scripture

"We must not take the words of Scripture and run them through the filter of our own beliefs and feelings in order to decide what the Bible verse means to us. Such an approach mistakenly elevates experience over the Word of God." (P.9, Hearing God's Voice, Blackaby)
This raises for me the issue of how do we know when a part of scripture is cultural or relevant to all people at all times?
My approach is this:
If the bible from beginning to end only speaks of one view on a topic, then the bible is teaching a truth that is relevant for all people in all places at all times.
If the bible gives various different opinions then the truth needs to be understood culturally.
Let me give you an example. In 1 Timothy 2:12 it says "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." However, in the Old Testament we have Deborah who in Judges 4-5 is said to led Israel. Also in Romans 16 we have a list that suggests that there were women among the apostles. (See Rom 16:7) These varying examples show that the roles of women are sometimes culturally tied. In 1 Timothy the particular problems faced by that church required that women be silent.
An example of the other kind is that of sexual relations outside of marriage. The bible from beginning to end is clear that any sexual activity outside of the marriage relationship is wrong and thus this is a truth that applies to all people at all times.

the importance of hearing from God

Key Quotes from 'Hearing God's Voice' by Henry & Richard Blackaby

QUOTES THE IMPORTANCE OF HEARING FROM GOD:

• 'Effective spiritual leaders must know when God is speaking to them.' (P.x)
• 'So why does God speak to us? He takes the revelation found in his Word and applies it to our lives. When he does, we not only KNOW ABOUT him from his revelation in Scripture, but we also KNOW HIM by experience.' (P.xi)
• 'With remarkable consistency, those God has used in mighty ways have been people who heard from God and obediently responded to what he said.

COMMENTS

Unless we know the voice of God we will not be able to distinguish between our hopes, the world's wisdom and the purposes and ways of God. Learning to hear God's voice, for most this will not be an audible voice, is critical to KNOWING God versus KNOWING ABOUT God.

choices

Poet Edwin Markham has said, "Choices are the hinges of destiny."
POWERFUL THOUGHT!

job dissatisfaction

Neil Anderson writes ...
A man in my church often expressed his frustration with his job. For 20 years he'd been working as a construction worker and he hated it! Frustrated with his career, he wondered why God wouldn't call him out of it.
I asked him if he had ever expressed dissatisfaction about his job with his fellow employees who weren't Christians. He said, "Oh, sure. I complain right along with the rest of them."
I continued, "What do you suppose that does to your witness?" He was a little startled by my question. I added, "Do you realize that God has you exactly where He wants you? When you assume your responsibility to be the person God wants you to be as a construction worker, He may open a new door for you."
The Holy Spirit must have brought conviction because this man became a missionary at work. He displayed concern for the needs of his coworkers and their families and soon had a series of witnessing experiences to share. Within six months an opportunity arose and he left construction work. And all because he started to bloom where he was planted.

in my view, CMP Newsletter (Sunday 12 November)

IN MY VIEW by Pastor Pete
In my view the most significant things happen when someone seeks to serve God and won't be put off. When D.L. Moody found his life in Christ, he looked for some opportunities to teach at a church, but no one wanted to use the uneducated man. He started his own Bible study in a shoe store, and it wasn't long before kids were coming out of the woodwork. People couldn't help but notice him because he was bearing fruit, and few have left such an imprint as his upon the world.
Is there something that God is calling you to do for him? Don't be afraid of starting small. Don't be put off by the seeming lack of opportunities. Start with what you can and be willing to pay the cost of time and effort, and mostly don't forget to bathe it in prayer.
In the end, even if things don't work out as planned, God will smile upon your efforts and you one day hear those most wonderful words, "Well done good and faithful servant."

hearing God's voice

If you're interested in knowing how God speaks, how to be equipped to hear God speaking directly to you, and how to respond in obedience to what He says, then I recommend the book "Hearing God's Voice" by Henry and Richard Blackaby.
I have found the book encouraging, inspiring, challenging and certainly worth the read. The book has already made a definite impact on how I live my life.

suicide

If you have an interest in the issue of suicide then check out http://www.suicidereferencelibrary.com/index.php.
(Note: It's American based so the stats and facts might not be reflective of the Aussie situation, but the articles will still be a valuable resource.)

resources for the new Christian

Here are some good resources for the person who is considering or has begun the journey of walking with Jesus. http://www.theinvitation.tv/
More links and resources can be found by clicking on the "Exploring Christianity" link at http://www.cmponline.net/

getting people to do things

Recently I was Staff Development seminar. The leader shared what I think is a helpful progression of steps when communicating with someone about a task that needs to be done.
He suggest four steps, they start from less direct and end up very direct. He suggested that the partnership between a manager and a sub-ordinate needs to be 51/49, that is we are in a partnership and need to work together, but in the end the manager is the senior partner and in the end is responsible for the final decision.
Stage 1: Self Awareness - Have a discussion that is based around helping the person be aware of their responsibilities. At this stage most of the ideas should come from the sub-ordinate person.
Stage 2: We - A more direct conversation style is needed when the person does not display Self Awareness of the task(s) that need to be completed and the quality at which they need to be completed. A WE conversation is something like, "We need to ..." The WE communicates that you are having a bigger input but that you are still wanting their input.
Stage 3: I - If WE didn't get satisfactory results then you need to move to "I would like you ...". The emphasis is now on what you expect but is still encouraging their input.
Stage 4: You - This is the most direct stage where you say, "You must ...". This stage is only used once the earlier stages have not worked or when the time frame does not allow the other stages to take place.

freedom

I was listening to a very interesting lecture the other day on "Jewish Intellectual History" and the lecturer mentioned a concept called 'two types of freedom' which I found fascinating.
The basic idea is that there are two forms of freedom we can ascribe to.
1) The Freedom from Restraint. This is basically the idea that freedom is the freedom to do what I want, when I want and how I want.
2) The Freedom of Contraint. This is the idea that I use my freedom to place myself under that guidance of a higher power. I exercise my freedom to contrain myself because I acknowledge that God has greater wisdom than I in regard to how I should live.

I found it a really interesting concept that 'freedom' is found and experienced when I come under the umbrella of a greater wisdom. That instead of constraining me, this voluntary constraint actually liberates me to achieve a higher good and greater freedom than acting as an autonomous being can do. Thus 'constraint' brings true freedom, and 'autonomy' ends up in constraint as everyone seeks to exercise their individual autonomy to the detriment of others around them.

Source: Lecture from a series called "Jewish Intellectual History: 16th to 20th Century" which is available from the Teaching Company (www.teach12.com). Quoting from an article by Isaiah Berlin called 'Two Concepts of Freedom'. (See http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberty-positive-negative/)

feeback example

Here's a good example of feedback. (Thanks Ryan for the link.)

Weitzel's feedback technique is called SBI (shorthand for Situation-Behavior-Impact). Following these steps can help the receiver more easily see what actions he or she can take to continue or improve performance or to change behavior that is ineffective or even an obstacle to performance. An effective feedback message tells the receiver the impact of a specific behavior on the sender. Here is an example of how to use the three-step model:
Step 1: Capture the Situation ("Yesterday morning in staff meeting,...")
Step 2: Describe the Behavior ("you had a number of side conversations and at times were joking during my presentation.")
Step 3: Deliver the Impact ("When you were talking to others while I was speaking, it was very disruptive to what I was trying to accomplish. I felt frustrated and annoyed by it.")

From http://www.workdyn.com/TOOLS-FeedbackModel.html

grandma

Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure, but still it's an interesting tale.

feedback

I have a love/hate relationship with feedback. I really love to encourage honest feedback, but on the other hand hate how emotionally hard it can be to accept critique sometimes.
We just completed a survey of our church and some of the feedback is positive and some negative.
The thing I often think about is how do we create a community where feedback is encouraged and where we are willing to accept the pain because we know in the longterm an honest community is really the only one being part of.
Your thoughts about what helps create such a community would be appreciated.
Some of my initial thoughts follow, let me know what you think!
- Leaders have to model receiving negative feedback without getting defensive.
- Honest and useful feedback requires a community of trust and care. This can only happen if we take the time to build relationships where there is mutual respect and love.
- Doing something in response to feedback is vital to show that we don't just fob off criticism.
- For there to be good critique, there also needs to be a lot of honest positive feedback.
- Never give positive feedback that is not honest. (I personally have a rule that I will never fudge feedback. If I can't be honest I won't say anything. This way people know that any feedback I do give is what I really believe.)
- As a leader what I do and say sets the standards which others follow. So if the culture is not healthy it could be because I am an unhealthy example.

i wonder

I wonder what are the questions that really haunt your nights, the thoughts and questions that creep into your mind when you're feeling a bit low?
I think one of the mandates of the follower of Jesus is to honestly confront those questions and to acknowledge that we don't always have conclusive answers.
One of the big questions for me, which might seem strange for a Minister, is the reality of God.
I have to acknowledge that sometimes my belief is virtually absolute and yet at other times I really wonder.
I personally follow Jesus not because of an absolute proven belief, but because of a faith that his way is the best way and that he's changed me for the better. I know him as a friend, not a fact of science, and walking his path is better by far than any other alternative I've found.
In a sense I'm a reluctant and unsure follower, but perhaps that's not a bad thing in the end.

free hugs

So much on the net I don't know about. Here's a really cute short video clip about hugs from www.youtube.com, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4, its fun.

religion v Christianity

Excert from a conversation between Ken Blanchard & Bob Buford.
Do you know the difference between Christianity and religion? He said it's how they are spelled. Religion is spelled Do, D-O. Most people quit because they never know when enough is enough. Following Jesus is spelt Done, D-O-N-E. There's only one rule: Do you believe? Who am I? How many times does Jesus ask that?
(NetResults, July/August 2006)

retirement question

Here's a short except of an interview of Ken Blanchard by Norman Jameson.
Jameson: You're sixty-six. Thinking about retiring?
Blanchard: I asked Zig Ziglar, seventy-nine at the time, if he was going to retire. He said, "There's no mention of it in the Bible and except for Jesus, Mary, David and a few people, nobody under eighty made an impact." He said he was going to "refire" rather than retire.
(From NetResults, July/August 2006)

in my view (for Sunday 8th October, CMP Newsletter)

IN MY VIEW by Pastor Pete
In my view one of the great dangers to true community in the church is the lack of face-to-face time. Let me encourage you to think about developing relationships using a very simple idea called 'my place, your place, our place'.
It is my belief that a healthy deepening friendship requires three 'spaces' in which it develops. It requires inviting others to come into 'my place' so that they feel valued. It requires me going into 'your place' so that I get a better sense of who you are, and you know that I value you enough to go to you. It also requires that we develop 'our place', those places which is neither yours or mine, but is created as 'our place' because we do stuff together there.
Try this exercise.
(1) Write down the names of people from church who in the last six months have been entered your three spaces, 'my place, your place, our place'.
(2) Write down 3 names that you would like to invite to 'your place' in the next 3 months.
Note: Because 'our place' is the least intimate, it is also the easiest to invite people to and so for many people is the first place to start. Ideas of 'our place' might be a coffee shop, the beach, the movies, etc.

interview with an ex Ku Klux Klan member

Here's an interesting interview by Andrew Denton with Johnny Lee Clary.
Life is full of journeys but rarely do any of us travel as far as Johnny Lee Clary. A former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, now a Christian preacher, his journey from a world of hate to one of tolerance has been remarkable indeed. (Continued at ... http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1453904.htm)

mistake made

In a previous blog I made a mistake and attributed a list of wisdom to Bill Gates but apparently its from http://www.snopes2.com/language/document/liferule.htm.
I was reminded by a friend to always check stuff out - a very good policy when it comes to internet information.
The blog is corrected and now titled below as 'things school will not teach you'.