The Busy Slacker

Hehe long time, no blog!
I haven’t quite vanished from the face of the Earth; just a small blog to let you all know that I’m alive and well. I hope you’ve all had an awesome and memorable Christmas, one filled with wonderful times and reflections of God deciding to pop on down to Earth as a manger-dwelling infant. I have disappeared temporarily from the blogspot for a number of reasons. Firstly, check out my previous post (Golden Age) for one  reason. Secondly, I’ve not been able to have any time to myself for the last month. Ever since exams, I’ve straight away returned to Window Treatments as a full-timer until my second year kicks under way. Thirdly, if I haven’t been at work I’ve been elsewhere. It seems that my time has been spread across many fronts, and the fact of the matter is, you are reading this particular post because I finally  managed to have time all to myself.
Anyways, must dash. I didn’t tell you how much time I had to myself (clue: not all that much). But rest assured over my absence I’ve collated some juicy ideas for posts that will hopefully spill over from my brain to my blogspace. But until then, have a happy New Year’s celebration(s). Don’t do anything I wouldn’t (list not available) =)

Peace out!

Golden Age

“…Lord, there was a time when I had a ‘Golden Age’ in my life…but I have forgotten what that feels like. I pray, Lord, that you would restore to me what it was like to live life to the full. I pray once again for a golden age…”

What you have just read is a small and somewhat paraphrased version of a prayer I made to God a long while ago. When I speak of a ‘Golden Age’, I speak of a time when I was living life with all the energy in the world, where (almost) everything seemed to be running quite nicely, and if the enemy decided to wage war, I was able to ward off such attacks in the power of God. That time was at the start of this year, and has been lost since April. And the time that has followed hasn’t been all bad,  but inwardly I had felt empty, that a piece of me was somehow missing or in need of restoration. Many times I had prayed similar prayers (like the excerpt above), because noone  likes living under a dark cloud, so to speak. I had times where I hated my life. I wanted something more.
Then God showed up…

Recently, I returned to my place of work (see previous post), and have been having an absolute blast. I have regained a lot of energy since returning, and this has served only to lift me up. But it gets better. Last Tuesday I played Laser Strike with my teammates and we thrashed our opposition, paving the way for next week’s final against the top team. So I’m pretty stoked about that. And today I tasted – for the first time in ten months – a full-time wage, and am aiming to save as much as I can, as well as buying Christmas presents and a place ticket. So all these have also  lifted me up, but these pale next to what really  set my life spiraling upward! I don’t want to sound like a “spiritist”, but I really felt that God has blessed me, by not only giving me all these little victories and niches (because it’s the little things in life that really count), but on Friday night I feel that God had given me the greatest gift anyone could ever receive from His hand – namely that of a special someone =”) Me and my best female friend of three awesome (and turbulent (1)) years are now going out. And ever since then I have been walking differently.

Oh, and if that last sentence sounded odd, read it again in light of what I’ve just written. The words are simple, but the meaning is there.

Praise God, for His testing of those He loves. Praise God, for the blessings that follow. Praise God, for Him being God.

Notes:
(1) By ‘turbulent’, I mean that me and my friend have got perhaps the  strongest friendship I’ve got with anyone out there. We’ve been through so much crap, it’s not funny! But we’ve always stuck it out, and have emerged stronger as a result. And now that we’re going out, if a problem arises, we know how to deal with it. Praise God for special friends like that!

Is Your Heart At Risk?

Inspired by Lani’s blog, I decided to partake in the Cynicism  test…
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You scored 10, on a scale of 0 to 30. Here's how to interpret your score:

0 – 10: Risk-free. Your Cynicism level is very low.
11 – 20: Somewhat cynical. Your Cynicism level is probably high enough to be of some concern.
21 – 30: Severe cynic. Your Cynicism level is very high.

What I'm Up To (In Brief)

With Bible College ceasing for the year, what has become of the J can be summed up in two words: Window Treatments.  With the end of my study life comes the re-entering of my full-time working life, as I make a return to the place where I built my life. I am working there more or less until my second year gets under way, which isn’t for another ten weeks at the least. And here I am – as I said in my November 1  post – joining my ‘working family’ for the longest haul in the infamous W.T. Christmas Period. In a lot of ways it’s great to be back! I feel comfy and right-at-home in the W.T. atmosphere, so it’s great that I can hang out with my workmates like the days of old, and have a good hard slog at the same time. But on the other hand, I miss College life. But I know in time I will be back for the long haul. Can’t wait to see you all there in 2006.
As well as returning to workplace life, I also stamp my authority on the Laser Strike field as I return to my tourney team as well, much to their delight. We played the top team last night and lost to them, but only by 40 points! We went in with a ‘tactic’ and came out with brains full of ideas and refinements. Next week we play a team called ‘Tekken’, and if we play the way we played last night Tekken are going to get ripped to pieces. That’s the plan anyway, and plans always  look good on paper, don’t they!
Tomorrow night I’m off to my Dad’s house after work for dinner and quality time, so that oughta be awesome…providing I can beat him in Darts. Difficult when he’s a Canterbury rep!
Anyways, off to host home group tonight, and I need to shave!
Peace out from the J =)    

Remember those plastic signs that you can stick to the back of your windscreen? Here's the best one out there.

Ryan Sumner, Dip.BS

What a year it’s been! Here I am, more or less at the end of my first year at Bible College, and what a year it’s been! I started out on this journey of living with Jesus in early 2001, so I guess I’m coming up to my fifth birthday – even though I’m 22! I came from a background of partying, drinking copious amounts of goodness-knows-what, smoking, and on one occasion drugs. But all that’s in the distant past. I’ve often reflected on my past with a chuckle to myself thinking, five years ago I would never have thought of this whole God-thing that I’m doing!  And I would never have picked this ardent ex-Atheist to be willing to give up full-time work to go to Bible College to study to become a Pastor. What a 180 that  is!
So as I sit back and reflect on this past year, I remember that I’ve sacrificed so little in order to gain so much. I gave up full-time hours to put time in attending Bible College. I gave up earning $400 a week to pay $3000(+) for my dream. My relationship with my girlfriend at the time before College ended (long story), only to gain a whole heap of friends that I so see as something much, much more. Thank you guys for being my family this year. Thank you my Boss for letting me go to strive toward my calling (and still return for part-time work). And especially thank you God, for making yourself known to me in ways I cannot articulate. And that you’re still  with me, even when life throws me curve balls.

And to everyone – roll on next year for another round! See you all there =)

"Coincidences"

Tonight has been a night of some amazing “coincidences”, in particular two things that have contributed. The first is from my home group tonight, and the second is from my mate at College. Both of what was said parallels quite nicely and somewhat profoundly. I think there’s a message from God in all of this, so I think I’d better write it down for future reference, as well as for the benefit of whoever visits my lovely corner of the Internet world.

I’ll start with home group: we looked at the book of Esther tonight. Our aims were to delve into the book and create a character study of Esther’s two chief characters: Esther and Mordecai. We split into two even groups and studied a character each (my half chose Mordecai). When we met back, it was amazing to see just what we pulled out of the book. What was equally more amazing was that both of us zeroed in on perhaps the  key point of the entire book. Basically, the book of Esther explains a string of “coincidences”, one after another, in succession. First, Esther just “happened” to be chosen as the new Queen, who just “happened” to discover a plot against her people, the Jews. She just “happened” to win the King’s favor enough to have the Jews spared, and just “happened” to be written in the legacy that is the Bible. Those who have read Esther will jump on the key point: God is behind it all. Although He himself doesn’t get mentioned even once, nonetheless God doesn’t have to be blatant for it to be of God.
The key point in the book was the sentence that Mordecai gives to Esther: “For such a time as this”. Explaining Esther’s position, Mordecai charges her with why she’s Queen in the first place: to save the Jews from genocide. Being the only  person conceivable who would have spoken up for the Jews, Esther agrees despite the conviction that she could die trying.
For me – and for the group as a whole – the “for such a time as this” passage speaks volumes to us today. And I want to link this with what a good mate at College said (you know who you are): The Bible speaks of God’s redemptive work throughout creation and history. And we as humans have a chance to act in God’s redemptive plan. As my mate put it, we get to write something in the Bible. Not literally speaking, but we have our lives, and we have this golden opportunity to bring about that which the Bible speaks of. What an amazing “coincidence”, that in two days I hear this central theme. I don’t want to risk making it more of an issue than what it ought to be, but dare I say I think there is a word from God for all of us…

…for such a time as this.

That Time of Year

One down, one to go!
Last night I entered into the first of the two exams I have at the end of this year. After spending ‘far too much time’ studying (all of about nine hours!!), I wrote at speed to complete two hours of OT exam. For confidential reasons I can’t mention anything of what I wrote, but I can tell you that I was full of confidence during the time. Thanks to Warwick I didn’t fall into the trap of the first semester, and this time I had all three questions show up (funny that). I don’t mind telling you all that afterwards I felt drained!  And my vision was somewhat fuzzy when I left College and went to board my bus back home.

Roll on Thursday for my NT exam – but for now it’s time to hit those books.

Happy Me!

Today marks a momentous occasion. Although I an tentative around the term best friend (because some people think it’s a preference between friends), but being the un-PC man that I am, I use the term freely because I’ve grown with my best mate for the past 11 years, so I guess you could say that he knows just as much about me as I know about myself. Anyways, he spent about eight months in Australia on a sort of working holiday/adventure, and today he arrived back in good ol’ New Zealand. He misses Aussie, as you can imagine having made a lot of new and awesome friendships over there, but to be honest it’s so cool to have him here after all this time =)
Thought I’d share that with one and all. Needless to say, I’m in a very happy mood.    

Anne Graham's Take

I was sorting through my My Documents folder and came across this file. It is a post from my 20’s group’s Forum, and I decided to save it to my computer. What follows is what was posted in its original form. It made me think…

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Hey, this is something I want to share with you - Following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, Anne Graham, the daughter of the evangelist Billy Graham was asked on a TV program how God could have let something like September 11 happen. This is what she said - it is something to think about!

“I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and protection if we demand that He leave us alone? I know there’s been a lot of e-mails going around about September 11, but this really makes you think. In light of recent events… terrorist attacks, school shootings etc... Let’s see. I think it started when Madeline Murray O’Hare complained she didn’t want any prayer in our schools and we said okay. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and that instructs us to love your neighbor as yourself. And we said okay. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would become warped and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said, as an expert should know what he’s talking about, okay. Then, someone said teachers better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the education department said no teacher in school had better touch a student when they misbehave because we don’t want any bad publicity, and we surely don’t want to be sued (There’s a big difference between disciplining and touching, beating, smacking, humiliating etc). And we said okay. And then someone said, let’s let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won’t even have to tell their parents. And we said okay. Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys, and they’re going to do it anyway, let’s give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won’t have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said okay. Then some top elected officials said it doesn’t matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs. And agreeing with them, we said it doesn’t matter to me what anyone, including the President (USA) does in private, as long as I have a job and the economy is good. And then someone said let’s print magazines with pictures of nude women and call it wholesome, down-to-earth appreciation for the beauty of the female body. And we said okay. And then someone else took that appreciation a step further and published picture of nude children, and then stepped further by making it available on the Internet. And we said okay, they’re entitled to their free speech. And then the entertainment industry said, let’s make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex. And let’s record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide and satanic themes. And we said it’s just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.
Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a lot to do with “We reap what we sow”. “Dear God, why didn’t you save the little girl killed in her classroom? Sincerely, Concerned Student”. And the reply “Dear Concerned Student, I am not allowed in schools." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided they do not have to believe, think, say or do anything the Bible says. Funny how someone can say, “I believe in God” but still follow Satan, who by the way, also “believes” in God. Funny how we are quick to judge but not be judged. Funny how you can send a thousand jokes through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but the public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.    

Maximized Manhood?

Yesterday I got a shock in the mail. Not a bad shock, but something that I did not quite expect to get. I was in my room, typing away, when my flatmate walks in brandishing a rather large envelope – addressed to me. She dumped it on my bed and walked out, carrying on doing her own thing. Me, intrigued by this new entrant, opened the envelope, and discovered to my amazement that it contained my certificate for Maximized Manhood!
For the past many Monday nights, I’ve been heading off to a men’s small group, working through the “Majoring in Men” curriculum. Thus far I’m doing the “primary” curriculum, and have successfully completed the first book in the series of three. So here I am, feeling pretty good about myself at this point…then something hit me. A sense of shame and guilt came in. And I knew why.
To get this certificate, you need to first complete an exam and send it away for marking, at which point you get a certificate in due course – if you pass of course (and it’s very difficult to fail in these exams). But I hadn’t actually sent  my exam away! How on earth did I end up collecting this certificate? I felt bad at this point, because here’s a fine piece of paper I haven’t properly earned. So today I’m going to put this right – I’m going to thrust it in an envelope and post it out. That’s the “shame” part, now for the “guilt” part.
If I look back on my life during these past couple of months, I will find that I haven’t lived a maximized life. Anyone whose read Maximized Manhood  (Edwin Louis Cole) can spot the central message, and the call to Christ-like manhood. I ask myself: Have I been living a manhood that God wants me to live? Have I been living at my potential? Have I really been living at all?
The guilt will pass, but will leave behind lessons that I’ve gotta take on board. Prayers and accountability would be most cool =)

Vulnerable

I have known this for a number of years, but even to this day it still hits itself home in my life. Relationships  are one of my biggest weaknesses in my life. Allow me to explain…
If you’ve managed to get through whole-cloth my previous post (the really really  large one), you will discover that yes indeed, I do have a ‘crush’ on someone. There’s good news and bad news that ties in with this. The good news is that I’m currently only interesting in building up a friendship first. I have known all too well what it’s like to date without that solid friendship foundation in place. The bad news is that (and yes I have chosen the right words) I feel drawn to someone else. I know the words I’ve used may sound a little odd, but I hope you can grasp the central message I’m trying to communicate. But it’s a little more complicated than that. The person I have the ‘crush’ on lives in Christchurch (which is good), but the person whom I’m feeling drawn to is not a permanent resident to New Zealand, and is returning to her home country in February. And that’s a big shame, because right from the word ‘go’ we’ve hit it off and act like we’ve been friends for years. I enjoy her company immensely, and am not looking forward to having her return to her home country. There have been – and will be – many prayers thrown upwards to God, as one would expect. Your prayers and comments are of great appreciation =)
I know what the solution has to be, but it’s a tough situation when you like one person but are drawn to another. I hope I’m not a lone voice in this. If there have been any other people that have experienced this, I’d love for you to leave a comment.

I Am Ryan (well, last time I checked...)

I got looking on Lani’s blog, and spied an interesting post. It’s one of those About Me questionnaires, and so I thought I’d copy and paste the questions, and follow up with answers pertaining to myself =)
Enjoy, O web surfer…


The Basics
Name: Ryan
Height: 5’10”Shoe size: 9
Hair color: Very Dark Brown
Siblings: 1 Older Sister
Eyes: Hazel and Green
Hometown: Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Current Home: As above, but also residing in a house
Favorite Places: Hawdon Valley, Arthurs Pass, anywhere that is tramp-able.
Favorite Sodas: A mix of coke, fanta and lift (in equal thirds, this makes raspberry!!)
Favorite Games: Chess, Risk (Original and LOTR), the Civ3 board game
Favorite Food: Indian by far!
Favorite Book: Bible, The Case For Series
Favorite Place to Eat: Errrmmm…pass?
Favorite Fancy Place: Probably Brisbane. That’s pretty fancy…
Favorite Hobby: Computer Games
Friends: Of course I have…I hope =)
Favorite Show: I hardly watch TV, but it would have to be That 70’s Show and Doctor Who
Favorite News: TV3
Favorite Dog: A “woofy” dog, that actually looks like a dog. Bichon-Frise doesn’t count! Neither do Chihuahuas
Favorite Sports: Cricket, Soccer, Laser Strike
Favorite Fruits: Bananas, Mandarins, Apples, and definitely Strawberries!
Favorite Song: Too many to list.
Steak or Lobster: Gotta be steak, especially T-Bone
Favorite Colour: Red
Favorite Weather: Thunderstorms!


You…
You have a crush on someone: That I do…but it would be telling =)
You wish you could live somewhere else: Nah, where I’m at is all good. I’m close to everything close to me
You think about suicide: There was a time long ago when I did, but I’m too chicken to take my own life
You believe in online dating: Kind of. Never done it, but for some people it seems to work. Not for me though…
You want more piercings: More? I have to actually get piercings first before I can get more =)
You like cleaning: Not my favorite pastime, but if it needs doing, then here I come
You like roller coasters: I’ve been on a few ‘dry’ ones, but none that go upside-down
You write in cursive or print: Hell yes I write in print
You last talked to: The bus driver
You last did laundry: Saturday
You last prayed: Last night


For or Against:
Long distance relationships: Against, but that’s because it never worked out. I have no doubt they can work, but for me it’s difficult
Killing people: That’s a tricky one, and hotly debated out there. It’s very scenario-dependable
Teenage smoking: Against smoking irrespective of age
Driving drunk: Totally against
Gay/Lesbian relationships: Against
Soap operas: Not a fan of soaps.
Iraq occupation: Another tough one. Pass.


Have You…
Ever cried over a girl: Yes
Ever cried over a boy: No
Ever been in a fist fight: Yes
Ever been arrested: Almost, but no
Ever had a friend die: Yes, unfortunately
Ever dated a cousin: Urgh! Heck no
Ever used a gun: Does Laser Strike count? But other than that, yes. It’s not much but I’ve used a bolt-action small-bore rifle. Wouldn’t mind using my mate’s .303 =)
Ever finished a puzzle: Yes
Ever got surgery: Yes, mostly on my teeth
Ever got beat up: Yes
Ever hated someone: Yes
Ever made a huge mistake: HA! The greatest rhetorical question ever – yes
Ever tried any drugs: Yes


What
Shampoo do you use: Dunno…what’s there is what I usually grab
Shoes do you wear: Crusty $20 Warehouse ones
Are you scared of: Spiders and Death
Do you sleep in: Boxers, but also a bed
Did you eat for lunch: Today I grabbed Subway
Is love: You cannot answer this in one sentence. But the best I can do is that Love is not what society defines it as. Love is the highest good in this cosmos that is founded in the one true God
Is a player: people that screw others round (in a relationship context)


Number
Of times I have had my heart broken?: two or three
Of hearts I have broken?: hopefully none, but I don’t think I’m that lucky
Of times my name has been involved in drama?: Pass
Of scars on my body?: Many!
Of things in my past that I regret? Quite a few
Of drugs you have taken: one
Of accidents you been in: I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a huge number
Of people you broke up with? 12


Favorite
Five letter word: House
Actor/Actress: Harrison Ford/Nicholas Cage and I can’t think of an Actress (yet)
Comedian: Billy Connolly
Candy: Fizzy Tabs
Cartoon: Tom and Jerry
Cereal: Weet-Bix, and my Mum’s Special-K
Day(s) of the week: Wednesday and Friday
Least fave day: Sunday
Flower(s): Roses
Shapes: Dodecahedrons!!
Jello flavor: Raspberry
Summer/Winter: Winter definitely. I can’t handle the hot weather of summer


Person who last…
Slept in your bed: Me
Saw you cry: my best mate Nat
Made you cry: A friend’s mother (long story)
You went to the movies with: my ex-girlfriend
Yelled at you: Ummm…long time since I was last given a serious yelling. Most probably my Dad
Sent you an email: TradeMe


Have you ever…
Said "I love you" and meant it?: Yes
Gone out in public in your pajamas?: Hehe no
Kept a secret from everyone?: Yes
Cried during a movie?: I have been close, but not fully yet
Ever at anytime owned new kids on the block?: No
Planned your week based on the TV Guide?: Haha a few times
Been on stage?: YES! It’s soooo cool
Apples or Bananas?: Bananas
What was the last meal you ate?: Subway
Last noise you heard?: My excessive typing
Last smell you sniffed?: Coffee
Last time you went out of town?: Labour Weekend (Arthur’s Pass)


Friendship/Love
Who was your first peck on the lips?: I dunno...Mum??
Who was the last person you kissed?: As above, without the ‘I dunno’ bit
Do you believe in love at first sight?: No
Do you want children one day & if so, how many?: Yes, probably two. Not really keen for an overly large family. As long as it stays together =)
Most important things to you in a friendship are?: Trust and Honesty


Random Stuff
Criminal record?: No
Do you speak any other languages?: I know bits of others but none that I can speak fluently
Name some of your favorite things in your bedroom?: Computer, CDs, Books, and of course myself
Thing you dislike about yourself the most?: My insecurities
Worst feeling in the world?: Depression
Whom you love: Family, friends, and my cell group leader
Whom you miss: Nana


Your…
Nickname(s): The J Man, J, Jethro, Spike, Vegito
Initials: RBS
How old do you look?: I haven’t shaved in four days, so I look like I’m roughly 25?
How old do you act?: serious
Braces: Never had ‘em, never will
Do you have any pets?: Four cats: two at my Mum’s house, one at my Dad’s house, and the next door neighbors cat that visits us from time to time
You get embarrassed?: very rarely, but it happens
What upsets you?: A lot of things, but can be summed up in three words: lack of integrity    

Not Quite Phil Mickelson

Have just got back from Golf – man was it a hot day or what! Me and my mate Terry went round Leeston and had an absolutely awesome time. Good game, great company, and nice summer weather to wrap it all up. I went round in 138 (boo), which is a shame since I usually whip round in the low 120’s. Terry on the other hand went round in 103, which isn’t bad considering he hasn’t played Golf in just over a year.
Now I’m back at my flat taking it nice and easy, out of the hot 30 degree sun. I bought two bottles of Aqua-Shot for drinks, and both bottles got downed in no time flat (as you can imagine). I think I’ll tidy my room, as it needs a good dunging-out! All in all though, it was an awesome way to spend a public holiday. Roll on the next one…which I guess is Christmas.

Long Weekends

Today is “Show Day”, or lesser known as Canterbury Anniversary Day. For most cantabrians, that means it’s off to the A&P Showgrounds for a day at the Show, checking out different farming sections, rides and displays. For me, it’s a day out at Leeston for a round of Golf. And man am I gonna be sunburnt when I get back!
Yesterday was an awesome day too, just quietly. My morning run didn’t happen as my running partner got caught out by a stomach bug, but that left me able to sort out some things for College, namely Fieldwork. I visited my Cell Group Leadership FieldEd supervisor to finalise all the details of the fieldwork and (eventually) hand it in for a cool five credits. After that I came to College for a bit of reading and Cricket, but the Cricket wasn’t happening for two obvious reasons. One: there weren’t enough players there. Two: it was flippin’ hot!
Five o’ clock saw the BBQ prep all wrapped up, and a decent number of us tucked into the end of year Barbie. Congrads to the three lucky entrepreneurs who have been elected as next year’s student reps. I was so hoping that I was one of the three, but that’s all good. There’s always the third year.

Anyways, I’m off to grab my breakfast and a cuppa. I hope your Show Day will be as enjoyable as mine…and a lot less hot!

Regaining Spirituality

”If people want to go to a spiritual person, they generally won’t think to first go to a Christian…”

Anyone who was in the LTTB class on Tuesday will know that I have made a bad paraphrase of the above sentence. But there is a point: Christians are not seen as spiritual nor possessing spiritual power.
Here’s an example that was given: a Missionary goes to some far away remote destination to preach the Gospel, say, Africa. He enters a village, shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ, wows the village, and saves the lot. Not a bad effort you would agree. Hold onto that thought for a minute while I digress. Almost everyone (compared to 30 years ago) believes in some form of spirituality, whether it is Tarot, Astrology, New Age and so forth. The problem is that more often than not organised religion (especially Christianity) takes a lot of flak rather than “membership”. These “New Age” followings that I’ve just mentioned are seen as “real” acts of spirituality, or at least people getting a dose of spirituality per se.
Let’s return to the Missionary example. Recap: you came, you preached, you saved everyone in that village. Now for the punch line: an African village will most likely have a Witch-Doctor living nearby. And if a village member discovers that his house is haunted or cursed, he will go visit the Witch-Doctor. Why? For the exact same reason as my opening line suggests: If people want to see someone with spiritual power, they will not first go to a Christian. At best, Christians are seen as “nice” people. Nice in the sense of the virtues that Christ has called us to live out. And these virtues as we know them are good! But as agents not only of God’s Love, but of God Himself, we are told that we too can work signs and wonders just as Jesus did. And one of the most powerful weapons a Christian wields is Prayer! If you think that example is a weak one, then flash back to how many times you have asked someone to pray with or for you. We wouldn’t ask people to pray for us if we didn’t believe that prayer had incredible power. But here’s the thing: we do believe in the power of prayer. Prayer can heal, restore, strengthen, bind, release…you name it.
Here’s another punchline: as Christians we do possess spiritual power. That is, the power that God has given us through His Son.

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  – Mark 11:23-24 NIV    

The Blogger Returns

I recently had a look on the comments of my last post, and a great mate of mine has wondered – in paraphrase – why I haven’t posted in a while. The truth is, not a lot of interesting stuff – personally or theologically – has happened in my life. But wait no longer, for I have returned with a post no less! I’ll start off my outlining how my weekend has been.

My weekend was a pretty good one overall, apart from yet another lazy Sunday. Saturday was good though, apart from a lousy migraine. I went to work on Friday, as I do, and I was approached by a supervisor asking if I wanted to come in on Saturday morning, to which I said ‘yes’. Being a student, I need all the money I can lay my hands on, particularly with Christmas in seven weeks, not to mention my Dad’s birthday next week. So I turned up, knowing exactly what I was in for. We (the workplace) had a 40ft shipping container arrive earlier in the week, and there were five of us (including myself) tasked with emptying it out. Now here’s why I got a migraine: First, it was a hot day. Second, I’m in a 40ft container that is amplifying the heat with no wind whatsoever. And third, there was 15 tonnes of product to shift out of this aforementioned container. So you can imagine I had a “tonne” of fun. After doing that for four and a half hours, I came back home and well, had a migraine. At about 6 that night I went out to a BBQ with the 20’s group from Church. BBQ’s rock, as did the company. I had planned afterwards to head on out to Rolleston for the fireworks, but instead went “with the crowd” to New Brighton, as no-one was heading out to Rollas. Stink for me.

I had never been out to the New Brighton fireworks before, but this year changed all that. I went with a small bunch from the BBQ. Somehow we found a park (right on a street corner!!) and walked out to the pier. We got there just in time, and man what a display it was! I thought it was far too short, but for my first time out there I could hardly judge. The fireworks themselves were good, but I can’t say the same about the environment around. After staying on the beach for an hour afterwards, me and a mate decided we’d call it a night. So our “driver” per se walked us back to his car, but we passed through some stuff that I will never forget. Basically, the whole of New Brighton was cordoned off, so cars couldn’t drive round. So needless to say there was a massive turnout on Saturday. The vast majority of those present were teenagers. Now I don’t have a problem with teens – at some point in the past I was one (but man has that time been and gone) – but most of them were off their faces! A couple of them were throwing up, one outside a St. Johns ambulance (convenient), and one outside their mate’s car. And if they weren’t drunk, they were either violent, tagging, or accidentally hitting other people with fireworks. I don’t remember New Brighton being such a haven of drunkards five years ago (and I probably sound like some prehistoric dinosaur saying that), but man things have changed. And I saw all past night, and not just a classy fireworks display.

Sunday was an OK day. Went to a different Church for morning service to check it out. It was certainly an interesting service (a Pentecostal denomination it was), but I did enjoy the message given. Al Furey (who was visiting at the time, other than that he’d spent a lot of time in Cuba) gave a message on “Building your house”, and sadly I forget the text he used. But he used the term “house” to define generational bloodline, not just a physical act of building a house. And it got me thinking about my “house”. I am the only Christian in my family (unless my quest for genealogy records proves otherwise), and thus I have the chance to build my house, and to build it under the Lord’s guidance and purpose. I never grew up in a Christian house, and so never knew the love of God in my growing years. But I have the opportunity (when the time comes) to share with my future kids the love of God that has so touched me over these last four years. Anyways, I went to my Church’s evening service, and it felt good to be back in familiar territory. The message was a good one, based around Prayer.

Phew! That was some post. If you’ve made it this far you’ve done very well! And sorry to those who visit my blog but haven’t had anything new to read. I’ll try to be more frequent next time round.

The 'C' Word

For regular visitors to my lovely corner of webspace, I have written many articles on things I have encountered, things I have done (such as my last post before this one), and musings on a sort-of philosophical playing field. And all these are good and valid things I have written, but not a lot about the man behind the blog. My very first post was an introduction saying that my blog was for reflection on life and anything else that takes my fancy. Readers beware – I’m about to get brutally honest with myself.
Over the last few days, I have felt like crap. Sure I’ve been enjoying life, keeping a smile on the dial, but for the most part inwardly I have been feeling empty. I know that He is close, but I feel like God is far away from me at the moment. For all I know, it is probably just a patch or a phase I’m going through. But for the moment I’ve been feeling empty inside, I’ve been feeling lost and confused about a few things, and this feeling of being lost has only added to what I can only define as feeling crap!
I’m not writing this post to seek pity. Just simply – for the first time in a long time – being honest with myself with where I’m at.

The Last-Minute Rush

With November fast catching up in the calendar year, it is becoming apparent to me that I still have much to do academically!
November 1 used to be an ‘historic’ landmark. Because of the nature of my out-of-studies work (being in a factory involved in mass production), I always defined November 1 as the start of the “Christmas Period”, the infamous eight-week period where production seems to triple from nowhere, pushing man and machine to their limits. Tempers fly, screws come loose, stuff breaks down (albeit at the worst possible time), but at the end of the day it’s a job well done…for eight weeks! Thankfully, my “Christmas Period” doesn’t start until November 28, but the time at Window Treatments that will be spent full-time will be hard enough.
But that’s not what I’m talking about in my blog. November 1 will mark a different landmark. Even now, I am being made aware of the assignments and essays that are still outstanding. I’m sure I’m not alone in this camp. I’m sure that there are others rowing this boat, scrambling frantically to hand in essays before their due date, tying up loose ends with regard to fieldwork, and making sure their PGM is up-to-date. Compared to this, the exams seem like child’s play.
I don’t know about you, whoever you are reading this, but I’m looking forward to exams. I know that when I reach that lovely hallmark that is November 1, I will look back on the year and find that I have grown so much; spiritually, academically, relationally…I can’t name a facet of my life that hasn’t been changed. And yet, I still have so far to go…and I don’t mean two years of study.
I’m sure my workmates will cope with November 1 and beyond. After all, we get a lovely company-paid spit roast on December 23! But as for me, I will be joining them on November 28. For the time being, I’ve got essays to write up and hand in. I’ve got a Diploma to pass and then throw away – spending my credits on the Degree instead.

A Day Out At Arthur's Pass

Today being Labour Day, I had the opportunity to head over to Arthur’s Pass for the day with four of my mates. The idea of the day was just to chill/hang out with one another, have a lot of laughs, throw a rugby ball round (don’t ask me about my Mehrtens impersonation), and to take advantage of the many walking tracks Arthur’s Pass had to offer.
I had an absolutely breathtaking day! We first walked around the small township (actually, to and fro from the Info Centre), deciding what tracks we wanted to walk. In the end we chose two tracks: one lead up to a waterfall, and the other was a four hour return walk through the Bealey Valley. Anyway, the first walk was good. The waterfall walk was only a twenty minute venture, but then we left the “main” track and opted to see this waterfall up close and personal. Man it was HUGE! If I can, I’ll post up some photos of our walk (once I get copies from my friend’s digital camera first).
The second walk was mostly done on the river, where the water wasn’t flowing. Lots of rocks, some water, a heck of a lot of sun, a few burnt bodies, but scenery that you cannot get anywhere else! We walked right to the end of Bealey Valley up to a glacier, where we were met by not only a small waterfall, but a massive snowshelf – in the heat of the day – that you could walk under. But I decided not to, mainly because there were heavy rocks on top of this shelf, and with the snow melting I didn’t want to be underneath if it ever collapsed!
I love expedition. I love tramping. And rather than stay at home in Christchurch, doing goodness-knows-what (probably not a lot), I had the time of my life away from the city. And if the opportunity ever arose to me again, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Arthur’s Pass – I’m coming back sometime! Hopefully soon…

How On Earth...?

This is perhaps my shortest post in blogging history!
I was at my workplace today, and one of my workmates got Tennis Elbow playing Cricket.

Is that even possible?

Origins of the East and West

I have Foundation for Missions class on Wednesdays, and I have to say that it was an interesting, insightful class. Allow me to elaborate...
My lecturer was teaching us, with the aid of trusty Microsoft Powerpoint, and on one of the slides he brought up an interesting comparison between Eastern and Western cultures/nations. The picture I've appended at the top of this post serves to highlight these differences, which I will explain shortly. For now, I will more or less echo what my lecturer had to say.
Basically, when you think about it, all the world's major religions had their roots in the East. In fact, every religion can be traced back to the East. And in present day 2005, there isn't much difference; Eastern culture is still very much founded on the Spiritual and the Religious. The first three logos of my banner represent the three major religions to come from the East.
Contrast that with Western civilization. While the West was founded initially on Christian principle, today it is seldom practised. Since the days of Darwin, Man (I use this term plurally) has broken away from his Creator and instead opted to do things his way, which brings us to the other three logos: namely, Atheism (represented by the hammer and sickle), Rationality (representing modern thinking man, bound only to the natural), and Science (of which modern thinking man appeals to instead of God). So Western culture is very much grounded in the Rational, the Real, the Natural, and the Scientific.
It was interesting having this difference explained to me, because - while it had existed for a long time - I had not known of it before. I had never thought of it that way. And this is the very world with which I am a part. I am in this scientific, rational culture, bereft of its Creator.
And yet...I have a duty to bring God back into the equation. For East to meet West again, as it did in the Apostle Paul's time, and those that had gone after him.

The J Can Dance!

Tonight was Ole, a ball run by the 20’s group at my Church. About a hundred people turned up, a band named ‘Ritmo Latino’ provided the musical entertainment, and there was limbo and dancing galore.
Would you believe, there IS a dancing bone somewhere in my body! Now, I’ve never been in a dancing school, never taken lessons, never danced before in my life. Yet here I am – complete greenhorn – up the front bustin’ a groove! What an absolutely fantastic time it was! I’d do it again if I could.
Anyway, must dash. It’s nearly 1am and I have to get up at half past 6 to get ready for a Marae visit. Man am I going to be tired…
But hey, at least I can dance…after all =)

The Spirit Made Me Write This!

I have often wondered why we do this. Not that everyone does it, but they are out there, at this very minute, as I type my post. I’m talking about Christians who seem to explain away situations with that world famous biblical clique: “The Spirit made me do it…”, “God told me to…” or, “The Spirit told me it was OK…”
Have you ever had a conversation with a fellow Brother or Sister in Christ, and have they spoken this infamous one-liner? Have you caught yourself saying it?
The times I have heard it spoken to me by good mates of mine, is usually when they have rang me up for a listening ear. And hey, we all need that kind of accountability aye. But often when they have asked me for my opinion on the matter, naturally I have given it (more often than not my opinion is a challenge to what they rang me up for). And it is only when I challenge them on their lifestyle do I hear that the Spirit said it was OK. I find that somewhat irritating, and here’s why. First off, why ring me if the Spirit said it was cool? Surely the entire point of the phone call was because you felt a nagging within yourself, and you wanted to know a solution to the problem. But in acknowledging the problem is to also say that the Spirit wasn’t cool with it. If the Spirit was cool with it, then there is no problem, right?
Secondly, as was affirmed in my N.T. class today, the Spirit – being the very nature of our Father God – would not partake in anything contrary to His being or His will. And if we imagine that the Spirit said that sleeping with someone outside of marriage was OK, then what Spirit is that person listening to? Also, remember that even the Devil can masquerade as an Angel of Light.
And thirdly, and I know it sounds blunt, but using that one-liner sounds so much like a cop-out! Rather than face our sins and our shortcomings, we would rather shut them up, bolt them down, turn our backs and walk on…without actually dealing with the sin in the first place. That is the way of the sinful nature.

One final note: I have absolutely no doubt at all that the Holy Spirit speaks into the lives of people. But I do doubt I hear the Spirit affirming a sinful act.

My Generation cf The Next Generation

I was going to write this post up last week, but never quite got round to it, so here we go…
Last week at my home group saw the final chapter of the “Decisions” bible study we were working through. I had the privilege of leading this particular night, but before we got under way we ‘broke the ice’ with our happenings for the week, and David (our leader) mentioned the recent Bali bombings. What he said was quite freaky, and this is the basis of my post. Definitely worth thinking about.
Twenty years ago, terrorist attacks – especially of this frequency – were unheard of. Islam was a religion seldom mentioned here in the West. Around about the time I was born the world was (relatively) a safe place to live in. But these days things have changed. Ever since the events of September 11 the world was moved into a completely new direction. No longer is there a thing called safety. Islam is now making headlines throughout the world. Terrorism happens every week, every day! You cannot get away with buying the paper and not reading about some sort of terror attack. The world has changed.
Here’s the freaky bit: as I said, when I was growing up these events were unheard of. Terrorism in my childhood was not the norm. But the next generation is growing up with sound knowledge of all these awful events, and they will grow up thinking that this is the norm. Why? Because this is the environment they have been exposed to. To them, this will be the new norm.
I wonder, what will the world be like for the next next generation?

Culture Shock

Today was one of the more unique days at College.
On Saturday a group of us students are heading off to Akaroa (pray for sunshine) for the day, and the reason being that we are visiting a Marae. The last time I stepped onto a Marae was when I was about ten, and that was out at Pages Road. Anyway, we had a class today which was a rundown of protocol (sort of a “how-to” of Marae events), and yes…we even got to sing!
The last time I remember singing Maori songs was back at my primary school (loooong time ago), and even then I hadn’t really had a good grasp on the Maori language. Mind you, from an early age I was taught that I didn’t go to school to sing, I went to school to learn.
So fast forward to today. I’m my own person, with my own choices. And I have indeed chosen to sing. And I tell you what: there’s nothing like singing to God in another language. It’s actually quite a rewarding experience, so I can’t wait to step onto this Marae, for the first time in twelve years, singing this song of praise and welcoming one another…

He honore                      (all honour)
He kororia                      (all glory)
Maungarongo                (peace)
Ki te whenua                 (over all the earth)
Whakaaro pai e            (goodwill)
Ki nga tangata katoa    (to all people)

Ake ake                        (forever, forever)
Amine                          (amen)

Te Atua                       (to God)
Te piringa                    (our desire)

Toku oranga                (our well being)

C'mon Canterbury!

The title says it all really...c'mon you Red and Blacks!

My View vs The Church

(Disclaimer: This is going to be a large post.)

I was reading the post of a good friend of mine, and it has inspired me to write a post of my own regarding the issues he has raised. You can read the original post(s) here and here (you may need to read them in order to get a better grip on what I’m trying to say).

There are two things I want to explore in my post, all of which have been gleaned from my friend’s post. These are:

• A Divided Church versus A Unified Church


• Hypocrisy within the Church

These will be explored in turn.

A Divided Church versus A Unified Church
What exactly is it that divides a Church? What can happen in order to have a unified one instead? I guess this is both a problem and a solution for churches nationwide – or worldwide for that matter.
I want to first open with a quote from my friend’s post:

In a perfect world I would like to see one church
stand together against Satan and not fall down
because they can't agree on which denomination
they belong to. (1)

I find it amazing that whenever I have asked people about their Christian journey, they more often than not say, “I’m a Baptist” or, “I’m a Catholic” or, “I’m Anglican”. I was once asked this and I responded with “I’m a Christian”. I didn’t say that to sound smug or superior. I said it because that’s who I am. My name is Ryan Sumner, and I am a Christian. I can’t pinpoint the exact time that denominations turned into “armed factions”, but that’s what has happened in today’s church. We have become entrenched in this thinking that says my church is the right church, and all those others are wrong! It’s like saying the Anglicans have the way of salvation, and the rest are like blind guides. Did I miss something? Isn’t Jesus Christ, the Son of God the way of salvation? And if that is so, then how is it that we believe that Christ is only part of one denomination? He flipping isn’t! The Bible tells us that the church is His bride, not one or two denominations. Let’s get that record straight!
Last month, various denominations pulled strings and hosted Pastor Greg Laurie and musician Rebecca St. James at the Christchurch Town Hall for an amazing night of evangelism. Good grief, did I say various? I hope that serves an example that different denominations can work together without debate. It can be done.

Hypocrisy within the Church
It is no surprise that we as Christians are constantly bombarded with accusations of hypocrisy. And our usual inclination is to bite back and charge that it is all lies. And I know I can find a number of biblical texts to throw at the accusers, but let’s hit the pause button. If I did that, would I not be fuelling their flames? To fight fire with fire, I would not be winning a soul for Christ; I would instead be proving that I am no different to everyone else. Instead, would it not make sense to listen to what the charge is? I mean, we can’t deny what Capill did.
Allow me to quote a second time from the same post:

…its just that in the world and the church these things
are so relaxed. That said, if we as church relax
whatever rules and laws are we not in danger
of becoming hypocrites…(2)

This is what the church in Corinth did 2000 years ago, and (sadly) this is repeated in so many churches. In 1 Cor 5, we have an account of a member who is practising an abhorrent sexual sin. While we probably don’t have church members (congregation and worship team, there is no distinction) doing that sort of thing, most churches these days are affected with the cancer I like to call tolerance. Churches have become lax. Churches are tolerant of sin. Dare I say this?
If you disagree with that comment, take a look at your church, and tell me that you don’t have the following:

• Openly gay ministers.


• Fornicators on the worship team. (3)


• Preachers who don’t practice what they preach.


• Pornographers on the ministry team.


• People in the church (ministry and congregation) that you know are living un-Christ like lives, turning up to church, and thinking everything is ok.

I realise I have been incredibly blunt in my listings, but what more can I do? The church has a problem, and I’ve listed some things that I have seen and heard happen within the Church. For instance, that last one strikes out. I know a lot of people that firmly believe that they can live their lives any way they want, turn up to church, think they are cleansed from all sin, and then go and do it all again.

I’ll stop my rant here and wait for the oncoming storm of comments. But before you leave a nasty comment (if you plan on writing a nasty one), stop and think for a moment. Has anything I’ve said been an outright lie? Or do I actually have a point? Is there an actual problem with Christianity out there? And if there is, what are we prepared to do about this problem?

Someone suggested being more like Christ. I say we invest our lives – and our lifestyles – in that achievement.

Notes:
(1) See http://youraveragechristian.blogspot.com/2005/10/lets-get-controversial-part-2.html.
(2) ibid.
(3) To get a better understanding, I recommend either Maximised Manhood (Edwin Louis Cole) or I Kissed Dating Goodbye (Joshua Harris).    

The Pain Within My Heart

I realise that for some visitors to my blog, it could seem strange that I am bringing this up. But this is my little corner of cyberspace after all, and in this instance I’m expressing how I’m feeling at the moment. Your prayers are appreciated, because I’m finding this process incredibly painful. In fact, it’s more painful than past experiences like it.
It’s been three weeks since my girlfriend and I broke up. Although we still communicate (which is good), and still have a good friendship (which is also good), I have to admit and be honest with myself…I miss her!
Since the breakup, we have seen each other twice; once to watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (awesome movie), then coffee afterwards, and briefly tonight before I went into a game of Laser Strike (she was just coming out of one). But I want to touch on the movie time. Spending time with her was a blessing, no doubt about that. But the time we did share that day really hit my heart. It made me realise just how much I do miss spending time with her. If I had to be totally honest, my total honesty would then be expressed in two parts. Part one: I want her back! And Part two: I want to get over her!
Just one problem – I can’t have both. With God’s help, I want to be released from the pain that this breakup has brought. I have had many breakups in the past, but none have been as painful as this. Most of the time I have felt the pain straight away, and by this time have gotten over it. But this one has done the reverse, namely that I have been fine in the first two weeks…then it’s hit me hard! And it is hurting me inside. There has been many times as of recent where I’ve wanted to sit down by myself and cry, but I have been unable to. I’m sure one day I will be free from all this, by the power and grace of God. But for the moment, I am in emotional pain. I admit this freely.

Please pray for me, my friends. I need you all! This isn’t a statement of weakness. It is a declaration of need.

Student turned Author?

Today saw the completion of one of my assignments, namely that of my Spirituality for Ministry class.
For this assignment, we (my classmates and I) each had to choose a topic relevant to our own ministry. For me, that meant that I could write on a topic that was close to me. It is a topic I’ve posted here before – Discipleship. In this assignment, I’ve explored four different aspects of Discipleship…

• As Spirituality (how Discipleship affects the individual)


• As Community (how Discipleship affects a small group setting)


• As Evangelism (taking Discipleship to the masses)


• And as Ecclesiology (how Discipleship affects the Church)

To be quite honest, once I got going I was having an absolute blast writing up this assignment. But I quickly discovered that I was limited to my word count. Instead of my limit of 1500 words, I found myself wanting to write a whole heap more on the subject. Given the choice, I would most likely have written not only more than 1500 words, but explored more than the four points I’ve mentioned. As I’ve said previously: Discipleship is a passion topic for me. But if I’ve found myself wanting – and doing – more than 1500 words, then I’m doing something right!
At some stage in my life, hopefully sooner rather than later, I’d like to write a book on this subject. I’d like to write a book exploring Discipleship in today’s 21st Century Church, look at where things are going right, where things are going wrong, and seek to find a resolute. That’s my plan, but to be honest, I have no idea how to write a book. I know it sounds stupid, but man is it true. I’ve talked to Steve Taylor about writing a book, and his advice for me was to just “write”. I guess things like blogging are great ways to practice my writing skills.
Who knows? There might just be an author in me yet. Watch this space!

Hello to Holidays

So the holidays are finally here…or should I say “holidays”?
For me, “holidays” is best translated as “no lectures”. Rather than attend Bible College today for lectures, I turned up instead to tackle some of my assignments. Currently I have three assignments I need to get written up and handed in by the end of next week. I did have four, but thankfully today saw me chalk up 1-0. Good stuff!
I like holidays. It’s always nice to have a break from the hassles of everyday life, and just be able to take time out. Holidays are also a great opportunity to get working on things you can’t normally do in normal routine. For example, I’ve always wanted to go back to Aimtru for some archery. On the other hand, I also need to refill my ink cartridges. I’ve also got a letter to write to a friend in Northern Ireland, and many other things too.

Y’know, all of a sudden, I have more on my hands than just assignments =)

The 100-Minute Fiasco

I read a report in today’s Press. I had heard about it at my home group, but on page 5 of the World section its own report was to be found. I had expressed concern over it at cell group – briefly – and I make no bones about how I felt about it after reading this news report.
Basically, someone has written The 100-Minute Bible, a Bible – they say – gives the overall message without “the boring bits”. The “boring bits” by their definition, are where genealogies are recorded (Matthew 1, Numbers 1-5 et al.), as well as other areas that one would find ‘boring’. It also shortens parts of the Bible as well.
I have a beef against this, for several reasons…
One, I believe that the true message of the Bible is lost in this 100-Minute rewrite.
Two, the “boring bits” allow transition from one phase to another. For instance, a boring bit would be the genealogy of Noah’s descendants. And let’s face it: there are a lot of kids in Noah’s line. But this allows the reader to trace from Noah to Abraham! Similar genealogies trace from Abraham to Jesus – you get the idea.
Third, I also believe that this Bible has come about as a result of a narcissistic, “impatient” society. By that I mean that society as a whole is bent on getting quick, easy answers now! And this mindset has been transferred onto the Bible, and the Bible has been grossly attacked. I wouldn’t disagree that this 100-Minute Bible is very easy to read, but I would disagree that the original message has been retained. You only need to look at The Message to see what I mean.
Do I sound old-fashioned? Maybe I do. But I would prefer the complete work of the Logos, than settle for a vastly cut-down version of what looks like salvation. If the message – God’s Message - truly has been lost, then this 100-Minute Bible will not provide salvation.

My Calling, My Issue

Today was probably one of the best classes I’ve had for “Spirituality for Ministry”. In class, we had two different ‘interactive’ components, both of which were similar to the Myers-Briggs indicators we did earlier in the semester. One indicator was on our particular gifting (it wasn’t an exhaustive list, just a basic one), and the other was on our core values. My post is mainly touching on the former.
To my surprise, the gifting indicator was reflective of what I am most passionate about. Rather than be strong in one area, I had two. These were:

• Teaching


• Stimulating the Faith of Others

If I had to simplify the second one, I would use the word discipleship. For me, one thing that is so incredibly close to my heart is strengthening fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. For me this is definitely a good thing; it’s as if I have identified my calling (see previous posts). But I was on my way home via the Orbiter bus route, having a chat to God, and this is what came out…

I realise that the Christian walk is far, far bigger than my two gifts. Yet when I look at the world, and see/hear about things like injustice issues, oppression, the poor and needy and the like, I do not feel passionate about these things. Do these issues – and more like them – concern me? For sure! Would I like to do something about them? You bet! Is it an area of passion for me? The answer for me would be ‘no’. Does that make me any less of a committed Christian? I sure hope not.

Your comments are appreciated. How can I – a man incredibly passionate about building up fellow believers – reconcile the bigger picture of Jesus’ commands to His disciples?

Winter Wonderland =D

Isn’t it amazing how much the weather can affect a person? I woke up this morning to the sound of my radio. I heard on the 7am newsreel that Otago had collected quite an amount of snow, and I thought to myself heck, that’s quite close to here. Little did I know that as I entered the bathroom for my morning shower, I glanced out the window and commented to myself that things look a little whiter than usual. I opened the window and to my utter surprise – there it was: snow! Snow snow snow!!!! =D
I love snow. It’s not exactly a regular occurrence to Christchurch. And when it is, it hits the port hills but never hits the ground. Not so today!
Brings back memories of ’92…I hope there’s more to come. Well, at least here in Christchurch. My thoughts and prayers are with the hard-working Farmers – people that could do without this sort of weather during Lambing.

1 Corinthians 13

I realise that I have given this post a seriously cheesy title. I mean c’mon – we all know exactly what Bible passage that is. But I’ve given this post the title because tonight’s service put a whole new spin on it. And before you read any further, I encourage you to stop reading this, grab your Bible and turn to the verse that the title suggests…

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Tonight I got a bit of a “wake-up” call. I have read this passage more times than I can count on both hands and feet, heard it preached more times than the 20-times table, heard it at many weddings…yet tonight I heard it in a way I have never heard it before. And it made perfect sense.
I’ll be brash: I’ve forgotten my first love. I have gone through my faith as of recent (and parts of late) with a stale love for God, and a stagnant love for the works of His hands – which includes people. Tonight rammed home to my heart that I have had a less-than-optimal Christian life. Sure, I’ve sang my throat dry (as was the case at PK), read my Bible every night, studied the Word at Bible College. Yet…something was missing. Something in my Christian walk wasn’t existent. And tonight it came to me. The incredibly profound truth was at the same time childishly simple! All God has called us to do…is love! We are called to love one another as God loved – and loves – us. Everything else – prophecy, tongues, mercy, helping, discipleship, teaching – stems from the one foundation that will never disappear. And that foundation is love! And it is a foundation that I pray I can make the foundation of my life.

Thank you, O God, for tonight’s message. I needed it…

Election Day

Today is Election Day – the day that we as New Zealanders get a say in where the country’s going for the next three years.
Priase God that we have the privilege of a Democracy, and that we do actually get to vote! Many countries in the world do not have this system of government (Tonga, North Korea, the 55 Muslim Nations, et al), and for that I give thanks that I as a citizen of New Zealand – and the earth – have the right to vote.
About three hours ago I put my two ticks on the paper, joined by as many as 2.8 million others around the country. I couldn’t help but notice that today took on a seemingly different aura than most other days. That could be because tomorrow’s going to be different, in more ways than one.
Isn’t it funny that two little ticks mean so incredibly much? Isn’t it crazy to think that the two “most powerful” ink splotches are those we stick on the ballot paper?
I myself am not an apt fan or follower of Political Science, but there is one thing that is undeniable: My place in New Zealand is going to be shaped by how the country is run. Be it Labour, National, or even another party you choose, it is their policies and their interests that will be brought not only into government, but outworked in society. We will feel the impact for the next three years.
My advice: vote! We have the choice – please choose to.

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." - Pericles (430 B.C.)

Hearing From God

I am currently in a state of confusion. Not in the sense that I have absolutely no idea of what to do with my life. Nor in the sense that there are a billion things floating around in my head, unable to focus on one single thought. I am confused about how to hear from God.
Some of you reading this post may think that I haven’t enough faith, and so it’s no wonder I cannot hear from him. I’ve had that told to me a couple of times in the distant past. I know from various past experiences in my Christian pilgrimage that I have felt the tugging of the Holy Spirit, or a picture or vision that has seldom failed. But at present, I am confused. And I’ll tell you why…
As most of you know, my girlfriend and I ended our relationship last weekend. Despite breaking up, we both believe that this is the best thing for us, and that the only foolish thing would be to lose the friendship. And believe me – there’s no way I’d ever want to lose that! But since that time, I have felt the Lord speaking to me. I can only describe it as the Lord…yet I have absolutely no idea what He’s trying to tell me. I admit that I lack the discernment able to discover firstly, is it God speaking. And secondly, if it is Him, what is He trying to communicate to me.
It is difficult to express in words exactly what I’m feeling. I think confusion is the best single word I can put down. I know I’m not alone in this – a lot of people would like to know “secrets into hearing from God”. Sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t know any. All I know is that God speaks to people in different ways, and as I have discovered, ways in which are sensitive to the individual. I used “pictures and visions” because that is the primary way I hear from God. Yet this “tugging” has nothing to do with pictures! So I constantly ask to God in prayer: If this is You, what are you trying to tell me?

Where To From Here?

I write this post no longer as a boyfriend of someone, but as a single person, and I guess the title says it all really.
I have had an amazing relationship that I can only describe as God-blessed. It is a shame that things couldn’t have worked out, but I think that the decision to break up is the best decision. I can now only look ahead in front of me and ask: God, what have you got in store for me today? While I would have liked things to have been solved, nonetheless I am now in a unique position to devote my time and energies to worshipping and serving God as a single. Until the day I become a boyfriend of someone, I want to give my time to God, and serve Him with an undivided heart.

That is the answer to my post. That is the where to from here…