Its crunch time!

I sent my application to Southern Institute of Technology today, I also talked to my Boss and have given a provisional resignation, If I get accepted for the course I'm gone!

Exciting times :)

My name

Hehe I came across this and I thought I'd share it, how many is it for you?

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 323 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Possibilities

I am planning to move!!!

I have come to the end at the polytechnic that I am studying at currently. They can no longer offer me any courses that will be beneficial for me.

So

.

.

.

I am looking at moving to Invercargill to study FULL-TIME at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT)

I plan to complete a Bachelor of Information Technology, specialising in Management. It will take two years and then I will be qualified.

For those of you who read this blog who are further abroad, Invercargill is 6 hours drive south of where I currently live. See Invercargill.org.nz for more info on Invercargill.

This will be a big change but hopefully it will be for the best, I have had a real sense of peace about the whole thing.

Ill keep posting about what happens!!!

Technorati tags: Invercargill, Degree, Moving

We are just friends aren't we?

I am a bit gutted today, feeling a little discouraged.

The last three girls I have been interested in have all said that I am good to talk to, they want to share what is going on for them but all of them just want to be friends.

What I find hard is how do you tell when someone wants to be more than friends? I am getting sick of setting myself up for a fall. But do I go to the other extreme and ignore any chances that come along because I don't want to be hurt? Girls I have talked to say that they generally wait for the guy to initiate a relationship but I am starting to wonder if it is worth taking the risk.

My biggest fear is that I will be 40 and still single. This thought terrifies me. It drives me to take these risks.

Haha I know this sucks but I will set myself up again, there will be another Girl that will come along that I will want to get to know better, and it will probably end up the same way.

I wonder what God is thinking when he watches me go through all of this?

Flickr

I uploaded a heap of photos to my flickr site tonite, and added the little sidebar image preview thingy to this blog. Click it to check out my collection of photos.

:)

46 posts but who's counting?

This is my 46th post since starting, I have had good days, I have had bad days.

I have been thinking about how I have used this blog to share my thoughts to share my life.

Originally this blog was intentioned to be a place where I could be completely honest, somewhere I could be completely transparent and be naked before the world.

Unfortunately this has not been the case. Initially I wasn't going to tell anyone about this blog, I was going to stay anonymous but this didn't happen to plan. I shared with those who I respect and with those I wanted to impress. Now I am unsure if I can be honest on this blog...

I have struggled my way through my questions about church on this forum and I have found much benefit from it.

The question I am asking now is where to from here? What direction do I take this blog?

Weird Al...

There is an artist that I have tried to follow over the last few years, he is known as Weird Al Yankovich. Weird Al is hillarious if sometimes a bit geeky, have a listen and let me know what you think...

Have a look at his myspace here and listen to his new song "White and Nerdy" (to the music of Riding Dirty by Chamillionairre)

enjoy!

God will make you wealthy?

I read an article from TIME magazine yesterday and it got me thinking

Here is the link to the article, I will post my thoughts here soon

Click here for the article

Feel free to post your thoughts...

Mosaic

I came across a video on the mosaic website from CNN that is profiling Mosaic, it shows footage of a service and I found it to be interesting to see what happens there.

Click here to view the video (you will need high-speed internet to view)

Let me know what you think

BTW I have been real busy lately so havnt been able to post.

Scripture reading

At small group last night we got talking about spiritual disciplines and Gordon (the Pastor) shared about Bible reading and he challenged us to just read until something stands out to us and to then journal what and why

I got out my Bible tonight and spent some time reading (for the first time in weeks) The scripture passage that stood out to me was:

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness....

[Jesus says to...] Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.

Matthew 10:1,6-8

This stuck out to me because of what God entrusts to us. I see myself as a disciple of Jesus and the challenge here is to do good in the world and announce the Kingdom of God through this.

This photo is out on a friends farm, I love it out there :)

My Word Cloud

I saw this on the merry rose blog and I thought I'd do it for my blog as well

The word cloud website analyses your blog and creates the above images based on the words it finds on your blog.

To create your own go here

The church, Church Services and Questions...

A friend from the states posted a comment up that I thought is worth responding to in a full post...

Ok, I have just read your entire blog just now. I like your ideas, even though I'm not a christian I can see the good in them, however, after reading certain posts I've become opinionated about something...
OK First of all your my friend, and I'm taking the time to comment because I care. This goes back to the post about being lonely. From what I can gather from my research, church is about community (among other things) Now as someone who is as dedicated to his church as you are I am really sad to hear that things are getting lonely for you, I would be asking myself questions, "Is this the right church for me?", "Are other members feeling the same way?" To me Church shouldnt be just about God, but about growing relationships with people who share your faith (inside and outside of church) and if people only feel obligated to do that at church they are missing the point. Then again I could be wrong. I'm going to bed now.

Chris it is great to hear from you and to get your feedback, I appreciate it. I should clarify that when I talk about the church in my posts, I am referring to either

a) A Church Service or

b) The christian community in a certain area. "The Church"

I mix and match the use of the word Church based on what I am talking (ranting?) about.

It's funny you should suggest those two questions that I should be asking, I have been asking these questions and have had interesting answers...

"Is this the right church for me?" - I have asked this one of myself repeatedly and have come to the conclusion that I need to see what other communities are out there, I have started going to a different church in town that seems to have a good group of young adults; I am unsure yet if it is where I want to 'lay roots' but I am open to seeing what they are like.

"Are other members feeling the same way?" - I have been asking other 20-somethings similar questions, I had a very interesting discussion with some friends from out of town, they come from a Christian background and they have been questioning the character of God. Questions like "If heaven is so perfect, why did Satan leave?" or "What about all the suffering in the world, how can a just God allow that?". Personally I believe it is healthy and good to question and re-evaluate what we believe and why we believe. The reaction from the Christian community to them asking these questions has been (in my opinion) shocking. My friends either have been ignored or they have been given the hollow answers rather than actually listening to what is being questioned and giving permission to search for answers. I am quite angry about how they have been treated and it has disillusioned me a little about the church. But I believe that the church still has an important role to play. I came across this quote the other day:

 The church is a she.

She's a mystery, isn't she? Still going after all this time. After the Crusades and the Inquisition and Christian cable television. Still going. And there continue to be people like me who believe she is one of the best ideas ever. In spite of all the ways she has veered off track. In spite of all the people who have actually turned away from God because of what they experienced in church. I am starting to realize why: The church is a double edged sword. When it's good, when it's on, when it's right, its like nothing on earth. A group of people committed to selflessly serving and loving the world around them? Great. But when it's bad, all that potential gets turned the other way. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Sometimes in the same week. Sometimes in the same day.

Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell pg. 172

So I'm not giving up on the church yet, but Chris you are right Church is also about community and that sense of connection with others who share that belief.

BTW Newt I'm in hungary tell Edwy to get me a Sandwich +1!!! (inside joke)

Good News

I read this tonight and it stuck out to me...

"Imagine an average street in an average city in an average country, if there is such a place. Lets imagine Person X lives in a house on this street. Next door is a Hindu, and on the other side is a Muslim. Across the street is an atheist, next door to them is an agnostic...

Imagine Person X becomes a Christian. Maybe she read something or had friends who inspired her to learn more, or maybe she had an addiction and through a recovery movement she surrendered her life to God. However it came to be, she became a follower of Jesus. Let's say she starts living out Jesus' teachings, actually taking him seriously that she can become a compelling force for good in the world. She is becoming more generous, more compassionate, more forgiving, more loving. Is she becoming a better or worse neighbor? If we are her neighbors, we're thrilled about her new faith. We find ourselves more and more grateful for a neighbor like this. We wish more people would be like this."

Its about life change...

Not about religion...

Its about freedom...

Not about bondage...

Its about revolution...

Not about tradition...

EDIT: The quote is from Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, Page 166

My flat

I thought I'd post a photo of my flat up :)

I'm really loving this flat, It is good to be out of home again :-)

The How evil are you quiz...

I saw this on The Merry Rose's blog and I had to do it for myself...

Heres is my result...


How evil are you?

The Merry Rose

I came across this blog the other day, I appreciated what was said (even though she is an Aussie hehe)

The Merry Rose

I believe...

I went to the local New Life church on Sunday and the speaker shared a quote from a holocaust survivor:

I believe that the sun shines even though I may not see it...

I believe in love even though I may not experience it...

I believe in God even though he may not be speaking to me...

The new Generation

It is our turn to step up and take responsibility for who the church is going to be for a new generation. It is our turn to redefine and reshape and dream it all up again. It is our turn to rediscover the beautiful, dangerous, compelling idea that a group of people, surrendered to God and to each other, really can change the world.

Rob Bell - Velvet Elvis pg 164

Ok so what would the church look like if we rethought how we do church?

What would change?

What would stay the same?

If the church was stripped back to a blank canvas how would we paint it?

What does blank canvas look like?

What are the essential elements of the church?

Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Church) would say there were:

1. Evangelism
   
2. Worship
   
3. Fellowship
   
4. Discipleship
   
5. Ministry

Other authors have varying words they use to articulate what the basic elements are that make up the 'canvas', what gets painted on the canvas is unique to each church community.
An easy trap to fall into is to try and copy another's painting, rather than finding the blank canvas that we can paint a unique masterpiece on.

If it is our responsibility to redefine what the church is going to be in this generation, then this is a very serious task.

What seems to be the painting of the canvas soo hard is that everybodies ideas for how to paint the canvas is different, here are some examples...

Experience vs. Knowledge - I have seen both extremes of this in Timaru, I see people who are only focused on experiencing God and something is wrong with them or the service if they don't get 'slain in the spirit' EVERY week and the other extreme that is people who are so closed off to any kind of move of the holy spirit because they are soo focused on the tradition and unchanging routine. Personally I have come from the tradition side but through encouragement from friends and a lack of fufillment with the tradition I have learnt to open myself up to what the spirit is doing.

Celebration vs. Reverence - After a recent children's service that was held at my church I met with a couple for lunch, we discussed the service and how we found it. This service had been very celebratory, there was a lot of energy and opportunities for the congregation to sing what they thought of God. Personally I found it to be great but the couple I talked to had a different view, they felt that there was no reverence in the service, no coming before God with a sense of awe and respect.

Literal vs. Paraphrase - I know people who take the scriptures literally word for word, if the bible says something then that is exactly what is meant. Whereas others interpret the bible by looking at what the author was trying to say, looking for the message behind the words. Personally I believe that the meaning behind the words is more important than what words are used, but I know I catch myself being very literal at times. This can show through with what translations are seen as the 'preferred' translation. Some people believe that the King James Bible is the only translation that should be read from the pulpit whereas others use paraphrases like the Message bible as the basis for their teaching.

The above are only three examples of things that make each church different, there are many different forms that the church can take, it is looking at what form it could take to make a difference in New Zealand.

Newspaper Report

The local paper had an article titled "On a quest and a prayer", in summary the article is about a wellington reporter that went to a range of different sunday morning services and her observations about those services.
She starts by sharing her view of this "God Stuff" she believes that there is a greater being, a "supreme consciousness". She terms it "[I]...believe in a vast, intelligent and creative conscienceness of which we are all part."
The services she went to were:

• A Catholic Mass
• Wesley Methodist
• The Rock
• Destiny

She had some interesting observations that we need to be aware of if we are to communicate the gospel to people who do come to our door looking for this "supreme being"

The Mass

lost behind words and references I don't understand

"God feels remote, lost behind words and references I don't understand" the reporter felt completly lost during the service, she did not know what todo, the use of Christian Terminology completly lost her.

Wesley Methodist

there's pretty much a pew for each person

"Theres a place for you at Wesley Wellington announces the information booklet I'm handed. Sadly, it's more than true. With less than 30 in the congregation, there's pretty much a pew for each person."
This is a scary reality for a lot of churches out there, what once was a congregation of 200+ is now reduced to 30 people most of these are retired.

The Rock

The sense of community and belonging is huge. Here they all are, linked by faith and rhythm

The reporter seemed very impressed with this church "The sense of community and belonging is huge. Here they all are, linked by faith and rhythm" The only criticism she makes arecomments about the similarity of the music to "the catchy love songs playing on every commercial radio station in New Zealand"
From what I can work out The Rock is a part of the New Life churches in NZ, possibly an offshoot? Im not sure.

Destiny

Ten percent of your income...Before tax

The reporter was suprised by how open and welcoming Destiny was, she had expected "black shirted evangelicals looking alarmingly militant" What concerned her was the offering and how the congregation was asked twice to give "Ten percent of your income...Before tax"

Gives u some things to think about...

Flatting

I'm moving out of home (finally) this week, it is going to be good to have freedom and be living unattached to my parents :)

A drawback of this is that I will not have broadband access at the flat so my blogs might be a bit more sporadic than they usually are...