does it work?

A while ago I decided to try and get my head around the world of philosophy. I've been reading books and listening to CD's and my current conclusion is that there is really only one final criteria for establishing truth, here is my go.

• Can what you believe be lived?

That might not sound profound but consider these scenarios.

• The person who says that everything is a dream still looks both ways before crossing the road.
• The person who says the are no absolutes is absolutely sure that this is true.
• The person who says we are merely products of time + chance still tells his wife he loves her and means something more than just a biological upheaval is happening.
• The person who says there is no right or wrong still gets upset when I steal her wallet.

In the end I've come to this conclusion. The worldview of the bible is the worldview that makes most sense of the world in which I live, and I find I can live consistently with it. The biblical worldview acknowledges there is evil in the world, it speaks of the reality of truth and emotion, it speaks of the value of hope, and it gives a solution to the problem of sin.

If someone were to show me a worldview that makes more sense of real life then I would seriously consider it, for now I'm more committed to being a follower of Jesus Christ than ever.

mates blogs

A mate of mine has joined the blog bandwagon, here are the sites of his two blogs. http://rocksnob.blog.com andhttp://christianityorbust.blog.com

christian guys seeking christian girls

A common question I get asked is where can I Christian guy meet a Christian girl, well here is a recommended website, from someone who it worked for. www.christianconnection.com.au

best writer

In my humble opinion I reckon Tom Peters is the best business writer I've come across. Just reading his book "Leadership" which is part of his essentials series. Every time I read Tom Peters I get inspired and provoked. His books are some of the few that I re-read. If you want to operate at a different level then pick up his books and be prepared to have your current reality challenged. He might annoy the heck out of you and you might vermently disagree with some of his ideas, but you will be made to think - think about that!

volunteer resources

Here's a website with some good resources working with volunteers. http://www.energizeinc.com/

useful resources

Need good quality photo's at a reasonable price? Check out http://www.istockphoto.com/
Need a program that will screen capture what you want and not the whole screen? Check out www.snagit.com

giving stories

Check out this website for some excellent stories on giving. http://www.epm.org/articles/givingstories.html

generosity steps

(This is somewhat American but has some excellent ideas about the stages of giving.)
The Stages of Giving by Kenneth N. Dayton from “The Stages of Giving,” Independent Sector, 1999.
Dayton identifies nine stages of giving, based on his personal experiences with philanthropy:
1. Minimal Response: Giving because we were asked and only because we were asked.
2. Involvement and Interest: You believe in the cause and you want to make it better. It becomes meaningful and purposeful.
3. As Much As Possible: A major transformational breakthrough that requires thinking, a budget and priorities.
4. Maximum Allowable: The IRS five-year carry-forward provision gave us an opportunity to plan and to think creatively about our philanthropy. It meant we could initiate projects.
5. Beyond the Max: We ignored the IRS maximum and began to give what we wanted to give. The second breakthrough, we decided we would no longer let the IRS tell us how much (or how little) we could give.
6. Percent of Wealth: If one no longer measures giving against income or income tax deductibility, logic soon leads to using total wealth as a measure. Until we started to measure our giving against our wealth, we did not fully realize how much we could give away and still live very comfortably.
7. Capping Wealth: How wealthy do we want to be? This means setting a limit on your wealth and giving away everything you earn beyond that figure.
8. Reducing the Cap: We are not there yet. Whether we will ever have the courage and fortitude and intelligence to lower the cap as we get older we cannot say. But, we are comfortable discussing the subject.
9. Bequests: Long ago we decided we had transferred enough of our assets to our heirs. Accordingly, we are able to leave almost all of our assets to the nonprofit organizations we have selected.

christian book summaries

If you would like to keep up to date with good recent Christian books this is a useful website. http://www.christianbooksummaries.com/

so what are we aiming at?

Sitting here and it's 11.30pm and I'm just conjugating. (Is that a word?)
I've been reading "Leadership" by Tom Peters and I've been challenged, provoked, pushed, shoved into thinking about my core ministry value/goal.
I ask myself the question about what is it that I'm aiming for?
I ask myself that if I was allowed only one goal what would it be?
I ask myself what is it I want on my tombstone in regard to my ministry?
Here it is, this is my heartbeat, this is my passion, this is what I'm prepared to give my life for.
"To create small group communities of 5 Jesus followers who gather weekly for the express purpose of loving God and each other and who are committed to do whatever is needed to grow to 10 Jesus followers within the next 12 months, then multiply and do it again."
In my opinion this is the most important important and most transforming thing the church can do. If this is all the church did it would please God.

leadership

"A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napolean
"The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive." - John Gardner

spiritual maturity

In The Final Quest, Rick Joyner writes, "Spiritual maturity is always dictated by our willingness to sacrafice our own desires for the desires of others or for the interests of the kingdom."
(Every Man's Battle, P.183)

it takes discipline

No horse ever gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.— Harry Emerson Fosdick

I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. … I firmly believe that any man's finest hour—this greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear—is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle victorious.— Vince Lombardi

Life is tons of discipline.— Robert Frost

the most challenging verse

God has time and time brought me back to John 15:7 which says, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."
More and more I'm realising the depth and meaning of the word "if" and the words "remain in me". The promise of answered prayer is conditional on my part. I'm coming to the conclusion that the powerlessness of most prayer (including my own) is simple because I/we have not discovered what it really means to remain in Jesus.
"Lord help me today make choices and take steps of obedience that ensure that I remain in you more and more."

holiness

[As a follower of Jesus Christ] holiness is not some nebulous thing. It's a series of right choices. You needn't wait for some holy cloud to form around you. You'll be holy when you choose not to sin. You're already free from the power of sexual immorality; you are not yet free from the habit of sexual immorality, until you choose to be - until you say, "That's enough! I'm choosing to live purely."
(Every Man's Battle, P.92)

man or sissy?

When it comes down to it, God's definition of real manhood is pretty simple: It means hearing His Word and doing it. That's God's only definition of manhood - a doer of the Word. And God's definition of a sissy is someone who hears the Word of God and doesn't do it.
(Every Man's Batte, P.77)

a book every man should read

There is a book every man should read called "Every Man's Battle" by Stephen Arterburn & Fred Stoeker.
From the television to the internet, print media to videos, men are constantly faced with the assault of sensual images. It is impossible to avoid such temptations ... but, thankfully, not impossible to rise above them.
Shattering the perception that men are unable to control their thought lives and roving eyes, Every Man's Battle shares the stories of dozens who have escaped the trap of sexual immorality and presents a practical, detailed plan for any man who desires sexual purity - perfect for men who have fallen in the past, those who want to remain strong today, and all who want to overcome temptation in the future.

in my view (23 oct 2005)

In my view the final test of what we do here at CMP is whether people are coming to know, love and obey Jesus as a result of what we do.
We’ve been using the theme connect@cmp ... with God ... with Self ... with Other to describe this idea and I would ask that you spend time praying on a regular basis for us as a congregation that we would be used by God to achieve these three things.
Imagine a time in the life of CMP when on a weekly basis we have people testifying that they have come to know Jesus for the first time through the ministry of CMP.
Imagine a time when on a daily basis we hear stories of people’s lives being transformed as they walk in deeper obedience out of a deep sense of love for God.
Imagine a time when the community in which we live talks about CMP as the place where people truly love one another and so is a beacon for the love and grace of God.
The truth is, some of this is already happening, but as we continue to reach out to others, this will become a greater and greater reality in the life of our congregation.
May this week we be a blessing to the world in which we live.

bible resource

Here's an excellent bible resource. Particularly interesting is "The Theology Program" which has video clip answers to many questions, check it out.

create your own ring tones

I was looking a ring tones and decided that rather than pay for new ones it would be better to make my own. Here is how I did it. (Assuming you can connect your phone to your computer - mine is an O2.)
(1) Grab some freeware audio files such as available at http://simplythebest.net/sounds/MP3/sound_effects_MP3/index.html
(2) Download the file into an mp3 maker programme such as MAGIX mp3 maker.
(3) Convert the file to an mp3 file and save it to a place that you can find the file.
(4) Connect your phone to your computer and then transfer the file into the appropriate folder on your phone. (For me this was: My Pocket PC/Windows/Rings)
(5) Select the ring tone on your phone. (For O2: Settings/Sounds & Notifications/Notifications/1. Select an event/ Phone: Incoming call ... and then select file in the "Ring Tone" drop down menu.)
(6) Have fun with your new ringtones.

porn troubles

This is an email I recently received:
Hey Pete, Do you know of any good (international) programs for men struggling with pornography that you know of. I have a friend here, her fiance is he has just admitted he has a problem. She is hoping to help him get into a program but not sure where to start.
Here's my reply:
There is and excellent and free courses available through http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com/home/. (Go to online courses and look for the “Sexual Purity” course. This is a 60 day online teaching and accountability course.)
An excellent and very cheap computer filter is “safeeyes”. (One off fee of US$49.95.) This is the one I use and have found it extremely helpful. http://www.safeeyes.com/safe_eyes/products.htm
Another website worth checking out is www.xxxchurch.com. The name is radical but they are a useful resource.
If someone wants to deal with the issue then the really need to do the course and get the software filter.
If they want to talk then give them my email and I’m happy to chat with them.

stewardship

Tony Campolo was invited to address a women's conference where the participants were being challenged to raise several thousand dollars for a mission project goal. While Campolo was sitting on the dais, the chairperson turned to him and asked him if he would pray for God's blessing as they considered their individual responses to the goal. Campolo stood and -- to the utter amazement of everyone present -- graciously said "no."
He approached the microphone and said, "You already have all the resources necessary to complete this mission project right here within this room. It would be inappropriate to ask for God's blessing, when in fact God has already blessed you with the abundance and the means to achieve this goal. The necessary gifts are in your hands. As soon as we take the offering and underwrite this mission project, we will thank God for freeing us to be the generous, responsible and accountable stewards that we're called to be as Christian disciples." And they did.
(PreachingNow email: see www.preaching.com)

reasons I quit attending football / church

Twelve reasons I quit attending football games -- or did I mean church?
1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
2. The people sitting next to me didn't seem very friendly.
3. The seats were too hard.
4. The coach (Pastor) never came to call on me.
5. The referee (Deacons) made a decision I disagreed with.
6. I was sitting with hypocrites -- they came only to see what others were wearing.
7. Some of the games/services went into overtime and I was late getting home.
8. The band (Choir) did songs I didn't like.
9. The games/services were scheduled when I wanted to do other things.
10. My parents took me to too many games/churches when I was growing up.
11. Since I read a book about football (religion), I know more than the coaches (pastors) do anyhow.
12. I don't want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport (religion) they like best.
(Adapted From otchurch@aol.com by Sermon Fodder; to subscribe go to http://www.sermonfodder.com)

fiji

Recently 16 people from our church travelled to Fiji to help build a home for a widowed lady and her adopted daughter. For six years they had been living under a small makeshift shack. The conditions were so bad I wouldn't put my dog in it, and yet she lived that way for six years.
It was a real honour to be able to build her a new home. The building is just basis, (5 metre by 7 metre room), but it is solid and provides warmth and shelter. The week we spent building is one of the most worthwhile things I ever been involved in. One of our team members has put some photo's up at http://spaces.msn.com/members/micshots/

new addition

We finally bit the bullet and got the dog we've been promising the kids for a while. His name is Woody (with my daughter Alex) and he is a 2 year old Golden Retriever that we picked up from the pound. It's amazing how quickly life changes when you add someone or something to the family.