Last year Cathy and I had the opportunity to go and see Australian Idol filmed live. (To tell you the truth, I’m not into the whole thing, but she is.) But whether you’re into it or not, I have to admit that it was kind of fun. We didn’t just go as part of the crowd, but as VIPs. We have a friend who works for one of the corporate sponsors of the series, and she got us the tickets. When we arrived, there were two lines to gain access to the studio—the long line for the plebs and the short line for the corporate sponsors. So while hundreds of people stood lined up behind the barricades, we ambled leisurely along the red carpet and were ushered straight to our seats while everyone else was kept standing outside. It’s funny how the human heart works: we weren’t special—there was no particular reason for us to be there, except we had a friend; but I could really get used to being treated like that. It’s fun to feel important. (more…)
This is not a real church
Thought, Sola Panel
Some years ago, an elderly relative visited our church. She was a churchgoer herself—of a rather traditional kind. Afterwards, I asked her whether she had enjoyed church that morning—at which point, she looked straight at me and said with characteristic bluntness, “This is not a real church”. (more…)
Responding to the fires
Life, Sola Panel
Every morning I wake up and it’s okay—until, with a dull thud, it comes back to me: image after image of people who died in the fires; rows of army tents with homeless people staying in them; entire communities that have been wiped out; my friend whose parents lost their house; a family known to me who died in their car in their driveway; a 12-year-old girl, badly burned, whose parents and sister died. (more…)
Love and the cost of change
Life
There’s a saying in corporate life that goes “change will only happen if the perceived benefit is greater than the perceived cost”. Like most sayings, it makes sense; you’ll only do something new if you think the effort is worth it. (more…)
The power of example
Life
My old mentor and colleague Col Marshall, who was instrumental in forming the Ministry Training Strategy, taught me more about the importance of personal ministry than anyone I know. He sent me this little piece recently about the way Puritan minister Richard Baxter trained people in ministering the gospel of Jesus. It was a great reminder of the importance of the gospel and the significance of sharing your life. I hope it will encourage you to keep reflecting on the power of personal example. Who are you sharing your life with in order to encourage them on in their faith?
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Jesus and the Piranha brothers
I realize now that I should have known better. I should have remembered that when it comes to Christian discourse, all forms of dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and satire are to be left to the Piranha brothers.
The healthy teaching pyramid
Have you ever seen the healthy eating pyramid on the wall of your local doctor? If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, the healthy eating pyramid is a simple diagram created by nutritionists to help us achieve a balanced diet. The idea is that to maintain a good diet, you need to eat some types of food more than others. The foods to be eaten most (such as vegetables and cereals) are at the bottom of the pyramid, foods to be eaten moderately (such as meat and dairy) are in the middle, while foods to be eaten least (such as fats and sugars) are at the top. See, for example, the pyramid published by Nutrition Australia.
Consciousness-raising
In November 1967, a group of young feminists met in an apartment in New York City. It became a regular meeting with the aim of discussing the ways in which they had been oppressed and taken advantage of by the men in their lives. The idea was that by hearing the other women complain about these issues, the participants’ ‘consciousness’ about the same issues would be raised, and they would begin to see their own lives in the same light.
Media to blame, says Angry Middle-Aged Man
[A news item from a parallel universe]
Prominent media outlets are denying today that their recent reporting of comments by NSW Greens MP Sylvia Hale contributed significantly to her tragic strangulation at the hands of an outraged reader.
Training for frustration
January has been a somewhat hilarious month in the Grimmond household, although I use the word ‘hilarious’ loosely. It was one of those bizarre chains of events.
Some thoughts on friendship
Atheism must advertise (Part 2)
(Read Part 1.)
We now turn to the final and most disappointing part of the whole bus advert soundbite: its complete lack of moral vision—‘Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’.
Actually do it
I was tempted to call this post ‘J*st do it’, but I’m told that those three words are owned by Nike Corporation, and I am worried that their use one after the other, beginning with ‘just’ followed immediately by ‘do’ and ‘it’, in any context whatsoever and for any purpose whatsoever, might now be illegal in all jurisdictions. I am a little anxious that even the judicious use of asterisks might not protect me from prosecution, and so ‘Actually do it’ will have to do.
Cold Turkish evangelism
Everyday Ministry
The phrase ‘walk-up evangelism’ stirs up, in most Christians, feelings of dread. But, as Ben Pfahlert points out, at the heart of all evangelism lies extremely good news. (more…)
Making trainees of all people
What is training and what does it involve? As David Shead argues, it is all about discipleship. (more…)