The Blog of Steve

New TV

Heh just on the side, we have finally jumped on the HDTV bandwagon, with the first new TV to be purchased in our house in the last 25 years.

It has also been combined with a spiffy little Home Theatre PC for other multimedia and iTunes goodness.

Reflections on return from Melbourne

Well after what was effectively a two week paid holiday in Melbourne, it is back to reality in Brisbane. The two weeks I had down there were an excellent chance to simply take a break and make use of the time through some good reading and reflection.

It was not very far into the course when my other course mates began to head out onto town and conduct themselves in a less than ideal manner. I was surprised at this seemingly mindless behaviour from the vast majority of the group given that I seldom encounter it in my normal environment at home. At first I came to the conclusion that this group, and the broader Army must be, in general, more “morally flexible” and prone to poor behaviour when compared to the rest of society. Towards the end of the course however I developed the feeling that this may not actually be the case (Even though I believe that Defence encourages seriously damaging social behaviour patterns).

My theory is that this is simply coming as a realisation that morality informed by a classical Christian worldview is becoming increasing counter cultural. This can also be seen in the continuing unwavering commitment that both sides of Australian politics seem to have to economic rationalism.

That said, if we take what is found in scripture seriously, this should not be surprising.

2 Timothy 3:10-17
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
(11)persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
(12)In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(13)while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
(14)But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
(15)and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
(16)All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
(17)so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Either way, it was a good break none the less and it is also good to be back to reality.

More Post Chrysalis Thoughts

I have been reflecting upon my weekend at Chrysalis and had the additional thoughts about the weekend.

In addition to what was written earlier, I really think that Chrysalis and my trip to Melbourne came an I time when I really needed them. Simply put, Chrysalis was an excellent chance to rediscover the first love, prayfully re-connect and recharge.

I have also found, with some of the books I have been reading down here, combined with the reflections on Chrysalis that this is a great time to recommit to maintaining a deeper and more committed spiritual life, seeking to be closer to God. It can be quite easy to get very tied up with the doing within the Church, such that simply “being” can suffer from some neglect.

Coming down here to Melbourne for Army has given me an excellent chance to do something else which I slowly been getting out of the habit of and that is to simply pause, be prayerful and to listen.

I feel that these simple things will be very helpful in moving into a more full time ministry job, because if left unattended could have lead to significant spiritual fatigue. I think that the following sums it up quite well.

Hebrews 12
(1)Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
(2)Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Either way, I am very much enjoying this time down here as a break from reality and a time to stop, read, reflect and listen. (The listen bit being that which can suffer the most during a busy schedule)

Chrysalis Reflections

Well as I am on my flight to Melbourne I thought I would take the chance to reflect on my Chrysalis experience while it is still fresh in my mind.

Well after getting off to a bit of a false start last year with Chrysalis, I have finally experienced it. The bit of back story surrounding the false start is that I was asked to go (ie: someone offered to sponsor me to go) last year, but I had also been called to attend the 11th National Assembly, preventing me from going. While I felt bad for missing it at the time, with inherent guilt that is associated to saying no to sponsorship, when looking back over the last 12 months, I do believe that it was providential and that last year was not the right time.

The weekend itself is built around a combination of extreme service to the attendees, table group Bible studies and worship. There were also a number of additional times of prayer and periods of reflection throughout the duration, as well as a sharing of communion. The weekend also includes a candle lighting service as well as receiving of letters from friends and family at the end of the weekend. The thing that needs to be mentioned about Chrysalis is that it is (or I found it to be) a very experientially orientated event. Hence why it can be difficult to fully articulate exactly why it was very good. The letters from friends and loved ones coming at the end of the course were also very challenging and powerful, but I am unsure as to exactly why this was so. None the less, they were very much appreciated.

One of the other elements that was present in this activity that I believe to be very valuable is the fact that it is a lay run event, with only minimal guidance from clergy. I thought that it was fantastic to see people who have been impacted by previous Chrysalis experiences being given the chance to participate in the ministry over the course of the weekend. In short, I think that they will likely have gotten just as much out of it, if not more, than many of the actual participants for whom the weekend was being run to serve.

With the prospect of moving into full time service constantly on my mind, I think that this weekend came at an excellent time to simply stop, reflect and refuel. Simply put it feels very much like someone standing upon a mountain range looking out upon an unknown land into which they must enter, as opposed to staying put somewhere familiar. While I am very much excited and do feel that it is the only thing that I can do, there is the anxiety that comes with departing from the area of work in which I have studied for since the middle of high school, but also in choosing a separate path to those with whom I have shared so much of my life. While I know that they will still be there, it still saddens me greatly that I may not be there to share with them in their professional life, especially given that this has been a primary area in which I have been able to maintain contact with these peers. The same thing can also be said of those who I have come to know through my work in the Army Reserve, which it becoming increasingly apparent that will not be able to co-exist with the schedule of full time ministry.

At the same time I found this to be a valuable weekend of affirmation. The emphasis placed on showing Agape (the Love of God) was surprisingly challenging. I was constantly amazed by the love shown towards the participants, which when considered is also only a dim reflection of that shown to us every minute of the day by the Lord. The other unexpected surprises came from the interactions with the leaders those who were on course with me. I was further surprised and impressed with the actual Chrysalis/Emmaus community who were present to support us at various points during the three days. I think that remembering that these networks of supportive and loving people are present in the church is of great encouragement when moving into such community orientated work.

We were also given a considerable amount of little thingies throughout the duration, and and the end got given one of these: (which all those who had done Chrysalis prior seemed to have)

As much as I am loathed to be going straight to Melbourne after doing this weekend, I do think that having a break from busy life, like the break found when on course with the Army, will be highly beneficial. I get the feeling already that this is one of those camps/experiences which continue to have impact as they sink in over a period of time.

Fly with Christ.