks might be.

A technical paper for “The Bible Translator” by Daniel C Arichea (1995) suggests that there are indeed “cues” suggesting quotation in verses 34 and 35, and that the following translation is quite legitimate if this is the case:

Some of you say, “Women should be silent in the churches, because they are not permitted to speak. As the Jewish law says, they should be subordinate to men. If there is anything they want to know, they should wait until they get home and then ask their husbands. It is shameful for women to speak in church”.

What kind of thinking is that? You are acting as if the word of God came from you! And you men, don’t ever think that you are the only ones who received this word!

Whether or not this is correct, I Corinthians 14 needs to be read in the light of I Corinthians 11:5, where women are instructed to wear head coverings while praying or prophesying. This would imply Paul either dismissed the suggestion women should be silent outright, or forbade disruptive questions to husbands, rather than forbidding the “praying or prophesying” addressed in chapter 11.

Problem Passage 2: I Timothy 2

2. I Timothy 2:11 A woman (or wife) should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; (a husband) she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women (she) will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

A possible egalitarian explanation:

The pagan belief at Ephesus was that Artemis was the dominant goddess. She created a partner and had children, but was superior to him. Artemis was the goddess to whom women prayed to keep them safe in childbirth. It is possible uneducated pagan women may be talking in these terms, and are in fact the “false teachers” and perpetrators of “old wives tales” berated in chapter 4.

In a direct counter to the myths surrounding Artemis, Paul reminds them that Adam was created first, then Eve, that women should not have authority over a man (as Artemis did) and that faith in Christ (not Artemis) would keep women safe in childbirth. The women causing trouble should shut up and learn Christian doctrine. (You may recall the riot in Acts 19 where Paul is seen to be disturbing faith in Artemis)."Authentein" (authority) is used only here in the NT and has an uncertain meaning. Instead of meaning "to have authority over man" it may mean "to be the originator or author - more literally perpetrator - of man. So the verse might be read as, "I do not permit a woman to teach that woman created man". Whether this is correct, "Authentein" had quite negative connotations then (usurping, domineering?) in extra-biblical sources. It became more "neutral" by about the 4th c, just meaning authority generally (not that Paul would have known this in the middle of the first century!)

Egalitarians therefore tend to view this passage as a counter to a heresy perpetrated by some women, who needed to learn true Christian doctrine. These women are the “false teachers” Paul writes about in chapter 4. This is the simplest way to explain the fact Paul commended many women in public ministry in other letters: it is not that he changed his mind about women speaking in the church (I Corinthians 11:5), but that he was addressing a particular problem.

More articles… See Christians for Biblical Equality:

Women and ministry: current theological discussion

The debate around women in ministry is sometimes parodied by complementarians (those who think men and women have distinctly different roles in the church) as a debate between liberals who don’t accept the authority of the bible and evangelicals who do. This ignores the many eminent evangelical scholars who support (or supported) women in ministry such as FF Bruce, NT Wright, Scot McKnight, Alan F Johnson, Stanley J Grenz and Kevin Giles. Many prominent evangelical leaders such as Tony Campolo, Bill Hybels, John Ortberg, Ron Sider and Alan Hirsch are vocal supporters of an egalitarian perspective. The largest evangelical church in Melbourne (City Life) maintains a strong egalitarian stance, and Mark Conner’s blog on this topic is an interesting read.

Dr Kevin Giles was for many years a prominent advocate of women’s ministry in Melbourne before moving to the United States, and has written many texts on both Trinitarian theology and women in ministry. The two perspectives are interrelated. The mainstream historical belief of the church has been that Christ is “very nature God” (Philippians 2:6) who temporarily “made himself nothing” in the incarnation (Philippians 2:7). Dr Giles claims that since the 1970’s when the movement for ordination of women spread from Pentecostalism to the broader evangelical church, the idea began to be promoted in some evangelical circles that just as Christ is eternally subordinate to the Father, women are eternally subordinate to men. It is worth noting however that nowhere in the New Testament is the relationship between men and women (or husband and wife) likened to the relationship between the Father and the Son. As such this argument is drawing a very long bow indeed. More seriously, to argue that the Trinity is be very nature like a chain of command is to minimize the Lordship and Divinity of Christ and the dynamic nature of the God who is by very nature love. Dr Stephen Curkpatrick (lecturer in Christian Thought and History and New Testament Studies at Stirling College) is a very helpful person to dialogue with on the critical importance of Trinitarian theology in Christian thought and practice.

One of the arguments used by evangelicals in the Anglican tradition is that because the priest represents Christ as a mediator between God and the people, the priest must be male to represent Jesus Christ. While I feel this argument is inherently illogical (do we insist that all governor-generals and governors must be female, or they are unable to be truly representative of the Queen?) it is irrelevant within Churches of Christ. Churches of Christ reject a special class of “priests”, claiming instead there is one mediator between God and man Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:5), and that all of God’s people are “a kingdom of priests” (Revelation 1:5) without distinction.

Another point used to support a complementarian perspective in the Reformed tradition and some movements within Anglicanism is around a view of “headship”. However, in 1st century Greek “head” was a literal term, and if used metaphorically, it was used to mean “source” (e.g. head waters as the source of a stream). It was never used in the sense of authority as in the English terms headmaster, head of faculty, head of church, etc. Hence the metaphor in Ephesians 5: 21 – 23 should be read as “the husband is the source of the wife as Christ is the source of the church”. In other words, husbands and wives are of the same substance. This aligns with Paul’s metaphor that for a husband to love his wife is like loving his own body (5 v. 28): they are inseparably one. This does not mean that Christ is not Lord of the church, as other writings make perfectly clear, but simply that this particular phrase should not be read as a hierarchical analogy. Hence the idea that the “head” pastor (leader) of a congregation must be male should be rejected, as “head” is not an analogy of leadership in New Testament Greek. This is one instance where a good understanding of 1st century Greek informs our practice of biblical interpretation.

Even if “head” was to be read incorrectly in the English sense of the word, Churches of Christ do not accept that an employed minister is the “head” (leader) of a church, but that a group of elders whose calling is discerned and affirmed by the members of the church are the servant leaders of a local church. As such, Reformed arguments that the “head” of a church must be a man make little sense in our context.

Women and ministry: what about missionaries?

Many years ago when the issue of women in ministry first came on the radar for evangelicals, my mother (not a minister, but a godly woman) was confronted by a man who said: “I don’t believe in women ministers!” She immediately retorted: “Do you believe in women missionaries?” He refused to answer, but she had a point. It is incongruous to believe that women are able to teach, preach the gospel, and plant and lead churches in foreign contexts but not within their “home” culture. This alone should give us pause to do some further theological reflection on this issue.

Women and the church: social context

One of the concerning trends for the health of the church in the Western world is that women are now leaving the church at a significantly faster rate than men. Here is the US data and here is the UK data.

Although the reasons for this are undoubtedly complex, I feel it is incongruous that women who are highly capable professionals in the workplace are relegated to narrow roles in some church contexts. Gender equality is simply assumed in most work, educational and social contexts in Australia.

According to the just released Australian Communities Report by Olive Tree Media (McCrindle Research, October 2011) the perceived role of women is a “belief blocker” to Christianity completely (for 20% of the population), significantly (for 14% of the population) or slightly (for 26% of the population). If perceived gender inequality in Christianity is a barrier to evangelism among 60% of the Australian population, this factor alone should be of grave concern to evangelical churches.

One challenge for the church is to create a healthy community where both men and women are affirmed and empowered to exercise their gifts for ministry for the glory of God. In the pithy words of Allan Meyer, it’s hard to win a war when half the army is sitting down. In perhaps a more finely honed analogy, it is difficult to win a war when some of the best and brightest potential generals and commanders are only permitted to be foot soldiers.

One of the challenges for all denominations and movements in Australia is a shortage of candidates for local church ministry. I feel that one of the possible ways God might want us to address this challenge is to encourage more women to develop their ministry gifts, and enter a discernment process whether they may have a calling to serve the body of Christ in this manner. This requires a culture in local churches where the full participation of women in mission and ministry is actively encouraged.

Theological differences and Churches of Christ

“In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity” was one of the catch-cries of the founders of Churches of the Christ. The stance of an individual Church of Christ on any theological issue is to be decided prayerfully by the eldership of a local church, and both within and outside that local church, love and grace even between individuals with strong, differing opinions are to be the mark of the Christian community. The view of a church on women in ministry is very important in the life of the church, but it is “non-essential”. Faith in Christ and love are the “essentials”.

Conclusion

The stakes are high in relation to the stance of the church around women in ministry: women appear to be leaving the church in increasing numbers, and perceived inequality in the church is a significant block for evangelism in Australia. I personally believe that the “weight” of scripture is egalitarian on the issue of women and ministry, and that gifting and call rather than gender are the key qualifications for the exercise of public ministry. God chose women as prophets in the Old Testament, and there is ample evidence that women exercised prophetic proclamation in the New Testament church. I believe bias has driven some denominations to hold tightly onto two “proof texts” about women’s ministry that have plausible alternative explanations. However, I admit that my own perspectives come from a position of bias, and I invite both myself and others to investigate the scriptures for themselves with humility and a teachable spirit. I would appreciate your feedback on any inadequacies in this discussion paper, and am happy to engage in further dialogue on this issue.

Too Quick

2011-09-03T21:31:00.003+10:00

TEACHER: Thandeka, go to the map and find North America .
THANDEKA: Here it is.
TEACHER: Correct. Now class, who discovered America ?
CLASS: THANDEKA.

TEACHER: Rodney, why are you doing your maths multiplication on the floor?
Rodney: You told me to do it without using tables.

TEACHER: Nathi, how do you spell 'crocodile?'
NATHI: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
NATHI: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.

TEACHER: Hendrick, what is the chemical formula for water?
HENDRICK: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
HENDRICK: Yesterday you said it's H to O.

TEACHER: Thabiso, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
Thabiso: Me!

TEACHER: Mapula, why do you always get so dirty?
Mapula: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

TEACHER: Dipuo, give me a sentence starting with 'I'.
DIPUO: I is..
TEACHER: No, Dipuo..... Always say, 'I am.'
DIPUO: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'

TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree, but also admitted it. Now, Didier, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
Didier: Because George still had the axe in his hand.

TEACHER: Now, Tebogo, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
TEBOGO: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.

TEACHER: Masilo, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's. Did you copy his?
Masilo : No, sir. It's the same dog.

TEACHER: Thato, what do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?
THATO: A teacher

(Copied from an email... an oldie but a goodie... allegedly true quotes from assorted classrooms.)

And the Two Shall Become One

2011-07-10T19:32:00.000+10:00

I was talking to a friend the other day who has known her husband since her mid-teens. Like me, she has probably passed the half-way mark of her life, and has been with her husband for many years now. She mulled over the fact that if anything happened to her husband, it’s possible she’d remarry, but she knows it would never be the same. There will never be another person who had known her as a young person, who has been her first intimate partner, who has been alongside her through all the ups and downs of life, who has shared her history, who has created a unique home with her, and with whom she has jointly created and parented children.

There is a something about a long-term (and reasonably healthy) marriage that is unlike any other relationship on earth. New relationships may have chemistry galore, but such chemistry inevitably waxes and wanes. In “the Road Less Travelled” M Scott Peck describes falling in love as a “trick”, without which none of us would dare to make the terrifying commitment of marriage and the work of love. Falling in love requires no work at all… but truly loving another, and in particular, loving another in the unique relationship of marriage, is perhaps among the most important work of our lives.

Alan Niven (pastoral care lecturer extraordinaire at CCTC) claims that as a minister you never actually marry two people… you marry two sets of hopes and projections. Which is why days, weeks, months or possibly years into a marriage the inevitable happens… it can no longer be ignored that the person to whom one has pledged love “til death do you part” fails to fulfil all those hopes and projections. The alarming thought pops into one’s head and heart (with varying degrees of profanity or finesse)… “What the hell have I done?”

Opposites so often attract for good reason… opposite personalities have complementary strengths and weaknesses. But now one finds oneself saddled with not only someone with very different brain wiring and hormones (due to gender) but someone with very different inclinations. And the very qualities that seemed so attractive early in a relationship can be later a source of great friction. The person who seemed to be such a good listener, now seems irritatingly quiet and reserved. The person who was bright and sparkly and engaging, now seems a vacuous chatterbox who never listens to anyone else. The once-delightfully easy-going person now has no ambition or initiative. The person who was delightfully spontaneous is now plain irresponsible. The steady, responsible person has been recognised at work as such, and is now rebranded a workaholic. The once-generous, fun person is now viewed as irresponsible with household finances. And so on, and so forth… the strengths (and weaknesses, often the shadow side of the strengths) of a partner can lead to intense irritation, and such qualities might be labelled in one’s mind as fatal incompatibility. All of this is without even considering the complexities of family of origin issues, and the way in which all humans “fall short” of wholeness and holiness.

When the “What the hell have I done?” question can no longer be avoided, the work of loving (in Peck’s terms) truly begins.

To love and accept a person as they actually are (not as one wants them to be) requires a kind of dying. We must die to self-centredness. We must die to certain hopes and dreams. We must die to the belief that someone other than God can meet all of the deepest needs of our hearts. We must die to getting our own way.

Around 2000 years ago Jesus uttered some extraordinary (and profound) words:

Luke 9: 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it”.

That which is true for the spiritual life (surrender of the self-will to find true inner peace) is also true in the dynamic of relationships. Something unique and extraordinary is resurrected on the other side of dying to self. A mature marriage is born through one act of kindness and forbearance upon another. The jagged little bits that stick out from a freshly dismantled jigsaw puzzle are worn away, and two pieces of a jigsaw somehow just fit together smoothly. The eccentricities and imperfections of another person are accepted and worked around, as are one’s own eccentricities and imperfections in return. It is a different kind of love from the fizzle of fresh love, and clichéd and hard to believe as it might sound, it really is a deeper kind of love.

I’d be interested to hear of your observations and reflections on the difficult and delightful process of how two become one…

Matthew's Latest Monster Picture

2011-07-06T18:36:00.001+10:00

One good turn deserves another

2011-06-11T11:51:00.002+10:00

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'

'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.

'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.

'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman?

Lord Randolph Churchill

His son's name?

Sir Winston Churchill.

Is God a hypocrite?

2011-05-22T09:46:00.001+10:00

"Did god who is incapable of sinning, create beings capable of sinning, and then punish them for sinning?

Is god not expecting a higher standard of its creation than it requires of itself?"

The questions above were posed the other day by one of my Facebook friends. I shared an absurdly long answer... thought I'd post it here for your interest:

The response of the Old Testament prophets to accusations toward God was that the pot shouldn't really complain to the potter as it owes its very existence to the potter, hence the proper response is thankfulness. Incidentally, a life filled with thankfulness often has a joyous quality about it which is lacking in those who feel entitled or hard done by. I think this is part of the “narrow road” that leads to abundant life that few find... but that’s another topic of conversation.

The NT answer is something more profound... the incarnation. (Hebrews 4: 15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin”.) God in Christ became fully human. Against the complaint that God does not understand us, and that God is quite unreasonable in His expectations of us, comes Jesus Christ. In identification with those who are hungry, Christ reached the point of starvation. For those who are celibate, he was single. For those in difficult relationships, he had a conflicted and contrary band of disciples. For those who are lonely, he was endlessly misunderstood. For those who suffer rejection, injustice or persecution, he went through all of this at his arrest and assorted trial hearings. For those who are weary, he went without sleep. For those who suffer pain and death, he was beaten to a pulp then crucified. So the Christian answer is that God does not expect of humans more than he is willing to do himself... experience and resist temptation, maintain conviction in the face of pain and so on. The accusation of God’s lack of empathy or unwillingness to do what he expects of us, is silenced for those who believe in Jesus.

But the deeper mystery even than that is that God knows full well we carry a flaw makes us fail to live up to the standards we know are right (standards which we defend with passion when we happen to have been at the receiving end of thoughtlessness, selfishness, hatred, or injustice). What Galatians in particular tells us is that God’s law just intensifies recognition that we “fall short”. If we humble ourselves before God it’s like he says “About time... I’ll put my Spirit in you, change your heart to want to live out of love and goodness, and give you power to do so. Frankly, I was interested in your childlike love in the first place, not in your straining to impress me by your efforts.”

The natural human state is like the teenager who puts a “do not enter” sign on the bedroom door, and if requested by a parent to clean up said room (particularly if has become a toxic health hazard) finds 500 excuses why the parent doesn’t understand them, why life is so unfair, why they didn’t ask to be born... etc. etc... anything but take responsibility. If the teenager humbled themselves and asked the parent to help them clean out the mess, the parent would very happily do so, and have a time of meaningful conversation while throwing out the mouldy oranges, etc. But barging into the room would only generate hostility. God in Christ waits to be asked, wanting relationship and our good.

Another of Matthew's Epic Battle Fantasy Monsters

2011-04-12T11:46:00.002+10:00

They Teach It at Stanford

2011-02-28T12:18:00.002+11:00

"I just finished taking an evening class at Stanford. The last lecture was on the mind-body connection - the relationship between stress and disease. The speaker (head of psychiatry at Stanford) said, among other things, that one of the best things that a man could do for his health is to be married to a woman whereas for a woman, one of the best things she could do for her health was to nurture her relationships with her girlfriends.

At first everyone laughed, but he was serious.

Women connect with each other differently and provide support systems that help each other to deal with stress and difficult life experiences. Physically this quality "girlfriend time" helps us to create more serotonin - a neurotransmitter that helps combat depression and can create a general feeling of well being. Women share feelings whereas men often form relationships around activities. They rarely sit down with a buddy and talk about how they feel about certain things or how their personal lives are going. Jobs? Yes. Sports? Yes. Cars? Yes. Fishing, hunting, golf? Yes. But their feelings? Rarely.

Women do it all of the time. We share from our souls with our sisters/mothers, and evidently that is very good for our health. He said that spending time with a friend is just as important to our general health as jogging or working out at a gym.

There's a tendency to think that when we are "exercising" we are doing something good for our bodies, but when we are hanging out with friends, we are wasting our time and should be more productively engaged-not true. In fact, he said that failure to create and maintain quality personal relationships with other humans is as dangerous to our physical health as smoking!

So every time you hang out to schmooze with a gal pal, just pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself for doing something good for your health! We are indeed very, very lucky. Soooo, let's toast to our friendship with our girlfriends. Evidently it's very good for our health."

Julia Keith

Plagiarised from "ChristiaNet" with thanks

Matthew's Epic Battle Fantasy Pictures

2011-02-25T17:28:00.005+11:00

Amazing Anagrams

2011-02-11T21:57:00.001+11:00

PRESBYTERIAN:
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER

DESPERATION:
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS

DORMITORY:
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM

SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY:
When you rearrange the letters:
IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT :
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW:
When you rearrange the letters:
WOMAN HITLER

Never let a cat near a baby...

2010-12-04T19:06:00.001+11:00

WHY COACHING?

2010-08-18T11:30:00.001+10:00

Once upon a time, pastoral visits involved reading the bible to people, praying for them, and perhaps sharing communion with the grieving, the sick, or the distressed.

The world of pastoral care underwent a significant paradigm shift when insights gained from psychology and counselling were integrated into pastoral care training. As well as providing spiritual resources of prayer and scripture, pastors began to intentionally utilize pastoral listening. Through the discipline and grace-filled gift of listening, comfort, release, clarity and new insights can emerge. This has breathed a helpful dynamic into the spiritual ministry of pastoral care.

I’m happy to go out on a limb and claim that coaching training provides the skills needed to embark on a paradigm shift in exercising Christian leadership. It is a paradigm shift that sits perfectly with Churches of Christ ethos on the priesthood of all believers; the belief that fruitful ministry emerges from the Spirit of God stirring up spiritual gifts in individual believers, and the dreams and power for mission and ministry in congregations. It provides a way forward for church leadership teams who feel reserve about the sometimes mechanistic (and not infrequent American cultural bias) of much “leadership and management” teaching. There is an alternative to paralysis on one hand and macho visions imposed on a congregation on the other… and that is discernment and obedient action facilitated by the simple skills of coaching.

Through a process of good questions and good listening, coaching enables individuals (or leadership teams) to think through an issue carefully, develop a plan of action, and evaluate progress on an ongoing basis. Rather than remaining stuck in navel-gazing (a sometimes necessary but always incomplete step toward change) coaching always facilitates obedient action… the essence of faithful discipleship.

I have been involved in coaching leaders for a number of years now, but I continue to be delighted (and amazed) at the amount of clarity, positive action and momentum that can be unleashed by simple coaching processes. At times coaching facilitates a person to do less, but to be more strategic in what they do, and to function in a healthier and more sustainable fashion. I find it a most joyous ministry to facilitate greater fruitfulness in others through Christian coaching.

Interested yet?

Some people are “natural” intuitive coaches, just as some people are natural pastoral carers. However, just as naturally gifted pastoral carers can become more fruitful though pastoral training, even “natural” coaches can become far more effective through specific coaching training. Those clueless about coaching can become effective coaches with relative ease, provided they have some capacity to listen to others.

I’m delighted to recommend NOVO’s coaching training as both Christ-centred and highly professional, and I’d invite all ministers and church leaders to find out more about how coaching can transform their ministries in fruitful ways. See here. Remember that Churches of Christ members can have a 50% discount on Workshop One, and a 25% discount on other workshops. (the next one is on the 1st of September). I’d also love to hear your comments, feedback, and pushbacks!

Ego

2010-08-06T19:20:00.000+10:00

'The ego wants to ensure us that the things we do are all significant and worthy of our attention, that this event will make me important...Our activities become attempts at self validation and little life merit badges....Christian life has little to do with me doing anyhting right. It has everything to do with falling in love with a Lover who always does everything right. What I love is that Lover and not my own accomplishments; nor am I surprised or unduly humiliated by my own failures.'

Richard Rohr.

Women's Conference Countdown

2010-07-18T08:03:00.002+10:00

It's only six weeks now til the combined Baptist, Churches of Christ... oh, and anyone else who wants to blow in... women's conference. "Arrrgghh" I scream... no, really, it's pretty much under control.

In my own incredibly biased opinion, this will be brilliant... fantastic godly speakers (Helen Meyer and Nicole Connor) and workshop leaders (Di Feldman, Sandy Jones, Karen Wilson, Kim Mietke, Lisa Jenkins... oh, and yours truly, but modesty forbids...)

The workshops will be highly practical to equip people to implement something straight away, so it won't be just a talk fest.

Anyway, if you'd like to look at the details, you can check out here. I hope to see you there!

The end of Courtship

2010-06-06T14:46:00.003+10:00

The following article has been sourced from: http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001154.cfm#

Today, there are no socially prescribed forms of conduct that help guide young men and women in the direction of matrimony.... People still get married — though later, less frequently, more hesitantly, and, by and large, less successfully. For the great majority, the way to the altar is uncharted territory: It's every couple on its own bottom, without a compass, often without a goal. Those who reach the altar seem to have stumbled upon it by accident....

Then and now

Until what seems like only yesterday, young people were groomed for marriage, and the paths leading to it were culturally well set out, at least in rough outline. In polite society, at the beginning of this century, our grandfathers came a-calling and a-wooing at the homes of our grandmothers, under conditions set by the woman, operating from strength on her own turf. A generation later, courting couples began to go out on "dates," in public and increasingly on the man's terms, given that he had the income to pay for dinner and dancing. To be sure, some people "played the field," and, in the pre-war years, dating on college campuses became a matter more of proving popularity than of proving suitability for marriage. But, especially after the war, "going- steady" was a regular feature of high-school and college life; the age of marriage dropped considerably, and high-school or college sweethearts often married right after, or even before, graduation. Finding a mate, no less than getting an education that would enable him to support her, was at least a tacit goal of many a male undergraduate; many a young woman, so the joke had it, went to college mainly for her MRS. degree, a charge whose truth was proof against libel for legions of college coeds well into the 1960s.1

In other respects as well, the young remained culturally attached to the claims of "real life." Though times were good, fresh memory kept alive the poverty of the recent Great Depression and the deaths and dislocations of the war; necessity and the urgencies of life were not out of sight, even for fortunate youth. Opportunity was knocking, the world and adulthood were beckoning, and most of us stepped forward into married life, readily, eagerly, and, truth to tell, without much pondering. We were simply doing — some sooner, some later — what our parents had done, indeed, what all our forebears had done.

Not so today. Now the vast majority goes to college, but very few — women or men — go with the hope, or even the wish, of finding a marriage partner. Many do not expect to find there even a path to a career; they often require several years of post-graduate "time off" to figure out what they are going to do with themselves. Sexually active — in truth, hyperactive — they flop about from one relationship to another; to the bewildered eye of this admittedly much-too-old but still romantic observer, they manage to appear all at once casual and carefree and grim and humorless about getting along with the opposite sex. The young men, nervous predators, act as if any woman is equally good: They are given not to falling in love with one, but to scoring in bed with many. And in this sporting attitude they are now matched by some female trophy hunters.

But most young women strike me as sad, lonely, and confused; hoping for something more, they are not enjoying their hard-won sexual liberation as much as liberation theory says they should.2 Never mind wooing, today's collegians do not even make dates or other forward-looking commitments to see one another; in this, as in so many other ways, they reveal their blindness to the meaning of the passing of time. Those very few who couple off seriously and get married upon graduation as we, their parents, once did are looked upon as freaks.

After college, the scene is even more remarkable and bizarre: singles bars, personal "partner wanted" ads (almost never mentioning marriage as a goal), men practicing serial monogamy (or what someone has aptly renamed "rotating polygamy"), women chronically disappointed in the failure of men "to commit." For the first time in human history, mature women by the tens of thousands live the entire decade of their twenties — their most fertile years — neither in the homes of their fathers nor in the homes of their husbands; unprotected, lonely, and out of sync with their inborn nature. Some women positively welcome this state of affairs, but most do not; resenting the personal price they pay for their worldly independence, they nevertheless try to put a good face on things and take refuge in work or feminist ideology. As age 30 comes and goes, they begin to allow themselves to hear their biological clock ticking, and, if husbands continue to be lacking, single motherhood by the hand of science is now an option. Meanwhile, the bachelor herd continues its youthful prowl, with real life in suspended animation, living out what Kay Hymowitz, a contributing editor of City Journal, has called a "postmodern postadolescence."

Those women and men who get lucky enter into what the personal ads call LTRs — long-term relationships — sometimes cohabiting, sometimes not, usually to discover how short an LTR can be. When, after a series of such affairs, marriage happens to them, they enter upon it guardedly and suspiciously, with prenuptial agreements, no common surname, and separate bank accounts....

Recent obstacles to courtship

Anyone who seriously contemplates the present scene is — or should be — filled with profound sadness, all the more so if he or she knows the profound satisfactions of a successful marriage. Our hearts go out not only to the children of failed- or non-marriages — to those betrayed by their parents' divorce and to those deliberately brought into the world as bastards — but also to the lonely, disappointed, cynical, misguided, or despondent people who are missing out on one of life's greatest adventures and, through it, on many of life's deepest experiences, insights, and joys. We watch our sons and daughters, our friends' children, and our students bumble along from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next, wishing we could help....

Here is a (partial) list of the recent changes that hamper courtship and marriage: the sexual revolution, made possible especially by effective female contraception; the ideology of feminism and the changing educational and occupational status of women; the destigmatization of bastardy, divorce, infidelity, and abortion; the general erosion of shame and awe regarding sexual matters, exemplified most vividly in the ubiquitous and voyeuristic presentation of sexual activity in movies and on television; widespread morally neutral sex education in schools; the explosive increase in the numbers of young people whose parents have been divorced (and in those born out of wedlock, who have never known their father); great increases in geographic mobility, with a resulting loosening of ties to place and extended family of origin; and, harder to describe precisely, a popular culture that celebrates youth and independence not as a transient stage en route to adulthood but as "the time of our lives," imitable at all ages, and an ethos that lacks transcendent aspirations and asks of us no devotion to family, God, or country, encouraging us simply to soak up the pleasures of the present.

The change most immediately devastating for wooing is probably the sexual revolution. For why would a man court a woman for marriage when she may be sexually enjoyed, and regularly, without it? Contrary to what the youth of the sixties believed, they were not the first to feel the power of sexual desire. Many, perhaps even most, men in earlier times avidly sought sexual pleasure prior to and outside of marriage. But they usually distinguished, as did the culture generally, between women one fooled around with and women one married, between a woman of easy virtue and a woman of virtue simply. Only respectable women were respected; one no more wanted a loose woman for one's partner than for one's mother.

The supreme virtue of the virtuous woman was modesty, a form of sexual self-control, manifested not only in chastity but in decorous dress and manner, speech and deed, and in reticence in the display of her well- banked affections. A virtue, as it were, made for courtship, it served simultaneously as a source of attraction and a spur to manly ardor, a guard against a woman's own desires, as well as a defense against unworthy suitors. A fine woman understood that giving her body (in earlier times, even her kiss) meant giving her heart, which was too precious to be bestowed on anyone who would not prove himself worthy, at the very least by pledging himself in marriage to be her defender and lover forever.

Once female modesty became a first casualty of the sexual revolution, even women eager for marriage lost their greatest power to hold and to discipline their prospective mates. For it is a woman's refusal of sexual importunings, coupled with hints or promises of later gratification, that is generally a necessary condition of transforming a man's lust into love. Women also lost the capacity to discover their own genuine longings and best interests. For only by holding herself in reserve does a woman gain the distance and self-command needed to discern what and whom she truly wants and to insist that the ardent suitor measure up. While there has always been sex without love, easy and early sexual satisfaction makes love and real intimacy less, not more, likely — for both men and women. Everyone's prospects for marriage were — are — sacrificed on the altar of pleasure now.

by Leon R. Kass

What thoughts or questions does this article provoke for you?

Exploring Exile

2010-05-13T12:08:00.006+10:00

I have been a "quiet" blogger on Secret Women's Business, but have had my blogging focus directed to "Exiles":

The institutional church in the Western World has been in a long period of decline... judged by church attendance at least.

The reasons for this decline are many and complex. I have a particular interest in the rise of "non-institutional" expressions of church life... house churches, workplace churches, and the like.

I also have a pastoral heart for those who have left churches for reasons that have been painful for them... conflict, clashes, spiritual abuse, inappropriate pastoral care, a failure to address serious and legitimate questions and needs.

In response, I've been experimenting with the idea of a website that explores the multitude of reasons people drift from "institutional" churches. If you know of anyone who might find this conversation interesting, maybe you could let them know!

It's not all dire news for the world-wide church. At the same time that the church has appeared to decline in the Western World (less so in the United States) there has been massive growth of the church in Asia, Africa, South America and various islands (eg Papua New Guinea). I also suspect God just might be up to something new in a period of cultural transition in the West... He has a habit of popping up in unexpected ways and places. I'd be interested in any insights you have as to what God is up to in this point of global history.

Legally Challenged

2010-03-23T20:32:00.005+11:00

OK, it's been a good day for funny emails.... here's another one...

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes .. ;
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honour, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the circus was in town, I'm going with male.

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS : The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.

Truisms

2010-03-23T08:53:00.002+11:00

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

Life is sexually transmitted.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

The only difference between a groove and a grave is the depth.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a bushfire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'

Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm going to eat the next thing that comes out of its rear. '

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Truisms, and Unanswerable Questions

2010-03-23T08:53:00.001+11:00

Glimpses of the Quiet Witnesses

2010-03-12T02:56:00.003+11:00

I recently read a paper by the "out there" liberal church leader Francis McNabb which claimed (amongst other things) that the prayers of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane were speculative because all the disciples were asleep, and that most of the events surrounding the trial and death of Jesus were speculative because all the disciples ran away. The bible, in his view, clearly had many sections that were simply made up.

But were there really no witnesses?

Thanks to the cowardice of the twelve, the unnamed disciples of Christ that had followed him all the way from his home town of Galilee are finally named late in the gospel of Matthew. As the events around the crucifixion of Jesus are described, we suddenly read:

Ch. 27:55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

The invisible disciples throughout the rest of Matthew's gospel are named at last... there were many women who had followed Jesus. We can only assume that the details of the pivotal moment of the Christian story are only revealed to us by the faithfulness of these female disciples. Were the eyewitness accounts of the twelve the only material available to the gospel writers, we would have a very sketchy account indeed of the trial and death of Jesus.

Not only this, but each of the four gospels makes it clear that the first witnesses of the resurrected Christ were not the twelve, but the female followers of Christ.

For all of its gratuitous violence, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" actually does a wonderful job of revealing the women who were the only faithful witnesses to much of the Greatest Story.

Now all of the New Testament was written by men (with the possible exception of Hebrews, where Priscilla is one of the list of "suspects"). Within the legal systems of the day, women were not considered as valid witnesses. Nonetheless, the gospel writers had no other options but the testimony of women when describing the climactic moments of the story of Christ.

As one re-reads the New Testament with both eyes open for the ministry of women, the astonishing level of involvement in the ministry of Christ and in the life of the early church starts to be revealed. Peeling back centuries of church patriarchy, we discover Junias who along with Andronicus "have been in prison with me (Paul). They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was." (Romans 16:7) We note Phoebe, who is described as a deacon/servant of the church in Cenchrea. (Romans 16:1) We discover Lydia, the first convert of Phillipi and whose home is the centre of the church in Phillipi (Acts 16:14, 40) We discover the elder, a chosen lady (II John 1). We discover the daughters of Phillip, whose prophetic gifts were apparently comment-worthy.(Acts 21:8 - 9). We discover Priscilla, (Acts 18), who along with her husband had a key role in teaching and developing another key leader, Apollos. Paul needs to devote considerable space of his letter to the Corinthians to describing appropriate head wear for women who were praying or prophesying in church (I Corinthians 11:5 and following.)

As an aside, it is worth noting later in the letter that Paul bizarrely orders silence for women , which many scholars now consider not Paul's schizophrenia but Paul's quotation of (I Cor 14: 34 - 35) then refuting of (I Cor 14:36) the Corinthian's earlier letter to him (I Cor 7:1). Other scholars suggest it forbids asking distracting questions of husbands, rather than prohibiting the right to public prayer and prophetic ministry implied by chapter 11).

It is timely to reconsider and rediscover the ministries of women in the New Testament church. Like the first century Jesus revolution, the phenomenal Jesus movements of our time enjoy the heavy involvement of women. The exponentially growing house church movement in China boasts something like 85 % female leadership. Likewise a lesser-known but exponentially growing house-church movement in the centre of India is largely led by women in their own homes. If we are to reach the world with the gospel, it is time to sacrifice some sacred cows, and the idea that first deserves throwing on the holy bonfire is the concept of a "church" in a specialised worship building led by an ordained male. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with buildings and ordained males of course, (God bless them all) but good missiological research suggests this imagination of church alone is not going to reach the world for Jesus.

May all the people of God, both men and women, be released from narrow imaginations of ministry, and spread the Best News of all to all the ends of the earth.

No words, only tears.

2010-03-10T19:39:00.004+11:00

I received a Facebook note from my friend and former work colleague Alan Hirsch today, who had just visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. Alan is Jewish, raised in South Africa, discovered Jesus as his Messiah in early adulthood, became an Australian citizen, and now lives in America but travels widely. I thought this post and the comments around it were worth placing on a webpage that anyone might access (although Alan has so many FB friends I'm sure many more people will read it there rather than here!) I've changed the names of his "Friends" to A, B, C etc. to protect their identity! But a warning... because I've included all comments this is a looooonnng post.

Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Christo-Paganism of Europe

I am still trying to process the visit to the world's worst death camp. Needless to say it is an overwhelming experience. Let me be upfront and say that part of my struggle arises from my European Jewish heritage. I tend to see Europe, particularly religious Europe, through the distinct lens of my Jewish identity.

Anyone visiting such places leaves there with the perplexing questions of 'why?' and 'how?' I know that greater minds and hearts have tried to probe the mystery of human evil and failed, so I won't' even pretend to try. But the the question that just won't leave me, is simply this: 'how the heck did this absolute evil horror emerge from so-called Christian Europe??' I simply cannot understand how, after having the light of God's Word for at least 17 Centuries, European 'Christian civilization' could produce the unprecedented horror of the holocaust? Most Christians dodge this question by simply saying that "well, it was not real Christianity that did this", or " we can't judge other eras". But that dodges the issue that it was the very Europe that claimed to represent the Christian story that produced violence, antisemitism, and xenophobic bullying for as long as the Christian story has been in that context. Some of our spiritual heroes...Chrysostom and Luther for instance (and they are the tip of the iceberg) were given to bouts of vitriolic antisemitism. It was out of this sordid history that Nazism drew some legitimacy.

The only way I can possibly get to an answer of this disturbing question is to say that what has passed as Christianity in Europe is for the most part only really a thinly veiled, thoroughly syncretistic, religion called Christo-paganism, but it is paganism nonetheless. Any visit to the high Catholic cathedrals does leave a disinterested observer with the distinct impression that idolatry, nature worship, and the worship of the female divine lies under the surface of the overt Christian symbols.

No less than Newbigin reflected this same insight when he suggested that European Christianity was like a stone that had been immersed into a river for thousands of years: Take it out of the water and it is wet all around, crack it open and it is completely dry on the inside. I suggest that one can easily come to the conclusion that the religion' of Europe is actually a veneer of Christianity but the deepest mythos, its cultural heart so to speak, is largely pre-Christian. At the very least it is highly syncretistic.

This is exactly why the Nazis could use Wagner's operas to conjure up/reinvoke the violent Teutonic gods of pre-Christian Germany. We can only conclude that they were always there--they were never effectively exorcised from the German mythic imagination! Certainly they were not displaced by the cultural Christianity imposed during the Christendom period. So, after 1600 years they rose up to inform the 20th Century national narrative...as amazing as it is horrifying!

Many are going to be completely offended by this, but I don't think we can seriously come to any other conclusion. And to be honest, I don't particularly feel inclined to be particularly generous at this point. And these are not thoughts that have only emerged from a visit to Birkenau. Whenever I visit Europe I am haunted by its past...I see shadows everywhere...lots of blood, superstition, and hatred...and yes, evil amidst all the beauty, culture, and history. And this is not to say that there are not real saints in the midst and that Europe has not produced some marvelous Christian movements. My Debs always reminds me when I get dark like this that God always preserves a remnant for himself, and clearly this is true (e.g. the Celts, Francis, Wesley, etc.) What I am saying is that the prevailing religion of Europe, and the accompanying Christian civilization built on it, cannot claim to be authentically Christian--not in the Biblical sense of the word at least. Either this is true or my capacity to discern Biblical truth manifested in human experience is seriously marred. I have to concede that this might be true but I have to trust my perception on this. I am amazed, along with Anglican poet, T. S. Elliot, that "After two thousand years of Christian Mass // We have come as far as poison gas". How the hell can this be so? How can we commune with Christ and produce horrors!

My response is to get on with evangelizing this continent and stop mourning the loss of so-called 'Christian Europe'...I seriously doubt it was ever truly Christian in the first place. Besides any religion that creates holocausts (or passively stands by while they take place) is in my opinion not worth preserving and clearly needs to 'hear' the Gospel and repent like all non-believing pagans do. In the end, it appears that pagan is what pagan does.

Some of you are going to have to forgive me for the nature of this rant. I admit to feeling somewhat involved in all this...how can I not? But I don't want you to dodge the probing question that lies behind it. How could anything approximating a Jesus-shaped Christianity produce the systematic evil and violence normally associated with Satan? Answer that and we will have come a long way to solving the enigma of European religion.

question that lies behind it. How could anything approximating a Jesus-shaped Christianity produce the systematic evil and violence normally associated with Satan? Answer that and we will have come a long way to solving the enigma of European religion.

A: Thank you for this reflection, Alan.

B: Ah, i understand a little. Was in Hiroshima last year with Japanese friends- stayed with family who lived trough it.... i wept so difficult i could hardly enter the museum, and am tearing up even now.

C: If we are going to be legitimate, I think these kinds of things must be voiced, lest we make a goal of recreating 'Christian Europe.' What a tragedy it would be to look to faulty models as we disciple a new generation. Thanks for your transparency.

D: its all about power, that's how I try to make sense of it. This is what happens when even Christian believers don't get their theology of power right. Another strand in my struggle to understand is to do with contrasting the sense of stability I encountered in orthodox Judaism, a sense of being timelessly grounded in some very basically sensible ... See Moreethics, and the sense of 'we are not under law so the Holy Spirit will make it up in our heads as we go along, (subject of course to scripture which can be interpreted just about any way imaginable)' subtext present in the kind of Gentile Christianity which can't integrate, make sense of and respect it's Jewish past. I'm struggling too.

E: Satan, our great enemy always seeks to corrupt and defile and destroy everything. He poisons even the church. The church in America is just as syncretistic as the church in Europe was and is. What the death camps show us is the the horror of sin. The ultimate end of our selfishness is not just a loss of happiness but the destruction of God's creation.

F: Thx! for this very moving reflection, Alan. Two additional comments: 1) the perversion of the best yields the worst---always has, always will; 2) the same faith that can spawn an Adolph Hitler can sire an Albert Schweitzer, both of whom were born not far from each other in Germany at about the same time

G: Alan, when we see the decline of "Christian" Europe, it is easy to wonder where the Spirit is in the midst of all the religious decline. I think your comments point to exactly where the Spirit is. In the decline. Justo Gonzalez spoke here at Fuller last week on the "disempowering work of the Spirit". Where there is a false testimony of God's reality, there the Spirit works to undermine the supposed structure, opening the door for renewal.

H: Alan as a european I agree with just about everything you have said. Not all Christians were passive about the Holocaust. My dad came to faith in the 30s at first he and all his friends were pacifists. However as the nature of Nazism emerged they agonized over the proper christian response. With a heavy heart my dad and most of his fellow believers took up arms to defend the powerless. Many died and thats part of the story of European christianity too.

Alan Hirsch: G, sooo true. I have been reflecting on whether we should seriously consider the category of exile to really understand the situation of the church in Europe. I actually think it fits. This ought to change the perspective of the church in Europe and oour approach to mission there.

I: Alan, wow. Thank you for speaking the gospel in the way you always do: It's all about Jesus and the love He commanded us to share, not take away. Here in Ohio I am nourished by your words and given strength to "fight" the evil that should not be in anyone's heart after all we've seen, heard, and learned. Thanks for letting God shine on, in, and through you again!

J: Thanks for sharing so openly Alan. The syncretism or Christo-paganism you mention are enormous hurdles to overcome in the European context. The Europe that was touched by the reformation produced Hitler while the land not penetrated by the reformation produced Stalin. It is, i believe, essential that as Christian leaders in the U.S. we not forsake ... See Moreseeking to take an incarnational witness to Europe as focus is placed squarely on unreached, unengaged peoples and lands. Though tragic, a church in a community does not necessarily mean that the people have access to the gospel. This is Newbigin's wet rock with a dry, untouched center.

K: Hi Al, perhaps this article will help you understand the demoralization and childhood abuse that contributed to the rise of National Socialism ... it helped me understand my childhood and my family of origin and realize that children are born innocent - see http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/childhoodHolocaust.html

You may not fully know, but I grew... See More up as a fatherless son in an Ayran home, the only male to carry-on my Nazi grandfather's surname - He (a senior Nazi official), his wife (a member of Frauenshaft), and daughters fled to Australia after the war. When I was 10 years old a medical specialist told me (and my family) that I definitely had Jewish ancestry (the worst thing an Ayran can imagine) - at that time, I became a Christian ... by 13 years old I was gay (perhaps the next worst Aryan thing) ... by 14 years old I was homeless ... my relationship with my family continued at a distance until last year, when I was bold enough to look at my family members in the eye and ask: "Which is worse, me being gay or me being Jewish?"

For me, asking that one question from my perpetrators liberated me from the effects of National Socialism ... perhaps to free ourselves we need to ask: "Which is worse, us being Christian or us being Jewish?"

L: Looking from the perspective of an Estonian I have to agree with you. In our culture and context you can see (Christo-) paganism daily at display. The most profitable occupation seems to be witch-doctor.

Alan Hirsch: K...wow...i didn't know this about you bro. Thanks for sharing it. As for the what is worse question...imagine being a gay Jewish Gypsy! :-) We have to laugh bro, or we will cry together. I grew up being called 'f...g Jew' every week and every week having to fight my way to dignity against racist and bigoted bullies. What does not kill us, will indeed make us stronger.

K: He certainly does make the weak very strong :-)

Alan Hirsch: Isn't this amazing L? After so many years, we can still resort to witch-doctors! BTW, great to meet you this week.

M: here! here! as always alby you have cut to the heart of it. european antisemitisim has only receeded in the past 60 years, only after the holocaust.
as always i am filled with love and respect. you continue to be a shining light! so wish we could have a good old chin wag over this one.

N: Alan... thanks for the analysis & wisdom of the European Christian/Pagan paradox. We should send all the leaders,that are hungry for renewal & reformation & revolution your books & Frank Viola's 'Pagan Christianity' & of course pt 2 of that 'Re-Imagine Church' & the big picture narrative from Genesis to Revelation( God's Eternal Purpose before the... See More fall & the need for Salvation) 'From Eternity To Here'. I sort of know how you feel .I was in high school ( at the American Army school in Munich in mid 1960's> Dad Was working in American Consulate) ) We went to Auschwitz & in my immaturity I was horrified but didn't know how to process it either,still can't. Basically the lack of resistance would be like today when peer pressure from society & the predominant culture dictates ones conformity & silence on controversial issues. In Germany back in the day> it was because you don't want the authorities (Gestapo to hunt you down >torture & kill you) fear & loathing was probably in many hearts but the fear won out.
What if we were able to go back in time travel & interview Jesus right> after he whipped the money changers out of the temple (God's house of prayer he said)don't you think he would have had some passionate things to say that would seem critical to our politically/theologically correct crowd?

O: Alan - I've been to Poland three times...I made it one of my highest priorities to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau - so three times I walked those sacred grounds...every person who has a tendency to get all "post-modern" on us in terms of good/evil, relativism, the "essential goodness of humanity"...they need to walk those walks...see those chambers...have a moment in the barracks...it puts many things in life in perspective.

P: thanks, alan. ... O, good thoughts. i've walked the halls of birkenau. i've seen those chambers. walked through krematorium II. seen the spent containers, the poison, the shoes. i still consider myself a postmodernist.

yes, auschwitz brings good and evil into sharper relief, but every story is still a nuanced one. every SS guard had the potential to be both monster and believer. murderer and husband. we cannot and must not forget our own propensity for violence.

Q: A timely and painful reminder, Alan. Those of us in the North America must take VERY seriously this lesson. I was considering something similar of late. While not denying the obvious and stubborn thread of the Holy Spirit through all of history, I wondered if do not need to reconsider Christian history through another lens, looking to the margins for our "center". We have read history through the eye of the tyrant and, without realizing it, became that tyrant ourselves.

O: I don't believe that I consider myself a "post-modernist" as much as a person who is living in a time of history that some are calling "postmodernity"...but I understand what you are saying paul...that's what I was trying to get at...although you actually thought more about your post than I did...we all do have the propensity for both...my point is... See More that those halls and those barracks remind us of the essential brokenness of the human heart...there are those in our postmodern world that want to minimize the power of evil and paint a rosy view of the essential goodness of humanity...I see the redemptive possibilities for a restoration to goodness but an essential evil that is often excused away in pursuit of secularistic utopianism...Alan, see what you got us all into!

O: Alan - when you wrote this, "My response is to get on with evangelizing this continent and stop mourning the loss of so-called 'Christian Europe'...I seriously doubt it was ever truly Christian in the first place. Besides any religion that creates holocausts (or passively stands by while they take place) is in my opinion not worth preserving and ... See Moreclearly needs to 'hear' the Gospel and repent like all non-believing pagans do. In the end, it appears that pagan is what pagan does." Continents are not Christian...political systems are not Christian...that's the problem when we start to assume that systems like this have the possibility of conversion...only people do...as you said, "pagan is as pagan does"...I'm actually copying your rant...I wish you more dear friend

R: I'm with you on the paganism angle. That is what nominalism is ...

S: Alan, just an addendum: Let's not forget and honor the graves of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, Simone Weil, Henri DeLubac, Franz Jaggerstadter and all of the brave Christians who stood up to Hitler Many of them lost their lives as a result. Bonhoeffer felt that he was not breaking with Luther. Barth felt that he was not breaking with Calvin. ... See MoreDeLubac felt that he was not breaking with Thomas Aquinas or with the church Fathers. It was the Nazis and their "German Christian" allies who rejected the Hebrew Scriptures and claimed a new revelation that freed them from what they saw as a corrupt old Christian tradition. They saw themselves as revolutionary reformers. It was their opponents who saw themselves as upholding the tradition of the historic church. Len, good point. Karl Barth was born just 3 years shy of Hitler.

Alan Hirsch: S...the last person i thought would be 'defending' pagan Christianity. But i totally concede the point. Many wonderful people. And by the way, this is not so much a comment on Germany as on Europe as a whole. The Inquisition came mainly from the European sectors of Europe. How about torturing people and burning (40,000 no less) in the name of theological and churchly conformity.

T: Having lived in Europe and spent some time in Berlin last year, I also have been thinking hard about these questions. Indeed, since I visited Dachau the haunting images demand attention. I agree that it is too easy to say they were not real Christians. However, I would argue that every generation has a hole in their logic. More than some pagan Christianity, it seems to me that atheistic darwinism has as much to contribute to this tragic logic.

U: As I reflect on the horror of the holocaust (I am German) and the shocking conformity of the German Kirche I would agree with you that paganism, veiled in religion, is the culprit of not just the apathy, but sadly, often the participation of many German Christians in this dreadful evil. And now? Have we learnt from this very dark part of history? ... See MoreGreed, fear and superstition still seem to rule so much of Christian thought and practice. I observe the treatment of the GLBT community by some sectors of the church and wonder, i listen to the rhetoric of Christian leaders and wonder...how many would again stand back, or even applaud the destruction of others because they have bought some cheap lies of self-preservation? Personally, I don't mourn the loss of a 'Christian Europe'...I shed enough tears today over the lack of "Jesus shaped" Christianity and the sinfulness of my own heart.

V: Alan - what do we do? Where do we start the change? Do come and help us evangelise Europe! Start here in the UK - start here in Northumberland! Inspire us, revive us, encourage us, teach us, lead us. Bless you brother for your passion and fire!

W: This isn't confined to Europe. Look at what's happened in Australia with our Indigenous people. Not only what happened in the past, but what continues to happen. The interventions in the NT are an absolute atrocity. How can we send tanks into these communities and feel nothing?? How could we steal children from their families, put them in orphanages and refer to them by number, and then wonder if we have anything to apologise for??? How can our government feel it has the moral authority to lecture other nations on issues of human rights?? How can our churches preach of reconciliation in Christ, of how Christ brought Jew & Gentile together under one Lord, when we won't unite with our Indigenous brothers and sisters in the same way???

We the Australian church has forgotten our Indigenous brothers and sisters. We have turned a blind eye. We have failed to be angry when indigenous people are reduced to poverty and stripped of their human rights. We have failed to lobby our government to stop the intervention. We have failed to remind the Rudd government that they need to back up that verbal apology with changes in behaviour, or it was no kind of apology at all.

I'm not just pointing the finger at others on this one, I admit my complicity and I am horrified that I have benefited from a system that is founded on murder, rape and theft of indigenous people. I am horrified that I have done nothing.... See More

I am reminded of Jesus' words to the church of Laodicia, "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Rev 3:17-20

X: Alan, I have such intense resonance with what you are grappling with. Throwing aside the pageantry of Messianic Judaism, I don't think most believers really understand what it is like to be a believer yet a Jew. I don't know what to say to what you've written except to tell you I really appreciate hearing your heart because you put words to the ... See Morecorporate experience that "we" have as Jews even on this side of faith in Christ.

When I was in college, there was a holocaust exhibit that came to my campus, showing photos that the holocaust victims had in their pockets when they were taken to camps. I looked around the room at the photos of people at their weddings, hanging out at the beach with their friends, their school photos, etc, etc....and I saw the faces staring back at me that looked like my mom, my dad, my grandpa, my cousins... me. I knew so few people outside my family who looked like me, and here they were, covering the walls of my college display room, everywhere. Such a powerful connection I felt to a people all the sudden - I never felt such a connection to anyone, I always felt different than everyone around me but here were the people I was connected to. And all at once it hit me - everyone whose face I was looking at was dead....murdered. And that's what so many "christians" would have wanted for me and my family too..

I lost it... Cried my head off and couldn't keep it in...it was sorta embarrassing. A girl from the christian fellowship came over and held me - she said she never knew how to feel like she could make a difference to the holocaust and felt awkward as a christian knowing what to say about it, until she felt she could do something by hugging me in my tears.

Y: X - Lord, forgive us! One of the hardest days of my life was walking around the Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem - that was 20 years ago and it still makes me cry just thinking about it - the heart of man is rotten!

Z: Alan, I don't fully understand your anguish. I have been to Dachau and that place changed my life. Like you, when I go to Europe I see the "shadows" as they move from place to place. I can sometimes smell them. Because of that I lift this prayer on behalf of all of us.

Lord, help us see humanities past and present with your eyes. Help us to feel your anguish and identify with your suffering. We can't change the past, but we can surely learn from it and be a force to influence for the future with your grace, mercy, compassion, hope and love spilling out from us.

May the Holy Spirit search the deepest parts of our heart and transform us to know what it means to not only believe, but to become like the Christ we say we so desire and follow.... grace and peace to all of you...Jew and Gentile

a2: I think you have nailed it, Alan. I also think the close tie which the state churches have always had to political power structures has had a tremendous impact. Through the centuries, it has been that power and all that goes with it that has drawn some, if not many, into leadership within the church. That has been toxic for the church. This IS ... See MoreNOT to imply that there are no deeply committed followers of Christ within the state churches! Far from it! But it is a significant systemic issue which continues to plague the church in Europe. One of the most formative experiences for me was working with those on the university who were being trained to teach either protestant or catholic religion within the German schools who (without exception) were very intentional in telling me that even though they were teaching religion, they were not "gläubig", that is, they were not believers.
9 hours ago

b2: Alan, now apply your critique to Christianity in the American South and add in slavery, segregation, Jim Crow, etc., and you have exactly the same situation. Yet, we are not so honest and fail to truly come to grips with the pain that we have caused over the years. So, we bemoan the loss of our "Christian Culture" and wish that things would return ... See Moreto the way that they were in the 1950's. Really? Is that really what we want? I think that that would be horrible, especially for African Americans in the South. Yet, we are still blind to what our ancestors wrought, apart from saying that it was wrong. We still have not dealt with the theological blind spots that allowed us to compartmentalize our faith into a private sphere, while publically, we participated in or stood by while great injustice occurred.

This leads me to the question: What will future generations say about us? What are we blind to? To what great injustice do we ignore while it happens on our watch? How will our children judge us because we were on the wrong side of history. That question keeps me up at night. Because I feel like you are addressing it, I keep listening to you and reading your stuff. Don't let this go. Answering this is vital.

c2: Thank you Alan. b2, I'm haunted by our history in the Southern U.S.

Alan Hirsch: Hey, I was born and raised in apratheid South Africa. I know the complicity of simply being white in a racist system. But South Africa, for all the sheer immorality and injustice of apartheid, never created death camps and transported missions of people to their death by gas and fire.

d2: I dont have a European- Jewish heritage but I struggled to process my visit too. The baby garments and all the cases marked "to Canada' were my undoing and seeing the art work on the walls evoked strong emotion. We were so grateful to Ruth May for her very wise words to our group as wemoved out of the gas chamber.

b2: You're right. There is no comparison to the magnitude of evil of the holocaust. I didn't mean to suggest that. Maybe the same forces were at work though as crowds gathered as at an afternoon picnic, and posed, smiling, in their Sunday best, for souvenir pics at a lynching.

Alan Hirsch: Agreed b2...and I didn't mean to 'correct' you bro. Just responding. You are so right...the same basic spirit energizes both. What is shcoking is that both these, and South Africa, came from staunch Christian backgrounds! Its inexplicable!

e2: Thanks for your very honest thoughts, Alan. I've been thinking about Europe lately as I'm taking the Perspectives class, and your words are timely and helpful.

f2: Alan and b2, what is similar is that systematic injustice against other human beings was institutionalized in Nazi Germany as well as in the American South and South Africa. Only, in Nazi Germany it lasted a dozen or so years and in the American South, it lasted for a couple of centuries, all the while, white Christians met in churches and called ... See Morethe region the "Bible Belt." That is why I see similarities between Europe and the American South and was so affected by what you wrote in your original post.

g2: Thanks Alan, I was waiting your eyeview of things, I haven't been there, apart of watching all the related movies with all attrocities. In Greece we lived a different side of this war. Accepting Christ is a beauty, simply cannot force it. Satan convinced to force Christianity to apply his own practices, killing men, to so called Christian Europe. So your thoughts and reflections say a lot, much appreciated.

h2: Thanks for posting this and for being so honest about your rage. It's refreshing to see someone in Church leadership not feel obligated to defend the church.
The part of your post that particularly stands out to me is this:

"My Debs always reminds me when I get dark like this that God always preserves a remnant for himself, and clearly this is true (e.g. the Celts, Francis, Wesley, etc.)"

The idea of a "christian europe," or a "christian south" or a "christian america," is a funny one. How could anything so big ever fully unite behind an idea as inconvenient as christianity? When Jesus says "Narrow is the path, and few who will find it," I wonder if he really means there will always only ever be a remnant; a small group of people who are marginal enough to be in tune (at least partially) with God... but having read this post, and having had the privilage of hearing both you and Deb speak at tribe, I can't help feeling that God is forming a remnant for himself through both of you here in LA. And I want in :) hurry back!

i2: It's sad that the "veneer" of Christianity in Europe has inoculated them against the spread of the real deal. no wonder atheism was born out of the Europe culture - a seemingly appropriate response to the fake god it often followed.

j2: Alan, I lived in Europe (The Netherlands, Germany and England) and I can identify with your pain and angst. I still felt it (last summer I was in Berlin and Poland for SLOT). I'm personally not interested in lashing out agains the past (I don't think you are either). However, the points you raise have major implications for what God is doing today and the way we lay a foundation for the next generation. I personally think that a lot of the problems we have with the Church around the world stem from the DNA that we received from our European forefathers (I'm from Venezuela). It is most important to me that we recognize the flaws in the systems we have spoused so that we can learn from our mistakes and seek to do better today and tomorrow.

Janet Woodlock: I only have tears for this post and the comments... lost for words.

School assignments

2010-03-08T07:56:00.003+11:00

The assignment itself looked innocuous enough... a sheet from school asking my son to bring a family heirloom to school (or a photo of one), tell about the history of the item, and describe world events in the era when the item was made. Quite a creative way to have students give oral reports about different time periods one would think.

The problem with homework assignments is how often parents get coopted to participate. I thought an antique clock that has come down to me from my grandmother would be a nice item for Daniel's oral report. It's a lovely little item, that plays "The Blue Danube" when the alarm goes off, while an imitation "record" spins around, and the couple on the record spin around too... a very clever mechanical music box/clock combination. As it turns out, my mother doesn't remember (or know) how it came into the family, although she said it may have been a wedding present for her mother, who was married in 1915.

This has sent me off on an internet search trying to narrow down a date for the clock so Daniel can work on the rest of the assignment. So far nothing has emerged from a Google description, and two clock experts from the "All Experts" website have drawn a blank (although one of the experts has sent me some useful links). So the search continues.

I think I deserve an "A" for Daniel's assignment from my levels of effort so far. If any antique clock/music box experts happen to visit this site, your clock dating advice would be appreciated. Failing that, I'd be interested to hear how much time you devote to doing your children's homework! Or "helping"!

Educate Women to Change the World

2010-03-04T17:04:00.002+11:00

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristoff highlights the extraordinary case of a child bride who divorced her husband in his article: Divorced Before Puberty As well as being a fascinating story in its own right, it highlights the wisdom of educating women as a means of peace-making and development.

Why Men Shouldn't Write Advice Columns

2010-02-05T22:42:00.001+11:00

Dear John,

I hope you can help me. The other day, I set off for work, leaving my husband in the house watching TV. My car stalled, and then it broke down about a mile down the road, and I had to walk back to get my husband’s help. When I got home, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbour’s daughter!

I am 32, my husband is 34, and the neighbour’s daughter is 19. We have been married for 10 years. When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted they have been having an affair for the past six months. He won’t go to counselling, and I’m afraid I’m a wreck and need advice urgently. Can you please help?

Sincerely, Shelia.

Dear Shelia,

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold, and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the injectors.

I hope this helps,

John

Parenting Transitions

2010-01-26T10:31:00.003+11:00

My eldest son started secondary school yesterday. It hardly seems any time since a tiny (1.1 kg/2 1/2 pound) baby came into the world... now said "baby" is taller and heavier than me.

When I tried to wake him yesterday morning, he was (in typical teenage fashion) very difficult to stir... so I indulged myself by holding him for a while as he slept. He's still young enough to look sweet in sleep, and I was reminded of the many hours I had held him in my arms when he was much younger. As I held him, I prayed for him and his first day of school... and sensed God's whisper in my heart "Hand him over to Me".

This whisper reminded of one of M Scott Peck's reflection's about Abraham's sacrfice of Isaac. Peck views this seemingly bizarre account as something of an archetype of what every parent of an adolescent boy is called to do. We are called to "give up our son" to God. God is the one who saves the son, as we surrender our child's life in obedience. Indeed, we damage our children if we refuse to do this, and instead seek to mould them according to our own agendas.

If God has created us all with a unique shape and unique calling (as I believe) the task of parenting becomes to relax a little, and to see what unique shape unfolds in our child's life to the glory of God.

What this will mean for me I can only discover day by day. (For the moment, God's whisper involves holding back from dropping hints about who my son's friends should be... but I assume it will involve holding back on many more issues!)

It is interesting to note how many societies and religions mark the passage toward adulthood in various ways... manhood initiation rites, bar mitzvah ceremonies, confimation, and so forth. The parents (and mothers in particular) entrust their sons to their community for their formation into adulthood. Whether we trust that adult community (especially in the overly peer-focused Western world)... and more fundamentally, whether we trust God in the life of our children... are a somewhat unsettling questions.

What issues to parenting transitions provoke for you? How does faith make a difference? How did your own parents manage "letting go" for good or ill? I'd be interested to hear your reflections.

Lame Puns

2010-01-17T08:16:00.001+11:00

1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir,only one carrion allowed per passenger."

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says, "Dam!"

3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit afire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that youcan't have your kayak and heat it too.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, "I've lost my electron." The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies"Yes, I'm positive."

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why?", they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in anopen foyer."

7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. Oneof them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "Ahmal."The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him "Juan." Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that shewishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal."

8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars.

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.

No pun in ten did

Biblical Studies Test Results

2009-12-14T14:42:00.002+11:00

Pay special attention to the wording and spelling. If you are even remotely familiar with holy scripture, you'll find this hilarious! It comes from a Roman Catholic elementary school test. Kids were asked questions about the old and new testaments. The following statements about the bible were written by children. They have not been re-touched or corrected. Incorrect spelling has been left in.

1. In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world so he took the sabbath off.

2. Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree. Noah's wife was Joan of Ark. Noah built and ark and the animals came on in pears.

3. Lots wife was a pillar of salt during the day, but a ball of fire during the night.

4. The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble with unsympathetic genitals.

5. Sampson was a strongman who let him self be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.

6. Samson slayed the philistines with the axe of the apostles.

7. Moses led the Jews to the red sea where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients .

8, The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. After wards, Moses went up to mount cyanide to get the ten commandments.

9. The first commandments was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.

10. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

11. Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of geritol ..

12. The greatest miricle in the bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.

13. David was a Hebrew king who was skilled at playing the liar. He fought the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in biblical times.

14. Solomon, one of Davids sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

15. When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the magna carta.

16. When the three wise guys from the east side arrived they found Jesus in the manager.

17. Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

18. St. John the blacksmith dumped water on his head.

19. Jesus enunciated the golden rule, which says to do unto others be fore they do one to you. He also explained a man doth not live by sweat alone.

20. It was a miricle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.

21. The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels.

22. The epistels were the wives of the A postles.

23. One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

24. St. Paul cavorted to Christianity, he preached holy acrimony which is another name for marraige.

25. Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

(Source: one of those circulating emails… I laughed til I had trouble breathing over this one. How about you?)

Kylie Orr Blog - Part One

2009-12-05T09:48:00.002+11:00

I've been participating this week in one of the Age online blogs. Kylie Orr wrote an article questioning whether specific religion should be taught in public schools. As one might anticipate, the twin emotive topics of the education of our children plus religion lead to an explosion on the comments thread. For the most part, respondents were civil and a robust and healthy dialogue broke forth into cyberspace.

I have found myself feeling quite sympathetic to many of the “anti CRE camp”, in that (in NSW at least) there appears to be no accredited curriculum and it seems that anyone of any faith can teach children anything for half an hour a week. It seems to me if you’re going to teach about religion in schools I’d prefer it not done at all than that it be done badly. That is not meant to be critical of the many CRE volunteers doing wonderful creative teaching, but because I was made aware there are horror stories out there emerging from an unregulated system.

However, I’d like to make an argument that good quality accredited religious education has a legitimate place in schools (voluntarily out of respect both of conscience and of diverse family cultural backgrounds).

Even the most hardened skeptic might pause for thought about the benefits to human well-being that religious faith provides. There is a growing body of evidence that there are significant mental and even physical benefits to faith practice, and particularly strong evidence that faith brings great comfort and strength to those who do find themselves chronically unwell. I quote from this study:

“A great multitude of psychological, psychiatric, medical, public health, sociological and epidemiological studies conducted during the past two decades proved the beneficial and protective effects of religious involvement (the term “religious involvement” will be used interchangeably with other terms such as “religious engagement” and “religiousness” in this review, and this will be elaborated in the part on method later in this paper) on people’s mental and physical health as well as on their longevity. These studies also showed religion is an important aspect of human life. Evidence supporting these findings emerges from both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, as well as from studies based on both clinical and community samples (George et al., 2002; Plante & Sherman, 2001). This empirical evidence apparently contrasts with the skeptical and hostile attitudes towards religion of Freud and earlier mental health scholars, which were largely formed and based on their negative experiences with religion and their encounters with the psychiatric patients (Meissner, 1984; Zilboorg, 1958; Koenig, 2001).

Over the past two decades, a lot of studies have uncovered a strong positive association between religiousness and mental health. This association has extended across various populations, including samples of the young, adults, older people, general community residents, immigrants and refugees, college students, the sick, addicts, homosexuals, persons of parenthood, individuals with mental health problems and personality disorders (Alvarado, et al., 1995; Baline & Croker, 1995; Braam et al., 2004; Chang et al, 1998; Donahue & Benson,1995; Idler & Kasl, 1997; Jahangir et al., 1998; Kendler et al., 1996; Koenig, George & Titus, 2004; Levin & Taylor, 1998; Mickley et al., 1995; Miller et al., 1997; Pardini et al. 2001; Plante et al. 1995, 2001; Richards et al. 1997; Selway et al., 1998; Thearle et al., 1995; Woods et al, 1999).”

(Any of you readers who are REALLY square can Google/try out Science Direct to look at all the studies cited here.)

I would also note a study that indicates children seem to be born with belief in God “hard-wired” into their brains. Giving language to this intuitive sense of a Creator, and giving children the spiritual resources of prayer and meditation, to me appears to be an entirely healthy thing.

Now this does not mean I am militant over teaching about faith... I hold the words of Romans 12:18 in my heart: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Some battles aren't worth picking for the sake of peace. But it is a pity that the benefits of faith are so little known, while toxic examples of faith communities (spiritual abuse, sexual abuse, cults etc.) are so strongly highlighted.

Women Who Know Their Place

2009-10-28T12:04:00.002+11:00

Barbara Walters, of 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict.

She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.

She recently returned to Kabul and observed that women still walked behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seemed happy to maintain the old custom.

Ms Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, 'Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?'

The woman looked Ms.Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said: 'Land Mines.'

Moral of the story is (no matter what language you speak or where you go):

BEHIND EVERY MAN, THERE'S A SMART WOMAN

(received by email!)

The fear that cannot be named...

2009-10-20T16:18:00.003+11:00

If I can be forgiven some plagiarism, I was struck by the following article in the Age online. A symptom for me of pastoral burnout was crippling panic attacks, so this article found resonance in me:

Winston Churchill is widely cited as someone who suffered depression, or the "black dog" as he referred to it. I have an image of the old man slumped in a chair by a fire, weighed down by the enormity of the fight against Nazism. Churchill's depression was a burden; but it is also consistent with being a deep and serious man.

Fewer people know that Churchill also suffered anxiety, with evidence he was prone to panic attacks. I suspect this is a deliberate oversight: a focus on his anxiety may damage our view of him as a strong person. Doesn't it evoke an image of a worry wart? A neurotic with shattered nerves? Would we still want the free world's fate in his hands?

The way we view Churchill and his mental illnesses is indicative. There is a huge focus on depression – more and more high-profile Australians are coming out and admitting they suffer from it, the latest being Liberal front bencher Andrew Robb.

Their outings help remove the stigma of depression, which is an excellent thing. Depression is most dangerous when it is swept under the carpet and untreated. But for some reason anxiety flies under the radar – it remains the poor man of mental illness. How many people will only register the "depression" bit during beyond blue's Anxiety and Depression Awareness Month through October?

An anxiety attack: waves of fear and panic; a "torturer" increases the pain when you attempt to control and fight the anxiety. The pain ratchets up until – at its worst – it becomes like flesh being torn off your bones. How to stop the pain?

Anxiety, which beyond blue defines as unrelenting feelings of tension, distress or nervousness, can be just as dangerous as depression. It's common to suffer depression and anxiety at the same time.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Survey of Mental Health, some 2 million Australians live with anxiety – making it twice as common as depression. Yet a survey by beyond blue found just 7 per cent recognised anxiety as a major mental health problem, against 56 per cent recognising depression as a major health problem.

Until I became fully aware I was susceptible to anxiety, my knowledge of the illness was limited. I knew Howard Hughes suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, a form of anxiety along with generalised anxiety disorder, phobias, post traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder.

My other image of the illness was standing behind a man at a chemist handing over his subscription to anxiety tablets with a shaking hand. I pitied him. The last story I read about anxiety revealed Hugh Grant suffered panic attacks when filming, which I thought mildly amusing.

Now I'm aware of untreated anxiety, I see it wreck marriages, ruin careers and, I suspect, cost lives. It's obvious it isn't taken nearly as seriously as it should be by the medical profession and society in general. It's either viewed as a weakness, particularly by men, or not that debilitating.

One of the problems is that anxiety appears difficult to treat. GPs are so focused on depression – which can be (supposedly easily) treated with drugs – that they tend to ignore anxiety. Anxiety is a major side effect of most antidepressants, a fact often overlooked. Many anxiety attacks seem to be diagnosed as indigestion, or even heart attacks.

Another problem is that people learn to cover anxiety up and self-medicate, most commonly by drinking, which gives an instant calming effect. Anxiety is also confused with stress – and isn't everyone stressed out these days?

Ultimately it's an issue of focus. People are choosing to overlook anxiety and not take it as seriously as depression. I was well aware actor Gary MacDonald suffered depression, but it was lost on me that he also suffered anxiety and debilitating panic attacks.

Once diagnosed, anxiety is treatable. Things that work include cutting down caffeine, regular exercise, stress management, and breathing exercises. But ultimately, the best way to deal with anxiety is acceptance.

Most anxiety problems are caused when people try and fight or control it. You have to let go and say to the "torturer" – "do your worst, I'm not going to fight you; my life's been great so far despite your presence, I can handle it". It requires guts and a leap of faith. For some reason the torturer sticks around but loses interest.

Far from being a sign of weakness, living a good, healthy life with anxiety requires courage, as Churchill himself would probably attest.

Thanks to Ben Power from the Age.

Why do you think anxiety is a difficult issue to name?

Losing my Religion

2009-09-30T11:00:00.002+10:00

I met with a friend a few months back who is an escapee from a spiritually abusive church. I enquired how she felt about reading the bible (as her new church was conducting something of a "read the bible" campaign), and she said very the thought of it made her feel like vomiting.

This didn't sound terribly like the loving and gentle invitation of the Spirit to me.

I asked my friend what kinds of activities seemed to nourish her soul. She said reading a novel by a fireplace was her best soul food. So I suggested she do that regularly... and to take a moment of conscious gratitude each day.

I spoke with her again last night, and she feels like her soul is beginning to heal. I encouraged her to continue to learn to live in grace.

People who have experienced spiritual abuse seem to have a strong need to detox from religion. Indeed, it seems to me that Jesus wasn't a particularly religious character... the people who seemed most upset by him were the most earnestly religious of his day. Anyone who aspires to be like Jesus might also need to learn to be a little less religious and a lot more Christ-like.

Sometimes we develop habits of thought and practice in life that are helpful and life-giving. Sometimes we develop habits of thought that destroy our wellbeing, and we need to change them. Sometimes we develop a highly religious image of God: the harsh taskmaster, the legalist, the stern judge. This image needs replacing with the image of Jesus... the Jesus who invites us into life and love and laughter and grace. When this image of Jesus is firmly in our heads and hearts, then his invitation brings a joyful response. If this Jesus invited us to engage with him through the bible and prayer, it would be our joy to say yes. If the stern God demanded religious duty, this would do no good for our soul.

So my friend is losing her old religion and regaining her soul. Have you ever needed to lose religion? And what have you found?

Facebook Fever

2009-08-28T13:09:00.003+10:00

I've recently caught the Facebook bug... which has rather slowed my pace of blogging. Why would one go to the effort of writing a whole article when one can write a few witty words? (Perhaps in this I flatter myself about the generally trivial rubbish I post online!!!)

I only joined Facebook because my sister informed me that "Not being on Facebook is like not having a mobile phone". In other words, if I was to have any relevance in the current millenium, Facebook was absolutely essential. So she registered me. A "late adopter" I may be... but better late than never.

I have found it kind of fun, and an interesting way to connect with a variety of people. I've also been amazed how much free time some people have... just how many quizzes/games/challenges/virtual world construction can one pack into a day?

I did have some pause for thought in the Facebook phenomenon last night listening to Dr Michael Carr-Greg speak on early adolescence. There is something a little disturbing about the capacity for adolescents to connect with (potentially) millions of others online... especially when some may falsify their identities and engage on Facebook with malicious intent. Cyber bullying is a new and cruel form of humiliation and abuse. The idiotic things a young person may place online might be googled by a future prospective employer in years to come. The internet is here to stay... but it behoves us to use it wisely and teach our young people to do likewise.

My eldest son turns 13 later this year... the legal age for Facebooking. Does anyone have tips out there on Facebooking for the young... or any thoughts on the cyber world in general?

All is not well with women....

2009-08-11T14:32:00.002+10:00

I have copied the article below from the Age online:

THE standard assumption is that women’s lives have dramatically improved in the past 50 years. They have considerably more personal freedom, and opportunities for education and employment have been transformed. As a result they have much greater financial independence, which has given them more power to shape their lives. So far, so easy.

But something odd is going on. These huge social changes are not making women happier, and, according to several significant studies, women’s happiness relative to men’s has declined in the past 25 years. This includes women of all age groups, and is evident in many countries, particularly the United States and Britain.

Let’s start with the most alarming evidence. It comes from a study by Patrick West and Helen Sweeting of 15-year-olds conducted in exactly the same place in Scotland in 1987, 1999 and 2006. The 1999 results show that the incidence of common mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic attacks and anhedonia (loss of capacity to experience pleasure) had increased for girls from 19 per cent to 32 per cent. The increase for boys was only 2 per cent.

But the latest results are even more dramatic. There has been an increase for both sexes: boys are now on 21 per cent, and girls are at a staggering rate of 44 per cent.

More than a third of girls agreed ‘‘they felt constantly under strain’’; those who ‘‘felt they could not overcome their difficulties’’ had more than doubled to 26 per cent. The number who agreed with ‘‘thinking of yourself as a worthless person’’ had trebled between 1987 and 2006. These findings could partly explain the recent reports of sharp rises in girls’ binge drinking and aggressive behaviour.

The first thought is that perhaps this gender gap is a teenage thing. Other studies showing a marked increase in mental ill-health of teenagers have prompted speculation that the transition to adulthood now is much more difficult and demanding. But the gap in mental ill-health between men and women is just as striking in other age groups — a recent study showed that between 1993 and 2007 common mental disorders had risen by a fifth for women aged between 45 and 64 (there had been no change in men), and were twice as likely in women as men in the over-75s.

Various explanations are put forward. Women’s levels of serotonin are more vulnerable, it has been suggested, but that doesn’t explain the change over time. Women are now struggling with work and family, looking after their elderly parents, or coping with an empty nest. Thirty years ago, women reported higher rates of subjective wellbeing than men in the US. This advantage has been eroded, and in many instances it is now men who are happier. So how did women end up, after a generation of advances in gender equality, less happy typically than their mothers at the same age?

There are no easy answers. One finding is that women’s satisfaction with their financial situation has declined while men’s has remained stable – one possibility is that there has been a change in expectations for women so that their lives are more likely to come up short.

This latter is key to the work of an American psychologist, Jean Twenge, who has analysed what she describes as a ‘‘narcissism epidemic’’ in the US that is disproportionately affecting women. Her meta-analysis covered 37,000 college students. It found that in 1982, 15 per cent got high scores on a narcissism personality index; by 2006 it was 25 per cent – and the largest share of this increase was women.

Narcissists have huge expectations of themselves and their lives. They make unrealistic predictions about what they can achieve. They seek fame and status, and the achievement of the latter leads to materialism – money enables the labels and lavish lifestyle that are status symbols. It is Paris Hilton syndrome across millions of lives.

Twenge points to the fact that in the 1950s only 12 per cent of college students agreed that ‘‘I am an important person’’, but by the late ’80s it was 80 per cent. In 1967, only 45 per cent agreed that ‘‘being well-off is an important life goal’’, but by 2004 the figure was 74 per cent.

The problem, Twenge believes, derives in part from a generation of indulgent parents who have told their children how special they are. An individualistic culture has, in turn, reinforced a preoccupation with the self and its promotion.

The downside is that narcissists have a tendency to risky behaviour, addictive disorders, have difficulties sustaining intimate relationships, and are more prone to aggressive behaviour when rejected.

The evidence of narcissism is present throughout highly consumerist, individualistic societies – and women suffer disproportionately from the depression and anxiety linked to it.

Girls are more compliant and eager to please – that is how they have always been socialised – but now the dominant social expectations of them are deeply destructive of their happiness.

The expectations of girls and women have multiplied and intensified on every front, from passing exams to looking good (breast augmentation quintupled in 2006 in the US) and having more friends and better photos on Facebook.

One possibility is that women’s identity has always been framed around relationships, yet this is at odds with an individualistic, intensely competitive, narcissistic culture.Women, brought up to seek social approval, battle between competing frames of reference, and many end up feeling failure and inadequacy on multiple fronts.

Madeleine Bunting is a Guardian columnist.

What do you think about this? What is going on... and what on earth can we do about it?

In praise of unsung heroes

2009-08-07T22:09:00.003+10:00

"It was the worst of times, it was the best of times" is the famous opening line of Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities". It is a phrase that comes to my mind on this six-month anniversary of Black Saturday. The worst of times... as Australia's worst ever natural disaster claimed 173 lives and traumatised thousands of others. However, this "worst of times" led to a truly remarkable outpouring of generosity and service by the Australian community... the best qualities of the Australian community (and beyond) were released in a most moving way.

This article notes the recovery process and the contribution of a wide range of church, business and community groups that rallied to help.

I would like to take a moment to sing the praises of the VCC chaplains... largely unsung in the media... who journeyed with deeply traumatised people after the fire. Many chaplains have continued to journey with those impacted by this tragedy. Each chaplain I have spoken with report something of "vicarious traumatisation"... a significant cost for those who come to care and be the presence of Christ in the face of overwhelming grief.

Thank you for bringing grace on behalf of the churches to those who needed care and a listening ear. May the healing peace of Christ be in your hearts this day.

Computer Rage

2009-07-13T16:39:00.003+10:00

I don't know about you, but some days I am nearly convinced that demonic forces are at work on my computer. The freezing... the error messages... the unexpected restarts... all designed to test my endurance and character.

Anyway, today I received the following email about Jesus, Satan and computers for your edification and entertainment:

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for forty days and forty nights, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.

They moused.

They created powerpoint presentations.

They e-mailed.

They e-mailed with attachments.

They downloaded.

They did spreadsheets.

They wrote reports.

They created labels and cards.

They created charts and graphs.

They did some genealogy reports .

They did every job known.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.

Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming:

"It's gone! It's all GONE! I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past week.

Satan observed this and became irate.

"Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"

God just shrugged and said,

"Jesus SAVES..."

Glorious Diversity

2009-07-11T18:46:00.002+10:00

I had the delightful privilege this week of sharing an hour with a group of CCTC students studying mission in the New Testament. (As a presenter, rather than as a fellow sufferer... well, a fellow sufferer in Greek classes at least... I do enjoy other subjects. I'm still in "recovery" from last semester... sorry for harping on about it).

I asked them all to make a single response to a simple question: "What is one thing that helps you to connect with God?" What was remarkable was the diversity of responses around the room... community, aloneness, the Word, music, nature, and other responses I've forgotten (I should have taken notes).

Perhaps this level of diversity shouldn't surprise me. We worship the God who created an incredibly diverse and complex natural world, and who has made every person on earth unique. It would be surprising if our spiritual lives did not reflect the diversity we see in other aspects of human life.

This experience added poignancy as I read this post by Crazy Seraph, describing how she was virtually demonised for not finding another person's preferred method of spiritual engagement helpful. It is staggering that people who claim to be Christ-followers have never even considered that every reported interaction Jesus had with others was unique. Nathaniel was called "without guile", Nicodemus was told to be "born from above", the woman at the well was offered "living water", the rich young ruler was asked to sell all he had, the expert in the law was told the parable of the good Samaritan, and so on. Jesus treated each person as an individual.

Now, we cannot be as discerning as Jesus! But it isn't a bad start to ask questions, and not to assume that one method of connecting to God is universally helpful.

Perhaps many humans love simplicity, security and rules, rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit and the exercise of patient listening and discernment. I for one, would like to sign up for the adventure and uncertainty of listening to where the wind of the Spirit is blowing... and the delight of discovering what God is up to in the lives of His unique and beloved children.

Two long years of tea

2009-07-04T21:07:00.002+10:00

I heard a beautiful story from a Churches of Christ minister recently... whom I shall call “Priscilla” for the sake of anonymity... about a retired gentleman whom I shall call “Jack”.

Priscilla was on the ministry team of a church that had a policy that sermon notes should be copied and distributed to the congregation.

One day after she had preached, Jack (a newcomer at the church) bowled up to her and announced “I don’t believe in women ministers”. “Oh, that’s interesting” she replied. “And I don’t agree with this!” He then thrust at her the day’s sermon notes with furious circles all over the sermon.

“Would you like to discuss this further?” she enquired. He agreed that he would, so she dutifully went to his house the next day and had a long conversation about exegesis, theology, etc. etc. They parted on very cordial terms.

The next time Priscilla preached, the man bowled up to her and proclaimed: “I don’t believe in women ministers. And I don’t agree with this!” He once more thrust the day’s sermon notes with all of his contentious circles. “Would you like to discuss this further?” she enquired. So she dutifully visited the next day, and had another long theological conversation. They parted once more very warmly.

This ritual continued for two years. Then one day Jack walked up to her at the end of the sermon and said: “Priscilla, you know I don’t believe in women ministers”.

“I know that Jack”

But if I ever did... you would be the one to make me change my mind”.

Tears came to her eyes. (She reported it was one of the most moving moments of her life.)

Some time later, Jack passed on to be with his Lord, and his widow asked Priscilla to conduct Jack’s funeral.

“Oh I just couldn’t. Jack would turn in his grave... he doesn’t believe in women ministers”.

“Oh Priscilla... he just loved you.” She replied.

Sometimes the discussion about women in ministry remains at the level of theology. This dialogue is important of course. But in the end, the “argument” for women in ministry is won by competence and kindness. All of the research on this topic suggests that theological objections rapidly dissolve when a congregation experiences the ministry of a woman of appropriate giftedness, competence, and character. Objections to women’s ministry often occur at the level of the gut, rather than at the level of the head. It never really occurred to me that church ministry was a possibility for myself when I was younger, for it was right outside my experience and my imagination.

I’d be interested in your thoughts on this topic.

Women's Ministry Changes the World Through Crafts

2009-07-01T11:33:00.003+10:00

ORLANDO — Hot glue guns, faux-silk flowers, painted magnets that say "I can do all things through Christ!" — these astonishingly effective tools and skill-building exercises have helped New Life Center's women's group launch dozens of women into world-changing evangelism.

"Who knew that crafts were such a potent training ground for the gospel?" says Debby Wentworth, the group's chipper leader, as she finishes painting an irresistibly cute wooden angel. She's joined in the fellowship hall by 120 women, all chatting and doing decoupage. They create darling flower bouquets, seasonal wall-hangings and cozy centerpieces — all for the cause of Christ.

As a result of intense craft training, the group has become an engine of world transformation, sending dozens of women into the mission field.

"My years spent doing crafts prepared me well for the incredible complexities and challenges of running an orphanage in rural Malaysia," says Tamara Gooden, who speaks three Asian languages and is now an unofficial liaison between her village and the central Malaysian government. "I recall the papier-mâché butterflies we made with Bible verses on the wings, the cutting, the pasting — all skills that directly pertain to my current work increasing crop yields and distributing basic medicines for the people here so they don't succumb to famine or disease."

Other women testify that their extensive training in crafts has equipped them to lead large overseas crusades, start multi-national food ministries and raise millions for relief efforts.

"Crafts is such an under-valued skill-builder," says Debby. "And when crafts are done right — take toll paining or bead stringing, for example — women sense the strong presence of God and break down under conviction, right here in the women's ministries wing."

(OK, I've pinched this from "Lark News". I'll confess I'm a bit "craft-challenged", and have more interest in women's leadership stuff. Of course, craft groups can be a fabulous form of outreach, and good creative therapy for some... but I have to smirk a little at this gentle poke at those who take craft rather too seriously!)

Swine Flu

2009-06-30T08:31:00.003+10:00

Just phoned the NHS swine flu helpline and all I got was crackling.

How did the pig go on holiday? The swine flu

Swine flu isn’t a problem for pigs, because they're all going to be cured anyway.

The first sign of pig flu is that you come out in nasty rashers.

Swine flu is getting serious, it has been reported to be a hamdemic, which may lead to an aporkolypse... But we’ll get through. Where there's a swill there's a way.

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy had influenza A virus subtype hemagglutinin protein 1 neuraminidase protein 1.

The only known cure for Swine Flu has been found to be the liberal application of oinkment.

My friend says he’s got swine flu, but I think he's telling porkies

I have to say, I'm finding all these jokes about swine flu pretty boaring.

If you receive an email from the Department of Health telling you not to eat tinned pork because of swine flu, ignore it ............it's just spam.

(I just received this as an email this morning... who makes up all this stuff?)

And now... for the really big theological question

2009-06-22T07:57:00.003+10:00

One of the many wonderful things about children is that they pop out fresh. They therefore see the world with new eyes, and ask unexpected questions.

My ten-year-old son was bemoaning the state of the world this morning (OK, he has a melancholy streak, and they've been looking at ecological sustainability, recycling, ethical shopping, child labour, carbon footprint etc. at school. I'm now living with a fully paid up member of the "eco-police").

I assured my son that when Jesus returns he'll make everything right.

"I hope he wears decent clothes this time" was his reply.

Yet again I'm theologically stumped. What would Jesus wear for his return? It seem perfectly reasonable to think that he wouldn't need to wear his 1st century styled robes. Any thoughts on contemporary gear for the second coming?

More on women in ministry

2009-06-07T08:23:00.005+10:00

I have spent a bit of time in the blogosphere of late reading (and commenting upon) articles about women's ministry. (Not like me I know... ha ha!)

Those of you who can't bear to wait for the CBE conference next year, and who would like to engage in some biblical discussions around this issue, might want to look at:

Peggy Brown's article at "The Next Wave"

and Peggy's reflections on the "women must keep silent" passage in Corinthians

and How Junia became a male, then became a woman again

and my earlier post about headship, etc.

(Thanks to Matt Stone who has inspired me to use "blogger help" to learn about some of the zillion things I don't know about blogging. Let's just see if the links actually work...)

To ordain, or not to ordain... CBE to the rescue!

2009-06-05T11:18:00.003+10:00

One of my life passions is seeing women step into their God-given vocation; to exercise the gifts and step into the calling that will be fruitful for them and a blessing to others. For some women, this calling is to parent well, or to teach, or to nurse, or to work in a variety of industries, or to engage in the creative arts, or to volunteer their services for the good of others, or a myriad of other possibilities… while for some, this involves a call to formal Christian ministry.

I’ve recently discovered that the international “Christians for Biblical Equality” conference will be held in Melbourne next year. You can find out more information about this here

I’m delighted to support this group, who provide solid evangelical explanations of the “tricky passages” that are used to block the leadership of women in conservative churches.

This “blocking” is understandable in groups that sincerely want to come under the authority of scripture, and live faithfully to God. It is strange however that this sincerity is often applied arbitrarily… female missionaries are accepted, returned female missionaries might “give a talk” (not preach) in their churches, women might lead singing, and women might be encouraged to work in chaplaincy or in parachurch groups (as if ministry outside the hallowed walls of a church building is suddenly OK.)

Literal interpretations of passages from the epistles are often applied inconsistently too. The command to “greet one another with a holy kiss” is dismissed as cultural; the command for women to “keep silent” is accepted as a universal decree from the LORD Almighty.

I’ve recently spied one interesting explanation of why the ordination of women was overturned in one Australian denomination in Queensland here:

Well, I’m glad I understand the phenomenon a little better…

Seriously though… it does sadden me that the gifts of women are blocked for reasons that (in my not particularly humble opinion) are very ill-informed. Churches impoverish themselves, disempower women who have leadership gifts, and alienate people outside the church, when they adopt such stances. Of course, sometimes women are disempowered not by formal “stances”, but by informal cultural church practices. I’d be interested in your reflections and experiences on this.

Exiles

2009-05-16T20:17:00.001+10:00

By the rivers of Babylon
There we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion....
How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?
(Psalm 137: 1, 4. 21st Century King James Version,,, or was it Boney M?)

Psalm 137 a picture of utter disorientation. Worship in the temple is a thing of the past.

How could these Exiles be the people of God away from the temple, away from the rituals, away from the songs of worship, away from the place where the presence of God was promised to dwell? Should they forget the LORD and simply dissolve into the world of the Babylonians? Was it all too hard? How could they be the people of God in a strange place?

Of course, something profound happened among God’s people in the exile to Babylon. Over time they discovered a new way to be the people of God away from Jerusalem, away from the ruined temple, and outside of the sacrificial system of temple worship. The formation of the synagogue system, that have in one form or another has kept Judaism alive for millennia, occurred in the bitter crucible of the Exile experience.

There is an exile phenomenon in our midst today. Institutional churches in Australia of various stripes have a huge “back door”... the statistics tell a story of a massive drift from churches to... who knows where?

Anecdotally, this drift is for a whole host of reasons. Some people leave for very positive reasons... a sense of call to operate in organic missional forms of Christian gatherings... informal groups that fly under the statistical radar.

Some drift from church because of relocation for work or study reasons. Some drift slowly away as priorities shift, or as unresolved doubts fester, or because of a vague but growing sense of unease about their church.

Some leave churches for far darker and traumatic reasons. “Church discipline” and excommunication, unresolved conflict, burnout, getting “frozen out”, profound disappointment, spiritual abuse, and social ostracisation for a host of reasons (too loud, too quiet, too non conformist, too single in a “family” church, too young in an old church, too old in a young church, too female in a patriarchal church, wrong sexual orientation, wrong dress sense, wrong job status... whatever).

Whatever the reason for church exile, many people leave the institutional church... but not the faith. Something of Jesus remains “under their skin”. Regardless of doubts and disappointments, they still believe following the teaching of Jesus still makes the world a better place. Regardless of a crisis of confidence in an institution, the Spirit of God continues to whisper into their hearts and minds and consciences. Despite everything, the spiritual side of their lives continues to matter. But how can they be the people of God away from the temple?

What do you think is the reason for the “Exile” phenomenon.... and what is God up to here?

Middle Wife

2009-05-13T17:10:00.000+10:00

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water20flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest.. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

Strategic Incompetence

2009-04-30T18:03:00.003+10:00

It can be quite useful to be bad at something.

Some men excel at the art of "strategic incompetence". They find that if they cook a completely inedible meal, or generate 50 pots of washing up in the process of preparing a meal, they are not asked to do it again. They are unable to see the grease (and bits of melted cheese) still stuck to the plates after their "washing up" efforts, thus find themselves excused from further duties. Their attempts at washing clothes render all the whites pink and all the woollens downsized, and they find themselves exempt from future laundry duties.

Whether such incompetence is innocent or deliberate, the result is the same... their time is freed up for other activities.

It is actually impossible to be good at everything, and our weaknesses are usually the flip side of our strengths. There has been research that suggests those who are outstanding in a field are not "well balanced" people... in order to excel in one area, other areas of their life have been neglected.

People are perhaps best off concentrating on their areas of strength. In ministry, focusing the bulk of one's time on the things that are aligned with one's spiritual gifts, natural talents and deep heart passions are likely to be fruitful... spending the bulk of one's time in areas that are outside of these is likely to be taxing and less productive.

Now, I'm not suggesting one should shirk responsibilities or avoid all unpleasant tasks... discipline is an essential ingredient to a fruitful life. God sometimes calls us to tasks that are displeasing to our natural selves, but are very pleasing to Christ.

I believe however, more often than not, God delights in round pegs in round holes and square pegs in square holes... in lives that have considerable focus on vocation, on primary calling, on natural strengths and primary spiritual gifts.

The "shape" of the various "holes" where people fit best can be incredibly diverse. My sister has an absolute love of administrative tasks... her idea of delightful recreation is to go somewhere alone and do paper work. .

I on the other hand, have the anti-administration gift. If your intention was to make me stressed, bored, or miserable (or all three similtaneously), force me to spend the bulk of my time in routine, attention to detail administrative tasks. I'm simply not good at them.

The fortnight before I ran a women's conference earlier this year, the admin. support person left our office. It took another week to employ a temporary administrator, leaving the week that conference RSVP's were due without an administrator for my department. I had learned how to process registrations on the database the week before our admin support person left, which led to an incredibly stressful "registration" week. At precisely the "crunch time" when I needed to be contacting speakers, worship leaders, and volunteers for various conference tasks, my time was sucked into processing registrations. I recall muttering to myself I would have been far, far better off not knowing how to do this, as my stress levels spiralled to dizzy heights. If I had remained "incompetent" in relation to the database, the women ringing in wanting to register for the conference would have become the organisation's problem, not my problem.

Well I did survive the experience, and it may have been good for my character. But this certainly reminded me that it's perfectly alright not to know things. I was once taught how to do a car service... but I'm content to have forgotten this skill and to provide employment to someone who actually likes tinkering under an engine. I'm content not to have a doctorate in geophysics, or engineering qualifications (one engineer in the family is well and truly enough!) or expertise in futures trading or an understanding of how computer programing works. (although I'd like to be a little better at remembering where I've left my keys...)

So is ignorance bliss? Are weaknesses a blessing in disguise, helping us to focus on other more fruitful areas for our lives? Is "strategic incompetence" sometimes a valid strategy for life and work? I'm interested in your views!!!

Position, Position, Positions.

2009-04-27T09:03:00.003+10:00

I received an email yesterday enquiring about the position of Churches of Christ in relation to women as senior ministers. I thought this was an interesting question, so I've posted below an edited version of my email response:

Churches of Christ do not generally have "positions" on anything outside of the absolute core Christian beliefs, because of an historical commitment to the independence of local churches, and because they value liberty of conscience of individuals. Choices about who may or who may not be invited to take on a ministry position therefore become the decision of the eldership of a local church, elected by the church membership.

As a movement overall, however, Churches of Christ ordain women in ministry under the expectation that all who follow Christ are "ministers", and that there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus.

In the traditional view of Churches of Christ, a team of elders are the "head" of the local church. Paid ministers operate under the authority of the elders, as a minister set aside to help equip the other "ministers" of the church (ie all the members). Because of this view of headship, the concern expressed in conservative Anglicanism that women cannot exercise "headship" is immediately negated. A senior minister is not the "head" of a Church of Christ... the team of elders is the "head". As such, women have been employed as ministers in Australian Churches of Christ for a long time... since the 1930's.

If a local church accepts the validity of women in ministry in general, then there is no logical reason that women could not take on senior ministry positions under the oversight of the eldership. (As is the case for male ministers)

One of the pluses of my currently being tortured with studying ancient Greek, is receiving fresh insight into what the scriptures mean in their original language. I've found it interesting to note that the word used in the passage "Christ is head of the church... man/husband is head of the woman/wife" means physical head... it has no implications of "boss". In English we use the word "head" to mean chief... head master, head prefect, faculty head etc.... position is implied. However, where head is used analogously at all in Greek, is means source... think "headwaters".

Because we think of this passage in analogous rather than literal terms, it would be better to translate it as "the husband is the source of the wife and Christ is the source of the church". It is a metaphor of total interdependence, not a metaphor of authority.

So on this point I disagree with our Sydney Anglican friends who do a great big carry on about "male headship". They'd be better off talking about "male source-ship"... which has no power implications.

Anyway... personally I have no objection whatsoever to women as senior ministers for a whole host of reasons. However, a senior minister needs to have the right gifts for the job, regardless of their gender.

One of the lovely and complex things about Churches of Christ is that all members are at perfect liberty to disagree with me according to their own conscience on matters that are not essential to salvation.... and this is one of those issues. Sorry to give such a complicated answer... it would be easier just to have a Pope to make pronouncements, wouldn't it?

In the Beginning

2009-03-26T22:02:00.002+11:00

Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created human beings in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 1 is an extraordinarily rich passage, subtly introducing a number of key themes that emerge throughout the bible. In the extraordinary phrase “let us”, we see the earliest hint of the God revealed in Christ and through the Spirit... as a God whose very nature is relationship. The Christian view of God as Trinity, three persons in eternal relationship, is gently evoked by the remarkable phrase: “Let US make human beings”.

The idea that human beings are unique and incredibly precious is revealed by the extraordinary words: “Let us make human beings in our image”. Unlike all the other creatures, we humans are godlike. We bear the image of the invisible God. All Christian ethics emerge from the recognition that each person is of incredible value... image bearers of our Creator. To love God is to love others, just as we honour the children of the people we love.

Another extraordinary idea is that the image of God is “male and female”. The God whose very nature is eternal, loving relationship, has created us for relationship. We are somehow incomplete alone... indeed, there is at least an urban myth that babies who are fed but never held and loved simply die.

There is something holy about relationship... and about masculinity and femininity. Just as the Father, Son and Spirit complement one another, so males and females complement each other. This is an incredible mystery, complicated by sin and selfishness and misunderstanding and abuse of power... but still something of the goodness and glory of God is shown in a man and woman who truly love one another.

It seems to me a good start in gender relations is that terribly old-fashioned word “honour.” It’s a scarce commodity in a fallen world. Appalling jokes about the genders abound, and the pendulum has perhaps swung so far that some “stupid male” jokes have become even harsher than blonde jokes, mother in law jokes, etc. etc. I’ve been guilty of this at times too (well, some of them ARE funny). But behind the humour is a lack of respect, a lack of reverence for those God has created, a lack of honour for the Other made in the image of God. Dishonour spreads its unhealthy tentac les everywhere... dysfunctional relationships based on unequal and unfair power dynamics are not uncommon. On a far more serious level, domestic violence and sexual assault are huge issues in our society... an extreme form of dishonour for another.

Behind patriarchal oppression, behind abuse, behind unhealthy fighting, behind violence, behind “stupid man” jokes and “dumb blonde” jokes... there is always a lack of respect somewhere. A failure to love, a failure to honour, a failure to treasure the gift that is another.

We could do worse than to reflect on this passage, remembering that “male and female” together reflect the image of God.

Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained

2009-03-22T13:07:00.004+11:00

Churches of Christ are fairly laissez-faire around the issue of ordination... many of our paid ministers are not ordained, and the Church of Christ view around ordination is very different from that of many other traditions. The belief that all Christians are "ministers", but that some people may be set aside from secular work in order to equip all the other "ministers" in Christian service, is one of the key ideas in our movement. Gender is pretty much irrelevant in this view of paid (and/or ordained) ministry.

For some of our brothers and sisters in other denominations, ordination has very different implications... and gender is one of the important criteria involved in who may (or may not) be ordained.

Circulating around cyberspace is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek argument about the importance of gender in ordination to Christian ministry:

Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained:

10. A man's place is in the army.

9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.

8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work.

7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.

5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.

4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.

1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.

What do you think of this view?

Changing the World

2009-03-20T14:18:00.002+11:00

This website says it all...

http://www.girleffect.org/#/splash/

Shine

2009-03-12T22:14:00.002+11:00

You may have noticed on my profile the statement: “I love to encourage women to do whatever makes them ‘fully alive’.”(Or men, for that matter... but my primary focus is women’s ministry!)

By “fully alive” I don’t mean thrills for thrills’ sake... I mean the deeper joy of stepping into vocation... of making a difference in the world in one’s own unique, God-given shape.

I heard the following reading at church recently, and thought I’d quote it here, because it captures poetically something of the beauty of a person who is living “fully alive”:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

(A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.)

I’d be interested in your reflections on this one!

Happy International Women's Day

2009-03-08T15:41:00.002+11:00

It's no great secret that the education and empowerment of women is absolutely critical in the struggle against world poverty. Women's education rates are key to lowering birthrates in developing countries... an important step in avoiding environmental catastrophe and resultant hunger. The greater the education of women, on average, the higher their income. In comparison to men, women spend a far higher proportion of their income on their children. The health and education of future generations can best be achieved by educating women, and by empowering them through "microeconomic" schemes.

So today I would like to applaud the Obama administration for establishing a global women's post. (see http://www.theage.com.au/world/obama-creates-post-to-tackle-global-womens-issues-20090307-8rwk.html) This can only be a step in the right direction for human rights and human wellbeing across the planet.

The Obama administration... like governments all across the globe... face an enormous challenge in the face of an almost unprecedented global economic downturn. I don't believe anyone really knows the way to clean up this financial mess... although governments across the globe are spending money furiously to soften the blow. Whether this works or not remains to be seen. It is an important challenge for the developed world to remember the plight of the desperately poor, while attempting to placate voters disaffected by unemployment and collapsed superannuation and investments.

This women's post is a step in the right direction, in a time where it's easy to be tempted to only consider internal issues, rather than the good of all around the earth. Regardless of whether one's political views lean to the right or the left, I believe this is an initiative to be applauded... a small step in the direction of shalom.

Peace to you this women's day.

In praise of quiet goodness

2009-03-04T05:19:00.002+11:00

I was privileged to preach at a small church the week after the terrible bushfires that claimed so many lives, and destroyed so many homes and farms and workplaces. It was a beautiful morning service, full of the prayers and rituals and times of sharing that are so important to people processing real (and vicarious) grief. This small community was involved in running one of the official bushfire relief centres, so they had been working their proverbial backsides off all week processing and packing and forwarding on the outpouring of gracious gifts of the community to those left homeless by the fires. Beverley, who led the service, commented afterward that she hadn’t had a proper meal all week, as she had been pretty much working at the centre from dawn to dusk.

I sat next to June, an older lady who led the communion time. Her husband had been in hospital all that week, and she herself had recently had a hip replacement. (She was a little unsteady on her feet). Her homemade preserves had been so well received at one of the relief centres her name had been mentioned on 774 (the emergency services radio station most of Victoria spent the week listening to religiously). Despite her own troubles, after hearing the appreciation of her wares she then set to making another batch of homemade tomato sauce for the bushfire effort. She reminded me somehow of the woman who anointed Jesus prior to his death, praised because “she did what she could” (Mark 14:8).

I had been invited to preach because their own minister was coordinating the Victorian Council of Churches chaplains in one of the fire areas... a wonderful ministry of kindness and presence beautifully described in Mark Reisson’s blog here. http://markriessen.blogspot.com/2009/02/postcard-from-bushfire-zone.html
The team leader from my church also spent a week with the fire victims, simply being a listening ear to those who had lost so much, who had suffered trauma, and who needed to process their story with someone.

Around Australia, hundreds of churches were doing their part to support those impacted by the fires... my own church hall became a sea of toys and blankets when the call came out from one of our contacts at a relief centre that this was really needed... blankets for obvious reasons, and toys because traumatised young children had nothing to do. The church was also open for prayer and for listening... and used of course for the services and rituals that can be so important for people dealing with grief and trauma.

Of course, this outpouring of goodness and kindness and generosity wasn’t just happening within churches... a taste of the kingdom of God about which Jesus spoke was evident in the wider community in spades. But I am reminded that a huge volunteer “workforce” operates day after day in our churches... ordinary people doing their bit for the community with no thought for themselves. The church I had preached at would go on running their community centre and op shop and counselling centre long after the immediate crisis had been forgotten.

There is a perception that floats around that is cynical about churches... you might listen to some people and conclude that churches are nothing but gatherings of self-righteous hypocrites, looking down on others but doing nothing to help anyone. Well... there are dysfunctional churches out there, just as there are dysfunctional families and workplaces and clubs etc. But as a person working in a denominational office, this is not what I mostly see. What I mostly see are communities of goodness. Perhaps God’s best-kept secret... little communities who are pockets of kindness toward the lonely and the troubled and the sick and the poor... communities who touch lives around them and around the globe through generous giving.

This post is written in praise of this army of unsung heroes. Like yeast, they are mostly invisible... yet like yeast, they make a big difference to the bread. The world is a different, better, lighter and softer place because of you.

The Name Blame Game

2009-03-01T14:27:00.002+11:00

Sometimes parents take insufficient thought and care when naming their new bundle of joy...

I think this post is best read out loud...

Stan Still, 76, said his name 'has been a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life', Mr Still, a former RAF man from Cirencester, Gloucestershire, told the Daily Mail newspaper in the UK: "When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout, "Stan Still, get a move on" and roll about laughing. It got hugely boring after a while."

Doug Hole didn't want to talk about his, and Will Power was just grateful he had always been known as Bill.

Imagine trying to lead a normal life being named Justin Case, Barb Dwyer, Mary Christmas, Paige Turner, Jo King, Lee King, Anna Sasin and Barry Cade.

Thank your lucky stars you're not called Rose Bush, Pearl Button or Hazel Nutt, who also make the list of The Most Unfortunate Names in Britain.

A search taking in the US turned up Bill Board, Annette Curtain, Carrie Oakey and Anna Prentice.

(Posted with thanks to http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25107613-5012895,00.html)

Pregnancy Advice

2009-02-24T12:17:00.001+11:00

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q : I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes university.

Q : What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's
borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q : My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but
pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a cyclone might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q : Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is
in labor?
A: Not unless the word 'child support payment' means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q : Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's nappy very quickly

Q : Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act
normal again?
A: When the kids are in university.

New Website

2009-02-23T21:01:00.002+11:00

Most people who work in Christian organisations know a thing or two about tight (or non-existent) budgets. One learns to make do... sneaking down to Community Care to borrow a glue stick, promoting events by email to save on stamps, budgeting events to break even (and praying like mad enough people will register so this can happen.) Etc. etc.

Shocking though this may sound, gentle reader, I have moaned for some years about not having money to develop a website (although only in a terribly gracious, charitable and Christian kind of way, of course!) Well, over the past week my wondrous boss Martin has just whipped one up on his laptop!

He keeps threatening to turn it all pink and girly when I give him cheek, which is most of the time. So if it has a sudden change of hue, you'll know I've pushed the boundaries with Martin just a little bit too far.

So here (drum roll) is "Mark One" of a women's ministry site for Churches of Christ Vic/Tas. Any feedback or comments about this are welcome.

http://web.me.com/therevhead/M%26M_Temp_08/Womens_Ministry.html

Conference Countdown

2009-02-19T19:11:00.002+11:00

As unruffled and efficient as I may be (ahem), it is with some alarm I note that I will be running / MCing a major conference in just over 3 weeks.

Arrgghhh. (That's a cyber scream. Though in cyberspace, no one can hear you scream... Or was that real space?)

Anyway, if you could spare a prayer for me, the speakers, the organising team, and a spare prayer of blessing for those who attend, that would be greatly appreciated.

http://cofcaustralia.org/cofc-cms/images/stories/CofCVicTas/coc%20refresh%20dl%20web.pdf?PHPSESSID=eca047d7f2d06c01ecb01144aeb5e6ab

Too hot to handle

2009-02-17T03:08:00.002+11:00

I am amazed. No, really.

My comment on Danny Nalliah’s blog (see previous post) has been rejected. Apparently, it’s ok to have his comments described as: “disgusting” and as “blatant opportunism”. But describing his exegesis as “sloppy” is apparently a comment too hot to handle.

I don’t think I’ve said anything too radical (although perhaps I had a bit of a “tone” in my comments... I was a little ticked off when writing).

I was trying to make a simple point, really. The first testament describes a covenant between Yahweh and a people (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), promising them the land of Israel. If the Jewish people obeyed the laws given to Moses, they would have peace and prosperity in this land. God promised his presence in the temple in Jerusalem, and if his people had been unfaithful, God would always hear them as they repented and prayed in this temple.

The New Testament describes a new covenant, where all who follow the way of Jesus become God’s people, regardless of their race. This is not an earthly kingdom relating to a particular land, but to a kingdom “not of this world”. Jesus’ followers were warned of the dangers of worldly riches, but encouraged to “store up treasure in heaven”. This was not a covenant about following the law, but about grace and freedom and forgiveness. This was not a covenant with one race of people, but a covenant open to people of “every tribe and tongue”. This was not a covenant centred on a temple, but on a people filled with the Spirit of God.

This is nothing too controversial. In fact, every bible I’ve ever seen names an “Old Testament” and a “New Testament”. There are some Christian movements that seem to think the Old Testament covenant directly applies to Australia. (Or to America. More often, America, come to think of it.) I’ve seen a bit of “claiming the promises” of the Old Testament, which often is an exercise in biblical misinterpretation. (“I claim prosperity” “I claim rain” “I claim health” etc.) I’m not convinced promises in the covenant related to Yahweh and the Jews and the land of Israel in the Old Testament era can be “claimed” by Christians.

I’m not saying we should not pray for our country... the scriptures encourage us to pray about everything! I’m only saying we should exercise a little caution before we pluck a verse out of an Old Testament covenant and “claim” it.

Oh, and another thing (while I’m on a roll). The people of Israel in the Old Testament had righteous laws, but they frequently angered Yahweh, because they did not obey them! I’m not convinced God is as angered by our laws, as much as by our actions. (In a democracy, we actually should expect our laws to reflect our values... values which do of course fall short of God’s standards)

There seems to me to be very little difference between Christian fundamentalists who focus their attention on the laws of a country, and Muslim fundamentalists who campaign for “shariah” law for their countries. In both these cases, the focus is on imposing morality by force of law, rather than encouraging moral behaviour that emerges from the heart. When laws do not reflect the values of a people, these are usually secretly flouted anyway. Think of the illegal alcohol industry in the prohibition era in America, or the terrible backyard abortions prior to law reform allowing abortion on medical or mental health grounds, or the unreported violence against women and high levels of STD’s when all prostitution was illegal and unregulated. Now I do not “approve” of alcoholism, abortion, or prostitution... I think they are all terrible. But I can see a place for laws that focus on “harm minimization”, recognising we live in a fallen world (eg’s not serving alcohol to minors, prohibiting drink driving, allowing abortion in some circumstances, regular STD checks in brothels). Far better to pray for revival, for a world where no one feel the need to drink themselves into a stupor, for a world where no mother feels so desperate they would consider terminating a pregnancy, where sex is esteemed as a sacred part of a covenantal relationship and not viewed a commodity, where God was revered and godly values were embraced... than to pray for laws to be imposed on an unwilling populace.

Well, that’s probably a long enough rant. Perhaps someone out there can help me understand why describing someone’s comments as “disgusting” is a less offensive than describing the difference between the Old and the New covenants. I don’t understand this, frankly... but there’s many things I just don’t understand.

Raging Hot

2009-02-13T13:57:00.003+11:00

The bushfires raging around Victoria have created a most sobering week... more than 1800 homes lost, more than 180 people dead, thousands of people with traumatic near misses from the fire. It has highlighted to me what an interlinked community we have in Victoria... everyone I speak with knows someone, or knows someone who knows someone, who has been deeply affected by these fires. Even as I write now I can smell smoke and see the reddish-gold smoke-tinted sunlight as fires continue to blaze in the hills.

Amidst all the trauma and sadness and heroism and kindness and generosity, there has been a voice of gross insensitivity noted in the newspapers. Danny Nalliah, a Christian pastor known for "Catch the Fire Ministries", has publicly claimed that the bushfires are a direct result of God removing his protection from Australia in general and Victoria in particular because of our recently modified abortion laws.

One wonders the cause of the 80's Ash Wednesday and the 30's Black Friday fires according to this particular piece of logic. Danny biblical justification for his claim is a verse in II Chronicles 7:14, where Yahweh speaks to Solomon at the time of the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem.

I'll confess to the following rant on the "Catch the Fire" blog... see http://catchthefire.com.au/blog/2009/02/11/sydney-morning-article-re-media-release/#more-2220

My comment is awaiting moderation... well, we'll see...

Janet's comment:

I am really concerned about such (frankly) sloppy interpretation of scripture… we need much better from our Christian leaders, especially if they are going to speak on God’s behalf to the general public.

You have not included the context of the verse when quoting this, which is part of God’s covenant to Solomon in relation to the temple:

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered IN THIS PLACE. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

As Christians, we are under a new covenant… in a kingdom not of this world. To quote the covenant that related specifically to the temple, and to the Jewish people, and to the physical land of Israel, and claim that this definitely applies to non-Christian, Australian parliamentarians and the physical state of Victoria, to me is a breathtaking leap. I do not know where Danny studied exegesis, but it is a discipline that is well respected across Christian churches. The very first step of biblical interpretation is read the surrounding context… I think this is why his claims are being rejected outright not only by “secular” people, but by church leaders of virtually every denomination I can think of.

I think this statement will marginalise Catch the Fire Ministries from many Christians who might otherwise support it, and who are also grieved by abortion laws. A great shame.

Limits, Capacities, Vocation, and Other “Thingies”

2009-02-06T20:01:00.001+11:00

While I might George W Bush a teeny weeny bit harshly for things like... oh, failure to regulate bank lending leading to global economic chaos, torture, prolonged detention of suspects without trial, and a trumped up war (have you seen Google earth lately... where did they hide those weapons of mass destruction again?), I honestly don’t judge him too harshly for saying dumb things when he steps aside from an autocue. (See previous post). The Lord alone knows how many dumb things I’ve said in my time... especially since the acquired brain injury of pregnancy. (I keep waiting for my brain to recover, but am close to giving up hope on that score).

Last year at the supermarket deli, I asked for 5 honey soy and 5 satay kebabs. “Do you mind if they’re in the one packet?” the attendant enquired.

“No, I don’t want them mixed together...” (thinking the sauces would cross-pollinate, so to speak). Then I noticed they were already in two separate plastic bags. “Oh, I don’t mind if they’re in the same... white thing”.

Pause.

“That would be paper... but since I’ve turned 40 I’ve lost the power to recollect words”.

“That’s all right love. I’m over 50, and it gets even worse.” The kindly attendant replied with a smile. (Kind, although not entirely encouraging on my prospects for memory improvement).

There’s something a little tragic about a mature woman with post graduate qualifications and an above average vocabulary (moi) unable to recall the correct word for paper. I also seem unable to recollect names with embarrassing frequency (an appalling social handicap). There’s something disconcerting about having a high ability to do strategic, big picture, creative thinking, but a terrible difficulty with seemingly simple tasks... like finding keys, or keeping things tidy, or remembering appointments.

However, I’m currently reading “Let Your Life Speak”... a short but wonderfully rich book by Parker J Palmer on the topic of vocation. He writes these encouraging words:

“The God I know does not ask us to conform to some abstract norm for the ideal self. God asks us only to honour our created nature, which means our limits as well as potentials. When we fail to do so, reality happens – God happens – and the way closes behind us....

“The God whom I know dwells quietly in the root system of the very nature of things. This is the God who, when asked by Moses for a name, responded ‘I Am who I Am’ (Exodus 3:14), an answer that has less to do with the moral rules for which Moses made God famous, than with elemental ‘isness’ and selfhood. If, as I believe, we are all made in God’s image, we could all give the same answer when asked who we are: ‘I Am who I Am’. One dwells with God by being faithful to one’s nature. One crosses God by trying to be something that one is not. Reality – including one’s own – is divine, not to be defied but honoured.” (pages 50 – 51)

God does not berate me for my moments of verbal ineptitude, my vagueness, or my failure to find things. They are part of who I am, and are probably the flip side of my capacity to “think large”.

So I write this post in praise of thingies, whatsits, thingumygigs and white things... generic words that probably save space in my brain for higher duties. And even if that is just an appalling excuse for my many vague moments, vague moments are part of who I am. I think it’s time I accepted myself warts and all... just as my loving Father in heaven does.

Farewell to George W Bush

2009-01-30T00:10:00.002+11:00

Strangely enough, I think we'll all miss these kinds of statements now an erudite president has taken office in the US...

'The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.'
- George W. Bush

'If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.'
- George W. Bush

'One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'.'
-George W. Bush

'I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.'
- George W. Bush

'The future will be better tomorrow.'
- George W. Bush

'We're going to have the best educated American people in the world.'
- George W. Bush

'I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.'
- George W Bush

'We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe . We are a part of Europe '
- George W. Bush

'Public speaking is very easy.'
- George W. Bush

'A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.'
- George W. Bush

'I have opinions of my own -- strong opinions -- but I don't always agree with them.'
-George Bush

'We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.'
- George W. Bush

'For NASA, space is still a high priority.'
-George W. Bush

'Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.'
-George W. Bush

'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.'
- George W. Bush

Christmas Wishes

2008-12-12T14:22:00.001+11:00

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mum all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of choc bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the wash room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any colour, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the lolly aisle in the supermarket.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mummy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare tomato sauce a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the wash room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip around Australia, and remember to leave your dirty boots by the door, and, come in, keep cool and drink lots of water (less of the wine - so you don't become dehydrated or sleepy!).

Help yourself to biscuits on the table but don't eat too many, or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MUM...!

P.S. One more thing... You can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children happy, healthy and always believing.

A Politically Correct Christmas Poem

2008-12-04T12:40:00.003+11:00

Twas the night before Christmas and Santa's a wreck...
How to live in a world that's politically correct?
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves",
"Vertically Challenged" they were calling themselves.
And labor conditions at the North Pole,
were alleged by the union, to stifle the soul.
Four reindeer had vanished without much propriety,
released to the wilds, by the Humane Society.
And equal employment had made it quite clear,
that Santa had better not use just reindeer.
So Dancer and Donner, Comet and Cupid,
were replaced with 4 pigs, and you know that looked stupid!
The runners had been removed from his beautiful sleigh,
because the ruts were deemed dangerous by the RTA,
And millions of people were calling the cops,
when they heard sled noises upon their roof tops.
Second-hand smoke from his pipe had his workers quite frightened,
And his fur trimmed red suit was called "unenlightened".
To show you the strangeness of today's ebbs and flows,
Rudolf was suing over unauthorised use of his nose.
He went to Kevin Rudd, in front of the Nation,
Demanding millions in over-due workers compensation.
So...half of the reindeer were gone, and his wife
Who suddenly said she'd had enough of this life,
Joined a self help group, packed and left in a whiz,
Demanding from now on that her title was Ms.
And as for gifts...why, he'd never had the notion
that making a choice could cause such commotion.
Nothing of leather, nothing of fur...
Which meant nothing for him or nothing for her.
Nothing that clamored or made lots of noise.
Nothing for just girls and nothing for just boys.
Nothing that claimed to be gender specific,
Nothing that's warlike or non-pacifistic.
No lollies or sweets...they were bad for the tooth.
Nothing that seemed to embellish upon the truth.
And fairy tales...while not yet forbidden,
Were like Ken and Barbie, better off hidden,
For they raised the hackles of those psychological,
Who claimed the only good gift was one ecological.
No cricket, no football...someone might get hurt,
Besides - playing sports exposed kids to dirt.
Dolls were said to be sexist and should be passe,
And Nintendo would rot your entire brain away.
So Santa just stood there, disheveled and perplexed,
He just couldn't figure out what to do next?
He tried to be merry, he tried to be gay,
But you have to admit he was having a bad day.
His sack was quite empty, it was flat on the ground,
Nothing fully acceptable was anywhere to be found.
Something special was needed, a gift that he might,
Give to all, without angering the left or the right.
A gift that would satisfy - with no indecision,
Each group of people in every religion.
Every tribe, every race, every hue,
Everyone, everywhere...even you!
So here is that gift, it's price beyond worth...
"MAY YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES, ENJOY PEACE ON EARTH"

The anointing of Jesus in Matthew 26

2008-11-29T22:00:00.006+11:00

In Matthew 26, a woman anoints Jesus with very expensive perfume. The disciples are outraged... what a waste! This could have been sold, and the money given to the poor. On the face of it, they have a point.

The discourse immediately prior to the anointing scene concludes with separation of the “sheep and the goats” based upon their response those in need. The disciples’ suggestion that a valuable possession should have been sold and the money given to the poor is consistent with Jesus teaching to sell possessions to lay up treasure in heaven. In this sense, the disciples are “right”.

However, the apparently noble “ideal” of care for the poor is voiced in a way that is utterly graceless toward a woman who has acted with profound generosity. They have no qualms about embarrassing the woman, for they ask (rather than think) “Why this waste?”

Ideology is always a dangerous beast. Ideology over-values “the noble Cause” and depersonalises actual humans.

Imperfect human beings are capable of turning moral ideals into legalisms. Human beings are capable of becoming self-righteous, condescending and judgmental. Commitment to an ideology can destroy respect, friendship, communion and community. In the diabolical marriage of ideology and power, ideology can drive war, terrorism, oppression and genocide; convincing many that the end justifies the means.

Jesus’ correction to his disciples reminds us that we do not follow a cause, but a Person. The woman has honoured a person, the unique Son of God, and her action is a “beautiful thing”. The gospel is always personal. We are invited to a life of love, not a life of legalism.

Jesus notes that the woman’s deed which “will be told in memory of her... wherever this gospel in preached throughout the world”. Interestingly however, her name is not revealed. It is possible to be miffed on behalf of womankind that the name of this wonderful woman of faith has been lost to the Christian community. However, a feminist who wails at the omission of the woman’s name and bemoans the patriarchal author’s minimization of her leadership has failed to grasp a key theme of the gospel. We are all called to die to ourselves; to die to the desire for recognition; to die to the way of power; and to live in humble service for Christ. The frustrated desire for recognition can lead to bitterness in the soul. No such hunger for recognition was present in the woman who anointed Jesus.

The anointing of Jesus with expensive perfume was an utterly selfless, sacrificial act of love. The focus of the woman was not upon her own deed of goodness, but upon Jesus himself. In this sense, her anonymity is entirely appropriate. The focus of the gospel is the one whose body was broken and blood was shed “for many for the forgiveness of sins”. (26:28) Jesus is central to the Christian faith. Matthew’s account of the anointing keeps him emphatically in that place.

This account remains relevant for Christian women today. The feminist movement legitimately seeks to right historical wrongs against women. However, ideologically driven impulses contain inherent dangers. Countering the ungodly desire for power, prestige and recognition by some men by stirring up an ungodly desire for power, prestige and recognition in women is a spiritual dead-end. This is analogous to the “Christian freedom fighter” who takes up weapons for a “Christian” cause. However, the “Christian” begins to look indistinguishable from the oppressor, and can become as much an agent of terror as their enemy. Like the pigs in “Animal Farm”, it is possible to transform into the very image of the enemy. We tend to become like the very thing that captures the focus of our heart, for good or for ill.

When we focus upon the Cause, we elevate ideology above humanity. When we focus upon the Enemy, we can become like them. When we focus upon the Person of Christ, we are transformed into his wonderful likeness.

We need to balance this call to humility with the awareness that there is a time and a place for godly confrontation of injustice. Jesus did not shirk from speaking the truth bluntly when the situation called for it. We too need to hold in tension the call to die to self, with the ability to recognise the prophetic moment when love must be tougher than steel. This tension is dangerous ground. When an awareness of injustice intersects with ego, pride, anger, bitterness and poor self-awareness, confrontation can produce more harm than good. I have heard of incidents where alleged chauvinist behaviour has provoked a hostile, unchrist-like and alienating verbal assault by a woman, when a gentle conversation may have changed an attitude, engendered respect and won a heart.

Christians throughout the ages who hear this story retold “wherever this gospel is preached” can be challenged by the extraordinary generosity, sacrifice, love, service and humility of the unnamed woman. Her focus is not on herself, but on Jesus. This is how it should be for all who follow the One who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)

Miracles, medicine and mysteries

2008-11-08T13:52:00.003+11:00

Earlier this year, my mother was diagnosed with a 5cm uterine tumour. She was then sent from the local clinic to Peter McCallum hospital in Melbourne for further tests and surgery.

Being my mother (who has had skin cancers disappear and blocked arteries cleared by the power of prayer in the past) she set about to pray. Sure enough, by the time her second appointment came around, there was no trace of anything.

The specialist at the follow-up appointment was informed that Mum and her friends had prayed. He just kept looking at the two sets of scans dumbfounded, shaking his head and saying "I've never seen anything like it".

It appears to be a true miracle.

I was so relieved my mum is OK. But I was left with a deep pang within. Why did my mother in her 80's receieve a miraculous healing, while my sister in her early 50's watched the slow progress of supposedly untreatable cancer through her bones? Why are a few graced with a miracle, but many others only graced with perserverance? These are very difficult questions to answer.

Well, the recent news for my sister is far more promising... the doctors have trialled a fairly new drug, and it appears to be working well with minimal side effects. It is possible the cancer will be managed after all... not by God's miracle, but perhaps by God-given wisdom granted to scientists and doctors. Either way a mercy.

The way my sister has managed her (initially dismal) diagnosis has been a miracle to me. She has been accepting, she has lived life to the full, she has trusted her true home is in heaven with God, she has been grateful she has lived to this point after facing breast cancer 10 years earlier, she has prayed for courage to face the pain ahead of her. She has faced a dismal diagnosis with such dignity she is an impressive advocate for faith. Sometimes grace is granted in the midst of difficulty, when we would of course prefer the grace that removes difficulty.

This account opens up so many questions, and brings us to the threshold of mystery. Why do some suffer? Why are some healed... but not others? How much of the task of redemption of creation is left in the hands of humankind (including the research scientists of this world) and how much is left in the hands of God?

There are no easy answers. But I am deeply moved by the grace that has come to my family this year, one way or the other.

The Moral Minefield

2008-10-23T11:44:00.002+11:00

Exodus 21: 22 "When there's a fight and in the fight a pregnant woman is hit so that she miscarries but is not otherwise hurt, the one responsible has to pay whatever the husband demands in compensation.” (The Message)

I must confess I’m one of those odd Christians who reads the Old Testament. Actually, I’m one of those really odd Christians who likes to read through the bible. All of it (except maybe for some of those genealogies... that’s a bit of a stretch. I don’t think skimming over those bits should be regarded as cheating).

I have been reminded of this passage over the past couple of days as debate has raged over the U.S. election on Alan Hirsch’s blog, a fascinating glimpse into the passionate and divisive world of American politics. I’ve been reminded of this passage because it is the closest thing to an abortion in the biblical record. (ripping babies out of the wombs of mothers would cause the death of mothers in a world without surgery or antibiotics, so I don’t think those passages count).

Alan noted that most of the world seems to be hoping for a Democrat victory. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq (and subsequent political and military complications) seem to have alienated the entire Muslim world, and much of the Western world. Knowledge of and failure to regulate appalling bank lending practices is tipping the entire world into recession (for when the economic giant quakes the whole world trembles). This has alienated the “right” of the Western world (and it’s no mean feat to alienate both left and right so spectacularly in one term of government). Apparent approval of forms of torture from high levels of the administration; military contracts awarded to Cheney’s cronies and subsequent suspicion of nepotism; rhetoric like “axis of evil”, “great satan”, etc. that have fed into the alqaeda propaganda machine... these have not been high points in America’s standing in the international community. (In fact, the only international body I can think of calling for a Republican victory appears to be alqaeda itself... http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5096057/alqaedalinked-website-backs-mccain although I can’t claim exhaustive research, or vouch for the veracity of this report!)

But none of this perception matters enough for large numbers of U.S. voters... because McCain is pro-life and Obama is pro-choice. The murder of innocent babies is the most pressing issue of the day... the standing of America in the global community is a secondary issue. I fully understand this view... and if abortion is murder, I endorse this view too.

But is abortion actually murder?

It is certainly the taking of human life. So you may think I’m being cute to question whether the taking of human life is murder. But we are all aware of situations where the context requires the equation taking life = murder breaks down.

A soldier who kills an enemy soldier has not committed murder. A nurse who gives an agonised dying patient a high dose of morphine might kill the patient, but she is not considered a murderer. A driver who runs over and kills a pedestrian has killed someone, but depending on context, this may be an accident, or it may be that negligence was involved... but they are not considered a murderer. A prison guard who kills a condemned prisoner under a court order has not murdered. A constable who shoots and kills in self-defence is not a murderer. And so on. Context matters. We all accept this.

Now I find abortion terrible... but I do not think it is always murder. What if an abortion is performed on a child with a non-viable medical condition detected by ultrasound? This does precipitate an unavoidable death... but I’m not convinced the unborn child was “murdered”. What if an abortion is performed for a mother who is deeply suicidal because of her pregnancy? What if an abortion is performed on a mother whose life is regarded at grave risk for medical reasons? Has not one life been saved, where two lives were at serious risk? The law has recognised for a significant period of time that there are some circumstances where abortion is permissible.

This reflects the vexing problem that abortion is also “more or less bad” depending on context. There are parts of India (and China) where ultrasounds are used to determine gender, and female children are aborted. I regard this as deplorable. Even in the West, abortions are sometimes performed on the basis of gender.

Where a mother regards they are completely unable to cope with having a child... where indeed, they may truly be unable to cope with a child (particularly where the thought of adoption has failed to enter their heads) abortion is more understandable. Tragic, but more understandable.

This is where the Exodus passage is interesting. The causation of a miscarriage is not treated as a murder under Mosaic law. Nor is it treated in the same way as manslaughter, so “intent” cannot be regarded as the sole cause for the difference. I think this is a difficult passage to understand, but the implication is that abortion is a bad thing... but not as bad as murder.

I’m interested in the responses of others to this. Do you think I’m right? Or wrong? My views are not “locked in stone”, so I am genuinely interested in your views and rationale.

I’m of the view that regardless of who becomes the next president of the U.S., the horse has bolted in a legal sense. Abortions will continue happen... thus high quality sex education, and good support of single mothers to minimize the chance of childhood poverty, abuse and neglect seems the most pragmatic response. But the moral issues tick away behind this... and I’m bravely inviting an exploration of these here.

A new pet

2008-10-18T11:19:00.003+11:00

This has been an expensive week in the life of Woodlock pets. Our Maltese "Bubbles" developed an infection that has required daily visits to the vet for injections. She's been a rather miserable pup... but I'm pleased to report she is returning to her rather manic self.

Meanwhile my nine-year-old has begged me to adopt a "online" pet... which sounds a considerably cheaper (if less relational) option in the pet stakes.

Well, let's just see if this works....

Japanese Banking Crisis

2008-10-12T12:22:00.003+11:00

Following the problems with Lehmann Bros and the sub-prime lending market in the USA, uncertainty has now hit Japan ..

In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up, and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived.

While Samurai Bank is soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank is reported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop, and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

Rrrrrr, me hearties

2008-09-16T13:28:00.004+10:00

This Friday is the official "International Talk Like a Pirate Day".

Our office is in training for this auspicious occasion. It can take quite a bit of practice to roll one's R'ss convincingly... as in, "Rrrrrrrr, me hearties".

My colleague in this endeavour (task, not the famous ship) has sent around some useful links for those who wish to participate in this event. I've just participated in an online survey, to discover my "pirate name" is Mad Anne Rackham. It has a certain ring to it.

You may wish to discover your own pirate name at:

http://www.piratequiz.com/

Or you can study up the glossary of pirate words at:

http://www.io.com/~sj/PirateTalk.html

However, my favourite site on land-lubbing pirates comes from the marvellous "Lark News" site:

http://larknews.com/march_2005/secondary.php?page=3.

Enjoy!

Birth Order

2008-09-06T12:40:00.004+10:00

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time,
breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month

The Baby clothes:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, colour co-ordinate them, and
fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard
only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up
the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your
firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical
swing

Dummies:

1st baby: If the dummy falls on the floor, you put it away until you can
go home and wash and sterilise it.
2nd baby: When the dummy falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some
juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Nappy changing:

1st baby: You change your baby's nappies every hour, whether they need
it or not.
2nd baby: You change their nappy every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their nappy before others start to complain
about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call
home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a
number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees
blood.

At Home:

1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older
child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins:

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the
hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for
the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his
allowance!

GRANDCHILDREN: God's reward for allowing your children to live!

Favorite Murphy's Law

2008-09-05T16:00:00.003+10:00

I had a good whinge yesterday. I know it will shock you, gentle reader (Christian leader and trainee minister that I am) that I failed to trust and praise the Lord constantly... but alas, whinge I did.

On the plus side, I whinged to a wise mentor, who shared a version of Murphy's Law I had never heard (or remembered) before:

"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence"

I found this strangely comforting.

What are YOUR favorite sayings... and why? I'd love to hear from you!

Car types / Woman types

2008-08-17T13:38:00.003+10:00

With my tongue planted in my cheek, I have begun the process of identifying various “types” of women based on their vehicles. My current list is as follows:

Ultra-feminine woman. The car smells of perfume and potpourri. There may be fringed or ruffled pillows on the back, Helen Steiner-Rice poems displayed on the dashboard, frangipani stickers on the rear windows, and a small homemade quilt as a throw or cover.

Girl-child. Car is full of stuffed toys.

Neat freak. The car is immaculate inside and out. The only bumper sticker is the one of their car dealer (unless they have had time to scrub it off).

Overwhelmed Mother. Car is a total mess. The floor at the back seat has McDonald's wrappers, mouldy apple cores, the packaging of toys that have been hastily ripped apart, discarded socks, crushed school notices, etc. Biological experiments are growing in the deeper layers, hidden under more recent child offerings.

Hyper-religious. Likely to have not only a fish sticker but a challenging message on the rear window. The interior has a warning sticker on the dashboard that the driver may disappear at any moment. The driver may launch into a discussion of the "Left Behind" series to clarify the seriousness of the warning to any hapless passengers.

Tough chick. Drives an old model V6 or V8. Has a bumper sticker from Metallica, or one they acquired when they took their children to a Crusty Demons or Monster Truck Rally. Ciggy frequently dangles out the window.

New Age spiritual woman. Crystal dangling from the rear vision mirror. Likely to have a "Magic Happens" sticker, and various incomprehensible mystic sayings on the bumper and rear windows.

Greenie/activist. Various bumper stickers advertising multiple causes... no dams, no nuclear power, save the whales, free Tibet etc. Rarely seen on the road, as the truly committed are now on their bicycles or on public transport.

Have you noticed other “types” of women’s cars? What “type” is your car? What does this say about you?

Chick Wisdom

2008-08-10T21:22:00.002+10:00

Women over 50 don't have babies because they would put them down and forget where they left them.

A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but doesn't really care.

One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.

My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.

The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.

Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today.

Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.

I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together and setting fire to my knickers.

Amazing! You hang something in your closet for a while and it shrin ks 2 sizes!

Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' ......Now I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing and then they marry him.

I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!

(Well, it's really from one of those emails that circulate around... but it is amusing!)

Sabbath rest, life balance, and all that tricky stuff

2008-07-11T08:06:00.002+10:00

If you can’t use your own blog for shameless cross-promotion, what CAN you use it for?

On the 9th of August, Jo (from the Baptist Union of Victoria) and I are organizing a conference for women, with my former boss and all-round wonderful person Lynette Leach as the keynote speaker. See:

http://cofcaustralia.org/cofc-cms/images/stories/CofCVicTas/inspire%20conference%20werribee%20registration%20form.pdf?PHPSESSID=eca047d7f2d06c01ecb01144aeb5e6ab

http://cofcaustralia.org/cofc-cms/images/stories/CofCVicTas/inspire%20women%20wyndham%20vale%20program.pdf?PHPSESSID=eca047d7f2d06c01ecb01144aeb5e6ab

The theme of the keynote is life balance… an incredibly important topic that seems to keep popping up in my world one way or another.

I was interested in Baba’s comments on the “Boundaries and Burnout” thread how she takes Sabbath seriously. She even practices the ancient command to the Israelites to leave the land fallow one year in 7 on her farm… a Sabbath rest for the land itself.

The modern, developed world mindset is that we don’t need to give the land time to replenish itself… just keep adding nitrogen, phosphorus and postassium to the soil and plants will keep growing. (although at what cost to the health of humans when our vegetables end up so deficient in other trace elements?)

The catchcry of the economic rationalists is “productivity” to generate wealth. More and more energy and effort is squeezed from fewer workers… even with the aid of technology, one would think people must reach some kind of biological and spiritual “limit”. Even the world outside work can be a “24/7” world… on average people get at least 2 hours sleep less per day than those living 100 years ago… and our sleep patterns have far less correlation with the natural rhythms of sunrise and sunset.

This “busyness” that infects our society permits less time for the things that matter most… meaningful connection with other human beings, and with God in worship. We are able to access information with incredible ease… but that does not mean we know how to access that which is deep in our souls… to understand and embrace the vocation God has uniquely wired us for… to find the wisdom to live in right relationship with our family, friends and neighbours… to hear the voice of the Spirit who gives true Life.

So how do we embrace a “Sabbath rest for the people of God?” How do you find space for that which matters most? How do you find life balance in a world that seems to have gone mad? I’d love to hear your reflections.

Noah in Australia

2008-06-30T13:24:00.002+10:00

In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in Australia, and said, 'Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans.' He gave Noah the plans, saying, 'You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the Unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.'

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark. 'Noah!' He roared , 'I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?'

'Forgive me, Lord,' begged Noah, 'but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbours claim that I've violated the neighbourhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Shire Council for a decision. Then Energy Australia demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees because the Nature Conservation authorities say it will upset the balance of the local ecological system. I tried to convince them that I needed the wood to save us all from extinction - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, the RSPCA prosecuted me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. The traffic authorities said it would take six months after completion of the ark to plan a route to the sea. I told them also that the sea would be coming to my back yard. They threatened to have me committed. Then the DPI ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until I had arranged and conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Fair Trading group on how many 'Stolen generation' persons I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. The State Government has insisted that I provide them with a list of the people who want to work so that they can check that they are not from the non designated group. UNIONS say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience. To make matters worse, ATO seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.'

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, 'You mean you're not going to destroy the world?'

'No,' said the Lord. 'The Australian Government has beaten me to it.'

I have just spent a couple of weeks attempting to find out if I it's permissable to get the floorboards polished in my laundry, so I have some sympathy for the contemporary Noah. If you'd like to share an amusing "planning" or "logistics" story, here's the place to do it!!!

I'm happy to have your prayers as I pack up enormous amounts of stuff in order to get most of the floorboards polished next week... gahh, what have I done?????

Boundaries and Burnout

2008-06-16T00:10:00.003+10:00

Finding healthy boundaries is an issue with a lot of resonance for me.

The reason this issue sets off bells ringing is because I experienced severe burnout a couple of years ago. A friendship evolved into something that was so demanding and painful that something in me finally snapped. I've now been left with the effects of post traumatic stress and anxiety. This still feels like something that is foreign to me, as I have a naturally placid temperament. (I was one of those smiling "easy" babies). I had no idea what was happening to me when my first panic attack hit... all I knew was I was shaking all over and couldn't stand up.

This experience made me realise that if burnout can happen to me (naturally laid back soul that I am!), it can happen to anyone.

This is a really difficult issue to balance as a Christian. Part of the life of discipleship is caring for others, part of the life of discipleship is going the extra mile, part of the life of discipleship is "laying down your life". Christians speak of the ideal of unconditional love; of loving others as Christ loved us. What are the boundaries around such a love? Such love took Christ all the way to the cross.

Yet there is a difference to responding to the invitation of the Holy Spirit to lay down our life in service of others, and responding to the needs, wants, demands and even manipulations of other people. Somehow in responding to the invitation of the Spirit we find life, even when this entails sacrifice. But responding to the needs, wants, demands and manipulations of other people can lead us down some dark and dangerous places. Instead of finding life, we can find our life and health being squeezed out of us. We suffer... and then find we have not been bringers of life through our suffering, but creators of unhealthy co-dependency. Only God should "play God" in the life of another.

Discerning what is an invitation of the Holy Spirit, and what is a human response to wants and needs and demands requires wisdom. We need to find a deeper life of contemplation and awareness to keep our paths straight. We may serve others not so much for love of Christ, but to make ourselves feel better, or to relieve our conscience, or to fill the ache of loneliness, or because we dare not say no, or because we dare not risk rejection from others, or because we expect ourselves to be perfect. There are 101 unhealthy ways to serve... but responding to the invitation of the Spirit is the one healthy and life-giving reason to give our life away.

There are places of weakness and vulnerability in every life. Awareness of our own points of vulnerability, and putting strategies in place to manage these, can help prevent “emotional shipwreck”. There is no substitute for a strong network of supportive relationships, intentionally working as a team in ministry with others, and strong personal accountability (supervisor, spiritual director, mentor). Healthy life rhythms (regular exercise, family time, recreation, sabbath, space for spiritual nurture, time for positive social contact) are also protective. Even with all this in place, we are not “bullet-proof”… we need to be able to take our emotional temperature from time to time, and attend to our “warning bells”. We need to be willing to display “tough love” to those who would trample on our boundaries; we need to give ourselves the gift of renewing time when our stress levels start climbing; we need most of all to listen to the Spirit who invites us to real life.

In Luke 4, Jesus heals Peter’s mother in law, engages in many acts of healing and deliverance, and has the crowds clamouring for more. We then read:

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

The rhythm of solitary space we see in Jesus’ life kept him from being at the beck and call of the crowds. Instead, Jesus kept in step with God’s Spirit: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” (John 5:19 – 20)

The demands of people did not crush our Lord: for Jesus ministry involved “doing nothing by himself” but doing what the Father was doing through the power of the Spirit.

How do you manage boundaries and life balance? Have you ever been burnt (or at least singed) from overstretching your limits? I'd be interested to hear your perspectives.

Lost and found

2008-06-01T12:47:00.005+10:00

The faciliator or a pastors' wives retreat found herself in deep water within the first few minutes together. All the women shared around the circle, introducing themselves as the wife of pastor X at church Y. The facilitator responded:

"No, no... I'm not interested in any of that. I want you to tell me about YOU... what you love doing, what your hobbies are, what kind of person you are."

A significant number of women in the room promptly burst into tears.

These were good, wonderful Christian women. They submitted to their husbands, they served in their churches, they loved God. But somewhere along the way, something had disconnected inside them. They had lost touch with something of the unique, authentic "me" that lurks within every person God has created.

Christ is the one who brings abundant life... or as this is expressed in the Message bible: "More and better life they they ever dreamed of". In relationship with God, we should become MORE of our authentic self than ever before... not less. God should stir up the unique gifts and talents placed within, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, release these gifts in joyous service of God and others.

So what is the problem here?

I suspect the problem has a lot to do with "religiousness". The religious expectations of church people may make both pastors (and their wives) feel like they have to conform to a certain stereotype. This crushes the impulse toward diversity and personal authenticity.

In some cases, legalistic submission (and warped views around this) may be a factor as well. Yes, Paul did instruct all Christians to submit to one another in Ephesians (see chapter 5), and emphasised this particularly to wives (but we have to remember that the cult of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus produced a "dominant feminine" mindset that probably required correction). The idea that submission is a one-way street can become a "new law" (rather than about grace and mutual submission in love). It is also easy to misread "head" as "boss" in English... but in the Ephesians passage the word in Greek just means "physical head". The image of the head and the body is one of utter interdependence... not of ruler and slave. Legalistic misinterpretation of Paul's directives might lead to the idea (in some women) that "what I want isn't important... what I feel isn't important... what God really wants is just that I fit in".

It is also true that the needs of small children are so intense it is easy for women to "lose themselves" in the demands of breastfeeding and nappies and soothing crying children and kinder runs... and then perhaps forget to find themselves again.

It is also true that the pace of life in the Western world has gotten rather mad... most people struggle to find "me time" in the midst of longer working hours and a 24/7 world.

So my question for today is this: What is it that brings you joy? What is it that brings you life? And what are the things that stop you from discovering (and making time to nurture) the "unique you"?

If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. Hallelujah and Amen!

Public Women's Business

2008-05-17T09:05:00.003+10:00

Well, I've been kept somewhat busy lately with events. The Churches of Christ Vic/Tas AGM and minister's retreat were held last Friday and Saturday. The "Inspire" conference for women will be held at Ballarat next weekend (see http://cofcaustralia.org/cofc-cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=118&PHPSESSID=6044b43e1c542cedd6c8b37d2026a75d for for details.) And on this Monday night I'm conducting a lecture at CCTC (Churches of Christ Theological College) on women in the church.

In preparation for this lecture, one of the things I've done in the past couple of days is tally up the statistics for women employed in local churches in ministry positions. I suspect these are a good "litmus test" of the capacity of women to exercise their gifts fully at a local church level. At the moment, 25 % of our ministry employees are women, which suggests a marked trend of improved participation. There are considerably fewer ordained women than men within our system; however, a slight majority of ministry employees are lay ministers (a growing trend in independently governed church systems, as well as an historical quirk of Churches of Christ). Where women make up a more substantial minority is as solo church ministers (16%) and as senior ministers of teams (only two women, who in both cases are joint senior ministers with their husbands). Although small numbers are involved, it is interesting that a majority of specialist worship pastors are women (6 women to one man)... I wonder if this reflects "Darlene syndrome"... ie the power of a strong role model? An encouraging statistic is that 62% of CCTC students are women.

(I should add the proviso that these statistics were tallied over a cuppa in a noisy coffee shop, as I escaped from an even noisier office undergoing renovations, so they might not be 100% accurate!!!)

What do you make of statistics like this? Does the culture of your local church encourage (or repress) the participation and leadership of women? How about for your broader denomination? What do you think are the important issues for women in church life? What are the important issues for women in society?

(I'll let you know how the conversation proceeds from Monday night...)

Might as well face it... you're addicted

2008-05-03T11:37:00.000+10:00

I spent some time last weekend reading Sharon’s online book about her son Tyler, who died as an infant... at http://my.homewithgod.com/tyler/ . I must warn you before you begin however... I’d advise arranging a snack and a thermos flask by your side before you begin. It is a story that sucked me right in... initially (I think) because my eldest son was born prematurely, weighing 2 ½ pounds... so the first part of Sharon’s story evoked all that weirdness and helplessness of having your own child in a humidicrib kept alive by the wonders of technology... and the strangeness of changing nurses and changing hospitals and changing hormones... and the empty feeling of arriving home from hospital minus a baby.

I think I was drawn in even more so, however, by the wonderful candour of Sharon’s writing... it is a raw, almost painfully honest account of grief and loss and struggle and the grace of God. Anyone who has suffered a profound loss, or a difficult relationship, or a sick child, or a prolonged hospital vigil, or a complex grieving process, will find some points of resonance in her account.

Late in the story, Sharon describes how she was drawn into the world of the internet... an addiction fuelled by the need to find solace and escape in her struggles and grief... and redeemed by a ministry of grace unique to the “wounded healers” of this world.

I confess I laughed when I read how Sharon would find herself “still in her nightie mid-morning on the internet”... for I read this at 11 am on Anzac day in my dressing gown and pyjamas. (I guess I have a problem.)

Addictions are really habits of a sort. If you do anything over and over it forms a kind of groove in the psyche. Some of these habits can be very healthy; indeed, without habits and life rhythms life becomes impossible. If every decision we make needed to be made afresh from a hundred options, we would end up impossibly stressed, and probably paralysed with indecision. Instead, much of our daily ritual happens on a form of autopilot: we shower and make a drink and get breakfast (etc., etc.) without any agonising decision-making process (in fact, we manage this even in an overtired stupor). The formation of good habits (spiritual disciplines, healthy eating, exercise, balanced rhythms of work and recreation, genuinely civil patterns of relationship) is probably one of the most important tasks of a human life. Good habits lead to spiritual, physical, relational and emotional health... they are the foundation of a fruitful life.

Just as it is possible to develop good habits so they become our natural “autopilot”, it is possible... indeed far easier... to develop bad habits as our natural “autopilot”.

We do not need to look far to see lives utterly shipwrecked by bad habits... relationships destroyed through patterns of aggression or manipulation or deceit or emotional withdrawal or jealousy or distrust... careers destroyed by laziness or dishonesty or refusal to work cooperatively... health destroyed by poor lifestyle patterns.

Genuine addictions are strongly related to habits, but they have even deeper roots. They are fuelled by a compulsion to escape: to escape from pain or grief or anxiety or boredom or emotional numbness or worry... a means to flee from discomfort of all kinds.

A couple of years ago I found myself emotionally crushed with pain and anxiety... and the internet for me was a form of escape into a different world. Looking back on some of the archives of the now dormant Signposts ( http://www.signposts.org.au/ ) reminds me just how much time I spent blogging back then. This was a world where relationships were safe. This was a world where I could switch off from my deeply painful “real world”. I think the capacity to escape (both to work, and to the cyber world) probably rescued me from clinical depression... the body can only cope with so much stress and anxiety before going into a form of “shut down”. As addictions go, it was relatively benign. As my emotional health has improved, my cyber addiction has lessened.

While all addictions create life balance problems, some are intrinsically more dangerous. Gambling addictions destroy a person financially. Sexual addictions destroy the possibility of real intimacy, ruining marriages. The most toxic addictions of all are those related to legal and illegal drugs. For in these cases, more than the “normal” psychic groove of habit, and the dysfunctional impetus of escapism are involved. Chemical dependency is a third layer of addiction, creating a bondage that is extraordinarily difficult to break. Any attempt to resist the lure of the addiction is punished by the aches of withdrawal; succumbing to the lure of the addiction is rewarded with relief and pleasure.

Replacing bad habits with good ones is a slow but necessary process toward wholeness. Where genuine addictions are involved, deep inner work must be done to resolve the discomfort that compels one toward escapism. Where physical addictions are involved, medical assistance is also helpful to help break the hold of the physical habit.

I’d be interested to hear your insights on forming healthy habits... what has helped you to do this? I’d be interested too in your thoughts on addictions and healing and wholeness... what has helped you to resolve any unhealthy habits, and the inner discomfort that drives one to escapism?

As for me, I think I might go and eat some chocolate. (“No, Janet no... don’t do it” “One piece won’t hurt... bwha, ha ha!!!”)

Vehicular Incompetence - the parable of the handbrake

2008-04-13T22:03:00.004+10:00

One of my tasks on Wednesday night was to drive Sally Morgenthaller to her hotel after a women's dessert and coffee night. I had borrowed by husband's work car in order to chauffeur the important international guest. Apart from this being a much nicer vehicle, a recent altercation with another car has left me unable to open the passenger front door of my own car... and I didn't think putting Sally in the back seat was a good look.

But after I had loaded up Sally and her luggage, I realised something was wrong with the car. It shuddered, it lacked power, and my first thought was "Oh... something's wrong with the fuel or exhaust system." I drove some distance, but thought I'd better return to the church car park lest we have a breakdown somewhere in transit. Fortunately, I quickly found a volunteer who was happy to drive Sally to her hotel... a young woman in ministry who seemed quite pleased to be able to chat with Sally further. Sally's luggage was duly transferred into the other vehicle.

I hopped in the work car to ring my husband to check whether this car was eligible for RACV roadside assistance. After dialling the number, I looked down and thought... "I don't remember putting the handbrake on then but it is on now... oh..... surely I didn't... oh, maybe I did.... oh...."

Yes... once I released the handbrake the car drove smoothly and beautifully. I then cringed to recall the number of times Sally had hinted... "do you think the brake might be stuck? I can smell burning rubber!" etc. In fact, I alternatively cringed with embarrassment and laughed out loud all the way home in the car.

As I drove too, I thought about those things that can be a "brake" in our lives... those things that stop us from being fully alive, from doing acts of goodness, from being courageous, from surrendering to the God who brings Real Life, from knowing the power of God's Spirit within.

I think my biggest life "brake" can be failing to carve out space for deep prayer. But just as I was foolishly ignorant of the handbrake in my husband's car, it may be that there are other "brakes" in my life of which I am unaware.

What do you think are the "brakes" in your life? Fear, or laziness, or circumstances, or depression, or self-will, or failure to grasp the love of Christ, or lack of awareness, or failure to listen to and validate your heart's cry, or power structures pressing down on you, or others in your life, or self-criticism or... well I guess it could be a myriad of things.

I invite you to reflect on that which might hold you back from being all Christ is inviting you to be, and from doing all Christ is inviting you to do. And to share some of this, if you are feeling brave!

The next "Survivor" series

2008-04-10T16:04:00.003+10:00

I received this email today... a pilot for a television series.

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes. There is no fast food. Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.

Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time. Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care (weekend, evening, on a holiday, or right when they're about to leave for vacation). He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.There is only one TV between them, and a remote with dead batteries. Each father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid song that comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, which they will apply to themselves either while driving or making three lunches. Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas. Each man must adorn himself with jewellery, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep his nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try to get through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.

During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings, but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. They will need to read a book and then pray with the children each night without falling asleep, and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair each morning by 7:00 am. They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctors, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spend the remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot until they are better. They must have a loving age-appropriate reply to: "You're not the boss of me."

The kids vote them off the island based on performance.The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years...eventually earning the right to be called Mother!

(Sally Morgenthaller explained the hypothesis last night that men have fewer connections between the right and left hemispheres of their brains, so... on average... have greater trouble with multi-tasking than women. So perhaps this scenario really would involve a "survivor-style" level of difficulty! What do you think?)

Confessional: not much of a trainer

2008-04-10T03:27:00.005+10:00

I was once the "official trainer" for an English Channel swimmer.

This is actually far less impressive than it sounds. I had assured my friend Suzanne that I would go over to England for her channel swim. As I was the only person who had committed to do this when she registered with the Channel Swimming Association, she noted down my name as her official trainer. Her "real trainer" stayed back in Australia.

As it turns out, another of Suzanne's friends Mary travelled to England with her and perfected her "feeding technique" (warm carbohydrate drink lowered from the Dover pier during practice swims; and passed from the boat during the actual swim). This left me with the "comic relief" role of singing songs all night (yes, it was an overnight swim) through a microphone. I also assisted in the swimmer "greasing" process immediately before the swim, did some videotaping of the swim (with inane commentary), and held out a torch beam to give a point to swim toward in the darkness. Lastly, I lay under the thermal blanket with my friend after the event on the boat trip back from Calais beach to Dover and dozed off to sleep. Basically, I was a dogsbody doing whatever I was told.

I did manage to learn a bit about Channel swimming through this experience. The vast majority of attempted solo swims are unsuccessful; mostly due to hypothermia. A "queue" of hopeful swimmers lines up each English summer to attempt the crossing with an official boat. When the prevailing wind drops to or below 3 knots, the next swimmer in the "queue" has their turn. This could be at any hour of the day or night. The boat pilot has to navigate a course around the huge ships that frequent the channel (enormous craft that would be incapable of steering around a swimmer even if they wanted to). These boats look like "skyscrapers at sea" when you bob near them in a very small boat. The English Channel is cold.

The link below gives the full list of Channel Swimmers. My friend Suzanne was the 430th recognised person to swim from England to France. See http://www.channelswimmingassociation.experthosting4u.com/link4.php?id=1

So here is your opportunity to ask any questions you have about swimming across the English channel. I'm very happy to share my inexpert opinion!

A sword in your soul

2008-03-26T04:13:00.002+11:00

Luke 2: 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul also."

Being the mother of Christ was a tough assignment for Mary. She was required to face the shame of pregnancy outside of marriage, risking not only innuendo and gossip, but a real threat to her life. She nearly lost Joseph, but for angelic intervention. She faced the birth of her first child away from her family circle in an unhygienic animal shed. But of course, more sorrows were to come:

Mark 3: 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." ....31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."
33 "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Mary must have been worried sick when Jesus left the carpentry shed behind to begin an itinerant ministry... a ministry that proved highly unpopular (if not scandalous) with many of the religious leaders of Israel. She must have heard the rumours of plots to have him killed. So worried was she (and her sons) about the strange teachings and activities of Jesus, they became seriously concerned about his mental stability. Their concerns were probably only confirmed by Jesus' virtual rejection of his own family in the passage quoted above.

But worse was to come. Watching one's own child be tortured, crucified, and murdered unjustly must be the most unbearable "sword" of all to pierce the soul of a mother.

Simeon's prophesy continues to echo through the ages into the soul of every mother. We will probably never suffer as Mary suffered: but every mother does suffer with and for their children. A sword pierces our souls also. We care for our children so deeply that we share their pain and worry for their futures.

It is 4.30 in the morning, but it's hard to sleep... the sword is twisting in my soul tonight. It is part of the territory of motherhood.

Somehow one must grope one's way to surrender: knowing our children are God's children. Leaving them in God's hands. Trusting that God can hold on to our children through their life journeys. That in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. That God hears the prayers of mothers. Trusting that God can ultimately lead our children to a heavenly home.

Does a sword pierce your soul sometimes too? What concerns you... and how do you find comfort?

The Easter Paradox

2008-03-06T10:51:00.001+11:00

As readers of "Secret Women's Business" would know, I am organising a dessert and coffee night with Sally Morgenthaller from the United States. I am also seeking to invite a few key women involved in the emerging missional church to have a meal and an informal question and answer session with Sally during the Forge Festival in April.

I had a conversation yesterday with Sally's tour organiser. He was musing out loud whether it would be best to put this small group in the 'Winner's Hall', the 'Victory Room', the 'Acheiver's Room', or the 'Abundant Financial Prosperity, Healing and Unending Joy Room' (well, I made that last one up, but you get the idea...)

"It sounds like the festival's being held in a Pentecostal church. I don't suppose they have a 'Humilty Room', a 'Suffering for Jesus Room', a 'Sacrifice Room' a 'Lament Room' or a 'Taking up your Cross Room'?" I quipped, somewhat amused.

"No... they... really emphasise the positive" he replied, with a gentle air of correction. (He is a saintly man who doesn't like to say anything slightly negative about anyone, even in fun.)

Now, I do love my Pentecostal friends, and I also love to emphasise the positive rather than living with a melancholy set of glasses colouring my view of everything. However, it has to be said that whenever we focus on one extreme, we fail to reflect reality. For of course, Christians are a part of the "Present but not yet Kingdom of God". A paradoxical world where the Kingdom is at hand, but the powers of darkness are still at work. A world where eternal life is within us, but physical death, disease and decay operate in our midst. A world where both joy and suffering are promised by our Lord Jesus Christ. A Kingdom that cannot be entered without dying to self and taking up a cross; a Kingdom of glorious Resurrection power and hope.

If we fail to represent both sides of the paradox of faith, we fail to represent the truth. The person who presents a dreary hairshirt version of Christianity may be sincere; but they are only telling half of the story. The person who presents the unending glory, victory, triumph, prosperity and joy version of Christianity may be sincere; but they are only representing half of the story.

The epicentre of our faith is not the promised heavenly city, but the Cross. Like the Lord we follow, we are called to first die to ourselves so that His resurrection life can dwell within us. Yes, we find victory in Christ, yes, we struggle and are tempted; yes, we are blessed with adoption as children of God, yes, we are aliens and exiles in this world; yes, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, yes, we have to put to death a sinful nature. The mystery and paradox of the cross is lived out in the life of every Christian.

As we approach Easter, we are reminded anew of the scandal of the cross:
I Corinthians 1: 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
What does the cross and the paradox of faith mean to you? Have you encountered those who seem to emphasise one side of faith or the other? How does that make you feel?

Men Rules

2008-03-03T20:47:00.003+11:00

I received the following email today explaining the rules of men. Now I know...

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.
1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it... That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one
1. You can either ask us to do something. Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as football or golf.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Have you observed these "men rules"in action? Do you have any "men rules" to add? Have you negotiated around the "men rules"? If so, what is your secret?

Sally is coming to town!

2008-02-27T12:21:00.002+11:00

I'm very excited to be involved in organising a dessert and coffee night for women in leadership with Sally Morgenathaler from the United States.

For anyone within cooee of Melbourne... this will be on the 9th of April at 7.30 pm at New Hope Baptist Church... corner Springfield and Middleborough Roads Blackburn North.

Sometimes when I read articles from innovative thinkers I have the strange experience of knowing that... although I have read these words and seen these ideas expressed for the very first time... they are expressing something I already know. That someone has managed to write what I know to be true somewhere deep in my gut, in my intuition, if you like. That someone has finally given words... the capacity to name and explore... that which I already feel.

I have been reading a few of Sally Morgenthaler's articles lately, and have had this kind of experience. (Admittedly I am practically "off the scale" in intuition, according to my latest Myer-Briggs test)

Anyway, I invite you to explore some of her writings and thoughts, and to comment here on your own thoughts, responses and reactions.

If you click on the link below, you'll find links to LOTS of different articles by Sally at the bottom of this linked page.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2007/01/sally_morgenthaler.html

I warmly invite you to the event on the 9th... it will be great! Love me.

Chicky Babes?

2008-02-21T16:54:00.003+11:00

There was a minor outcry in the office this afternoon as I looked at the Hillsong Colour Conference for women website . I let out one of my characteristically over-loud exclamations as I saw last year's gathering described as a large collection of "chicky babes".

Of all the diverse age groups surrrounding me in the office, none were interesting in being described as "chicky babes". I have trouble imagining anyone out of their teens proudly describing themselves as a "chicky babe". It set off a bit of cognitive dissonance in me, frankly.

I see Jesus as a liberator of women, rejecting narrow social roles and stereotypes, heading a church in which there is neither "male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free", where spiritual gifts are poured out freely on all who call on Christ's name. I see that women of all ages, races, ethnic groups, shapes, sizes, and appearances are equal in God's sight... where all different kinds of unique personalities can "shine". I see in Christ we are liberated not to have to look or act a particular way to fit in with a the dominant society, but discover God's power to be courageous, to stand up for justice, to exert influence for good.

"Chicky babe" just doesn't have those connotations to me. It implies young, cute, and somewhat powerless (if not defenceless).

It has to be said that Hillsong do an incredible job with publicity, and that this conference attracts thousands of women. So maybe it's just me again. Or maybe it's the dour humourless women of Melbourne who just don't get the hip and happening Sydney world.

What about it? Are you a "chicky babe"? Do you know any "chicky babes"? Would Jesus call women "chicky babes"? Or am I just a humourless old git?

(For context, click here: http://www2.hillsong.com/conferences/colour2008/default.asp?pid=1903 )

Thy Will Be Done

2008-02-15T21:53:00.002+11:00

Like many Australians, I listened to the opening of Parliament on Wednesday, and Kevin Rudd's "Sorry" speech to the stolen generations of Aboriginal children.

I was moved even before Kevin began his speech with the opening prayer to Parliament. Normally this prayer seems a meaningless ritual prior to the government and the opposition hurling abuse at one another.

Wednesday was different.

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven... forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us".

I was moved because I knew in my heart of hearts that this was going to be one of those rare days when a sound like heavenly grace was going to be heard on earth... in no lesser place than the highest office in our land. When the Kingdom of God would be at hand... when God's will would be done... when "Sorry" (and the implicit request for forgiveness) would be heard... when confession would be made and reconciliation sought. A day of good news to the poor, delivery for the captives, sight for the blind, justice for the oppressed.

I was deeply moved by Kevin Rudd's speech... and moved by the weeping of the Aboriginal people who heard it... and moved by the stories I heard throughout the day of the power of a simple confession in the hearts of members of the stolen generations ... and moved by stories of black and white people who embraced and wept together.

I was moved by a sense that something monumental was happening within the heart and soul and spirit of a country and a people. For it seemed to me the apology was not just a bill in Parliament... it was a spiritual act... and was named as such by many of the aboriginal people interviewed that day.

I invite you to comment on your views of the apology... your reaction to Kevin Rudd's speech (or Brendan Nelson's if you'd rather), or on "where to from here?" in aboriginal reconciliation.

Primary school years

2008-01-16T21:32:00.001+11:00

I've taken a while to reflect on the most significant influences on my spiritual development in the space between preschool and high school. Family example, family devotions, church, Sunday school teachers, Girls' Brigade, Christian camps at Mill Valley Ranch... there were so many influences that came to mind.

However, one of the influences that truly stands out (after reflection) is perhaps one of the easiest to overlook. In my first three years of school, I was taught to read. In one dull moment in the summer holidays between grade two and grade three I picked up a book... "The Boy Next Door" by Enid Blyton. It was the first chapter book (minimal pictures) I had ever read... but I was rapidly drawn in to the exciting story. I read for hours. I was hooked. I then proceeded to devour every Enid Blyton book in our house (a mercifully plentiful supply). As school returned, I then proceeded to read every Enid Blyton book in the school library (a pitifully small supply, as Enid Blyton had become politically incorrect in the late 60's /early '70's, although "The Faraway Tree" and the "Wishing Chair" series had somehow escaped the purge.) I then read every fiction book in the library remotely related to horses (it's a girl thing). I then read every non-fiction book related to horses. By this time, I was a fluent reader, and continued to devour books enthusiastically throughout my life (excepting when I first had children, when I was so tired I could barely comprehend a single sentence.)

My family emphasized the importance of daily devotions, so along with reading endless children's fiction, I began to read the bible using age appropriate "Scripture Union" reading guides. I have continued reading the bible (with more or less diligence) throughout my life. It is hard to underestimate the importance of this. The good evangelical teachers of my upbringing taught me that God speaks through the bible, that the bible reveals God's will, and that the bible helps our relationship with God. All of this rings true to me.

I also feel that the narratives of the bible have somehow shaped my character by revealing the character of God. The narratives of the bible are a rich source of inspiration and wisdom, and have profoundly shaped my ability to reflect theologically

Although it is the bible itself that has had the biggest impact on me, I have also been deeply influenced in my life by many, many other good Christian books. I have been able to "sit at the feet" of wonderful thinkers and teachers and ministry practitioners through the written word... even the "online" written word.

So I'd like to extend my deep gratitude to all the early primary teachers of the world (and to my own teachers in particular) for the gift of reading. I struggle to imagine my life without the written word. In my opinion, the greatest blessing of all the blessings literacy brings is revealing more of the Word... my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As an aside, one wonders what the early evangelicals who campaigned for universal primary education (so all would be able to read the scriptures for themselves) would think of our society today... where so many can read but so few dig into the treasures of the bible... but perhaps that is a reflection best left for another day!

So what does reading mean to you? What books have influenced you? What does the bible mean to you? And what are the other childhood influences that shape your life today?

Africa Afire

2008-01-12T12:08:00.001+11:00

I spent some weeks in Kenya back in 1992... I loved the warmth of the people, the hospitality, the wildlife and the countryside. It's an amazing place... which is currently on the brink of potential chaos.

Over at Calacirian (see link to the side) Sonia has been writing about Africa, especially the new tragedy unfolding in Kenya. She writes what I feel about the situation... but she's a much, much better writer than I, so rather than attempting to "say" much about this, I'll provide the link to her most recent post:

http://www.calacirian.org/?p=746

Importantly, this is about not only what is happening, but what we can do about it. Her other recent posts describe some of the background to what is going on. I encourage you to read these... and to act as you are able.

Flamin' Hot

2008-01-10T07:46:00.001+11:00

It's going to be 41 degrees Celcius in Melbourne today... which roughly translates in Fahrenheit as utterly unbearable.

I'm getting my car serviced today. After dropping off my car I will take a short walk in the sun to the nearby shopping centre / movies to enjoy an oasis of airconditioned comfort... a walk in which my children and I will probably achieve a well-developed state of dehydration.

There are many metaphors of God's judgment in scripture... outer darkness, being shut out of the banquet, being left behind, imprisonment, a garbage heap (Gehenna)... but the metaphor that sticks most in the mind (perhaps thanks in part to all those Looney Toons cartoons) is that of fire.

At the risk of offending some readers, my opinion is that this is no more "literal" fire than the streets of heaven are paved in "literal" gold. Nonetheless, these images are to be taken seriously... God's justice will be accomplished, and those who have rejected Christ will suffer eternal regret.

The metaphor of heat and fire is a sobering one... for unrelieved heat is a terrible thing. As is smoke / burning sulfur. As are burns... even sunburn can hurt like mad.

Just as I do all I can to avoid excessive heat (airconditioned spaces, the pool or anywhere wet), I probably avoid even thinking about God's judgment. It's unpopular with preachers... probably for good pastoral reasons. No-one likes to terrorise people, or deal with those poor sensitive souls who have convinced themselves they've committed the unforgivable sin and are going to be tormented forever. Other people are universalists... they believe Christ died for all and all will be saved in the end (perhaps after a period of purification.) Perhaps our tendency in the Western world to avoid all unpleasantness and pain is behind our avoidance of reflection on God's judgment. Perhaps it's a reaction to "hellfire and brimstone" preaching that failed to emphasise grace and mercy and love.

Perhaps you'd like to share with me your thoughts on judgment... or your thoughts on why God's judgment seems to be somethjng of a taboo subject. Or you might just want to let me know how you keep your cool when it's "flamin' hot".

Mad hair and no lipstick

2008-01-03T21:04:00.001+11:00

At the Churches of Christ women's day in October I was MC for the day... and event organizer (hence the "go-to" person)... and led a closing devotion. I ran around madly all day... then stopped off for a toilet break after a round of thank yous and goodbyes.

A terrible sight greeted me in the ladies' mirror. My hair had gone horribly mad, my lipstick was all gone, my mascara had flaked off (I had heard that most mascaras are based on industrial glues, and had opted for a chemical-free softer alternative. Only to discover why most mascaras use industrial adhesives). I had recently turned up to a pastoral care class minus lipstick, and was treated to a concerned enquiry about whether I was feeling ill... yes, the mirror confirmed I can look washed out without a bit of cosmetic assistance.

Fancy "MC-ing" and "mini-preaching" while looking so ghastly!!!! I did smile wryly at myself however... I'm clearly a failure as a stereotypical feminist if I'm troubled by such superficialities.

However, I have to confess I am genuinely interested in the impact of these "superficialities". Some women in ministry seem to almost be excessively masculine... it's almost as if to be taken seriously in a man's world they feel the need to adopt ultra-short haircuts and masculine attire. Others seem to be a bit... well... daggy. (Note to U.S. friends... that's an Australian colloquialism meaning nerdy, ignoring current fashion and even that which is vaguely flattering). At the other extreme is the "Darlene Zschech" clone... there seem to be some churches where a worship leader / speaker needs to be beautifully made up, blow-waved and fashionably dressed... ordinary-looking women need to be carefully kept away from the spotlight.

Personally, I think professional people ought to dress professionally... neither femme fatale, nor dag, nor pseudo-man. On the other hand... I like the idea of great diversity in personal style being OK.... that the rich variety in the body of Christ is expressed, rather than a narrow range of stereotypes being OK.

In other words, I'm a confused soul rambling in a stream of consciousness.... inviting you to contribute your thoughts on whether looks matter... and whether they should. You might also want to confess to your own personal "bad hair days".

Early Childhood

2007-12-19T22:44:00.001+11:00

I should be writing Christmas cards... but I've had the impulse to write something for the tragically neglected "Secret Women's Business".

After discussion with Penney about the "10-20-30" meme I began to reflect a little more on my personal and spiritual formation... the influences of people, culture and experience on my "raw temperament" if you like.

Educational experts tell us that early childhood experiences are the most formative of all experiences. Is the world a safe place? Are people safe? How do I communicate? These earliest experiences go deepest into our psyches... but of course, chances are we will remember nothing of these experiences.

I was born into a loving family... and the "image of God" communicated to me via my parents was of power (they are big) and of love (they look after me.)

I am interested in the power of "first liturgies". "Grace" before meals in my home was: "Make us truly thankful, Oh Lord, for what we are about to receive, for Christ's sake, Amen." I think this is a prayer that is deep within me, for I am always grateful for food... and have a sense of compassion for those who are hungry.

My nighttime prayer was: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless Daddy, God bless Mummy, God bless Rosemary, John and Janet, in Jesus' name, Amen". (Rosemary and John are my elder sister and brother). In my room was a little china ornament shaped like an open book, with a picture of a child in a pious posture, and the first part of this prayer was printed upon it. Now this prayer is seemingly macabre, and I could not imagine praying this prayer with my own children. Funnily enough though, I find I have little fear of death. Somehow there is a confident expectation within me that death is to be with Christ, and that this will be a joy. Again I wonder whether that "early liturgy" did something within my soul that has stayed with me.

When I was 6-years-old I went to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) by bus to hear Billy Graham preach. A dominant memory of the day was the discomfort of cutting a molar, and my curiosity why so many people walked down to the oval from the stands at the end of the sermon. I sat on my mother's knee that night, and she explained that the people were becoming Christians. I said I wanted to be a Christian too, and I remember praying with her to ask Jesus into my heart. It's still a warm memory for me all these years later.

I'd like to invite others to share any memories they have of early childhood experiences, and perhaps to reflect on why these memories are significant to them. I'd be interested to hear from you!

Where were you 10, 20, 30 years ago?

2007-12-05T23:15:00.000+11:00

Some time ago "Abisomeone" tagged me with the "10-20-30 meme", inviting me to share what I was doing 10, 20 and 30 years ago.

I seem to have had trouble writing posts lately (busy!) but tonight I'm stuck at home waiting for the carpet man. Torrential rain on Monday came pouring in to my house down the walls as the gutters overflowed. I tried steam cleaning the carpets, but finally gave up tonight and rang the insurance company. They wanted to send out a carpet man straight away therefore one rang me at 10.30 pm to inform me he was just leaving Werribee to come to my house in Croydon. (that has to be AT LEAST an hour's drive in my opinion I'm in for a late night.)

So I have time to kill, and at last, I will share of my experiences

10 years ago I spent most of my time looking after my gorgeous first son Daniel, a very cute just-turned one year old. I had recently been appointed as women's ministry coordinator for Churches of Christ Vic/Tas a one year, one day a week position. I'm still employed by Churches of Christ and am still involved in women's ministry, so I rather outstayed my one-year term!

20 years ago I spent 6 months backpacking around Europe probably at this time of year I would have been in Athens about to head off to Egypt and Israel. One of the highlights of my travels was spending a month living and studying at L'Abri in Switzerland a simply stunning location, and an amazing opportunity to meet people all over the world who were exploring faith. One of the issues I studied there was women in ministry I read and listened to tapes on the "difficult" passages of scripture about women wearing veils, sitting in silence, etc. The light began to dawn that these scriptures were written in very specific contexts, and ought to be interpreted in the light of all the women in leadership in the New Testament church. I had no idea at the time that God would later call me into ministry, or that God would give me such a passion to see women released into all that God intended them to do and to be in the service of Christ in the church and the world. At the time it was a simple academic interest only in retrospect do I realize how significant getting my head into the world of the New Testament women would be in my life.

30 years ago I was in year 9 at school. My school had a special year 9 campus attached to a 19^th century neo-gothic manor house. I LOVED this year of school it was run in a way that was highly creative, with large blocks of time devoted to "general studies" around a variety of interesting themes. The only part of school I hated was being forced to learn touch-typing. Why would I ever need to learn this? It was boring and tedious and a dreadful way to spend an afternoon class. As it turns out, this horrible class I was forced to do years before the P.C. was invented has proved to be one of the most useful things I have ever learned it is a skill I draw on almost every day.

I wonder if this is a bit like life in general the parts that are distasteful to us at the time can become a means of blessing. Godly character formation is impossible without suffering, even in the "small sufferings" of learning to forgive, learning self-discipline, learning to put the needs of another before our own wants sometimes. Perhaps character is one of the few things we take into eternity.

Well who else to "tag"?

I'm too tired to think. Please come soon carpet man.

Issues for women in leadership III - healthy boundaries

2007-11-28T14:53:00.001+11:00

"Finding Healthy Boundaries" is an issue with a lot of resonance for me.

The reason this issue sets off bells ringing is because I experienced severe burnout last year. A caring friendship evolved into something that was so overwhelming and demanding and painful that something in me finally snapped. I've now been left with the effects of post traumatic stress and anxiety. This still feels like something that is foreign to me, as I have a naturally placid temperament. (I was one of those smiling "easy" babies). I had no idea what was happening to me when my first panic attack hit... all I knew was I was shaking all over and couldn't stand up.

This experience made me realise that if burnout can happen to me (naturally laid back soul that I am), it can happen to anyone.

This is a really difficult issue to balance as a Christian. Part of the life of discipleship is caring for others, part of the life of discipleship is going the extra mile, part of the life of discipleship is "laying down your life". Christians speak of the ideal of unconditonal love; of loving others as Christ loved us. What are the boundaries around such a love? Such love took Christ all the way to the cross.

Yet there is a difference to responding to the invitation of the Holy Spirit to lay down our life in service of others, and responding to the needs, wants, demands and even manipulations of other people. Somehow in responding to the invitation of the Spirit we find life, even when this entails sacrifice. But responding to the needs, wants, demands and manipulations of other people can lead us down some dark and dangerous places. Instead of finding life, we can find our life and health being squeezed out of us. We suffer... and then find we have not been bringers of life through our suffering, but creators of unhealthy co-dependency. Only God should "play God" in the life of another.

Discerning what is an invitation of the Holy Spirit, and what is a human response to wants and needs and demands requires wisdom. We need to find a deeper life of contemplation and awareness to keep our paths straight. We may serve others not so much for love of Christ, but to make ourselves feel better, or to relieve our conscience, or because we dare not say no, or we dare not risk rejection from others, or because we expect ourselves to be perfect. There are 101 unhealthy ways to serve... but responding to the invitation of the Spirit is the one healthy and life-giving reason to give our life away.

What is your experience of boundary conflict? How do you keep your life healthy? What are "danger" signs for you that you are giving too much and not enjoying enough sabbath rest and renewal?

Democratic reformation

2007-11-25T15:12:00.001+11:00

Well, the election is over. Democracy has done its job, we have a new government, and we have a new prime minister. We have a new prime minister who is a bit of a nerd, really... when his colleagues use words to describe him like "formidable intellect" and "incredibly hard working and disciplined" you know that nerds are taking over the world.

I think there is consensus having the election over is a good thing. I was one of the volunteers at the school barbeque yesterday dispensing sausages in bread for $2 a pop (if we're all going to be forced to vote, the local primary school may as well take advantage of it). There was much muttering around the barbeque about the amount of money spent (wasted!) on advertising during the election campaign... and all the better ways this money could have been spent. I've decided the following rules should be imposed on all political parties:

Political TV ads should be banned. They're annoying.
Radio ads should be banned. Ditto.
Parties should be allowed to post us all one letter advertising their policies. Anything extra is a waste of paper.
Parties can advertise their policies on websites. We'll check them if we want to.
Media organisations should be required by law to give equal time (or space for print media) and impartial coverage to both major parties, and a proportionate amount of time to minor parties.

This would force local members to do far more by way of public meetings / grass roots consultation within their electorates. This would mean politicians would have to argue for their policies, and the electorate would learn to listen to an argument instead of a "sound bite" piece of propaganda.

While I'm in mad dictator mode, lobbyists should be banned... wealthy multinational corporations can afford to employ lobbyists; the homeless, the poor, and the mentally ill probably cannot. The vulnerable deserve particular protection: the economic interests of wealthy multinational corporations do not require the same level of protection. While we're at it, political donations from companies should be banned... why should our elected governments owe a debt to such a narrow set of interests? They should govern for the good of all, and not feel obliged to make decisions to protect their political cash flow. Party membership fees will be permitted. Political parties won't need much money anyway because most advertising will be banned.

What do you think of my ideas? Do you think I might be going a teensy weensy bit too far?

Women and Food

2007-11-23T12:43:00.001+11:00

Let's face it... many women have a complicated relationship with food. We not only buy it, cook it, serve it, eat it... we worry about it. We worry about adequate nutrition... probably not unreasonably in a world of intensive agriculture, cold storage, and processed foods choc-laden with sugar, salt, fats, artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.

Food can also be an enemy. Women's magazines are full of 12-year-old girls made up to look like adult women, anorexic models, and hips and thighs artifically "airbrushed" off cover girl photos. Thin is beautiful, apparently, and food is the enemy of "thinness". The multi-billion "diet" industry, and the absurdly high rates of eating disorders among women in the West is testament to the sinister nature of the "thin is beautiful" dogma.

But food is one of life's great pleasures. Food makes us feel good. Food makes us feel comfortable. Food is not only a necessity: it is designed to be enjoyed. Jesus' reputation by his enemies was as a "glutton and a drunkard". (Matthew 11:19) He understood the importance of meals not only in sustaining us physically, but in sustaining us emotionally, and in connecting us with others.

Like anything, this can go toxic. It is possible to eat as a substitute for emotional connection with others; as a substitute for fulfilment; as a substitute for dealing with issues; as a substitute for healthy activities; as a method of procrastination. Somehow in a sick and crazy world we need to find a way to truly enjoy food, to savour it, to delight in it with others and the sense of community this brings... while resisting the temptation to use food as an emotional substitute for dealing with issues through prayer and godly action. We need to honor our God-given appetites, without letting them go toxic.

What does food mean to you? Are you at peace with your body and your appetite, or is it more complicated than that for you?