Pearls of some price

This time in Tassie I've been introduced to a couple of little known cafes. Cafe A Go Go is a tiny one-room cafe attached to the servo on the highway just outside Kettering. The outside walls are decorated with silhouetted skating ladies in various states of undress. Inside it's intimate and funky. It's the sort of place that you'd expect to find in the city, but somehow the fact that it's in the country makes it even cooler. A great place to pop in, chill out and have a chat.

The other is Culpeper's, a short walk along Sandy Bay Rd out of the Hobart CBD. The room you enter into is pretty uninspiring, but if you just walk through the doorway to your left and along the little hall, you'll come to a back room painted a delightful green, with lovely wooden detailing and a beautiful view down Montpelier Retreat and over some old Salamanca buildings. Culpeper's does a cheap, healthy and delicious burger.


H/T Dan, Zoe and David

Working class teenagers

Last night Toilet Block Tuesday (the nickname for Crossroads' Tuesday night service) held a fair in the park behind the Moonah Community Centre. Jake explained that we did it to show that the gospel's for everyone, not just for people who've grown up going to church or who have friends there. It was a fantastic event - lucky door hampers, guess the number of jelly beans, throw bits of wood at old plates, face painting, sausage sizzle, crafts for sale, free Christian books and Bibles, a band, a talk by Jimbo, footy, rugby and cricket. Some teenagers got to have a positive experience of Christians and Christian community, and a couple of ladies and some primary school kids got to hear the gospel.

I edged my way into the group of teenagers waiting to get their faces painted. I'd worn my Element skull and snakes t-shirt (because I didn't want to imply that Christianity's only for the middle class) and they were impressed. I joked around with them and shot questions at them. I didn't care when they smoked and swore, but I did care when a kid was never getting a go and when the guys said smutty things about their friend. It all made me wonder if perhaps the trick with teenagers is to launch yourself into their world and to be really honest and unpolished (and kind), while at the same time staying confident in your authority, so that when you need to tell them off you'll be listened to. I managed it for a short while - dunno how I'd go day-in day-out.

Beginning the journey

This is a cool part-Bible that has lots of easy to understand asides explaining foundational Christian concepts and doctrine. A good one to give to a new Christian or someone who's checking out Christianity.

We'll get a crown of dirty old thorns and stick it in his head

I lived in Dublin for nine months a few years ago. While I was there, I bought the Give Up Yer Aul Sins series. But back in Tassie I'm pretty sure a creepy man let himself into my flat and stole them. I'm delighted to find them on YouTube. Enjoy!

There's more where this one came from - The Story of Lazarus is particularly endearing.

A time to be silent and a time to speak

What should we do when we see a non-Christian friend of ours doing something we think is wrong? It depends a bit on where they're at - whether they would be glad of our advice or whether they are opposed to what we think's right. In either case, it might be nice to say something in the hope that it will help them out. Or so that they might see that what they're doing is not on - in the hope that, at the right time, they will realise their need for forgiveness. Or it may be better to keep our mouth shut to avoid implying that if they would only act this way it would make them a good Christian like us, and that if they refuse we will be judging them. Whatever it is we decide to do, we need to be careful not to become self-righteous. It's not like we're these perfect beings - and it's only because of the Son that we can have confidence before the Father. We need to keep imitating the surprising mercy, patience and graciousness that he has shown to us sinners.

Womens' events

I don’t always like womens' events. I think that's because people often don't seem to be themselves. Everyone tries really hard to be polite and friendly and the topics of conversation are kept to what is safe and shared (raising children, clothes, husbands, common bungles or annoyances). I think this happens because we want everyone to feel included and the event to be harmonious. We also fear the opinions of other women. Just stepping into a room full of women can make us feel either insecure and unconfident, or competitive and self-promotional. This is made worse when we don’t know all the women at the event, because we really want these strangers to like us and we don’t want to embarrass ourselves or our host.

We end up trying way too hard. We need to relax, stop worrying about what the other women think of us, and be sincerely respectful, interested and caring. Women in charge of running events can create a helpful atmosphere by conveying their acceptance of everyone (perhaps by dressing down, being laid-back about protocol and acting the clown). They can also put on calm, happy music, provide yummy food and drink and make sure that women who don’t know anyone are looked after. The running of the event or the layout of the room can be engineered so that more intimate conversations are encouraged. It can also help to let people know what will take place, what will be expected of them and assure them that they won’t be asked to do anything embarrassing.

WWJD

Richard Hibbert, the head of the Missions department at SMBC, concluded the Project Fair by saying that what the students had been doing was finding out what pleases the Lord (Eph 5:10). I hadn't thought of that before - how cool.