old support MIKE

Last Post (pun intended)

2006-11-25T20:45:00.000+11:00

I'm re-launching my blog and switching to blogger beta (here)

Update

2006-11-24T09:59:00.000+11:00

I made it back into the country on Monday night after a good 30 plus hours of battling across the pacific. Many may be jealous but I didn’t really suffer any jet lag flying in either direction during my travels.

In any case I’m back into my work straight away. I’ll be working 4 days a week cleaning windows until I finish up at the end of December.

In the mean time I’ll be considerably revamping my blog and switching to blogger beta where I can more effectively manage things. There will also be more focus on the ministry work I’ll be doing beginning next year. Please be patient in the interim. I’ll also be busy getting as much support for FOCUS and myself in preparation for FOCUS next year.

As announced before Christine and I will be getting married June 29th next year. It wasn’t made clear before but we’ll be coming back to Australia to live in Hobart. Christine and I have agreed that my original ministry plans (working for FOCUS for two years) will remain unchanged.

Thankyou again to all my friends (round the world) and family who prayed for this trip things could not have turned out better.

supportMIKE over and out

Wedding Date...

2006-11-20T21:25:00.000+11:00

All who can make it are invited... (click here)

America is...

2006-11-20T20:41:00.000+11:00

Automatically loading toilet seat covers
Low tide toilet bowls
Cars on the wrong side
All the flipping “Stop” signs
Wires everywhere
Blow up trucks/white vans
SWAT trucks and
Cars (totally weird)
The Interstate
Squirrels
Guns
Wal Mart
Kroger
Walgreens
Free WiFi hot spots
Southern Seminary
Thom Schreiner lectures on John
Houses (old really old look different)
Food (Lots of strong flavor Cinnamon, Sweet, Fatty)
Popeyes and Biscuits
Gumbo
Qdoba
Ramsey’s
Joe’s Crab Shack
Ice in drinks even when it’s cold
Refrigerated Water fountains
Dr Pepper
Pecan Pie
Angel Food Cake
Calzones
Humbled by the people
The Fellas
Laura
Mr and Mrs Hnat
Cassey and Jiri (and Goldie)
Battlestar Galatica
Language (different)
Have a good night Y’all
I’m sorry I can’t understand you… you are going to have to repeat that.
Um Christine can you translate for me… please?
Um excuse me siiir you can’t do that here… Sir?
You have an accent. Are you British?
Oh my gosh I love your accent.
Hoodies
Cheap Levis
Sojourn
Loud music faithful teaching
Engagement
The Glory of God
Christine the most wonderful person I know.

News breaks

2006-11-17T03:47:00.000+11:00

Across the blogosphere...

Amanda's blog (click here)
and Ruth's blog (click here)
and Pablo's blog (click here)
and David's blog (not my brother) (click here)

I'd also like to once again offer up thanks to all the people who have supported and prayed for us. Those who have read our blogs, emailed us with advice and many other things. Most of all I thank God that things so far have worked out smoothly. As always for God's glory.

the announcement

2006-11-16T10:25:00.000+11:00

WE'RE ENGAGED!

Wedding logistics are difficult. Dates and details to follow in time.

More Pictures

2006-11-14T06:15:00.000+11:00

I've been working with my camera and picture editor on my computer... see below for results.

For the interested I took the pictures in sepia mode on my camera and then tweaked them with "Preview" on my computer. I'm most happy with the one of Christine.

By Request 2.0

2006-11-11T04:17:00.000+11:00

I really like this...

2006-11-11T04:06:00.000+11:00

This is an excellent idea for Christmas Cards by the guys at Matthias Media... The site is (here)

By Request

2006-11-09T09:06:00.000+11:00

more later...

Phil you legend...

2006-11-07T07:09:00.000+11:00

My mate Phil wrote this poem on his blog.

Pop over and give him e-props... but here is the poem for your enjoyment.

-----

Today, it would seem
That Mike & Christine
will for the first time meet.

Although, on the web
it has often been said
they'd talk for hours untold

So Mike packed his “swag”
said “good bye” to his Dad
& kissed his Mum on the cheek

He's gone to the States
to meet face to face
without the old Internet screen

There's no vegemite there!
Their cupboards are bare
of that spread we're willingly share

But he's gone anyway
for nothing will sway
this mike that is a machine

So, it's “thanks to the modem!”
that she's gotten to know him
and does seem to be rather keen

Will he propose?
Well, no body knows
for it all seems much like a dream.

----
supportMIKE salutes Phil

USA...

2006-11-02T20:27:00.000+11:00

I'm heading off early tomorrow morning to see Christine. A big thank you to all the people who have wished me well in emails, text messages and via msn it has been humbling. Your prayers have been and will continue to be valued greatly by both of us.

For various reasons my blog will take a short vacation. Christine and I don’t currently have plans to post while I’m there.

God is truly great may this be for his glory.

supportMIKE out

Dan and Clare the wedding

2006-10-28T16:59:00.000+11:00

A wintery cold Hobart morning
(Notice the snow on the mountain in the background)

Clare

Dan

In between the wedding the reception I went to... well you know.

Support and Report FOCUS

2006-10-27T22:28:00.000+11:00

My fantastic computer has been utilised for last few days by my mate Joe. This is the movie he has been working on. The aim is to support and report what has been happening at FOCUS this year. Joe works for FOCUS Utas and is working in the same position that I'll be in next year. It's a longish movie about 7 mins. Enjoy... you might even see some awful footage of me.

Christine

2006-10-26T22:14:00.000+11:00

Some of you may have noticed that I don’t post about Christine much here. There are many reasons for this. The biggest is that already a great deal of our relationship is online and available simply by Googling our names… we need some privacy.

Having said that many people will be interested in how things are going and others may find it useful to see how our relationship is lived out.

Christine and I have a very close relationship considering the distance between us. This has really surprised me. We talk via webcam usually twice a day for about an hour or so. We talk about our days and just regular everyday stuff like “normal people” might. After each conversation we pray together.

Thursdays is “our day”. We usually spend five or more hours catching up. On this day we read the Bible together and pray. We chat about the future our hopes and struggles. We share each other’s pain and burdens. These things might seem strange (and did a bit at first) but now it feels totally normal to me now. I’ve gotten to know many of Christine’s friends via email and through their blogs. She has spoken to a good number of my friends via the webcam.

We try to listen to the talks from each other churches through the week and spend time talking about them. Quite often we read blogs together and work on comments, posts and even some emails concurrently. If you read our blogs we’ve probably stalked you out at one time or another. We often watch short YouTube movies and the like together of both Australian and American TV shows.

Christine and I really seem to click and I think we have a surprisingly good understanding of each other. Our communication skills are also good (they have to be). Being so far apart has been difficult. It’s especially hard to see someone you love who is going through pain and difficulty and not being there to hug them and dry their tears.

There are many things that might be different or change when I actually get to the US and we meet. Surprisingly I’m far less apprehensive about it than I thought I would be. It’s my hope that you are too. Please keep us in your prayers that whatever the future holds this whole rollercoaster ride will work out for God’s glory.

Oh America Why?

2006-10-23T20:05:00.000+11:00

(See here)

supportMIKE tour... continues

2006-10-22T17:21:00.000+11:00

The supportMIKE tour moves ever onwards.

This morning I visited Holy Trinity Anglican church. I was particularly impressed with their friendliness. I was also impressed with the current move toward a gospel focus being made in a number of Anglican churches in Hobart including Holy Trinity. These moves will see a number of congregations combine and possibly a couple of churches shut. Please keep our Anglican brothers in your prayers.

I’m also pushing my written letter campaign forward this week. My aim is to have most of my support letters and support visits organized before I leave for my jaunt in the US of A.

12 days to go... not that I'm counting ;)

This Weekend

2006-10-22T16:51:00.000+11:00

It has been a busy and productive weekend. I wore a suit AND a tie

I spent all Saturday at my mate Sam’s wedding/reception in Launceston. Sam is an old mate from school. See if you can spot Dave (my bro) in the wedding party?

Between the wedding and the reception Benny and Bernie went on a shopping trip into Launceston. I tagged along in my suit. I felt a little over dressed for Launceston.

Never the less I was tempted to buy things...

But ended up buying....

I'll let you know what it is like.

Respect 2.0

2006-10-22T16:20:00.000+11:00

I was asked to elaborate on why I thought Romans 13 teaches not just submission but also respect.

Firstly let me say that the main point of this passage is not respect per say but submission. My understanding is that Godly submission is respectful submission.

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

I’d understand this in the context of the preceding verses to be teaching respect and honour even for governments/authorities that we think are bad. I’d also argue that 1 Peter 2 also supports this idea.

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

It’s important to note that no qualification is given that I should respect only when the Government/authority is good, rather the context (slaves are to submit to their masters even bad ones) would suggest that submission and respect are owed even for bad governments.

Relationships again

2006-10-20T16:51:00.000+11:00

In a discussion a while back someone talked about being friends with a girl first before asking her out. Interestingly I read this recently.

But men should assume that if a woman is spending a lot of time with him, she is interested and she is investing her emotions. (I suspect men realize this more often than they'll admit, but hold onto these ego-boosting relationships anyway.)

Women, on the other hand, need to assume less. A woman should not assume that a guy friend she's spending time with is: a) just too shy to make a move; b) thinking she's the woman of his dreams but the timing isn't right; c) in denial of God's will that they be together.

whole article (see here)

My question is where is the line... between friendship/spending time together and giving the girl the wrong idea?

SUV loving Americans... might be interested.

2006-10-20T15:37:00.000+11:00

I'm not sure I'm pumped for all that this site is on about however I'd agree with the sentiments expressed.

Today I met...

2006-10-14T19:12:00.000+11:00

Bringing you up to date.

2006-10-13T20:52:00.000+11:00

So far in quest for world domination* I have

Asked Presbytery for support for next year.
Asked Crossroads for support next year.
Approached CCC and discussed ways to open a dialogue between them and FOCUS.
Gained a couple of one off contributions for nest year.
Approached a couple of other churches to ask for opportunities to gain support.
Thought about how I'll keep my supporters informed of my progress and give them things to pray for.
Filled out a forest worth of forms and paper work.
Signed my name more times than I can remember.
Begun a list of ideas and things to do next year.
Begun thinking how I will structure each day that I am working. What time to get up etc.

I am currently waiting to

Plug FOCUS in a couple of different churches in Hobart
Hand writing a number of letters to ask for support for next year.
Printing out a large number of letters for individuals who I am asking to support me in my work next year.
Planing to email still more churches about getting support.
Go to America to retrieve my hot girlfriend**.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I seek to do all thse things. More soon.
*World domination here refers to working fulltime for the University Christian Group in 2007.
**Hot girlfriend here refers to Christine in a humorous sense. I appreciate her for much more than her "hotness". “Retrieve” refers to the act of bringing Christine back to Australia and should be read in a humorous rather than derogatory sense.

Respect.. these guys?

2006-10-13T20:40:00.000+11:00

I don’t like George Bush in fact I don’t really like John Howard either. In fact most politicians make me frustrated and angry. I don’t agree or like many of their rules and policies. The war in Iraq, asylum seekers, the environment, the funding of universities and schools… I could go on but I wont.

However I am sick of two things.

Firstly a blatant disrespect for our nations leaders. At this point I want to again affirm I my strong disagreement with many of John Howard’s policies and more of George Bush’s.

As a Christian I am called to respect the leaders that I have over me even if I disagree with them*. Bands such as The Herd on Triple J, do nothing to endear themselves to the listening audience with their pejorative language… phrases like “John has a taste of George’s d--k”. The bottom line is that our leaders have difficult jobs and are called upon to make decisions daily that can’t please everyone. Even if I disagree I should respect the decision they make.

Romans 13 teaches us that we must respect them not because we like them or even agree with them but because they are placed over us by God**. Similarly in 1 Timothy 2 we must pray for our leaders that they would make Godly and wise decisions.

The second thing that gets my goat up is the attribution of a leaders personal failure to a people as whole. For example George Bush is a w----r therefore all Americans are w----rs. This sort of language is stupid when you think about it if only for the reason that not all Americans voted for Bush… (in fact not even all Americans voted).

So for the record I’ll make it clear Americans don’t all agree with what George Bush says anymore than all Australian’s agree with what John Howard says. So next time you see an American or talk to one don’t assume they subscribe to George Bush’s worldview.

Rant over.

*Not to say there isn’t room to protest, write letters, lobby, sign petitions etc. These would be all things that as a Christian I would be happy to do.
**It’s also worth pointing out that slaves were commanded to respect masters who were not only good and considerate but also harsh (1 Peter 2:18).

I hate smokers...*

2006-10-09T17:55:00.000+11:00

Now before you get your nickers in a knot... I don't actually hate smoking in fact I've been know to have the odd puff now and again (shock horror). In fact I don't even hate all smokers.

Why do I hate smokers you ask? Well dear reader because of this....

Cigarette butts. If you are going to smoke put your freaking butt in the bin and don’t be a lazy slob. If I see you throw it on the ground I'll be forced to take drastic action… maybe even ask you to put it in the bin or give it back to you.

supportMIKE is on his soapbox

* Someone is sure to object. "Hate is not a very nice Christian attitude Jolly”... and they'd be right but this is a rant and is only supposed to be taken semi seriously so stop over analysing everything I write.

Christine...

2006-10-07T11:01:00.000+11:00

Click here to enlarge picture (a good laugh)

...isn't American. (see here)

Blokes read this... maybe girls too

2006-10-05T16:51:00.000+11:00

Christine gives some excellent dating advice... before she met me too.

(see here)

Church and stuff

2006-09-28T23:27:00.000+10:00

When thinking about how to run a church that is friendly to newcomers we often look to the best and coolest new programs. We allocate special welcomer people with shiny introductory packs. We even have people on the door who shake hands with everyone as they come in.

I think this falls short for two reasons…
Firstly a large proportion of people I believe choose a church because it is a loving welcoming community.

They look for a place where people have a genuine love and care for each other. These things speak powerfully to a new Christian or non Christian visitor. I reached this conclusion while chatting to a couple of people (independently) last week. I asked them for the reasons why they choose/joined their particular church.

In both cases the reason given had nothing to do neither with programs, nor great Bible teaching, “inspiring worship” or fearsome evangelistic zeal. They choose their church because they felt welcomed into a loving caring environment. In my past church experience we have worked at having great teaching but neglected to work at having a warm loving environment where newcomers and members could feel at home.

You might be feeling a little smug at this point “My church does community very well thank-you very much.” But I’d want to bring you to my second reason… Often we do community in a way that isn’t welcoming.

I’ll explain what I mean with a question. “How easily and readily is a new person incorporated into your community?” So often I have seen communities and been to churches that reassemble impenetrable fortresses where trying to join the “in crowd” is like your Grandma turning up to a rock concert.

I’ve visited churches in Hobart even where I know many of the people but still feel very much left out of the clique and in group (maybe cause I’m not cool). It should also be noted that I’m generally an outgoing person.

To address the situation I have two action points. Firstly we’d do well to learn from some more of the (dare I say it) Pentecostal churches that are warm and friendly and really work at having more caring environments. Secondly we must work on opening our cliques up to new people, watch for them and welcome them in.

supportMIKE wants you to think about how to do church community better.

Beware!

2006-09-27T19:46:00.000+10:00

Americans might be particularly familiar with the dangerous Australian wildlife.

For exampple I found this little puppy under the fence in my "backyard" just the other day.

Kinder Surprise... an epic tale of woe

2006-09-23T14:14:00.000+10:00

I bought a Kinder Surprise… and I got this toy...

I mean what on earth? It Looks like something a crazy person dreamed up. what are those wheel things for? Kinder Surprise what WERE you thinking... have you gone insane?? Are you smoking crack??

You can tell I was upset...

...so I wrote a letter (in big pencil print with spelling mistakes and smudges)

...put it in an envelope (addressed to Mr Kinder Surprise)

...And posted it (this is my "Mum wouldn't approve" look)

I’ll let you know how it turns out...

Cars, being a nerd and other stuff

2006-09-22T21:16:00.000+10:00

I’m thinking of taking a break from my blog for a bit while I sort out some talks I have to write for an evangelistic camp next month. Apologies if my updates are a little spasmodic.

Things that you can pray about in the meantime

Finally getting all the paper work sorted for next year.
That Christians will be generous and give me and FOCUS the money for next year.
For the talks I have to write and for me not to get stressed out about them.
For people that I have spoken to and will speak to with regard to working for FOCUS next year.
For Christine and I to work hard on our relationship especially for me as I think about the future.

Today I have...

Been out helping a mate get his car Dyno Tuned* (see pic). Most people who read this probably don’t know I’m into cars and to a certian exstent I'm not… anyway the chances are that you won’t know what a dyno is or a dyno is... guessing anyone?
Written the protocol for editing out website content (finally)
Thought about making some progress on the talks (they are about half done)
Filled in some more forms for work next year.
Chatted with an old school mate.
Helped my parents battle computer issues.
Helped Nixter battle Skype issues.
Battled some more preference settings on Adium (like msn messenger only 1000 times better)
Updated this blog
Talked to Christine.. twice
Gotten angry because AAPT doesn't have a good usage meter for their ADSL plans.

*For the record we got the car (A heavily “modified” Mitsubishi Gallant VR4 with a 4G63 motor) doing 169 kw @ the wheels with 18psi boost… now stick that in your pipe and smoke it.

Christine...

2006-09-17T14:50:00.000+10:00

Is coming to Australia... WOOT*

*(Ask Nikki (here) for a defination of "woot")

This weekends progress...

2006-09-16T23:29:00.000+10:00

This week I have been working hard. My blog has slowed a little, as has my traffic which has allowed me to breath a little more freely. I spent a large ammount of time working on the talks for the camp in October and I'm very happy with the progress.

I also soldered these very nice cables together for my little home theatre system. Here's how I did it...

First we strip the cable separate the core from the shield.

Second solder the core and shield to the pin

A lot of cables... lots of time and *cough* money

What to do with them all...

If you would like any hints and tips on how to DIY I am now a master craftsman and happy to take questions.

For your complete cable needs supportMIKE is your local home theatre wire soldering specialist. (say that three times fast)

How to be better at Evangelism Part 3*

2006-09-15T22:41:00.000+10:00

Pray more - more often and more passionately.

If you start by praying for deeper relationships, if you start actively getting to know people better, you will end up loving them more, desiring their salvation more, praying for them more often and praying for them more passionately.

If you have deeper relationships with Christians it will be more natural to pray with each other for one another's friends and family. In doing so you will end up growing in your relationship with God and your brothers and sisters in Christ.

(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism for the final time. Thankyou Emma.)

Stop. Look. Listen and speak...

2006-09-10T16:42:00.000+10:00

Most people would know about Steve Irwin’s death earlier this week. Fewer people will know about Peter Brock’s untimely death. For my international readers "Brockie" was the most popular and well known Australian motor sport identity.

What I noticed was the level of public grief for these two celebrities. Their deaths shocked us, left us numb. This shouldn’t surprise because we convince ourselves that death has no part in everyday life. We spend stacks of money on the anti-ageing cream and hair dye to cover the fact we’re slowly dying. Death rarely enters our suburbs, let alone our streets or homes. It is a stranger—an unwelcome one.

When death does break into our circle of celebrity or family, it comes as a rude shock. It's unfair, it's not time (it's never time) it's too soon, it's too much, it's more than we can bear. Seeing a celebrity die reminds us that we are truly fragile that even power wealth health and prosperity cannot protect us from the final realities of this life.

As I walked around this week I noticed society struggles to come to terms with these deaths. I over heard this just yesterday.

“I mean what can you do or say... I guess he went out doing the very thing that he loved.”

If doing the thing you love most is life is all there is, it is the pinnacle of your existence, then I’d agree that is definitely it is the best way to die… But is this all there is? It seems to fall short and is… well inadequate. My feeling is that people comments (for example my mate’s) show this. It just doesn’t explain the pain, the death, the finality of it all.

At this point I want to say affirmatively that there is a point. There is far more to life than just the here and now and the pursuit of what I love. God exists and he himself gives life, meaning and purpose. He gives me the reason to live. It is him I live for not the endless pursuit of enjoyment and doing what I want. It’s him to whom I owe my life in this world and the next. Now what about you?

How to be better at evangelism... Part 2*

2006-09-09T22:53:00.000+10:00

Have deeper relationships with those inside the church.

The more your church is your family, not just on Sundays, the more your friends and family outside the church will get to know that family. As you yourself get to know your Christian brothers and sisters better, you will probably end up meeting and befriending more of their friends and family as well. A relative who might never have been to church on a Sunday may end up having so much contact with Christians that they begin to see the body of Christ in action all the same. Don't segregate your church family from the rest of your life, let them overlap and intertwine.

(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)

How to be better at evangelism... Part 1*

2006-09-08T21:31:00.000+10:00

Have deeper relationships with those outside the church.
The better you know someone, the easier it is to pray for them, to care for them, to understand them, to love them. The more you are driven by love, the more you accident prone you will be when it comes to accidentally evangelising.

If you have a deeper relationship with a person, discussions of faith will hopefully become inevitable rather than uncomfortable. Friends want to know how each other tick, and they naturally share their lives with each other. Whereas it would be strange to talk about God with a work colleague or your boss, it would be natural in context of friendship. More meaningful relationships often lead to evangelistic opportunities that are not even initiated by the Christian.

Another accidental side effect will probably be an increase in your circle of friends - as you get to know your friends better, you will get to know the important people in their life better as well - and vice versa. On one hand, you will have more people to show Christ's love to. On the other, you will have more Christian friends who know your non Christian friends to help you do it.

(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)

Writings on the wall

2006-09-06T19:14:00.000+10:00

My friend Benny has a poetry exibition at the Nourish Cafe in Elizabeth Street. On till the 31st of September. My other mate Nick did the graphics which are equally cool.

Drop in and have a read of all the poems like this one...

Beach Horizons

And God said, “Let the waters under the Heavens
be gathered together in one place
and let the dry land appear.”
Genesis 1:9

dad said
lets go find a rock
spots of sun to dangle rods -
flathead signal when they're ready.

mum said
have a careful look
under clouds and under grit -
cowries follow children home.

she sat quiet on the sand
passed her toes
through water cool
smiled at all the meeting.

Tiny Teddy mega shoot

2006-09-02T12:13:00.000+10:00

Things on my blog have been more serious lately so today I set this up (see below). I’d like to rebuke myself for being silly and childish… but I enjoyed doing it ohhhh soooooo much. I hope you do to.

"Welcome to Happy's house, a place where the sun shines in and out."

The box says there are six houses to collect... hmmm

I glued the house together with liquid nails. If a job is worth doing it's worth doing properly.

Christine supervised me as I did the cutting out (she's a teacher).

Update I came home this afternoon to find all the tiny teddy heads had been bitten off... no prizes for guessing who did that.

Men should lead…please. Further reflections

2006-09-01T13:10:00.000+10:00

As promised I thought I’d post about my own struggles to apply these clear Biblical principles to my life.

There were many excuses I had for not being a leader. I didn’t like putting forward my opinion publicly where it could get shot down. I was and still am particularly sensitive to criticism. Similarly I used to lack the confidence in myself and my own abilities in spite of the fact people told me otherwise.

To make matters worse the male leadership models I grew up with in weren’t particularly styled in a way that I wanted to imitate. Consequently when I became a Christian I was heavily influenced by the blokes around me at the time. We were by all accounts fairly extreme and took what the Bible said seriously.

This was certainly the case with the roles of men and women. I was a bloke and it was my job to lead. However in an earnest sense to apply these principals and correct against the prevailing feminist view of relationships, I and many others ended up over correcting. Consequently many of the girls at our church were crushed, some left and we began to get a reputation for being ultra-conservative.

In my own life I had begun to date a girl. Things initally went well however once we were engaged and began looking at marriage the problems began. I tried to the best of my ability to lead her, asking her to submit to me in areas I thought were important. I asked for her to submit to me in areas that didn’t matter and wound up being incredibly selfish and unloving.I made many mistakes. The relationship unsurprisingly broke down and while it wasn’t totally my fault, I still bore ultimate responsibility for what happened.

So what has changed you ask? I wouldn’t say that my theological conviction has changed nor my certainty that men should lead in God’s created order. The application of it however has changed a great deal. I have spent the last two years thinking carefully about the whole issue, sorting out what battles are worth having. More importantly what battles aren’t worth having. I have been greatly changed and humbled. I have sort forgiveness from my ex and from God. I believe that I’m far better person for it. Our church has also undergone a time of repentance for the mistakes we made.

What does this now look like practically in the future? By God’s grace I won’t seek to crush my wife* into submission. Rather seek to earn her love and respect and engage in selfless action (just as Christ did for the church), laying down my life. I would seek to put my wife’s needs first, putting aside my wants, investing time, surrendering money and effort to work at the relationship. I would treat her with great tenderness, sensitivity not misusing my position to abuse, frustrate and embitter.

There would be an acknowledgement of equality in our relationship, at the same time recognizing the different roles we each have to play. My responsibility as the leader would mean ultimately I am accountable to God for the decisions we make together as a couple.

May God help all godly married men to be like this.

*More about single blokes leading later.

Men should lead...

2006-09-01T13:05:00.000+10:00

... but not like this...

smooth work fellas.

You will need a bucket for this one...

2006-08-30T23:41:00.000+10:00

I’m not usually a gushy sort of person… well not on this blog particularly. But I thought I’d take some time to talk about Christine in a serious way.

(This might be a time to either stop reading or grab some tissues.)

Christine means the world to me. She is one of the best things to have ever happened to me. I would gladly sell everything that I own to be with her. (And for a while it looked like I might have to). Although it might sometimes seem from this blog I don’t take things seriously this isn’t the case. I take matters of faith and relationships very seriously as people who know me personally can vouch.

I’ll be 26 this year and I’ve been in relationships before and been badly hurt. These experiences have taught me much and I know exactly what I’m doing and what I want out of life. I know my strengths and weaknesses and my many struggles and failings. I’ve made many mistakes in past relationships and I am determined not to repeat them.

Earlier this year I had reached the conclusion that never again would I meet a person who I would be prepared to give up all my hopes, dreams and aspirations for. Then I met Christine. She blew me away. Christine is very different to any other girls I have dated. I always from day one thought that she was a person I could marry. (Not trying to jump the gun here).

This is no boyish crush and I have a strong belief that chicks shouldn’t be stuffed around by guys. I know and have known exactly what I’m doing with this relationship all along. I’ve always been one to plan and think about the future and this was something that I carefully considered before I asked Christine out.

It may sound a little crazy but to be honest I didn’t consider the fact she lived so far away as particularly crucial in my thinking. To me it makes no difference if the girl I love lives on the other side of the world. The bottom line is that I love her and I’d move heaven and earth so we can be together.

Most important of all Christine has a caring and committed spirit to God and her savior Jesus. Her trust and belief in God and the salvation offered by Jesus have always been the thing that most attracted me to her. I still remember reading her blog for the first time and how impressed I was to find a girl who not only expressed a biblical view of human relationships but wasn’t afraid to proclaim them and challenge the dominant paradigm in society (such courage and strength). This was a girl who demanded my respect. This was a girl who I could lay down my life for.

Since then I have learned there is much more to Christine. I love her artiness. I love her annoying American accent. I even enjoy listening to her friends. She has been blessed with beautiful good looks (heck she can even look me in the eye). I like what she wears. I love her passion and drive to inspire people. I love her energy. I love the way she respects and loves her parents. I respect her intellect. I love that she loves me despite my faults. I love the way she helps me to think about things in a clear way. I love that she respects me and takes to the time to understand me. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together we’ve prayed together, we’ve read the Bible together and we’ve discussed most issues of doctrine.

All this and we still haven’t met in person. It’s my prayer that things continue to work out in our relationship for God’s glory in his good time. Please keep us both in your prayers.

supportMIKE loves Christine

Today's work video...

2006-08-30T23:32:00.000+10:00

My first attempt at YouTube video. This is the view from a house at the very top of lower Sandy Bay. It's poor quality caseu it was taken with my phone.

Blogging explosion

2006-08-30T19:12:00.000+10:00

There has been a recent flurry of blogs created in the circle of freinds that I move in down here in Tassie.

Here is a list that I'd like to take some credit for inspiring in one way of another. You might want to check them out.

Jerome the madman
Simon - the no longer single guy
Phil the ponderer
Jonny - A fictional person in cyberspace you need to be very careful of
Anthony the cynic
Josh n' Geo - "spaced equally distantly thus"
Mikey's reflections
CIM Felicity

The burning question is will or should my brother start a blog?

Authority of Scripture

2006-08-28T18:15:00.000+10:00

(See here) My friend Ruth makes a very very good point.

My desk is also still up for grabs...

Note you don't have to take it if you win

How to get an internet girlfriend part 2

2006-08-25T10:07:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

A blog (see Part 1)
3 days off a week in which to blog and plot.
The need for an expensive pair of shoes only obtainable only in foreign country.
Lots of Prayer
MSN
Skype

Proceedure

Comment of her blog… A LOT.
Obtain email address (find sneaky way of doing so eg. Insulting her or calling her a feminazi).
Exchange emails until the number becomes great and then ask for MSN address.
At this point ask her to buy the shoes (this way you obtain her address and can write to her by hand deepening the relationship) . This will also function as a way of building trust in the relationship.
Meanwhile chat on MSN ALL the time when she is on. (Talk all night preferably)
Continue to blog (Blog about relationships, what women want. Talk about being SNAG or not a SNAG, your 5 year plan and then update it. Upload lots of pictures of yourself and engage in self promotion.)
Chat for so long on MSN that it becomes necessary to inform her to get Skype as you are wasting hours of time on MSN. (Nag a little if she isn’t pumped or show her how beneficial it will be to talk on the phone).
Now I haven’t put in prayer anywhere specific but I’m assuming that you have been doing it the whole time.
Finally Ask her out (Do this over the phone while talking NOT on MSN) (See here)

Ta Da one internet girlfriend.

*Warning you may have to spend lots of money going to visit her.

How to get an internet girlfriend Part 1*

2006-08-25T10:02:00.000+10:00

*Please note picture above is not an accurate representation of my level of maturity or how live my life.

Ingredients

One 50-meter long network cable. (**$50 bucks)
25 meters of poly pipe tubing ($10 bucks)
2 meters of electrical conduit ($5 bucks)
1 Network card ($25)
1 Computer (I already had this)
A knowledge of Computers (and willingness to learn more)

Procedure

Install network cable from parents house to your home computer (50 meters away in a different house).
Run cable through electrical conduit wherever cable is under ground for safetly and legality.
Run though poly tube above ground wherever possible (and it’s cheaper).
Get really dusty and dirty crawling under the house in very confined space. (bonus for grey snot).
Connect up and your ready to…
Start Blog (promote blog wherever possible)

NB. if you already have a connection you have no excuse... skip this step move to Part 2

**All costings are approximate and in Austrlian dollars.

Win supportMIKE's old desk!

2006-08-22T21:30:00.000+10:00

Over this weekend I bought a very nice big desk from the Salvos (Op-shop). This replaces my two desks and wooden mezzanine arrangement.

The burning question is how much did I pay? The closest guess will WIN one of my old desks*

*Postage and transport is responsibility of the winner.

Coffee "battle"

2006-08-20T21:30:00.000+10:00

My brother Dave and his mate Scott “battled*" today making coffees. Dave has a Rancilio Silva and with a Rocky grinder. Scott has the cheaper but equally good Sunbeam also with matching grinder. Here are some of the pictures.

While they are still getting to know the art we are planning to have a coffee session soon and invite people. Well that's my plan anyway. I'll keep you posted.

supportMIKE is on a coffee high.

*In this context "battle" refers to something like a Hip Hop battle where the rappers try to outdo each other in mixing songs. NB. The word “battling” can also refer to an act of perseverance OR the activity of doing something. For example the act of being on MSN at 12am could be described as “Battling solidly on MSN”.

(I am dedicated to Josh and Feebs for this definition of battling.)

Review - Quarterly Essay

2006-08-19T00:00:00.000+10:00

It’s morning 6am. I look in the mirror. I have sleep in my eyes and a face that resembles crinkled newspaper. I don’t like what I see.

This brings me to Amanda Lohrey’s article in the Quarterly Essay* entitled “Voting for Jesus - Christianity and Politics in Australia”. I enjoyed reading this essay. These sort of “intellectual” essays aren’t usually my thing however this one was particularly well written. I found the description of our very own David Jones as a “Charismatic preacher… a fundamentalist” quite amusing.

However what interested me most were the candid portrayals of two groups of students. Lowrey firstly interviewed three Hillsong “Cool girls”. The description of the Pentecostal movement through Lohrey’s eyes as she interviews the girls was particularly vivid.

“Yes it’s… like, it’s the relationship with Jesus that they offer you not the religion… like ultimately he died for me and I think that’s really awesome.” Says Skye.

While she doesn’t openly critisise the movement she gives such a strikingly accurate reflection of what this form of Pentecostalism looks like to the average Aussie.

What interested me more was her meeting with three AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students) students handing out Luke’s gospels. Their responses were generally quite good (I could see a great deal of myself a couple of years back). While I agreed with the sentiments the students expressed what most struck Lowery (and me) was their negative almost self righteous tone. Lohrey writes

“When I asked them about Hillsong they were wary of sounding negative but the looks between them said it all…”

“With the very mention of the word Muslim a chill comes into the room, and both quietly and economically it is made clear that nothing that is Muslim could possibly be of value.”

Why should you read this article let alone be interested in it I hear you ask?
Lohrey simply holds a mirror to how Christians (Evangelical and Pentecostal) often come across. When we look and see a reflection we don’t like we must look very carefully at ourselves. May we learn how to better reflect God’s love and grace as we spread his word to those in the world.

*(Issue 22 2006 $14.95 from your Newsagent)

(EDIT Or See Ben at Fullers Bookshop Hobart)

MacBook eats iBook

2006-08-17T23:11:00.000+10:00

Today was a restful day (my day off). I tried to rest up and not do too much.
I have been using my ninja skills rebuilding my old computer for my brother... who knows when I'm done he might even use it to start a blog.

Christine has been a busy little chappy and posted some very helpful thoughts on her journey into womens ministry. It's long but a worthwhile read. (see here)

The burning issue at the moment is will my black MacBook eat Christine's little girly iBook when I visit in November?

Tim and the Slater collection

2006-08-15T16:50:00.000+10:00

This is my friend Tim.

Tim is a top bloke. We used to flat together up at “The Castle” a famous Crossroads share house that I ran for about 5 years.

Our house had several famous infestations including scorpions, slugs and slaters. Tim and I were famous for starting a collection of live slaters in a small jar in my bedroom*. Here is what one looks like.

The problem was that as the slaters died and smelt really bad. We had to throw them out. It was a sad day we were hoping to give them to our landlord to convince him that our house needed some work to stop the infestations.

Slater collection and Tim H supportMIKE salutes you.

* Disclaimer This was mostly my idea.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2006-08-14T19:24:00.000+10:00

I have been a very busy little cookie. I have been battling my new computer and leaning how to use a new operating system.

I spent the weekend away on the MTS Challenge Conference. It was awesome. Pete Woodcock spoke very well challenging us to take ministry up as lifetime of paid service. John Woodhouse similarly taught us from 1 Samuel.

These talks are available from the Crossroads Website as of tonight. I highly recommend all of them. However if you haven't heard Pete preach I'd recommend you listen to his first.

(Talks here)

supportMIKE will be back soon.

Working today

2006-08-08T21:58:00.000+10:00

I found myself in the...

Oops. What embarassing situations have you found yourself in?

Oh men Lead... Please!

2006-08-05T18:17:00.000+10:00

Often as Christian blokes we get caught up in arguments about what a Christian woman's role should be. I think most of these arguments miss the point. It's my belief that it is a man's duty to lead and teach and take initiative in male female interaction generally.*

Unfortunately we very often fail at this. Why is it that girls are the ones who are first to share and want to take initiative in a Bible study? Why is it that so often women eagerly pray in public and small group contexts while the men cower in silence? Why is it that women are always keen to preach while men we cringe in the corner? Why are we so often silent?

Here are some excuses I have heard

"I can't” or “I don’t want to". This is an unacceptable excuse and amounts to laziness. We must repent. If we are men we lead.
"I don't feel like it". This is a pathetic excuse; Don Carson rightly points out that our obligations as Christians to lead [my words] are never diminished by how we feel. "This is to assign what I feel or do… determine my obligations. This is in effect is to say I am my own God."
"I can't do it or I'm not capable or gifted". While I personally have some sympathy with this view it really isn't a particularly good excuse. The fact that you are a bloke means that leading is in your blood so to speak. That's the way God made you.
"It's not acceptable in our culture". Society has seemingly over-corrected against the patriarchal framework of yesteryear so that now men who lead are seen as egotistical and arrogant. The Bible's picture of leadership is never like this (See 1 Corinthians 11 Ephesians 5.)

Each time we fail to take initiative, we fail at our duty as men. We let down our sisters who desperately want us to lead them and be an example to them. As men we should be eager to speak, to lead in prayer, to preach, and to take initiative. By taking the lead not only do we encourage Godly women to fulfill their own role but we also show other men that it's our responsibility to take initiative and lead.

Most of all we let down God who in his created order ordained that men should take initiative and responsibility for leadership in his world. Being a bloke means being proactive in leading. We should be the first to put our hand up in church when someone is asked to pray. We should be the ones taking the initiative in leading small groups and
asking the questions. We should be the ones seeking to eagerly lead the church.**

supportMIKE wants you to lead!

* (I'm not going to outline or discuss Biblically what a woman's role should be here.)
** (One important caveat. I don't think we should do this because women are incapable leaders, are unable to take initiative or even lesser citizen in God's Kingdom. Rather I am convinced that in God's created order men should lead).

Asking Christine out 101

2006-08-03T23:45:00.000+10:00

Context while talking on skype

"Before you go, I want you to think and pray about something."

"Sure, Mike ... what is it?"

"Christine ... (long pause) I like you."

More (here)

No internet... I get my knickers in a knot

2006-08-03T23:41:00.000+10:00

My life ground to a halt as Telstra saw it fit to disconnect my ADSL connection for absolutely no reason. Two days with no internet… well the world didn’t quite end but I was surprised at how much I rely on it. My apologies for my disappearance without explanation.

Things coming up…

Joel Knibbe moves in with the Jolly’s.
We get a ADSL connection installed to our house.
Get through the mountain of to do tasks in my inbox.
Blogging lots
Hanging with Mike S catching up talking premium audio and Chrsitine
Hanging with Jonny and talking all things girly.
Another conference (MTS Challenge)
Talking to Christine

Busy...

2006-07-31T21:20:00.000+10:00

It has been a busy few days.
I spent Friday on the Reformed church Youth State Camp. I’m doing some talks at an Evangelistic camp later in the year so I gave that camp a good plug.

Saturday my mate Andy from the UK got married.

Amy & Andy

A couple of his mates have been staying with us Vikki and Liam from Guilford.

Vikki

Liam

I spent most of my time at the reception goofing around practicing my English accent with words like “chav”, “chavette” and “pikey”. Gwyd helped me to being too silly although...

Gwyd

Most notably my Dad retired on Sunday morning. He’s worked as an Anglican Pastor for the last 30 years. We’ve lived here in Tassie for the last 13 years and he has served as the pastor at St Georges Anglican Church Battery Point.

Church

My Mum

My Dad

I found the service slightly depressing as my Mum and Dad and I don’t exactly see eye to eye theologically speaking.

Sunday arvo I spent talking with Christine which was then followed by church and sleep.

This evening I spent down at the pub with a few of the English dudes talking "football" and all things British.

(Update internet has been down most of week new pics added)

Advice

2006-07-27T17:26:00.000+10:00

I booked a ticket this afternoon to the USA. My mate Jonny has some hilarious advice for me... (see here) Oh so funny.

(Warning Australian sense of humour)

My brother Dave

2006-07-27T15:32:00.000+10:00

Today is my little brother’s birthday. He’s 24. The two of us have been living together for about the last three years. We have the occasional personality clash and fight but all things considered we are pretty close.

He is very different to me. He is quieter almost shy, certainly less verbose and outgoing than I am. He is very hard working and has a keen eye for detail and observation. He has an amazing stick-ability with tasks. While I loose patience quickly and move on to the next thing, he will very carefully and meticulously accomplish the task.

He has always done better academically than I have. At school his TE score was so far above mine it wasn’t funny. Similarly at University when we undertook subjects together he’d always do slightly better. I’ve always been secretly jealous but admired this about him.

The thing that I most love about my brother is that he is a Christian. He worked really hard last year running a very difficult bible study group while working fulltime. Like me he has many struggles. Pressures at work and I think he is often under appreciated for the hard work that he does. Much respect to you Dave. Happy birthday.

Great Explanations

2006-07-25T20:31:00.000+10:00

It has been a busy few days.

I have experienced an increase in blog traffic over the weekend. A warm welcome to all my new readers and followers. The reason for this two fold.

Firstly I officially launched supportMIKE on Saturday. I finally sent an email to the 200 or so Christians that I know asking them for money for my job next year.

Secondly and on a more serious note I decided to "date" (for the want of a better word) a girl who lives in deepest darkest USA. Many of you may have seen this coming. Many of you may not have. It's one of the scariest things I've ever done and the stakes are very high. However I strongly believe that it is worth it. Christine is a fantastic chick and I have the deepest respect for her. I'd ask you to bear a couple of things in mind.

Try not to be freaked out. I know what I'm doing and I have thought and prayed long and hard about this.
Please pray for myself and for Christine.
Drop on over to her blog and say hi (see here). Have a poke around and get to know her. She really is a wonderful person.
Please try not to make really obvious Napoleon Dynamite jokes... please (they have already been done).

I'm open to advice, reactions and thoughts... comment away.

supportMIKE has launched!

Rude Fiona's mystery

2006-07-23T10:24:00.000+10:00

What on earth could have prompted this reaction from a good friend of mine?

"I don't buy that for a minute . . . (long pause) oh, sorry, should I have been congratulatory?"

Comment away...

If you actually know maybe let it run for a while please :)

Blogsphere

2006-07-21T16:24:00.000+10:00

One of the questions I was asked after visiting Christians in the Media was “What were people like in real life?” The answer is quite simple really. People’s personalities were the same as they were online and exactly how I expected them. What was weird was that people looked different to how I had imagined them (Not in like a bad way mind you).

Blogging is such an honest upfront medium people’s personalities come across really clearly. The Blogging world is not a shallow way of meeting people as many think. You make friends with people in a deep and meaningful level. Superficialities never have a chance to take over or at least take time to develop. In the Blog world everyone is average in height, accents don’t matter, the Pacific Ocean seems a small puddle and I care about some kid hearing the gospel on a camp in the USA.

supportMIKE would like to know what you like about blogging?

Mixed Emotions

2006-07-20T21:58:00.000+10:00

Today was a day of mixed emotions. I went to the funeral of my friend Frenchy. He was 21. I went to school with him and more recently spent time discussing Christianity and Philosophy. I guess I didn’t know him heaps well but I’m great mates with his brother.

I wore a suit and generally felt awkward. I lost count of the number of times I almost cried. It’s hard to find words to express or explain such a crap situation. Please keep his bro Dan and Clare (Dan’s fiancée) in your prayers.

e conversation review

2006-07-19T21:09:00.000+10:00

Dear C

I thought the best way to respond to your email was to tell you the things I thought were helpful about John Dickson's Promoting the Gospel and give you an idea of my own personal journey.

Firstly the chapter on prayer. I found this helpful. Our church has had a long history of prayerlessness. Not that we didn't pray but that we didn't make it the priority it should have been. Furthermore it corrected against our tendency to rely on programs and ideas more than on prayer and God.

Secondly tracts. I have great respect for Two Ways to Live (2W2L). I have used it over a number of years in "walk up" stranger evangelism. However I think that there are many other ways to approaching evangelism and discussion. Again early on I had a tendency to think I had "done" evangelism if I had managed to tell a stranger 2W2L. This wasn't a particularly helpful approach. I guess this is a fault with MY strategy rather than the tracts themselves. Again the book helpfully points out that merely sharing 2W2L does not mean you have "done" evangelism.

Thirdly and finally gifting. I think that among other things God has gifted me with an uncanny ability to talk to strangers and people more generally Christian or otherwise. Again early on in our church history we had a "every person doing evangelism" rule. This was defined as "walkup" and running strangers through 2W2L. This was good for me. I found it easy to do even to the point of being blasé and arrogant, but others without the gift struggled. They then felt guilty for not getting involved and combined with mental illness worked to run a number of people into the ground.

Coming from this background I'm sure you can see why I found Dickson's "widesceen view" or evangelism refreshing and helpful.

In Christ supportMIKE

Busy

2006-07-17T20:39:00.000+10:00

I'm busy tonight and all this week... I'm trying to relax to get over this cold.

Han has some great tips (see here)

Never let a pair of Shoes...

2006-07-15T11:55:00.000+10:00

Buy you a costume...
I did however win a best dressed prize on the night.

*Note this picture has been made deliberately small to avoid disturbing small children... well people more generally.

Six days is a long time...

2006-07-15T10:43:00.000+10:00

...without blogging and internet

I got back from Sydney at about 11pm Sunday night. My arrival home was greeted by my fantastic and much talked about new shoes. I unpacked my stuff before repacking it all in preparation for University Mid Year Conference (MYC). I reckon I got to bed at about 2:30am.

I stupidly got up to watch the World cup final before finally leaving Hobart for the 3 hour drive northward. I unfortunately got a seat with three other bigger boys in the possibly worlds smallest car complete with 2 doors, 990cc engine and only three cylinders.

In any case we got there… As a change I thought I’d let my much talked about brand new 'metro' SHOES tell the story of MYC 06 enjoy.

Travelling up in the Car
(The shoes were not permitted to drive)

Listening to talks on the Holy Spirit (Sam Green)

Eating porridge
(Well eating a lot of everything generally)

Bible Study and personal prayer

Talking to friends on the phone
(Dan and Clare)

Buying me a costume from the Op-Shop**

Dancing with Gwyd and Emily***

* (My shoes that is)
** (Upcoming post 'My aweful costume')
*** (I personally refrained from such Godlessness)

Every Christian should be encouraging

2006-07-07T17:31:00.000+10:00

I’m a person who thrives on encouragement. I really appreciate it when people encourage me. But what I want more than ever is for Christians to be more encouraging.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thess 5:11)

Firstly notice that Paul assumes that his people are already being encouraging. Secondly notice that Paul encourages the Thessalonians to be encouraging even though they are already being encouraging. Thirdly the motivation for being encouraging is the fact that Christ died for us and saved us (see verses 9 & 10).

So I want to encourage you to be encouraging. How can you do this practically?

Post encouraging comments on blogs
Write someone a letter (by hand is best) tell them what you have noticed about them in their Christian walk.
Take the time one Sunday to watch people when you see someone do something note it and go and thank them or tell them. When was the last time you thanked someone for reading the Bible, preaching etc.
Be perceptive watch out for people who make an exceptional effort in non flashy way, seek them out and tell them how much their effort is appreciated.
Pick a person at church pray for them everyday for a week then tell them on Sunday that you have been doing it for them.

supportMIKE wants YOU to be encouraging.

Mission (Friday)

2006-07-07T17:20:00.000+10:00

Helpers

I felt really good today. Back to my usual self which was fantastic. A big thank you to all the people who prayed it really made a huge difference. Somewhat ironically the main theme today was encouragement.

Having felt slightly out of my depth all week (lots of people I don’t know) I made a really big effort to try and get to know one of the boys who I did’t think was a Christian. With kids camps I usually pick a kid or two to particularly pray for and write to. Practically speaking that’s about all I have time for.

"Doc" abseils down as part of the play

As I chatted with Tom some more he revealed he attended a local church and said he trusted in God. I decided he’ll be my man anyway. I’m going to write and send him a couple of letters in the next few months.

God was glorified and children came to trust in him. I’m happy.

Sad...

2006-07-06T16:46:00.000+10:00

Also while I was out this morning I received the news that a friend of mine had died of a brain aneurysm. As far as I know he wasn’t a Christian. He was 21 years old.

I’d had a number of conversations with him on MSN over the last couple of years debating the existence of God and the Christian world view without much success.

The news was pretty difficult to take, It’s not very often that I cry but this was one of those times. It’s hard to know what to do or say. God is sovereign over all circumstances and I trust my life to him.

supportMIKE is sad

Burnout...

2006-07-06T15:46:00.000+10:00

I hit burnout last night pretty hard and my brain kinda just shut down... this happens to me periodically. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to which is something to thank God for. I ended up going on a very long walk at about 1am maybe not the wisest thing to do but I felt a little better.

Because I was still pretty crappy this morning I made the decision not to go to HBC. I have particularly low levels of tolerance for people, kids and all things relationally related when I’m depressed. Instead I went for another very long walk and spent a good few hours praying and reading the Bible. It was great knowing that I could participate fully with my brothers and sisters work @ HBC in prayer.

Brain function was restored somewhat, I got my hair cut and ate a mountain of food...

supportMIKE is OK

Mission (Wednesday)

2006-07-05T16:09:00.000+10:00

Today’s lesson focused on Generosity. Particualrly in Acts where the believers all shared their possesions with one another.

Anne (see yesterdays pic) gave out packets of chips to our year sixes. Some had more and others had less. We even had some poor widows with nothing. The kids protested and moaned saying it wasn’t fair.

We then read the story about the believers sharing their mammon and loot with each other and being generous. Then the kids with more shared up those who had less. (A couple of kids were even specially ordained to make sure that the widows had their fill).

We also talked about how it was unity in Christs death that provides the motivation for generous actions... Well I was actaully absent for that bit, doing what I do best intimdating some naughty kids into behaving.

There have been over 200 kids attending HBC (Holiday Bible Club) each day. The pictures are from the upfront whole group time... and my impression of the "Blue Steel Cowboy".

supportMIKE would like you to pray for the kids @ HBC from non-Christian homes. Pray they will come into a personal relationship with Christ.

Mission (Tuesday)

2006-07-04T17:10:00.000+10:00

Today’s key idea was “forgiveness”. We focused on the fact that we need to be forgiven by Jesus and this should effect how we act when others need our forgiveness.

I have very sore arms from playing games and general tiredness from running around. I’ve been trying to get to know the boys in my class. It’s been a while and my kiddie skills are a little out of practise. Never-the-less we managed to put together our fork windchimes which was good.

Here are some pictures of our room… yes it is pink but that wasn’t my idea. Surprisingly not one of the boys complained. Maybe it was the fact the boys are out numbered two to one in our class...

supportMIKE thinks that pink is an acceptable boys colour post, the metrosexual revolution.

Some random thoughts on Sydney…

2006-07-04T16:52:00.000+10:00

... by a Tasmanian country bumpkin.

What is with the silence and long faces on the trains?
What is with the freaking cold weather? (as cold as Hobart sheesh)
What is with so many people being out in town on a Sunday?
What’s with all the nice Christians?
What’s with the fact that people carry maps to get around town in the car even though they live there?
What’s with people not knowing where stuff is when you ask them? (ok so they were randoms).
What’s with the number of fast food shops in town? I couldn’t escape them... (Maybe they were following me around).

Mission (Monday)

2006-07-04T16:37:00.000+10:00

I was feeling totally dismal. Maybe it was the drugs (antibiotics) I’ve been taking. Maybe I’m just worn out from cleaning to many windows. I usually lead a group during January Mission but because this is my “holiday” I decided I’d play a back seat role. I am just another pair of hands helping out with the year sixes.

The theme for the week is is Sonward Bound (Mostly about Cowboys and Indians see pic). We follow the story of a motley crew as they mosey on down the Heavenly Valley. Each day has a key idea teaching the kids the basics in Christian living. The key idea for the first day was “Promise” based on Jesus promise at the end of Matthew to be with his people always.

supportMIKE is a behind the scenes ninja

The CIM experience

2006-07-03T17:55:00.000+10:00

I was struggling to succinctly describe CIM in words till this afternoon during a conversation with a friend…

Friend: It’s just like Crossroads only less punk
Me: More polished
Friend: Yeah

Perhaps this will tell you more about Crossroads than CIM. In all seriousness I really enjoyed attending CIM. Sam preached a great talk from Judges looking at Gideon. I think he picked the key idea well (God’s sovereign control over circumstances) and I also second guessed his cross references in 1 and 2 Corinthians (applying to God using Christian weakness).

The vibe was friendly and upbeat and people most welcoming. I really enjoyed briefly meeting Christine, Ray, Hannah, Sam R, Ruth, Nixter and Craig and others (whose real names unfortunately are lost in the vast space between my ears). I would have loved to have spent more time hanging around chatting but I had to get my beauty sleep.

It’s time’s like these that make me happy, joyful as Christian… I’m happy that I can fly to another place far away from my home be welcomed to celebrate with my brothers and sisters. The best part is knowing I’ll get to spend forever with them some day.

supportMIKE is happy.

Moore Updates

2006-07-02T00:39:00.000+10:00

I spent a whole afternoon yesterday with Seumas. We just sat there and did nothing… for a whole afternoon. Well that’s not entirely true we talked and picked over the carcass of a loaf of bread. We also did a Thai lunch and were honoured with the presence of Lisa (a good friend of Seumas’). I shouted the lunch which contrary to the popualar cynicism of my brother wasn’t a ploy to impress Seumas’ said friend.

Sitting in Seumas’ room I got more of an appreciation for life at Moore College. It seems less kinda scary and something I’d be more prepared to do. I could see myself sitting in one of those small slightly dingy boyish smelling rooms with my Mac book listening to music and reading Christian books. Heck there’s even a wicked coffee place nearby where I could go and pretend to be arty.

supportMIKE thinks maybe he can fast track MTS (only do it for one year) and then move up here to study @ Moore, get a part time job as youth worker in one of the local churches… heck even marry one of the locals… hmm… maybe not.

5 year plan update

2006-06-30T19:54:00.000+10:00

I’m sitting in a car with four 10 year old girls all talking at once. The conversation is about boys, boy germs, staying up late watching Lost (not that I was allowed to do this when I was 10).

Why am I talking about this you ask? I was reminded just how entertaining kids this age can be. Back when I was teaching I loved sorting out girly fights, kicking the footy with the boys outside and generally being the most popular teacher around.

In light of this I have decided to register to do relief teaching between now and the end of the year. I’m also planning to purchase a very nice laptop computer to help me through my MTS apprenticeship in the next two years. Working doing relief will help pay off this expensive purchase. However I’m convinced that it will be worth it, especially if my 5 year plan goes ahead.

supportMIKE thinks maybe he’s just a big kid who doesn’t want to grow up.

Holidays

2006-06-28T23:12:00.000+10:00

As of this afternoon I’m officially on Holidays. Unfortunately things got off to a bad start and I got sick while at work. I have the next two weeks to recover. Here is a run down on what I’ll be doing.
Week 1

Flying to Sydney (Tomorrow - Thursday)
Catching up with Seumas (and all my other Sydney friends) (Friday)
Doing a big rellie bash with my Uncle Aunt and Cousins (Saturday)
Attending CIM (Sunday)
Helping at Sutherland Reformed church to run an evangelistic Kids Camp. (Monday to Friday).
Flying back home (Sunday)

Week 2

FOCUS Mid Year Conference on the Holy Spirit (Monday to Friday)

Updates my blog will probably be spasmodic as I’m unsure as to when I’ll have access to a computer. Please keep me in your prayers as it will be a busy time for me.

supportMIKE is always burning the candle at both ends.

Post Removal

2006-06-28T19:23:00.000+10:00

I decided to remove the post on GB as my original comments have been removed. Also I don't think that it's helpful this dabate rages on this particular thread. Thank you very much to all the people who commented. I appreciated the input thoughts and wisdom.

Any worries feel free to email me (see here)

support MIKE goes on tour

2006-06-28T06:53:00.000+10:00

The official supportMIKE tour begins as of Thursday 29th June 2005. The supportMIKE tour will be in Sydney and making an appearance near you soon!

Southerland Reformed Church Sunday 2nd July 2005 Morning
Christians in the Media (CIM) Sunday 2nd July 2005 Evening
Southerland Reformed Church Sunday 9th July 2005 Morning

Mike will be available for interviews and publicity photos by request. The official Tasmanian launch of supportMIKE will occur later in the year

All enquiries see my profile

The debate rages

2006-06-26T22:00:00.000+10:00

It's going to be an early one tonight. I'm watching the soccer tomorrow.
I'll let the debate rage below. Enjoy :)

What women want…

2006-06-25T14:38:00.000+10:00

Godly Christian Leadership. An ability to lead by example in the relationship/family. The degree to which this is important also depends on the individual woman’s Christian maturity.

Good listener. Girls just like to have people who listen to them. A bloke can’t suggest solutions only listen. Empathy and being able to understand what they are feeling and going through comes into it as well.

Someone who loves and cherishes them... makes them feel beautiful, respected, loved and encouraged. They need to be sensitive not brutes ... but no whiny babies either. If you aren't sensitive, women get annoyed with you for not picking up on things. A good bloke will notice when they have changed their hair and clothes etc.

Sense of humor. Not just being able to laugh at a blokes joke but also someone who has a sense of fun and doesn’t take things too seriously. The ability to laugh at things together is also good.

Hot – Good looks are important. We like to kid ourselves and think they aren’t… but really when we get down to it, they always play a role. Similarly it’s probably not as important to girls as it is to boys but none the less a valid concern.

hash it out for yourselves ... this is sort of a colloborative experiment ... Christine thinks she knows what men want ... I think I know what women want. We want to see if we're right.

Thumbsucker

2006-06-24T18:02:00.000+10:00

Thumbsucker came to me via a second hand recommendation from Slo. I enjoyed the interesting insights into teenage identity, the flawed central character and distinct air of artiness. I do however think the teenangst movie is getting to be a well trodden path. (Garden State and Donnie Darko did it much better).

The story revolves around Justin Clobb a thumb sucking confused teenager. Thumbsucking is his way of dealing with the difficult things in life. He is confronted with a number of strategies with which he seeks to deal with his teen angst including prescription drugs, pot and sex.
Philosophy of this film was frustrating. To me it seemed Justin underwent very little in the way of transformation. Rather the message seemed to be “It’s ok to experiment with sex drugs etc if they help you to discover and accept who you really are.”

As a Christian I think very differently. My identity and whole ethical framework are driven by the revelation that God runs and controls our universe. When I try to improve myself through self experimentation, I realise just how far short of God’s standards I fall. I need him to renew me from the inside giving me an identity and purpose that go beyond the superficiality of this world.

(three out of five funky chickens)

Will this marriage last?

2006-06-24T10:57:00.000+10:00

Onlinesoph has some excellent reflections on our/my gnerations approach to marriage and living life. Here's a taster...

These days it seems that young couples, not just celebs, are heading towards shorter marriages out of choice, not desperation. Here are some non-committal vows I recently discovered on the net in what I like to call ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ style weddings:

“I promise to be as loyal as long as our love lasts.”
“I’ll be with you until our time together is over.”

(more here)

A little rant...

2006-06-24T00:18:00.000+10:00

Today I got a bill. A very big bill. A very very big bill.

I owe $20,426 for my uni education.

One thing I couldn’t help but notice is that HECS is now called HELP. I’m sorry but I can’t help but be a cynical. Perhaps the name HECS was bad PR maybe its alliterative nature sounded nasty. Why the name change? Often it feels like government departments reinvent the wheel every couple of years... “I know if we change the name (at the taxpayers’ expense) we’ll seem so much nicer and friendlier.” OR “If we change the name and make it sound more sexy people will actually want to pay the money back.”

I know I feel sooo much better owing 20 grand to a Scheme called HELP... Grrrr

You ripper

2006-06-23T08:06:00.000+10:00

We love it when Australia wins...

John 8

2006-06-23T00:24:00.000+10:00

I heard a sermon on John chapter 8 last weekend. For the slack who don’t look stuff up the story is of the woman caught in adultery. It’s got whooper brackets around it. Almost every big gun I know says it isn’t part of the original text (Metzger, Carson the early church fathers) blah, blah… uncharacteristically Luken blah, blah.

Having said that how would I/you preach a sermon on it? The sermon I heard took the main point as Jesus humility (ie Jesus was prepared to stoop and associate with sinners etc)

I’m not sure I agree with this. The more I thought about it the more I thought the point of this passage is more that God’s justice and God’s mercy and how they are held together in the person of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman rather forgives (has mercy on) her and sends her off telling her to sin no more (justice). What do you think?

Pressure...

2006-06-22T17:24:00.000+10:00

“Often when under pressure our true nature is exposed.”

I find that when I get stressed which has happened a bit at work lately I often get frustrated with those around me. Similarly when I’m tried or grumpy I get much more on edge and sometimes quite volatile mentally and often get very angry.

I’ve especially noticed this when I work with JH. He is a great bloke but English is his second language so communication often means I have to say the same thing twice. This is usually fine but when I’m stressed it gets so much more difficult. I’m impatient and my self control slips.

Please pray that I’m able to be more patient and self controlled in my relationships with those around me.

I'm on Google Earth

2006-06-22T09:45:00.000+10:00

I checked in on Hobart this morning and coverage has improved dramatically! I have circled the house where I’m currently located. It’s about 3 minutes walk from the CBD (north east corner of pic). Other local readers from deepest darkest Kingston (and heaven forbid Margate) will notice the coverage is similarly good for there.

Mike does "Gushy" Poetry

2006-06-21T23:19:00.000+10:00

It has been suggested (here) that blokes get gushy and write poetry when in love... further more it was suggested that I'm incacpable of ethereal poetry... this is clearly rubbish. I offer the follwing classic ode. It was first and famously (or perhaps infamously) read at my old flatmates wedding. Enjoy.

An ode to Chris who is incredibly Buff
And always let’s us borrow his stuff

He plays the pipes and pisses us off
But when push comes to shove he’s very soft

He has long hair (A birds nest describes its look).
And to be honest he’s not a bad cook (When he doesn’t use Cumin).

He has a Pintara (I mean Skyline) that does 60 in first gear
And when I drive it he quakes in fear,
To see if we will screw the clutch
And totally wreck it with my clumsy touch

When he wakes in the morning he’s grumpy and upset
Cause “Chriiiiis!! We’re out of milk!! which you’ll have to get”

He’s sometimes slack and leaves us at Crossroads.
And forgets to bring home the shopping, we buy by the truckload.

He puts up with our annoying habits like being rude (to Lucy).
However he’s learned to cope when we eat his food.

He has a somewhat irritating niceness and smelly faeces,
That annoying alarm clock we nearly smashed to pieces.

But really. All in all, we love our Chris.
Even though his nickname’s Piss.

Have a good married life with lots of cheer.
When you go we’ll miss your beer.
And possibly even shed a tear.

Stay a Chris-tian

5 year Plan Part 2

2006-06-21T19:14:00.000+10:00

It was asked with regard to my 5 year plan (see here) why I wouldn’t do ministry in a secluded area on my own. Don't I think that I can rely on God to give me the strength I need? It’s a good question. There is no doubt that a single person can often be particularly effective in ministry (1 Cor 7:32). However for me personally I think the answer is no for a number of reasons.

Firstly in an isolated ministry location on my own I’d probably end up going insane. I’m a person who thrives on relationships but I get burned out as many of my friends can testify to. Having the support of another person for this type of work is essential in my book. Secondly I also could argue biblically (see Gen 2:18). Thirdly I don’t think I have the gift of singleness and temptation is something that needs to be considered (1 Cor 7:9). And finally I really love kids and one day God willing I’d like some of my own.

Thankyou!

2006-06-21T18:39:00.000+10:00

Last night for the first time in my short blog history I didn’t post. I was just too tired. I have on the other hand been tremendously encouraged by all the people commenting and posting on my blog. It’s great to start each long day at work with some nice comments to think about. Thankyou very much.

What has made me tired you ask? Well I have... since Sunday.

Listened to 6 talks
Worked about 33 hours
Attended a Launch team meeting (For Church) last night.
Edited and uploaded a testimony from the women’s conference.

(This is a photo of my tired face actually taken just after I woke up)

That hat!

2006-06-19T22:10:00.000+10:00

"You’re not going out with that s**t on your head?" Says my brother with a tone so disdainful it could melt lettuce.

I’m about to head out to Retro drink coffee and "pretend to be arty" with this hat on my head. It's a genuine old mans hat which was left at my Dad's church in lost property for a couple of years before being rescued.

I try to be deliberately memorable when I dress. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly as a Christian I want as many people to know about the gift Christ has given me in sending Jesus to die on my behalf.

Getting people to remember who I am by being an individual is one step along this path. It's not a cynical ploy. I’m a friendly guy and I love making new friends and chatting to people regardless of whether they want to talk about the big things in life or not.

Secondly people who are a little weird or individual are less threatening to talk to. By being different I’m less threatening. I get looks and smiles from people in the street all the time.

Thirdly I enjoy it. It works

Am I metro?

2006-06-18T20:41:00.000+10:00

I have recently acquired a new pair of shoes (in the process actually). You can’t actually buy these in Australia. You can get a similar style but you can’t get the color that I wanted. Similarly all the places on the internet don’t ship to OZ. So I have a “friend” in the States has bought me the said shoes and is sending them over.

It has been suggested by said “friend” that these shoes make me "Metro". I propose two questions;

1. Am I “metro”? (closet or otherwise).
2. Do these shoes make me “metro”?

Mood: Content

2006-06-17T22:12:00.000+10:00

Today was a very restful day. I slept in, read the Bible and prayed for a while (which was good as often I struggle to do this). I finished off reading almost all Hebrews.

I spent the morning hanging with Benny. He worked on his talk for Sunday while I drank coffee, read the paper, pretended to be arty and read over some material for a kids camp I have coming up. We adjourned to the sunshine of Salamanca Market and looked at the ice sculpture (see picture). I then got another coffee from Retro and pretended to be arty some more.

Finally I went and chatted to a bunch of people who work at the market who I used to know pretty well. Before I knew it the day was almost over (winter solstice)

This evening I went down to the Mid Winter Festival and fire twirling. It was pretty cool. It was Mike’s birthday and we moved to Kaos Café where I had a little smoke and drank a nice malted white chocolate. I feel rested and content.

Cooking

2006-06-16T21:32:00.000+10:00

People still think that I can’t cook. For the record I can cook. I just hate it. Tonight I pumped up 1.FM got the house pumping and cooked this pasta and sauce.

Ingredients

Pasta (cooked)
Sour cream
Diced Pumpkin, Capsicum, Bacon, Snow Peas and Onion.
Sun dried tomatoes

Things to do better next time

Chop up all stuff smaller… much smaller
Get a better way to cook asparagus
Cook less pasta
Not start cooking at 8:30pm
Invite someone/people over

My 5 year plan

2006-06-16T19:36:00.000+10:00

“Michael what are you going to do with your life?" Says my Dad in serious voice. "You can’t walk round University like a monk for the rest of your life you know."

It’s a good question and one I have given thought to. Here is what I want to do with my life... Full time paid ministry. There are a number of options. This much is certain…

Currently Window Cleaning part-time self funded ministry down at the Uni and Xrds.
2007 MTS working for the University Christian Group. (FOCUS)
2008 MTS working for the University Christian Group (FOCUS)

Following this a little more hazy. My ideal situation would be…
2009-2011 Bible College either Moore or SMBC in Sydney.

And then on the proviso that I’m married…
2012 Fulltime Ministry Job working with under privileged Aboriginal Communities in rural New South Wales doing mission, evangelism and outreach. Coordinating local churches to follow up and pastor young Aboriginal Christians with the aim of raising up leaders. (Theoretically employed by the Reformed Church of Australia).

The other possibility is funding myself to do this through part-time work as a teacher, check-out chick, laborer, window cleaner, salesman, veggie picker, mechanic, journalist… (you name it I’ve done it).

That friends is my plan.
(NOTE picture not an actual plan of my life)

Encouragement

2006-06-16T09:08:00.000+10:00

After my long hard day at work yesterday I received a great and encouraging card which really lifted my spirits.

Dear Mike
There is always light at the end of every tunnel for a Christian - For us the world is as bad as it gets. For a Non Christian this world is as good as it gets.

Been praying for you hope things are improving.

Thanks heaps to this person.