It hailed last night!

Exams are in 5 days! I'm getting quite stressed indeed.

It hailed last night!

Exams are in 5 days! I'm getting quite stressed indeed.

It hailed last night!

Exams are in 5 days! I'm getting quite stressed indeed.

Branding and Integrity...

It's been a real difficult few weeks for me especially with the assignments pilling up and the exams looming ahead. So for those who are wondering where my newsletter is (I doubt there are many but hey), I've decided to put out a double issue for May/June just so that it'll be less of a distraction.

On a different note, yesterday at college I had two very interesting workshops. Instead of the usual preaching workshop, we had a "marketing" workshop conducted by a top image consultant in Australia. Yesterday's session was focused on the topic of "branding". How do we "brand" our church/faith/Jesus? Well, not really Jesus but you get the point. We even briefly touched on brand "Hillsong" and what it means for the secular public out in Australia.

However, what I found most intriguing was the discussion resulting from our principle’s question, "how do we market our faith when most of Australia views religion as irrelevant if not negative?" I know we should be asking these questions of ourselves especially in light of the many scandals and antipathy but I can't help ponder over this.

The second workshop was held during our usual ministry formation class but by a guest speaker. A "church consultant" and this was a workshop on being a healthy pastor. The workshop was really a three hour session of head bashing on the importance of our character and integrity in ministry and the value of TRUTH.

Now, I think this is certainly amazing. Only at Vose can you get two workshops on the same day that seemingly contradict each other and leaves you struggling to find coherence. Marketing people are well known for their "lack" of integrity aren't they? Always putting out subliminal messages and perceived images to tempt people into purchasing decisions (well at least that what 3 years of business school has taught me).

Christian leaders as men and women of integrity and character? Well, again, the public often view pastors and leaders as lying paedophiles and homophobic cheats. Always up to no good or brain washing their congregations.

MAYBE, just MAYBE, the reason we're in this mess is because we've become so caught up in all these secular management theories and trying to appease the world that we have lost all credibility. Isn't it from the bible that we learn we can only serve either God or the world? How do we serve God with worldly methods? Yes, they work. I don't doubt that. Yes, they make us appear more relevant. BUT DO THEY MAKE US BETTER DISCIPLES OF CHRIST? DOES IT STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH?

Maybe it does. I'm still left pondering?

If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

That's a sermon Jimmy Carter heard as a young man that set him up for a life of living for Christ. It got me thinking.

Today, we celebrated Eucharist at church and also on Wednesday at Chapel at Seminary. Ps. Colin Waddell, before serving the communion shared that as each of us take a piece of bread, it was a symbolic of each of us being of the same body. Immediately, I thought of how believers across the world were taking the same meal with us every Sunday morning. Without questioning doctrine, theological frameworks, styles of worship, etc... we are all part of the same body, rejoicing with one another (despite being around the globe) in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wow. We are indeed one, just as Christ and His Father are one.

Anyway, I'm currently working on the May issue of "My Journey" and I'm hoping it'll be out very soon.

To be like Jesus!

It's been a busy couple of weeks, getting back to the rhythm of college life after the break. Also, Leighton (my housemate) and I have been working at being more like Christ. We've decided to do some carpentry work. Two Saturdays ago, we made this little table out of some scrap wood lying around the house.


And last Saturday, after shopping around for some speaker stands for our two surround speakers (from the 5.1 sound system I brought back from Singapore this last trip) in our living room, we decided we'll be better off just making it ourselves. And after a quick trip to Bunnings and an hour of labour...


On a more academic level, I've been reading "Creation in the Old Testament" edited by Bernhard W. Anderson as part of a book review I'm doing for my OT class. Coincidentally, I've also been listening to the podcast "Doctrine of Creation" by William Lane Craig again (which I highly recommend) in my car. I've always thought that a literal reading of the creation narrative in Genesis is quite indefensible apologetically and this book actually supports that with some top evangelical scholarship. Right up to the 19th century, the churches never considered a literal creation to be a test of orthodoxy and I think that Christians who are extremely dogmatic about this should really... chill out a bit! Some church fathers like Augustine, Origen and Justin Martyr never did agree with 6 days creationism anyway.

This doesn’t mean we agree with evolution or any scientific theory that seeks to explain away the mystery of life. Quite the contrary, the text in Genesis itself doesn't appeal to a 6 literal 24 hour day in creation. To quote William Lane Craig, "the Christian, unlike the atheist is free to follow the evidence wherever it leads while the atheist is committed to Darwinian theories of evolution however improbable they are." In fact, the highly improbable characteristic of evolution and the Big Bang actually lends support to the existence of God, so there...

To be like Jesus
To be like Jesus
All I ask - to be like Him
All through life's journey
From earth to glory
All I ask - to be like Him.

I'm not so good at talking after all...

"I don't think that is what the psalmist is saying..." Some classmates commented that they lost me halfway through my sermon and others added that my sub-points were in no way linked back to my main point.

I've just preached at my Preaching for Dummies class, and this was the response I received. Good valid constructive comments. Very humbling too (coincidentally, at our SEBL group, we've just talked about genuine humility). I've always thought talking was one of my strong points, but I guess I have so much more to learn.

I preached on Psalm 27:4-6 and somehow or another, I completely missed the point of the psalm and read into it a "future" perspective and even mentioned praying for Christ's return (as an application of the psalmist longing for the completion of the temple). Blown it completely. But I'll learn. I have to learn!

In reflection, being in Perth this last 3 years or so has really taught me a lot. Especially in humility. In Singapore, I used to assume I was a fairly good worship leader and musician, small group leader and yeah, administrator and leader of a worship team and camp. In the last three years, I've realised that I'm actually not so good after all.

With OCF, I realised that despite pulling out all stops in my two years of leadership, even as president, I was completely helpless in making OCF relevant on our campus. Despite all the hard work, time, prayer and energy devoted into talking to people and trying to convince them, it has all come to naught.

As a musician, I'm perhaps the worst guitarist on our team at Mounties and make so many mistakes and screw-ups each Sunday despite practice. Yeah, I'm nowhere close to leading worship at church. I just don't sing well enough.

As a friend, I haven't made any effort to maintain close and intentional relationships with people around me. As a worker, I tend to be too OCD in the things that don't matter to be productive. As a student, I'm far from exceptional, just average, maybe even below average at a very average university.

What has all this taught me? I once thought that if I put my heart and mind to something, I can accomplish anything. But maybe I can't. I'm not so special. I'm not so clever. I'm not so significant, really. However, despite the failures, I pray that God will still use me. I need to be more submitted to the Lord and His power working through and in me. Truly, not by might, not by power but by the Spirit.