So anyway at work we had to...

Missionaries usually go to great efforts to help people understand what they've been doing - slide shows, visual props, memory aids. I saw it done differently the other day. My friend Jill came to my Bible study group and just told us a bit about what she's going to do. Then she answered our questions. The simplicity of her presentation actually helped me to understand what it will be like where she's going. I think that a more glitzy presentation can draw attention to cultural differences and make listeners doubt their ability to comprehend. But the way Jill did it was just like listening to someone talk about something that happened at work.

Another homage to my hometown

Hobart is like a beautiful, aged little town in Europe. The sort of town you wander around wondering what it would be like to live there; watching the locals to see if the beauty of their surroundings has somehow made them glow. Certainly, they are more intelligent, creative and vibrant than your suburban Joe. That's Hobart. But now you have to place the town under a mountain and beside a river and litter it with trees and well-tended gardens. So now the people are also earthy, ample, generous souls atuned to the seasons and the growing of things. They're sophisticated, but they dress down. That's my folks. It's swell being home.

The aroma of life

I've know about The Cross of Christ event for a long while and always planned to do a ring-round of my non-Christian friends in the days leading up to it. For as long as I've know about it I've been scared about this, being all too aware that, "To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life." (2 Corinthians 2:16). Actively inviting conflict and disapproval is not how I normally go about things. But in thinking it through this morning, I realised that, while the aroma of death response is a real possibility, it's not my responsibility. The news is good news and I should present it as such, with sincere excitement and joy. Suddenly the phonecalls got a whole heap easier.

Stocktake

That checklist folder also had a list from three years ago of things I wanted to get better at. Some had Bible college in mind; others were more to do with ministry or life. I'm really pleased to say that I now feel confident in my ability to preach and discern false teaching, and in my knowledge and understanding of the Old Testament. There's still a way to go when it comes to: discipling/training people, biblical theology, figuring out how telling strangers about Jesus should fit into my routine, being vulnerable with people when I'm weak, and being aware of other peoples' body language and its significance. If you'd like to pray for me about these, that would be fantastic.

The rubber and the road

In packing up my stuff to head back to Tas, I came across a 'Monthly Goals/Checklists' folder. Let's make that yearly. Here's some wise counsel that I'm still trying to remember and put into practice:

• Don't just say 'I'll pray for you' - do something to help.
• Get better at noticing when people don't like me or react badly to me - change my behaviour, ask less of them, or be more apologetic.
• When delegating: take my time, assume the person doesn't know about the thing and they're not on board, explain the situation and tell them that I need their help (making the request more vulnerable and less demanding) and why I thought of them. Be more forthright and apologetic if I really need help.
• Make sure the things I'm involved in will continue once I move on.
  
• Harness negative energy - use complaints as an opportunity for them (/me) to serve.
  
• Change only one (significant) thing in the first year of working under someone.
• Show my life/methods/thinking/progress to those I'm training - don't hold off until I've got it all sussed.
• Treat people so that they will become the people I want them to be. Don't just think of them as they currently are.

Here we go folks - back into ministry. It's been a while.


H/T Mikey, Dan, David

A fit goodbye

I just bid a Bible college friend farewell. He said, "May many people be saved through your ministry." And instead of goodbye, he called out, "See you in Paradise!"

Amen brother.

The small matters

You know that guilty-sick feeling when you think you may have done something ungodly? It's like a small, reedy voice calling out to you from far away, intent on disturbing your peace. You will it to go away, but it persists. You pretend you can't hear it, but after a while that gets a little silly. What to do?

I think you should start by giving yourself the benefit of the doubt. This may sound like unChristian counsel, but I'm thinking of people like myself who sometimes have an overactive guilt reflex. It could well be that you just think 'this is the sort of thing that I would expect to be classified as boasting [or whatever]' and so you're feeling guilty. But maybe if you actually stop and examine your conscience and motivation, you will see that you are acting this way for perfectly fine reasons.

Sometimes after being nakedly honest with yourself, you will see that your motives are bad. When this happens you should take action. You will hate it, a massive part of you will fight against it and you will flirt with not going through with it. But shun that wide, easy path. Don't listen to the lies. Be faithful and pure in this small thing and your character and peace with God will flourish. You will gain beauty where before you had momentary, dirtied pleasure.