Parable of the Soils

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Confident in Christ

  1. Hard heart (Romans 1:18-21)
  2. Shallow heart
  3. Strangled heart
  4. Good heart (habits that nurture a good heart)

I used the illustration of generosity by a young Argentine  in my sermon on the Parable of the Soils (Parable of the Sower) at St John’s Launceston a few weeks ago.

This young man gave us a treasured possesion, which held much sentimental value for him and his family, in order to sell for money to give to the poor. We now keep this on our book shelf, which we treasure, to remind us to be generous (photo left).

Another illustration I used was this picture (photo right) which shows an elderly Argentine cowboy/gaucho as he drinks his Argentine tea/mate’ and reflects on his life and concludes that ‘God is faithful’ – ‘Dios es Fiel’ – these latter words appearing at the bottom of the picture.

When I am old with a white beard drinking my mate’ I too want to affirm that ‘Dios es Fiel’ – ‘God is faithful.’

You can listen to my sermon that I preached at St. John’s Launceston on Sunday 8th of July on their parish website.

Australian Christian Books of the Year 2012

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2012 Australian Christian Book of the Year:

Murray Seiffert’s Gumbuli of Ngukurr

The Australian Christian Book of the Year was announced last night at the Australian Christian Literature Awards in Melbourne. Gumbuli of Ngukurr (Acorn Press) emerged victorious from over forty entries submitted this year.

Second prize was awarded to A Short History of Christianity (Viking) by Geoffrey Blainey. 
Love, Tears and Autism: An Australian mother’s journey from heartbreak to hope (Ark House) by Cecily Paterson took third prize.

What the judges had to say about Gumbuli of Ngukurr:
Few indigenous Australians have been the subject of so rigorous a biography. This is a unique and timely contribution to the story of Aboriginal engagement with western culture and Christianity.

Always informative it also, at times, makes for profoundly uncomfortable and provocative reading. This singular story of indigenous protagonism, self-determination and leadership in the face of overwhelming   obstacles—hostile opposition, blind ignorance and numbing indifference—maps a way forward for the peoples of this continent. The complete judges’ comments can be found at: www.spcka.org.au

About the award:
The Australian Christian Book of   the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an   Australian and published by an Australian publisher. The Award recognises and celebrates excellence in Australian Christian writing and carries a prize of $2,500.

Entries are judged with an eye to the: original nature of the work, literary style, suitability for the target audience, competence and expertise displayed by the author, design and layout and contribution that the book makes in meeting a need for Christian writing in Australia.
admin@spcka.org.au

Visit www.spcka.org.au today.

Also see, Australian Christian Books of the Year! (2011) and Australian Christian Book of the Year – Shortlist 2012

Pastoral Care Resources #4 (Listening)

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Listening: there’s more to learn. Isn’t that the truth?!

Chris Gerardis from Mary Andrews College led an elective on Listening at our Ministry Conference in July. She also gave her very powerful testimony of God’s work throughout her life.

I found the ‘Empathy Blockers’ challenging:

  • Thinking we have all the answers 
  •  Arguing logically e.g. someone shares that they feel lonely and your response is “There’s no need to feel lonely. God is with you, you are now a member of the church and they are your new family.”
  • Judging is where we condemn a person based on our perceptions of how things should be. People who judge often generalise.
  • Diagnosing is thinking that you know what is going on for a person without taking the time to listen to them
  • Reassuring: ‘You’ll be all right.’ ‘It will be OK, you’ll see.’
  • Topping can appear to be helpful. E.g. “I worked for a boss that was horrible as well so I know exactly what you are going through. My boss used to make hurtful comments because I was a Christian.”

You can also download this resource from our website here.

Reflections from Branch Chairman CMS Tasmania

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The Revd David Rietveld is the Rector of the Anglican Parish of Wellspring and is also the Branch Chairman of CMS Tasmania. Read his reflections on global missions below:

I have just returned from Cambodia, where I had dinner with Wim and Maaike Prins in Siem Reap, and lunch with Rolf and Bonnie Lepelaar in Phnom Penh. It was great to catch up with CMS missionaries on the field, and to encourage them first hand. Cambodia is an exciting place where the church is growing. Training and coaching emerging Khmer church leaders is a strategic ministry.

I also spent two weeks with Abraham, a Khmer national who plants schools and churches among the poor. He has young church leaders whom he struggles to spend sufficient time with to teach them the scriptures and disciple them in ministry. So I encouraged him to make contact with Rolf and Wim. A match made in heaven…or so I thought.

Abraham’s response was that he does not trust Western missionaries. And yet he trusts me? Rolf said this phenomenon is not uncommon. A westerner like me represents a potential patron, someone who does not fully understand the culture, and thus someone with whom there are likely to be only modest levels of accountability.

I have no reason to believe Abraham is misusing funds. On the contrary, I have every confidence in him, and I see fruit and evidence of faithful ministry. But I was reminded that cross-cultural mission is more complex than just sending money and going on short-term mission trips.

CMS has a commitment to long-term missionaries, who learn the local culture and language. In many ways being a long-term missionary is a blessing in that what you have to offer locals in developing countries is skills, training, experience, resources – and, of course, the Gospel – but not cash.

We have a Western notion that I have the capacity and the privilege to direct my donations as I see fit. If I want to buy a village a goat, or a child a textbook, then I can do that. What is more, I can be confident I have made a concrete difference. That is all worthwhile as far as it goes. But CMS does something else. You can support someone who will immerse themselves in another culture, and then express the Christian hope in the most meaningful and relevant way they know how. That’s worth supporting. (August 2012)

Pastoral Care Resources #3 (Mental Illness)

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Our very own Revd Lesley Dixon (Ministry Development Officer: Mental Health) is a Chaplain at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

Her expertise was of much value to us at the Ministry Conference in July and will continue to be a helpful resource to our diocese. As the Ministry Development Officer she will soon begin running courses about Mental Illness and caring for those with Mental Illness.

Lesley led an elective at Ministry Conference called Who Cares? where amongst other things you will find some interesting facts and figures on mental illness in Australia.

You can also download this resource on our website here.

If you would like to get in touch with Lesley to learn more about ministering to those with Mental Illness, please get in touch with the Diocesan office.

Euthanasia: Society’s cost saver?

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Below, a quote from Robert Lifton’s historical/psychological book, “The Nazi Doctors.”

“Under the Nazis, there was increasing discussion of the possibility of mercy killings, of the Hoche concept of the ‘mentally dead,’ and of the enormous economic drain on German society caused by the large number of these impaired people. A mathematics text asked the student to calculate how many government loans to newly married couples could be granted for the amount of money it cost the state to care for ‘the crippled, the criminal, and the insane.'”

See quote from, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide; p.48.

Also, Euthanasia: a creeping corrosion.

Anglicans Urge Parliament To Reject Same-Sex Marriage Legislation

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Wednesday 8th August 2012

MEDIA RELEASE:

ANGLICANS URGE PARLIAMENT TO REJECT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGISLATION

The Anglican Church in Tasmania has today urged Members of Parliament to reject the Premier’s proposed legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Tasmania.

The Church continues to hold the position that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman, voluntarily entered into for life. This position was strongly supported by the 200 Tasmanian Anglican Church leaders at its recent Synod in June 2012.

Spokesperson for the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania, Assistant Bishop Ross Nicholson, today responded to the Premier’s recently announced intention to introduce legislation to parliament.

Bishop Nicholson said, “The Bishop of Tasmania has consistently supported the recognition of gay and lesbian relationships and has advocated for appropriate legal protection for gay and lesbian couples in areas where there was formerly discrimination.

“The Premier’s proposal is not about equality, it is about the redefinition of marriage itself. Such redefinition does not extend rights to a minority, it only imposes a novel and unnecessary view on to everyone.

“The fact that she is choosing to follow a path that resorts to constitutional loopholes and legal complexities only adds to that imposition. “Maintaining a distinction between marriage relationships and committed same-gender relationships does not imply inequality. Rather, it means that we can continue to affirm that marriage, by incorporating family, social and biological rights and responsibilities into a universally recognised institution, is truly something to be ‘honoured by all.’”

Bishop Harrower is currently on leave. Bishop Nicholson may be contacted for comment using the details below.

Contact: Bishop Ross Nicholson: 6331 5218

Download the media release here.

You can also find the media release on the diocesan website here.

Pastoral Care Resources #2 (Grief)

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Jill McGilvray led an excellent elective on Grief at the Ministry Conference in July. She also gave a few keynote addresses, which touched everyone’s hearts.

Grief is something we all experience. I hope and pray that this resource will be of value and comfort to you: Grief workshop.

Grief is the sum of all our responses to a loss…not just our sadness.

It is:

  • Individual
  • Understandable…imagine if you didn’t grieve
  • Unpredictable
  • Overwhelming
  • Not time-bound

Grief has many causes: Material, Relational, Systemic, Functional, Intrapsychic, Role

You can also find this resource on our website here.

I also commend Jill McGilvray’s book God’s Love in Action: Pastoral Care for Everyone.

Pastoral Care Resources #1 (The Essentials)

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At the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania’s recent Annual Ministry Conference: “Who Cares? Pastoral Care Training Event”, we had the absolute blessing of hearing and learning from four speakers from Mary Andrews College Sydney: The Rev Jackie Stoneman, Jill McGilvray, Chris Gerardi and Debbie Gould. We also had two of our very own lead electives: Lesley Dixon and Jennifer Cavanough.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting the material from their electives. You can also find this material on our website here.

Here is Jackie Stoneman’s material on her elective: Pastoral Care: The Essentials.

Keep your eyes out for many more resourcses on Pastoral Care to come on topics such as: Issues for Youth, Grief, Listening and more!

Hobbies of the Clergy #4

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Joel Kettleton: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

It’s Monday night: my arm is about to be broken, my face is crushed against the floor, and I have a very strong 95kg guy pinning me to the ground. Suddenly I twist my body, suck my arm in to my chest, roll the guy over, climb on to his back and apply a choke.
Welcome to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that developed when Japanese Jiu-Jitsu (Judo) was introduced to Brazil in the 1910’s. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling-style of fighting, and takes place mostly on the ground.
It works on the concept that a smaller, weaker person can defend against a bigger, stronger opponent with the use of technique and leverage (by the use of chokes and joint-locks).

I started BJJ in early 2011 in my final year at Theological College.
One lunch time at Ridley I was explaining to another student that I had been looking for a martial arts club in the inner-North of Melbourne in order to keep fit, learn self-defence, and do some evangelism. It turned out that the guy I was talking to was a BJJ instructor, and his gym was 5 minutes down the road from Ridley.
He invited me to come to his gym and train, explaining that he was looking for more Christians to come to his gym to spread the Gospel to his fighters.

So began the long journey that is BJJ (often thought of as one of the most difficult martial arts, as a black belt generally takes 10+ years to achieve).
I’m not an athletic person. I wouldn’t describe myself as an overly ‘physical’ person.
You may wonder why I participate in an activity that I’m not terribly good at, gives me broken bones, sprains, and leaves me sore for days.

There are two reasons why I do BJJ:

  1. Christians (and Clergy) should try and keep fit.
    Keeping an eye on our weight and overall fitness is wise. While I don’t think the Bible has any specific teaching on why it is good to exercise, we know that it is good for us. As Christians, why should we ignore medical advice because we look forward to a new body at the resurrection? Exercise and image shouldn’t define us like it does for some people in our society, but we shouldn’t ignore our health.
    BJJ is a great sport – try wrestling with someone on the ground an hour and you’ll soon see why it’s a good work-out.
  2. Fighting gyms are full of people who will never set foot inside a church to hear the Gospel.
    I feel called to the mission of God – to go to the ends of the earth to make disciples of Jesus.
    Thousands of people meet every day throughout the country to train in BJJ and other forms of fighting – where are the missionaries to them?
    You may think fighters are tough and hostile (and they are). Yet scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find that they are people who experience life like the rest of us, and I’ve been surprised by how many fighters I’ve met have deep hurts and issues in their lives.
    The Good News of salvation in Christ is a message of hope, forgiveness, and new life.
    BJJ is a wonderful paradox – one minute you’re trying to choke a guy (or girl) out, and the next you’re sitting back, talking about your faith. In an environment where you are in such close physical proximity to someone, and where losing frequently keeps people humble, it’s amazing how quickly barriers are broken down and people open up.

Grapplers for Christ Australia

Many other Christians (and Anglican Clergy) also love BJJ. A few people and myself decided that it was time we stood out for Jesus in the grappling world.
We formed Grapplers for Christ Australia: a not-for profit organisation linking Christians together, witnessing to others, and giving to those in need (we are partnered with International China Concern).
We raise money through donation tins in gyms, meet together for tournaments, and promote ourselves through clothing and gi patches. We seek to wear our merchandise at whatever tournament members are at (you’ll see the big blue crosses on our backs), and are often met with people interested in finding out more about Christianity or wanting to join.
We seek to be a bridge between the fighting world and the church, helping local churches in their mission of reaching their local community, and in helping fighters know that church is a place where they are able to belong and grow in their faith.
For more information on Grapplers for Christ Australia join us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/GrapplersforChristAustralia or visit our website:  www.g4c-oz.com