I’m a day behind on these – and I’ve also realised that the program I used to convert them from hi-def quicktime files to YouTubeable files has not only messed up the audio – but cropped the last few seconds of sound… One day I’ll fix that. But for now. I give you. The OCC. Episode Three.
In the city
The 9Marks website has a great article on this whole “the city is where it’s at” “theology” that’s sweeping through city churches (and church planters) at the moment with nary a thought for those poor country cousins.
While I love and appreciate cities for all their goodness, and have lived in cities (excluding Townsville – which is regional) for just under half my life, I also think healthy, wholesome country towns are the lifeblood of the church and are often neglected.
A big part of my professional life involves helping the push for a regional area in Queensland to get appropriate per capita (and per revenue raised) government investment into infrastructure. It’s an eternal frustration. There are few votes in pleasing the country areas – so we’re the poor second or third cousins when it comes to government priorities.
There’s a real danger that the church ends up looking the same. It takes courage for a city raised ministry candidate to move to the boondocks. There’s no (real) program for sending graduates into rural service like there is for other vital professions (school teaching etc). City churches are too keen to snap up graduates for their vibrant and exciting “city” ministry.
And of course, as some good friends would itch to point out, these city churches could telecast their services into regional areas as a pragmatic solution.
There’s a lot to be said for feet on the ground ministry that’s engaged in community life – particularly when community life tends to be stronger the smaller the community (this is a generalisation based purely on my experience living centres with populations of 5 million, 3 million, 170,000 and 6,000). The opportunities for ministry are greater with greater natural community – but the opportunities for exciting ministry programs and huge growth decrease with the size of community.
So good on the 9Marks guys for pointing out this flawed hermeneutic (and particularly flawed Biblical proof texting) of city based ministry. It’s one of the few problems I have with the Mars Hill fan club. And in fact any city centric thinking.
$160 million man
Sir Alex Ferguson is faced with a dilemma. How to spend $160 million Australian. That’s what Real Madrid have just paid for Cristiano Ronaldo.
I’m looking forward to seeing how he replaces a man who considers himself irreplaceable. And I’m really looking forward to being able to dislike a man I have little respect for.
Hopefully they buy a couple of midfielders who like to pass.
Bleeching
That’s right – we’ve finally got a spot for some quality blogs on this blog. Actually, thats unfair, i find Nath’s blog is quite entertaining and good for procrastinating (case in point – i have a law exam tomorrow). I fully support the promotion of baconny goodness (however, i’m sure bacon lip smakers are going down in sales since swine flu), all things ninja, and food, and nerdy nintendo stuff. Nath has that pretty well coverered. I intend to use my bleeching (blog leeching) for the greater goood. Exactly what that means will have to wait for another bleech as i need to go and do something more productive with my life. Anyway,
I’ll keep you posted…
Illogical Logos
Some logos are bad. Others are terribad – a combination of terrible badness. Here’s a site dedicated to logos falling into a category beyond terribad…
Like this one.
Seriously people, don’t just throw something together using clip art, pay a graphic designer.
Retail therapy
I’m back at work. I’m still a bit sick. With my camp induced man flu. And I’m feeling a bit of “cold induced blues”. The best treatment for this condition is to buy something stupid. Like a novelty shirt. Or an oversized coffee machine.
I’m open to suggestions.
Shirt of the Day: Ninja Code
For people who know CSS and like ninjas… Buy it here.
A bunch of links – June 10, 2009
- Create and Share Firefox Addon Collections
- Yahoo Answers Fail
- Car Accident Checklist Lessens Post-Accident Stress [Driving]
- How to Slice and Dice an Onion Like a Pro [Eat To Live]
- Facebook User Name Rush Begins This Weekend
- Censoring comedy: why Australia needs the Chaser#39;s War on Everything
- Helpful Hints from joeeze: The best way to store sliced onions
- Beer Hydrates Better Than Water (Really!)
- You Have Three Days To Pick Your Facebook Vanity URL. Choose Wisely, Or You’re Screwed.
- Five Must-Have Tools for Any Kitchen [Eat To Live]
- Facebook Purity Removes Eye-Gouging Quiz Updates
- Fotopedia Creates A Wikipedia-Inspired Online Photo Encyclopedia
- Broncos on alert, call off training
- Is Preaching Killing Your Church Plant?
- How to Be in More Than One Place at One Time
- Why?
- Why does science work so well?
- 35 Weet-Bix
Driscoll on multi-site
Polar expedition
Last weekend Hilton and Justina (Robyn’s sister and her husband) came up to visit. It was a surprise (for Robyn).
We went to Magnetic Island for a day.
Stopping at the region’s best restaurant – the Barefoot Art Food Wine, and getting all tropical with a coconut… Here are some photos – and here is a photo summary of the day.
How to eat a coconut
Step 1. Find a coconut
Step 2. Find a big stick and whack the coconut to remove the outer shell
Step 3. Remove the husk – this is a three person job
Step 4. Retrieve your big stick and split the coconut.
Step 5. Eat the coconut
OCC Episode 2
I was asked in the last post whether I was aware the audio was so out of sync – no, I wasn’t. But I don’t think it makes much difference given the production values are what they are…
Also, I make no apologies for the terrible voice overs – we were on a budget.
Where there’s fire, there’s smoke
One of my old QUT lecturers reckons the Gordon Ramsay v Tracy Grimshaw feud is either a set up or being exploited by Channel Nine. I’m not so sure – but it could just be a smoke and mirrors ratings grab… he makes an interesting case.
Dr Jason Sternberg, a media lecturer at QUT, said with A Current Affair and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares both being Channel Nine programs, it was possible the whole controversy had been set up in advance.
“A cynic would suggest it was contrived, that there are some pretty clever PR people out there,” Dr Sternberg said.
“And you’re dealing with A Current Affair, so it’s safe to be cynical. They are the masters of underhanded and dirty tactics.
“I would not be surprised (if it was), but there’s no evidence to suggest that.”
Church sharing financial misery
There’s been a bit of online chatter about the impact that the financial crisis is going to have on churches – the Sydney Anglican Diocese is perhaps going to wear the consequences more than anywhere else – which is sad, given that they train and resource most evangelical ministries in Australia in some capacity.*
“THE world’s richest and largest Anglican diocese has lost more than $100 million on the sharemarket and is investigating ways to cut programs and ministries across Sydney.”
According to the SMH the losses have been compounded by the fact they borrowed to invest.
“The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, has written to clergy warning that the global financial crisis has caused significant losses. He said the diocese had borrowed money to invest and used the profits to build churches in 2007.”
In hindsight it’s easy to throw stones at that strategy – but is this ever “good stewardship” – the SMH headline makes accusations of “gambling” – which would seem inconsistent with their approach to investment in the business section.
*Though in my opinion too much stays in Sydney (this is purely to preempt accusations of backflipping following the discussion with Izaac a few weeks back…
WWJS
Some churches just don’t get it. Particularly American churches – or at least in the case of the American churches I’m about to write about…
Just over a week ago a prominent late term abortionist was shot while attending his church. Those who are anti-abortion will no doubt not be grieving this loss as much as others – but most churches have been quick to condemn the killing (or at least to distance themselves from it).
Not these two…
The first, a church in Kentucky, is having an “open carry celebration day” – they want parishioners to bring their guns to church. Here’s what their “pastor” Ken Pagano has to say:
Speaking about those objecting to his planned celebration he said:
While he may not have made the link to the shooting directly – the journalist did – a link from the story’s intro takes you to the story about the killing.
Then there are those that have glorified in the killing…
I’m sure this is not the sort of commentary the church should be making about current events… nor the kind of mission Jesus gave us in the great commission.
But I propose, in order to take money out of the hands of these dangerous people, that we launch a range of Christian merchandise in the WWJS line – who/what would Jesus shoot… the money raised can be redirected to appropriate organisations like the Red Cross.
June 10, 2009