200 words on… are we all disabled?

I heard this week that 20% of all Australians have some kind of disability. That really surprises me! I suppose because 20% of the people I interact with aren’t disabled…

The government is proposing a National Disability Insurance Scheme (www.ndis.org.au). This would mean that people with disabilities have a better chance of being financially assisted – which would be great. But I was wondering whether that is really enough? What can we do to change the attitudes of people in our community?

Surely we have to start with examining ourselves. How do we treat and think about people with disabilities? And should we be even thinking of them as so different to ourselves? We are all broken - at least on the inside. And one day it is likely that our bodies or minds will deteriorate and we will be on the ‘other side’. Shouldn’t the Christian community be a safehaven for those in our society who are ‘disabled’? Why is it that so few ‘disabled’ people make their way into our churches? Is this something we need to think about and address? Perhaps it’s time for us to think really practically about how to love those we don’t always know how to love.

645 News (28/10)

Prepare for this Sunday@645
Week 2 of God of this City: WORSHIP. Prepare by reading Ecclesiastes 2. Pray for your community as they seek to be truer worshipers in all areas of their life.


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We NEED Volunteers. Be courageous and come and share what you see and what you think.
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Sunday@645 Rosters for November and December have been updated (CLICK HERE). There have been some big changes. Please check and let Troy know (troy@nac.asn.au) of any problems.


Previous 645 Blogs
RevWrites (November 1)
200 Words on ... should I care about Politics
Love this City (Preview)


645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is now found on Facebook. It will be updated each week. Please click the title to access. If you do not have Facebook then let us know

645 Social this Sunday
Sculptures by the Sea. We are meeting at 2pm (not 2:30pm) this Saturday at Church. Go to Facebook Events for more info

RevWrites- November 1

Sometimes you just have to go for it.

There is no doubt that many people are anxious about our financial future. Most workers lost value on their super over the last year. Prices are higher. Cost of living goes up. The Diocese lost about $160m.

We could be financially conservative in response. That would be normal. Most people are being very conservative. But most people aren’t aware of the love of God or the security of knowing God.

Our Parish could be conservative. We know that James Lewis will accept appointment to a new parish sometime next year. We could simply manage without replacing him. Spread the wear. Reduce outputs. Miss opportunities.

But we’ve decided to seek a replacement (?!) for James. That means we will need to bring that man on board at the beginning of next year. That’s how it works! So there’ll be an overlap – James and the new guy until James leaves.

That will cost us more but it’s the better way ahead. It’s not financially conservative but it is the right thing to do. It also means we’re stepping up as a parish in our diocese when there’s a record number of people being ordained at the end of this year.

Paul Rees is going to Moore College next year. A huge loss to our Youth/Children’s Ministry. We will be able to pick up some of his ministry by employing Sarah, Leah and Troy more than we do at the moment. That is conservative and we’ll get by.

But we could be a little more adventurous. There’s a young man who wants to train for youth ministry. We could employ him to work with Ed as his trainer while he does college part-time. We could try to expand our Youth/Children’s Ministry a little in the next year!

That will cost us more. It’s not conservative, although it’s not really too adventurous either. The cost could mean an increase in our staff costs of about 5% next year. We’re working on the details but it’s impossible to be precise because we don’t know when James will leave. We are developing several financial scenarios for next year.

But the question is: Do we want to go for it?

Our parish continues to grow. It grows numerically. Some of that numerical growth is teenagers and children. They tend not to have much income to tithe. But we also have more adults joining our church. As they become members of NAC they will become financially responsible members.

Soon we’ll be talking about our financial commitment to NAC for next year. That concerns the second kind of growth we pray for – growth in godliness. As we grow up into Christ so we learn to depend on him more and more. So we invest more and more of ourselves, our time and resources, into ministry with him.

We’ve experienced both types of growth over the last year. About 5% increase in staff costs. Do you want to go for it?

Neil

645 Rosters (Nov/Dec) - Version 2

Love this CITY Preview

200 words on… should I care about politics?

As Christians, is our job to live godly lives among people and tell them about Jesus? Does it matter what we think about politics? Should we let the government be and get on with evangelism? I saw a bit of Parliament’s Question Time yesterday – it seemed pretty unimportant to me! A big debate about faster broadband in Tasmania – do I need to care about that?

I’ve come to realize that this life and the way we interact with our world, our culture and our government aren’t just meaningless ways to pass the time until heaven. Yes – we have the great privilege and responsibility to tell people about Jesus. But we also have a responsibility to speak truth and wisdom to our fallen world. We have the job of redeeming our culture (remember – the bodily resurrection of Jesus!). So the way we think about government and politics matters! And since we are blessed to live in a democratic society we should make the most of that.

We are a part of our society and as such, we need to love our society and act for their good – in bringing them to Christ and helping them see the best way to live in God’s world.

RevWrites- October 25

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who prayed for the ABC’s Compass programme last Sunday night. As you know, the media can present things in ways that we didn’t intend, especially when they spent three days recording at NAC. But they treated us very fairly. Thanks be to God!

The NAC Churches came across as relevant to the present world, comprised of all ages, and clearly concerned with knowing the Bible and working together to live in light of the Bible.

And some of us were TV stars!!

That, of course, made me the focus of much mirth at Synod on the Monday. While the Archbishop was kind in referring to our young people visiting and praying for our shops in his address to Synod, many of my “friends” paid out big time on me.

Synod met this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 3.00pm until about 9.30. It will meet next Monday and Tuesday.

Many of our new members mightn’t know what Synod is, so let me try to explain.

Australia is divided into dioceses which are composed of parishes. Each diocese has a bishop. Our bishop is called an archbishop because he is the bishop of the diocese of a capitol city, an archdiocese.

Each diocese has a synod, or parliament, that governs its affairs. In our diocese, every parish elects two “laymen” to represent it at synod. John Laing and Jeremy van’t Spyker are your reps. The senior minister of each parish also attends synod. So, you can see, in our diocesan synod lay people outnumber clergy about 2 to 1. Other people, like Andrew Frank from our parish, are invited to attend because they hold special positions or serve us in other ways.

Our synod meets once a year and it can have up to about 800 members. Synod elects a committee to do its business for the other eleven months of the year. This committee, the Standing Committee, has about 60 members and I was elected to it by the Western Region of the diocese. Andrew was also elected to it.

Synod does basically two things. It debates motions and ordinances. Motions can be about just about anything and any member can move a motion. If the synod passes a motion it can direct various office bearers to do things for the diocese. For example, next week we will debate a policy on alcohol that will direct Parish Councils to determine a local alcohol policy.

Ordinances are the laws which govern our relationship within the diocese. For example, we must pass the ordinance which determines how we spend our income this year, although it’s only about half of what we had to spend last year.

You can log on to http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/ which has a complete rundown on Synod to see/hear what’s happening. That will assist you in your prayers for us. (Hint!)

I will be available on Sunday for autographs.

Neil

645 News (21/10)

Prepare for this Sunday@645
The final season of God of this City starts Sunday. Prepare by meditating on 1 Peter 2:4-10. Remember to pray for your community + James Lewis. Remember the HUB is on before Church this Sunday (6:15pm)

CityScapes Volunteers needed
Read this Blog and let us know



Previous 645 Blogs
Info on giving to Compassion
RevWrites
645 Rosters
200 Words on ... (Coming Friday)

645 EVENTS
All 645 Events info is now found on Facebook. It will be updated each week. Please click the title to access. If you do not have Facebook then let us know

Cityscapes@645

What makes you stop and think in our city?
What do you see that keeps coming back to you later in the day?
What is happening in our city that is awesome or terrible?

Consider sharing it with your brothers and sisters. We are looking for 4 bold 645’ers to share a photo, story, advert, website from their life. We are not looking for answers – we are wanting together to see our city through the eyes of a believer in Jesus. We all live, work, play and study in our city. We are worshippers on every day of the week.

How is God opening your eyes to the city we live in?

Email or ring Ed or Sarah Macken with your idea

Disaster in the Philippines (Compassion Support)

From: http://www.compassion.com.au/article_view.asp?inttype=2&intid=5675

Compassion has begun large-scale relief efforts in the Philippines after the devastation caused by Typhoon Ketsana in late September and Typhoon Parma, which hit just a week later on 3 October. Flooding and landslides are still continuing and the total death toll has risen to an estimated 600, with fears it will grow as the water subsides. Over six million people have been affected and more than 300,000 are still taking shelter in evacuation camps.

Forty Compassion child development centres have been affected in the Philippines, including all of Compassion’s 14 church partners in Northern Luzon, which bore the brunt of Typhoon Parma. The La Trinidad Student Centre in the mountains near Baguio City has been the hardest hit, with a landslide last Thursday night burying most of the village where the Compassion child development centre is located. At least 50 people were killed, including three Compassion assisted children and their families.

The road leading to the Marikina Foursquare Student Center.
DONATE NOW

The churches and child development centres of the other projects in the Northern Luzon region, as well as the homes of many staff and assisted children, have been flooded. The continuing rain has also cut food supplies and work opportunities in the region.

Sally Castro, the project director of the San Nicolas Student Centre in Laoag City, says, “The parents can't find work because of the prolonged rains. Most of their sources of livelihood like grain and vegetable farming have been destroyed.”

In addition, parts of the capital Manila are still flooded in the wake of Typhoon Ketsana, including two Compassion child development centres. At one centre alone, the homes of all 331 children were completely flooded. We thank God that no Compassion assisted children were killed in Manila, although three children lost parents and siblings, including eight-year-old Rose Anne, whose father was swept away while trying to get to his family. His body was found two villages away.

Miguel Flores was separated from his parents for 24 hours after the typhoon hit.
DONATE NOW

The clean-up has begun, but recovering from the trauma will take time. When the typhoon struck, Compassion assisted child Miguel Flores and his brother were separated from their parents. They were rescued by a neighbour and were reunited with them the following day at the Compassion partner church, Marikina Foursquare Gospel Church. Their father says, “I pounded my heart in anguish, crying. I was thinking of my boys all the time. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to look for them several times. I swam back and forth thought the flood calling out for my sons. We have lost everything but I won’t complain because I still have what truly matters—my family.”

Survivors of the typhoon. DONATE NOW

Compassion’s response to the disaster has been immediate. Child development centres are continuing to distribute emergency relief of food, blankets, clothing and personal items. Compassion Philippines staff have also mobilised a donation brigade asking staff and friends to give household goods and food to be distributed to partner churches. As the water recedes, we have to begin the mammoth task of rebuilding and repairing impacted homes and centres.

This action is possible because of the generous and rapid response of our supporters, who gave almost $60,000 within a week of the typhoons striking. Thank you so much to all supporters who have already opened their hearts and their wallets to the people of the Philippines. We have committed to raising $150,000 to join Compassion International's overall efforts to help the more than 2000 Compassion assisted children and their families affected. Please click https://www.compassion.com.au/donation.asp?intid=25 or phone 1800 22 44 53 to give today.

Please continue to pray for the children, families and staff in the Philippines who have been affected by this tragedy. Pray also for the recovery efforts and that God’s name would be glorified through it all.

RevWrites- October 18

If you’ve been away on holidays for the last two Sundays then you will have missed important information about James Lewis and his family. If you’d like a copy please email the office and we’ll send you one.

As James will be ordained a Presbyter in November and probably moving to a new parish some time next year, we will need to replace him for the reasons I outlined last week. We are looking for his replacement and would still value your prayers. So what are we looking for?

It won’t surprise you to learn that the Ordinal from our Prayer Book helps us as we look for a new Assistant Minister. The first thing we read there is that the bishop asks if the men to be ordained are suitable for ordination “by their learning and godly way of life.”

It would be easy to think that learning here refers to what they learned at Moore College, but that’s not the primary thing. The New Testament talks about learning Christ, knowing Christ, being taught Christ. That is the kind of learning that’s in view here and, of course, that is the intention of the course at Moore.

The New Testament also talks about the lifestyle of ministers of the gospel. The Pastoral Epistles contain much about a minister’s character. Because our College course contains a residential component for ordinands then we get to see how a future minister lives in community.

In the Ordination Service the bishop then speaks to the candidates and includes these words:

You are called…to be messengers, watchmen, and stewards of the Lord; to teach and forewarn, to feed and provide for the Lord’s family; to seek for Christ’s sheep who are scattered abroad…

This outlines what ministers are to be about. You notice how it fits in with our Makeover aims. Our Makeover aims to disciple people into Christ. This has two clear parts. First, we are to make disciples of those who are Christ’s scattered sheep. Second, we are to disciple Christians into maturity in Christ.

At the Ordination Service the ordinands are given a Bible. That is what they are to teach and feed to Christ’s sheep. Well taught, biblically well-taught disciples, are FAT sheep – Faithful, Available, Teachable.

The Service emphasises prayer and includes much prayer. Because ministers look after Christ’s sheep “who have been bought with his death,” their role is very important. Therefore, they need much prayer, both in their lives and for them in their ministry.

Please continue to pray for the ministers of your church.

Neil

200 words on… a search for happiness

I was reading an article about James Packer in the Good Weekend. His policy was ‘whoever dies with the most toys wins.’ So he tried to buy as much as he could – both in the business world and personally. He bought a boat that costs $100 000 to fill with petrol! He inherited an absolute fortune yet has now lost a huge chunk of it. He was hemorrhaging money at $8000 a minute, $480 000 an hour, $11.5 million a day.

The sad thing is, that James is really searching for a happy life. He said that

‘I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day, the month, the year, and say I did my best, I didn’t fritter away my life, I tired my hardest… I think if you can do that you probably have a higher chance of feeling good about yourself and therefore being happy and contented…’

Apparently he understands that it’s not just about getting more stuff – which is obvious in his case as it’s just so easy to lose. But he’s on a search that won’t result in a happy answer. Feeling good about ourselves is not the answer to true contentment. Knowing Christ and every spiritual blessing secured in Him – that is the only path to true contentment and thus real joy (rather than happiness) in this life.

Sundays@645 Oct/Nov Rosters

Please email or call Troy for any questions/comments

troymunns@hotmail.com

200 words on…Better Dead than Wed?

This article is by the same woman who wrote last weeks ‘Our Father, to thine own pathological self be true.’ This time she’s on about marriage and how it is “an anachronistic system (which still reeks of misogyny and bigotry), established so men could own women to ensure their estates and titles were passed on to their kids.”

 

But she has no idea what marriage is or what it’s for. She says that marriage doesn’t work stating rising divorce rates to prove her point. She says that waving a magic wedding wand doesn’t guarantee a good marriage. Well duh! Marriage doesn’t always work in this world because people are sinful and selfish. And yes, the promises are hard to keep – almost impossible if we are trying to keep them alone without God’s help.

 

She’s missed the bigger point. The true nature of marriage is only understood through the Christ event as marriage is patterned on the love of God as truly seen in Christ on the cross. It’s not an ‘ownership ceremony’ or ‘just a piece of paper’. It’s a union that is patterned on the relationship between God and His people and points us forward to the union between Christ and His bride. So whether we're married or not, we need to uphold marriage as a good thing created by God!

PS - note that singleness is also a good thing that points us to the heavenly reality of relationship with God...

200 words on… Why I’m angry AGAIN!

This article was in the paper a few weeks ago. AND IT MADE ME ANGRY!!!!! This woman is saying that she thinks that God has a narcissistic personality disorder.  She goes through the criteria of the disorder and claims that God fits the bill. Here’s what she says about people with this disorder (implying it’s what God is like).

“…they are deceitful, ruthless, manipulative users who are unpredictable and emotionally erratic... They cannot love and have no empathy.

NPDs don't feel they exist without an adoring fan club, so they create their own fantasy world in which they are king… they make others feel special by granting small mercies and bestowing their favour. Which is how people get sucked into the transaction of worshipping a God despite no rational evidence.”

This is RIDICULOUS! God not capable of love?!? Hasn’t she missed the truth about Jesus? And why is she arguing about what God is like if she doesn’t think he’s there? I think she needs to read this…

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.1 John 4:8-10 

RevWrites - Oct 4

Last Sunday James Lewis announced to the 9.30 and 6.45 congregations that he was pursuing ordination to the presbyterate. What does that mean?

Over the last few years there have been significant changes to the way our diocese prepares men to be Senior Ministers (Rectors). In the past, when a candidate for ordination graduated from Moore College he was made a Deacon, usually in February. Some of us were there when George and Col were made deacons. Deacons are Assistant Ministers who work under a Senior Minister.

In the past, deacons were almost always automatically ordained as presbyters after about a year. That meant that all of them were available to be invited to be the senior minister of a parish. Of course, they normally waited another three years until that happened and remained assistant ministers for a total of four years. During that time they were involved in post-college training.

Now, the process of moving from deacon to presbyter is no longer automatic. We have learned from experience that not all those who are made deacons (assistant ministers) are able to lead parishes. Now, deacons must elect to engage in special post-college training and much more rigorous selection processes before they can decide to be ordained. Many deacons are electing to remain assistant ministers.

However, those with the right gifts/personality/abilities/experience are encouraged to become senior ministers. I have encouraged James during the last couple of years to move in this direction because he clearly has what is needed to be a senior minister. His four years of being a deacon have now come to an end and he and Jane have agreed to pursue ordination.

What does that mean in practice? It means that James will be ordained in November. After that, he is available to be invited by the Archbishop to become the Senior Minister of a parish.

How will that happen? When a parish is “vacant” (doesn’t have a minister), the parish nominators who were elected at the Annual Parish Meeting get together with the Presentation Board of the Diocese to select a new minister. After they agree on a man they would like to be the new minster of the parish his name is “presented” to the Archbishop who can then invite that man to become the Senior Minister of that Parish.

The man invited has three weeks in which to reply and, like all positions in our Diocese, has the right to refuse the invitation.

In my experience this whole process is undergirded with much prayer and consultation and discussion.

What does this mean for the Lewises? It means that some time, probably in the next year, James will be invited to another parish to be their Senior Minister. Until then we need to look after them and benefit from their ministry to us all. The process will almost certainly be a little unsettling so pray for them regularly.

Neil