“The science behind this Earth-shattering news release lies in its simplicity – no science, just pure old press release craftsmanship. It started with an incredible brainstorming session that asked a very simple question: “what makes a press release amazing?”
Elaborate notes from that brainstorm were then formulated into mesmerizing sentences, paragraphs and pages…all expertly designed to make you pause and reflect at the brilliance of this press release.
Every single word of this news release was track changed, stetted, then track changed again to its original draft. Upon final approval, it was spell checked, fact checked and printed for posterity. The result is a two-page, 1.5-spaced news release that is like no other news release in existence.”
This is a link to that post – which is a promo piece for a PR agency. It’s an interesting way to do it.
If you want to know about how to write your own press release, read this post. If you want me to write one for you, or have a look at one you’ve written. Please email me. We can talk.
This is a fascinating photo essay. A photographer was granted what I believe is unprecedented access to the Westboro Baptist mob. He almost humanises them. Almost.
Sometime last year I preached on the passage in Matthew where Jesus talked about the paradox of a plentiful harvest with few workers.
I talked about Clayfield as the mission field of our church community. And emphasised “local” evangelism and the importance of relationships with people around us. Relationships entered into with gospel intentionality.
I thought it was a good sermon. Until a bunch of people who don’t live in Clayfield but belong to our church family started leaving, in order to be part of churches closer to where they lived. Then I decided my sermon sucked.
It certainly doesn’t help that these people are really involved in ministry at church – and pretty mission minded. The type of people you don’t want leaving a church.
I’m not suggesting that this particular sermon was the only factor in their decision. But even it played no part it’s prompting me to rethink how I think geography should shape our church communities. Especially when you’re ministering to an ostentatious suburb like Clayfield where it’s almost possible to make a case for not living in (especially owning a house) if you’re a Christian. A bad case. But a possible case.
It takes a bit of gumption to commit to ministering to a community like that when you’re not living in it. It takes more gumption to live in it and watch people leave. I’ve had first and second hand experience of ministry in just about every demographic context in Australia (big city suburban church, rural town community, and a regional centre) and I reckon this is the hardest one to crack.
This “Four Icons” representation of the Shakespearian classic is one of three from Colt + Rane.
What would your four icons of the Biblical narrative be? I’m guessing something like two ways to live. What about for each of the books. That’d be a fun challenge. Wouldn’t it. Help me out in the comments.
The other day I said I was ok with children being involved in ministry. From about 39 seconds into this video, you’ll see an example of the kind of thing for some reason I’m not comfortable with.
Especially touching is where he decrees and declares several multi-million dollar ideas for the children he is praying for.
For a while last week I thought about unsubscribing from the atheist blogs I read. They fill me with frustration. Especially the snarkiness that oft goes on in the comment thread. I even have a post drafted saying that I had made that a resolution for the year. But then I changed my mind. Bizarrely because I read this article on the Huffington Post about why atheists read articles by the religious…
“In my opinion, Atheists want to be well-informed. They want to know what others are saying, and then what they’re saying next. They wish to keep up with all that they’re contesting, not to change their minds. Others who I’ve spoken with speculate that some self-professed atheists may actually be agnostics who are seeking answers to address internal doubts.”
I think there’s a little in that. But I also think they like to gather together and hunt in packs because that’s what minorities do. And if atheists were in the ascendency I’m sure there’d be a bunch of Christian voices clamouring to shout them down.
Plus, the internet is an atheist playground. And they are the resident bullies. So it makes sense they go where the easy targets are and hang out in gangs elsewhere.
I was talking to my friend Mike O’Connor on Facebook today. Mike is the minister of the Presbyterian Church in Rockhampton. And I love the way he thinks about how to serve and engage the Rocky community. He’s got a good eye for a media story and keeps Christianity on the agenda in a positive way.
I’ve been watching on Facebook as the Rockhampton flood situation unravelled. Mike has been on the front foot the whole time. And the stuff they’re doing up there, with help from his network of friends around the country, is pretty phenomenal.
Here’s a little video they put together:
Here’s what they’ve got on the agenda as a church so far as Rocky continues to deal with current flooding, and future clean up. From Mike:
What they’re doing
1. We have become the child care facility for anyone wanting to have their kids minded during the clean up
1.a We are going to do evening BBQ to feed people when they pick up their kids
2. We were GIVEN 5 chest freezers (new) yesterday to freeze meals to give to people and when we’re done we can give the freezers away.
3. We are still organising a team of people who can just labour – door knocking an area to assist people in the clean up.
already in place and set to roll when the waters go down.
4. Obviously helping people from church flooded in.
How you can help
This sounds like a CMS ad – but you can help by praying, giving, or going.
Pray for the Rockhampton Church as they seek to serve their city.
There was a team from Brisbane lined up to come to Rockhampton to help – their status is now “unsure.” If you’ve got some spare time in the next weeks or months, and would consider travelling to tropical North Queensland to help out – let me know, and I’ll pass your details on to Mike. They’re particularly interested in hearing from tradesmen of all varieties. Especially electricians – who need to certify each house. But they’ll take anybody.
Give money…
You can give money to the Presbyterian Church’s Flood appeal by Direct Debit:
Presbyterian Church of Queensland
Westpac Bank
BSB 034 010
Account No 131237
If you were going to make a film clip about God using kids for ministry – a notion I have no problem with1 you could at least pick a bunch of kids who looked happy to be there.
1I think God uses kids. I think kids participating in ministries is fine, and evangelising people is fine, and generally the concept of kids being Christian children (as opposed to the ideas popularised by Richard Dawkins). I think these things are fine only if the kid is acting under the kid’s own (and God’s own) steam. Just want to put that disclaimer out there… in case you think I have a problem with the sentiment of that song – and not just the apathy expressed on the faces of those children.
Colby is less apathetic though. I suspect this might be the original version of that song.
People get in real trouble if they try to link world events to specific acts by members of specific governments. We saw that with Danny Naliah yesterday. Exhibit B is YouTube Prophetess (or televangelist) Cindy Jacobs – who suggests a bunch of birds are dying because of a decision to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy regarding homosexuals in the US Army.
If we could track God’s direct intervention in judgment like these guys suggest:
a) I’d be a very rich man.
b) He’d be using a better logical connection than “the Governor’s name is B.B and this is happening in a place called B.B.”
c) He’d be doing much nastier things to much nastier places. Queensland is Australia’s Bible belt. We’re the birthplace of Ken Ham. Why isn’t Kings Cross flooding?
There are some doubts about the origins of this cartoon (found at Scotteriology) – said to have been produced by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to explain their faith. The sword and fireballs are my favourite He-Man-esque scenes.
This serves alongside the South Park Mormon episode, and this other video, as a bit of a primer on the difference between these Cultic offshoots from Christianity and the rest of the flock.
Some people should learn to keep their mouths shut. A few years back Danny Naliah had much of Australian Christendom on his side when he spoke out against Islam and fell foul of Australia’s religious vilification laws… free speech is important. But it seems he has a desire to walk around as a test case. Here’s his idiot filled statement about the Queensland floods.
“Around 8pm on Friday night the 7th of January we had a strong prompting by the Holy Spirit to repent on behalf of Australia. As we started doing so, I was reminded that every time America went against Israel, there was disaster in the land and this has been documented over the years.
Then at once I was reminded of Kevin Rudd speaking against Israel in Israel on 14th December 2010. It is very interesting that Kevin Rudd is from QLD. Is God trying to get our attention? Yes, I believe so.
Also the Lord said to us, “ I will humble Australia and bring her down on her knees. As she has taken pride in my blessing, and man has taken the glory and not given it to Me”.”
I wonder what he’s going to do if New South Wales goes under. And you’ve got to wonder what these people did wrong (using his thinking).
Here’s what Jesus said about people in natural disasters (from Luke 13) as quoted last time Naliah opened his stupid mouth…
““1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.””
Don’t be one of those classless Christians who meets people’s grief with talk of judgment. I’ve seen murmurings like that from friends on Facebook. And I don’t like it. Sure. Judgment is part of the broken world we live in. Be one of those Christians who meets grief with love, and the promise of hope in Jesus.
On our college mission in 2010 we had the opportunity to sit through a presentation by Straight Talk Australia’s Jim and Faye Lyons. Perhaps Australia’s most seasoned abstinence campaigners.
I thought the presentation could have done with a smattering of “forgiveness” and “grace” alongside the “unwanted pregnancy” and “gonorrhea” – but it certainly scared me. And I guess if it can scare a married 26 year old it can scare a 16 year old. Right?
The presentation was interesting. It involved a video of one of America’s biggest abstinence campaigners – Pam Stenzel – doing her thing on an Australian tour in 1998. The video is dated, jaded, and Pam is wearing an off putting combo of high pants with a big belt buckle that draws altogether too much attention to her chest area.
This is one of the many videos of Pam at work on YouTube.
Anyway. I wouldn’t necessarily endorse the product. But I thought Ben Law’s take on the program in an essay for the Monthly (from a couple of years ago) was pretty interesting. Ben is a gay essayist of some talent, and growing repute. He was my creative non-fiction lecturer at uni, and I saw him perform some stand up as part of JJJ’s Raw Comedy competition (I was cheering on some of my friends). He’s a funny guy, and remarkable even handed in his treatment of the program for one so diametrically opposed to all it’s seeking to achieve – though Pam’s outfit was too much for him:
“The Lyons invited Pam Stenzel to Queensland in 1998, and made a DVD of the resulting school tour. The Price Tag of Sex is the core of Jim and Faye’s presentation at Inglewood. Stenzel, despite looking a little dated (she is wearing high-waisted jeans that rise above her navel), is aggressively charming. She speaks with that irresistible American mix of authority and mocking disbelief. Throughout the DVD, there are clear-cut rules she shoots out. “Absolutely no genital contact of any kind – none!”; “Keep your pants on – simple!”; “If you are not married, don’t do it. If you are married – go for it!””
It’s worth reading to get a feel for what outsiders think of the stuff you might put on in your churches and schools without much thought. His analysis resonates with my experience of the program too. And his concerns are my concerns – though we approach the issue from vastly different perspectives.
Here it has been put to a different use – showing just how dumb a batch of Calvinist pick up lines might sound in real life. Just in case you’re working your way through the process of Christian pick up artistry.
I posted something about Christian Wrestling somewhere before (the “Christian Wrestling” tag below will take you there). There’s a documentary about the industry coming out, a little too late to capture the zeitgeist inspired by Mickey O’Rourke’s The Wrestler.
I guess God wrestled. In Genesis. So it must be ok. And it was pretty “fake” too – so far as the outcome being scripted and the in ring storytelling being the most significant part.
Jacob Wrestles With God
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
