First up I want to say a big ups to the Easter Camp team, on my humble opinion they pulled of another great camp. For those of you who don't know Easter Camp is run at Mystery Creek by BYM (Baptist Youth Ministries). Here in Taupo we attend the Northern Camp along with 3500 other youth. The temperatures at Mystery Creek this year were right up there with Parachute Festival extremes which was great when your youth group is selling snow cones as a fund raiser - yes we had a record year.
Again the speakers at Easter Camp were great - Ant Watts had great substance and Sam Harvey was all passion. The worship team lead well and the inclusion of a few songs written around the theme of camp worked really well. Although I know some of our youth really struggled with 'death pits' being formed in worship times, not that the worship team had anything to do with it. I think the main themes of camp etc can be summed up by something one of our youth said when he stated it was a very unselfish camp, up until then Christianity and everything had been all about him and God, but at this camp he had realised it was not purely all about him but he had a role to play in the world. Pretty good stuff, for youth to coming from a camp with I reckon.
I gather there was a bit of a fuss about the fact a few "Non-Church" bands played on the Friday Night as support for World Vision. Personally, I had no problem with it - and really enjoyed Midnight Youth. Not sure why the Streetwise Scarlett guy spoke to us like someone out of PlaySchool sometimes but probably just part of the stage act (i am getting old). But thought it was a great gig - the parts I saw anyhow.
So another great camp and again I say well done to the crew who bring it all together.
Til next Time
D
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Update & Dialogue
Tomorrow I go for what hopefully will be my third to last Chemo treatment for Hodgkin's Disease. I say hopefully cos after my last Chemo I have another CT Scan and appointment to see if it's all dead and gone or whether further treatment is needed. Since Christmas, a combination of prayer, the right mediation, Primo favoured milk, chewing gum and a late night before Chemo has kept post-chemo vomiting to a big zero which is most awesome. I still suffer a few side effects such as ulcers, fatigue, a bit of shortness of breath but all and all nothing that anyone couldn't handle. Considering what some people in the Chemo room are going through - I have faced nothing. Some people really have to do it rough and look seriously ill. They deserve and need a prayer or two. So life is pretty good. Soon I take a youth to Easter Camp while Nell my wife heads down to a family reunion. Easter Camp is always great fun, a shame to be missing the family reunion if for no other reason than it is in the central South Island a great part of NZ.
Anyway, I leave you with a thought. For a long time Christianity has been based on preaching and it seems to me that some people in the Church believe the way to do evangelism is to shout out truth and listen to no-one. We see this in the way some people preach, write letters to the editor, shout on street corners, organise protest marches, and generally proclaim Christianity. If they are taken to be arrogant or mocked for this shouting out of truth, then they calm themselves with the belief that they are being persecuted cos of righteousness and usually shout even louder. Now, I believe it is right to proclaim truth - that is not my problem - it is the method that I question. Cos lately I've sensed that some Christians have almost got to the stage where they are scared of dialogue with non-believers or other religions. It's like dialogue is a form of compromise and we shouldn't do it we should simply proclaim truth loudly and in some cases as offensively as possible. But, I question if this works and I wonder if the Churches way of yelling truth in a non-listening offensive manner has in part lead to why the Church is simply not heard on many issues in NZ society today. After all, if we are not going to dialogue and listen to them why should they dialogue and listen to us?
Maybe we need to learn that truth can be proclaimed gently and quietly (see 1 Peter 3:15-16) instead of loudly and offensively?
Maybe we need to grow more secure in the truth so that we realise listening to other opinions is not compromise, it's kind of manners and it means that we've earned the right to speak?
Maybe it springs from a lack of trust in the Spirit's work, we think we need to shout everyone down instead of dialoguing and allowing gentle work of the Spirit to happen?
Hey, and one last thing - New Zealand's winning the cricket - see there is a God!!!
Til Next time
D
Anyway, I leave you with a thought. For a long time Christianity has been based on preaching and it seems to me that some people in the Church believe the way to do evangelism is to shout out truth and listen to no-one. We see this in the way some people preach, write letters to the editor, shout on street corners, organise protest marches, and generally proclaim Christianity. If they are taken to be arrogant or mocked for this shouting out of truth, then they calm themselves with the belief that they are being persecuted cos of righteousness and usually shout even louder. Now, I believe it is right to proclaim truth - that is not my problem - it is the method that I question. Cos lately I've sensed that some Christians have almost got to the stage where they are scared of dialogue with non-believers or other religions. It's like dialogue is a form of compromise and we shouldn't do it we should simply proclaim truth loudly and in some cases as offensively as possible. But, I question if this works and I wonder if the Churches way of yelling truth in a non-listening offensive manner has in part lead to why the Church is simply not heard on many issues in NZ society today. After all, if we are not going to dialogue and listen to them why should they dialogue and listen to us?
Maybe we need to learn that truth can be proclaimed gently and quietly (see 1 Peter 3:15-16) instead of loudly and offensively?
Maybe we need to grow more secure in the truth so that we realise listening to other opinions is not compromise, it's kind of manners and it means that we've earned the right to speak?
Maybe it springs from a lack of trust in the Spirit's work, we think we need to shout everyone down instead of dialoguing and allowing gentle work of the Spirit to happen?
Hey, and one last thing - New Zealand's winning the cricket - see there is a God!!!
Til Next time
D
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