BYE!

Off to Mexico in a couple of hours. Follow the journey at http://scottieinmexico.blogspot.com

Bless!

ADIOS AMIGOS!

This Saturday I'm departing with a group from Blueprint to build homes and classrooms in the slums of Tijuana, Mexico. We will be there for two and a half weeks. All going to plan, I'm gonna blog the experience day by day through the marvel of modern technology. I have started up a new blog, http://scottieinmexico.blogspot.com, but will also continue to post updates on this one. Arguments for looking at the other site may be:

a.) a nicer layout and tidier design job, or
b.)the two articles I've already posted on short-term missions and the effect of the NAFTA treaty on Mexican farm-workers.

Check it out!

SCOTT DONALDSON

Earlier this year I moved into 'The Goatshed', a flat in the heart of Newtown. To put this in perspective, there are two places where psych patients are released in Wellington. One of them Porirua, the other right here in Newtown. I was fortunate enough to meet one of these patients early on arrival. With no SKY television in his flat, 'low maintenance' Scott made our lounge home as long as summer cricket lasted. One day I accidentally left the lounge windows open as I went out only to find Scott had let himself in on my return.

With the end of summer came the possibility of claiming back our lounge and Scott hibernating away for the winter. No such luck. Low maintenance, an avid 'stags' fan, settled in for the Americas Cup and further extended his stay as the Rugby season arrived.

One benefit of Scott's presence is his vast knowledge of all things trivial about sport. During one match he recalled an incident while working at the Dunedin Grand Plaza when Carl Hayman took a young lady back to his room for the night after a test at the Brook. These facts are always nice when the game gets slow.

Essentially, Scott is a southern man through and through. One of the most colourful real-life characters I've ever encountered. He has an audio blog over at http://scottydonaldson.blogspot.com. Check it out, give it a chance - it's one of the funniest things I've heard in a long time.

TOP SONGS OF MY LIFETIME...

Inspired by Daryll's Post, I have decided to pull together the top 20 songs of my life so far.

It's a difficult process really. As a youngster I was a on a solid diet of The Beach Boys, Elton John, Simply Red, Michael Jackson & The New Kids on the Block. All lovingly spoonfed to me by my brother and sister (10 and 11 years older than me respectively). When I finally started to form my own taste for music (at age 9 or 10), I gladly absorbed everything MTV wanted me to as a member of their target demographic. My first album was Peter Andre. Then at 13 I finally stumbled up some more respectable artists. I remember being at a third form dance where Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit' was played. The song blew me away, I'd never heard anything like it before. Unfortunately the rebel within me was quickly quashed as I became a follower of Jesus later that year. The hope of identifying any of the greatest artists of my teen years was buried beneath a filthy torrent of CCM (DCtalk, Delirious, Audio Adrenaline, The Lads). While this music wasn't all bad, I've spent my time since youth group trying to catch up on the stuff that real artists are making.

I'm yet to rank, but am gradually assembling a collection of tracks that have changed my world. Here it is so far, please feel free to assist me in the process...

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Beatles
Sleep Now in the Fire: Rage Against the Machine
The Blowers Daughter: Damien Rice
Marching Bands of Manhattan: Death Cab for Cutie
Smells like Teen Spirit: Nirvana
Hallelujah: Leonrd Cohen performed by Jeff Buckley
Daniel: Elton John
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For: U2         
Where the Streets Have No Name: U2

And then there are a few sitting just outside list-status at the moment. Mostly because they are either too new for me or because of my anti-CCM bias. We'll see if they make it in later on...

Ingenium: Matt Holleman (this album was never released and he doesn't like people listening to it)
Invalid Litter Dept.: At the Drive In
Obsession: Delirious
Cicatriz ESP: The Mars Volta

UPDATE:

Tears in Heaven: Eric Clapton
Black or White: Michael Jackson

Huge songs when I was a youngin'...

      

ANOTHER UPDATE...

Where am I?
Still in Wellington, NZ. From September 22 to October the 5th I will be in Baja and Tijuana Mexico. After that onto LA and San Diego till the 9th and then back on Kiwi soil on the 10th. While I'm there I get to see Underoath at The Wiltern. Hot.

Why?
My first and last short-term mission. Hoping to reawaken the parts of me that are numb to the poverty I've seen on TV every day for the last 21 years.

What could possibly be more important than blogging?
'Deloused in the Comatorium' by 'The Mars Volta'. 8 years late on this album but yet again I got there.
Also, 'Relationship of Command' by 'At the Drive-in'. 14 years late here...

Finally, speaking at Blueprint this Sunday Night. If you're round town come by.

UPDATE

Where am I?
On holiday from the blogosphere
When will I be back?
When life becomes so boring I have to resort to commentary
What could possibly be more important than blogging?
Grace by Jeff Buckley. 13 years late on this album but I got there in the end...

PARENTAL GUIDANCE...

More dangerous and controversial than Mr Harvey? Surely not...

ONWARDS...

Great show in Palmy, leaving for Napier in a moment

Thanks to the dudes from Cord Willis for putting us up for the night.
If anyone is in Napier tonight, we're at the Chapman Pavilion from 8pm.

Powered by Qumana

I'm heading away for a few days on tour. If you're in Palmy North, Napier, Auckland or Hamilton, get along to one of these shows.

ZEAL KIDS

That last post got horribly serious all of a sudden. Here's a great youtube of some of the Zeal kids hanging at a party a few weeks back. Makes me wanna be back at high school...

hehehe...

CHURCH HOPPING Pt.I

By way of admitting I don't have all the answers, I have recently taken to visiting other faith communities in Wellington whose style and/or beliefs differ vastly from my own. All as part of an effort to understand what parts of my faith are Jesus, and what parts are simply personal preference or tradition. It has been an interesting journey so far. Last weekend while away on Soul Purpose writers' retreat I got into a great discussion with another writer, Ben Kendrew, who also happens to be a key worship leader at Arise Church in Wellington. We sat up till 3am while I ranted about what made me so uncomfortable about churches like his, and he very respectfully rebutted and debated where he felt I'd missed the point. Ben is a great guy, I would highly recommend anyone with an anti-pentecostal buzz to have a chat to him. Arise still makes me as uncomfortable as hell, but I think I understand where they're coming from. But now, onward to last night's visit to Destiny Church Wellington.

Destiny have got a horrible rep through the media over the last couple of years so Mish and myself were keen to go along and see what was true and what was just media sensationalism. I think I was hoping for a lot more trouble than we got. Dressed suitably 'emo' in tight jeans and black sweatshirts I thought we'd be made to feel quite unwelcome. The absolute opposite was true. Their ushers (all dressed in matching black suits/skirts with orange ties) seemed genuinely interested in making sure our first time at Destiny was as comfortable as possible.

After taking our seats right down the back of the hall at Wellington High School, we were visited by no less than four members of the church at different times to make sure we felt welcome and didn't stay unnoticed in the back rows. Despite our desire to remain incognito, it was refreshing to meet such down to earth and humble people. Realising we weren't keen to chat, they calmly left us to our business and didn't fight to maintain a conversation. Thanks guys, very real, very genuine.

Just before the service I took a brief walk down to their book stall by the stage. I figured the reading material on offer from Destiny leadership would be a good indication of what I was in for. Few suprises here - T D Jakes, Joyce Meyer, Brian Tamaki and more prosperity doctrine than you could shake a TBN set at. Strangely amongst all the crap they were also selling some work by Bill Hybels. One of these things is not like the other one.

The music worship was a mile from my preference, but it was a great representation of the diverse cultural make-up of the church. The worship leader could have placed well in a James Brown impersonation contest.  I'm a firm believer that we should be free to worship God from our individual identity, and I feel Destiny is one of the few places in our country where Maori and Pacific Island people can express their love of God through something relevant to who they are and where they've come from.

Here's where it gets nasty. The teaching was absolute horse shit. Exactly what I expected. 45 minutes about how you should hear no opinion but that of your head pastor and his wife. I hope that none of the congregation members actually buy the crap this guy was shovelling up by the truckload. If they do, he could tell them to jump off a cliff and they very well could. In the end I got so frustrated and dissapointed I simply walked out. By that stage their 'teacher' had got so far from the word he had resorted to mocking other local churches for being 'small' and 'boring'.

This is such a difficult critique to write. I really believe that Destiny will have a lasting impact on Maori and Pacific Island people in New Zealand. Cycles of abuse and violence are being broken as these cultures finally find a home where they can express their identity in Christ. While Brian Tamaki sees Destiny's future being in Politics, I think they will have more impact on our country's social policy from the vantage point they already hold. They have the chance to be part of the healing and restoration of ethnic groups who have been humiliated by the injustice of colonisation. I wouldn't want Destiny to close for anything. Their role as part of the Church in our nation is essential. Now if they could only get a little less militant and a little more loving I'd even consider joining....

CREED

In case I haven't boasted about this yet. For a few months now I've been hosting a discussion group on Wednesday nights with ten guys from Zeal (the youth ministry I work for). It has been an amazing time. The idea of the forum was a free discussion where they feel they can chat things over as brutally and uncensored as they want. Here comes the boasting...

These kids are amazing! Often I walk in with some self-righteous agenda to 'impart wisdom to the youths' and instead often find my own views challenged and altered by how well thought out and articulate these guys are.

As part of last week's discussion we talk about creeds. I showed them the Nicene Creed and the American Creed and explained to them that these were the fundamental core beliefs of their people. From there the ten of us spent an hour and a half over dinner trying to form a creed we could all agree on. The transcript of the conversation is incredible to look through. What started as a shallow discussion about homophobia and defication soon led to an incredibly deep exploration of what was most important to each of them, what price they'd sell their beliefs for, and what they're willing to die for.

Incredibly, out of the ten (three of which are Christian) every person agreed that there is a soul, and that that soul goes somewhere after you die. One particularly brave participant even went as far as to say "I'm not a Christian, but I can't deny God is there, I know it." It was awesome.

Anyway, here's what we could agree on. The 'Zeal Kids Creed' if you will...

We believe our creed to be the things we will not back down on.
Not fear of death, nor instinct to survive, will change this core understanding of who we are.

Spiritually, we believe every being to have a Soul.
That our earthly life is not all we have
We believe the Soul to be the only gift that can never be taken
In spite of physical impairment or infirmity, your Soul is still your own.
In Love, you may end up sharing your Soul with others.

We believe that every perspective is to be respected.
With this in mind, we hope to be treated by others with the values of forgiveness, loyalty, and sincerity. We desire to be treated as we would treat others.

We hold family, both biological and inherited, of key importance

We are not patriotic or bound by borders
We are part of the human race of Earth, not anything defined by geographical lines
Our homeland is not worth dying for

We believe in personal absolute truth

This experience has been a huge wake-up call to me. I think young people in New Zealand are much more spiritually open and aware than we often give them credit for. I'd love one day to do this exercise with fifty or sixty groups to form a cross-section of New Zealand young people. Without a doubt, this has opened my mind and will impact hugely on the way I work at Zeal in future.

Maybe it's something you could try...

THIS WEEK IN SHORT...

Just a few little updates of some cool goings ons this week. Traffic on this blog has been crazy, no doubt thanks to the couple of links Sam Harvey gave me over the last few posts. I tell you, it's not easy riding the fame wave of a minor Christian celebrity like Mr Harvey. Watch this space, samharvey.com coming soon I'm sure!

After an insanely busy time working at Fuse last weekend I took a day off. Some of the flatmates and I ventured out to Lyall Bay and went to an awesome cafe in the old Surf Lifesaving Club called 'Maranui'. Apparently this is the local haunt of none other than 'Fat Freddy's Drop'. It's an awesome place with some really friendly staff and quality coffee. Get down there if you get the chance.

After this short sabbatical I boarded a plane to Auckland with a few of the Zeal/Blueprint crew for the official handover of 'Zeal Waitakere'. Mayor Bob Harvey and the councillors made us incredibly welcome. For many of us this marks the end of the monthly trips to Auckland we've had for the last few months. It's nice to hand over the project. The new youth worker, Stacey Hitchcock, has been hanging with us in Wellington for the past six months and will no doubt do an amazing job in Waitakere. If she was staying in Welly I'd probably have reason to fear for my job so it's great to see her take charge in Auckland. What I found most amazing about the trip is the amazing calibre of people involved accross the Blueprint/Zeal/Global Tribe ministry. A few of the crew are pictured here.

I spent today out in Tawa helping friend Dave Alve with his film project. Afterwards I took a brief reminiscent walk through Linden past our old youth group stomping ground. The local Dairy owner even remembered me from Friday Nights a few years back when we used to go down and buy $1 lolly bags and chocolate milk beforehand. Probably a great time to pay respect to Chris and Heather Darnell who tolerated me and even led me into loving Jesus. Nice one! Chris' Blog can be read here.


Finally, Mason the Author is finally kicking into high gear. The first part of 'The Adventures of Farmer Goatbeard' is up and ready for reading. Get amongst it and give this up and coming children's writer/illustrator the support he deserves.

A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE?

At college I was lazy. I've always been quite academic and could get by with at least a B in most subjects without breaking a sweat. When it came time for school reports at the end of term one my concern was never with how high my grades were, it was with how my grades compared to others. I think this was the case for many. At the bottom of the page were five little tick boxes (poor, below average, average, very good, excellent). This was all I really looked at. My biggest concern was that I was 'above average', then at least I knew I was good enough to stand out from the rest.

In recent times there has been a huge growth in 'excellence-driven' ministries in New Zealand. I have been fascinated by this, particularly with the recent 'Pursuit of Excellence' conference held in Auckland a couple of weeks ago. What exactly are we pursuing, why, and for what purpose? Where in the scriptures are we advised to pursue excellence, and furthermore, at what point does a ministry become excellent?

Perhaps one of the greatest models of excellence-driven ministry at the moment is Hillsong Sydney. Everything appears to run seemlessly, they are recognised in their local community, and they have a worldwide following for their worship releases. But what if every other church in Australia began to do the same thing? What if they all had slick production and a worldwide following, would they be excellent too?

I would argue that excellence is a comparative term. When we call something excellent, we infer something else is not. Excellence-driven ministries should perhaps ask this question of themselves.

If they knew no way of doing church, if they had seen no other form of church than their own, how would their approach to excellence differ? With what we know of the character of God in the Bible, what would excellence look outside our ability to compare ourselves with other ministries?

At school I had another friend. He worked hard the whole time, he wanted the best grades he could get. His concern was never with how well others had done, but instead with whether he had achieved as well as he knew he could. It was not about whether he was excellent, but instead about whether he had reached his potential.

I would challenge each faith community to ask themselves what their God-given potential is. We don't need another dozen Hillsongs, we need another thousand vibrant, different, and dynamic faith communities built to reach their own local society. Faith groups must not all strive to 'pursue' replication of the latest big thing in Christian culture, but instead begin to forge their own outworking of faith and intimacy with Jesus.

In his book, 'The Forgotten Ways', Allan Hirsch suggests that 95% of faith communities are reaching only 12% of the world's population. Hence why nearly every youth group in New Zealand looks and feels the same. I would argue that our pursuit should be for nothing more than holiness. For radical, diverse, and different expressions of holiness that infect our local community and begin to change them from the inside out.

Interested to hear the thoughts of others on this...

MASON THE AUTHOR

After some work I am proud to announce that 'Mason the Author', the blogspot of children's author Mason Ward, is now live. I'm looking after the technical stuff, while Soul Purpose champion Elliot Taylor is editing.

The first release comes out this Thursday, but take the time to familiarise yourself with the space and get ready for the roller-coaster that is the word of Mason Ward.

http://masontheauthor.blogspot.com

MUSINGS ON FUSING...

No doubt you'll see a few posts about this around the place over the next couple of days. I've just spent the past weekend working at 'Fuse', Global Tribe's replacement for the former YFC Capital Teen Convention (or CTC). It seems this rebrand was exactly what was needed to breathe fresh life and energy into the event - it was an amazing time. Here are some great links to check out who were instrumental in making it happen.

Global Tribe
The key sponsor of the event. Global Tribe set out with the goal of raising $5k during the weekend to build a new home for an impoverished Mexican family. As far as I know they achieved it. Good stuff!

Soul Purpose
A New Zealand Christian Youth Magazine who went way beyond the call of duty constructing an entire village of stalls and shops to support the cause. By selling Pinatas and running a coin trail they raised almost a thousand dollars of additional funding.

Blueprint
This was one of the highlights of the weekend for me, seeing so many of my home church give their time to bless young people through serving at the event. Out of a core membership of about 50, over 30 community members volunteered throughout the weekend. I was incredibly proud to call myself a Blueprinter this weekend :0)

That's it for the moment. I'm sure Sam will post something more substantial soon so refer to his blog for more details on the event. Otherwise keep an eye on the Fuse website.

QUESTIONING...

Just a quick moment of self-reflexivity to look back on my own hypocrisy.
It seems the further I get into 'the conversation' the more I wish I'd never stumbled upon it.
Here's a query for myself and others in our quest to know how much critique is too much...

People of a similar ilk to me will often argue the two following points:

a.) That the 'Way of the Master' method of Evangelism is off. That to ask people to turn-or-burn is wrong because scripture tells us that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict people of their sin, not ours.
b.) That if we do not critique and discuss issues with other ministries our brothers and sisters will create a distorted presentation of who Jesus is. That critique is an essential part of us giving the best we can to this world.

Here's are my questions:

Q:Why is the Spirit enough to convict non-christians of their sin, but not enough to convict Christians of their errors within ministry?

Q:Why do we trust God will prompt those who don't know him, yet feel such an urgency to tell other christians how they should present him to the world?

Interested to hear your thoughts...

A LITTLE RESPECT FOR MR. LUCAS

Okay, so I agree he totally botched Episodes I-III, but this Tuesday the 29th of May commemorates 20 years since the original Star Wars (Ep IV: A New Hope) was released to worldwide acclaim in 1977.



This trailer is also a convenient distraction from my lack of wisdom, insight, or thought to add to the blog community at the moment. You didn't notice did you?!

WORK

Work is crazy at the moment. Currently I'm trying to juggle about 15 concerts. 5 of them throughout the North Island, 5 of them in Wellington High Schools, and the last 5 back at Zeal. One of these mini-tours involves an amazing performer named Kimbra. Enjoy!

PRIMAL WELLY

Why I loved my time at Primal Wellington last Thursday night...

"...there's more to it than just mission; most great movements of mission have inspired significant and related movements of renewal in the life of the church. It seems that when the church engages at the fringes, it almost always brings life to the centre."
Alan Hirsch, 'The Forgotten Ways', p.30

www.primal.net.nz

SESAME STREET CRUSADE 2007

Over the last couple of months I've started listening to Tony Campolo's podcast, 'Accross the Pond'. Each week he works through a current issue in the media and discusses it from a Christian point of view. He made an interesting point a few weeks ago when discussing the Media's influence on young people.

When a 4 year old wakes up in the morning the first thing they may tune into is Sesame Street. On the surface the show is great. It introduces them to letters and numbers in a fun and accessible way. Rather than the letter 'A' simply being written on a chalk board, it has a little song and dance to go along with it. 'A' may even have the enormous honour of appearing alongside child royalty such as the Cookie Monster or Elmo (who in my opinion requires far too much tickling to maintain safe boundaries in youth work).

Now 'A' has as much right to a song and dance as any other letter, but what happens when the observer (your son, daughter, niece or nephew) turns 5 and heads to school? The letters and numbers no longer dance, the animals no longer talk, and one must face the stark reality that Elmo has a hand up his ass! Campolo argues that because young people are raised with an understanding of the alphabet soaked in stimuli and sensory bombardment, they struggle to engage with the actual reality of the alphabet. In other words, anything outside television now appears boring.

It's an interesting idea which I'm still wrestling with. Immediately I start to think about one of the highlights of the Soul Survivor New South Wales conference I was at in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. Mike Pilavachi (a visiting speaker from the UK) made a fantastic call on the last night of the festival:

"I don't care for big shows, big sounds, and big lights. If God doesn't show up at one of our meetings we should be saying 'That was a crap meeting!'" (paraphrased)

What a beautiful way of putting it. It gets me thinking, perhaps often our relationship with God is somewhat similar to Sesame Street's relationship with the letter A. The letter is the not the way the medium of television needs it to be, so they sex it up! The letter A doesn't make you wanna dance, so they put a soundtrack to it. It seems to me much the same as some of the ways we do services today.

I would argue that there is a fear in some faith communities that God may not turn up the way we want him to. He may not be able to be heard, felt, smelt or seen, so we create a sensory experience just in case. Could it be that our extravagantly put together services are merely a reflection of a lack of faith that God will move in a Godly manner, not necessarily the in the way we desire him to. How many pastors out there are actually content to have what appears to be a 'crap service' every now and then? Where maybe God doesn't show himself the way we understand him, but still ministers to our hearts at a level our minds just can't understand?

I believe that God will often move in ways we can experience tangibly. I am not denying the importance of God moving through understandable feelings or a sounds. But can we accept God for who he is? Is God still God to us when we strip away the packaging? Nearly every experience we have in life is mediated by someone. The information is passed-on, repackaged, and rejigged to suit our circumstances.

Are we happy with a second-hand saviour?

TALES FROM SYDNEY PT.II

Just sitting in the cyber-lounge of the Kooromba YHA in the Blue Mountains at present. The plan was to explore this 'diverse and scenic landscape' but a huge fog has fallen over the area so the plan seems to look something like getting lunch and watching a movie instead.

The trip so far has consisted of the following:

-Praising Jesus at Soul Survivor festival in St Ives. An amazing time made even better by the opportunity to hear from Jim Yoost, a missionary in Papua with a heart for church planting in the third world.

-Beaches. Pretty much every day. So far we've done Collaroy, Dee Why, Manly & Newport. Great places, particularly Manly.

-Monorail. Amongst a number of things I didn't get to do on my brief trip through here in November has been the Monorail. You can't see the track so it feels like you're flying!

-A model-crafts and hobby shop in Central Sydney. The above photo shows me geeking it with model railways. INCREDIBLE!

-Krispy Kreme Donuts. The perfectly soft-baked and glazed experience delivered by one of these puppies borders on sinful.

-The McDonalds Double-Quarter Pounder. A half pound of questionable meat sandwiched between three slices of smoked cheddar, pickles, onions, mustard, ketchup and 2 warm buns. I've had 5 of these since arrival.

-'Cause of Death', a recorded lecture Sam and I watched in a dingy motor lodge (a la 'Bates Motel') last night where they disected people right in front of you. Fascinating yet vomit-enducing! There's nothing quite like the sound of a scalping cutting through cartilage, or the squelching noise of a brain being removed from it's cradle.

-The Company: All round legends Chris Darnell, Rosemary Poland, Callum McKinnon, Thomas Read and Helen Nicholls were wicked people to hang out with. Now it's just down to Sam and I but the fun continues...

-Hill$ong. An amazing production right up there with U2 but sadly not much more. An eye-opening experience to say the least.

So there's the trip as it stands. I'm looking forward to getting back to work on Friday. The chats Sam and I have had, as well as those with the international crews from Soul Survivor, have been incredibly challenging. I can't wait to get back and put some of this thought into action.

UPDATE: Later that day we began our hunt for the Blue Mountains. Apparently they lurk somewhere amongst the fog shown in the pictures below. Much like Big Foot, they remain illusive. We'll keep you posted as the chase continues...

TALES FROM SYDNEY

I know what you're all wondering. Is that a photo of Sam Harvey and myself wearing the WWJD bracelets we bought from the Hillsong Store in Sydney just after the 7pm service? The answer... yes, very yes. I feel more prosperous already.

NB: I accidentally disallowed comments on my previous post. The floor is open, enjoy!

HARVEST CRUSADE PT.II

7 years ago, almost to the day, I responded to my first altar-call. With trembling hands I moved with hundreds to the front of an auditorium in Waikanae and experienced God. I have no doubt God really moved in this time, but little did I know that altar-call would be the first of nearly 20. After the camp the illusion ended. I went from meeting to meeting hoping to recapture something of that first experience, convinced that it was God. Finally it all ended after 2 very painful years of learning that God was with me continually - and no more so during a performance.

I’m sad to say I was one of the lucky ones who made it through. At the end of this journey there was a trail of destruction of other followers who just found it too hard to reconcile the character of God in the day-to-day with the slick production that started it. In short, we were all deceived. We were sold a lie that couldn’t last by people who only cared enough for us to ‘make a decision’, and not for the kind of Christians we’d become afterwards.

With regard to the upcoming Harvest Crusade, some may argue that this is a cultural thing. A mere result of the secular world we live in, and that this deception is never modeled or encouraged by the crusade. While I do not doubt the hearts of Mr.Laurie and his team, it comes back to Marshall McLuhan’s quote that Daryll Gardiner continually reminds me of, ‘The Medium is the Message’. The medium is smoke, lights, sounds and big bands, and overall, a complete lack of information and Gospel truth required to make such an enormous decision. How can we reconcile this one-off experience with the day to day process of being discipled into a follower of Jesus?

Here is my issue: Discipleship should not be the remedy for deception. It cannot be the process by which we encourage people to stay with something after they’ve realised they were coaxed or manipulated into it. In essence, it is like people are taught to drive an automatic and then put behind the wheel of a manual. Where they once put their foot down and trusted everything would fall into place, they now must worry about timing the clutch and the accelerator, while trying not to stall in the process.

"I wonder how many of us have lost our barbarian way and have become embittered with God, confused in our faith because God doesn't come through the way we think He should. Is it possible that the transforming power of the church has been lost because we keep inviting people to step intothe comfort, safety, and security of Jesus Christ?"
Erwin McManus, 'The Barbarian Way', (2005) p.48

Why do so many marriages end in divorce? Because the couple went into it expecting things of each other they couldn’t deliver, Why does someone return a product to a store? Because it didn’t live up to the claims of it’s packaging, Why do so many once-passionate Christians turn away so early in their faith? Because they were sold a selfish, consumerist idea of who Jesus is, that he refuses to deliver on because it simply isn’t him.

So the cycle continues. Deceptive ministry breeds deceptive and disappointed Christians who only know one way to bring people to Jesus – through further deception. The fact is that many who invite their friends to this year’s crusade will invite them on the premise that it’s ‘just some bands playing’, or that it’s ‘really cool’, or that Greg Laurie is ‘the funniest speaker’. Remember that deception is not necessarily lying, but the manipulation of, or lack of, information. Let’s ask some serious questions about why we do this stuff the way we do it. When someone responds to an altar-call and come to the front, is it really Jesus they meet when they get there?

I personally am not familiar with Greg Laurie’s speaking, and so have to give him grace for the fact he may be one of the few who delivers a very coherent and comprehensive picture of the Gospel. Yet again, the Harvest Crusade is not my target here, but more an example of the culture that must change if we are to be people who seek after truth and honesty in the way we share our faith.

That being said, I will not hide my clear bias against this model. I think it can be done well, but I’ve rarely seen it. I hope to be proven wrong when the crusade arrives later this year.

INTERMISSION...

Firstly, thanks to all those who engaged in the great discussion on the Harvest Crusade post below. Here's something to chew on as I finish up Part II on that topic, an awesome quote from Phil Auxier's blog

"Leadership in the church--and I am speaking of every facet of spiritual leadership, not just the pastor's role--is not a mantle of status to be conferred on the church's aristocracy. It is not earned by seniority, purchased with money, or inherited through family ties. It does not necessarily fall to those who are successful in business or finance. It is not doled out on the basis of intelligence or talent. Its requirements are blameless character, spiritual maturity, and above all, a willingness to serve humbly."

John MacArthur in 'Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry'

HARVEST CRUSADE

Edit: The following post reflects a continuing change in views. To hear my heart at the other end of the spectrum you may want to check out This Post first.

This article is a good chance to go back to some old debates. Sitting on the couch at the Goatshed the other night I got into an interesting discussion with some of my flatmates from The Street City Church. The Street are doing an amazing things to support the upcoming Greg Laurie Crusade coming to Wellington later this year. This, juxtaposed with my sometimes cynical view on these kinds of events, led to some really interesting discussions. After talking for a while we decided to watch the promo DVD sent out to local churches.

After seeing this I have no doubt God is moving in the Greg Laurie crusades. Since 1990 over 3 million people have attended his rallies and over 264,000 of those came to the front and made a commitment to following Christ. But as the DVD ended, I was almost reduced to tears. Looking at these figures I have to ask, How many of those 264,000 are still following? The testimonies shared show people who are blown away by their experience of the living God, but was this experience enough? Did this experience hold them through the dry times, through the wilderness, through the ups and downs of walking the narrow way?

As I look through the information pack I can't help but be concerned. Three testimonies are shared - all of them by 'successful' pastors from the States. Particularly troubling is the testimony of Laurie's 'rise' to faith.

"...Now, more than 30 years have passed. That little Bible study became a thriving church that eventually spawned a radio program, a crusade ministry, and a television and internet ministry. I never could have dreamed what God would do when I first took that small step of faith."

So what can someone who makes 'that small step of faith' expect? Can they expect a television and internet ministry? Can they expect the excitement of touring the world speaking to millions? Without a doubt this will be true for some, but for less than even 0.00001% of them. What if life turns to crap soon after the event? What if their calling is not one for superstardom, but instead one similar to Job? Can the dream of being 'someone great' hold them through the desert?

It is frighteningly dangerous how secular definitions of success have permeated into our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. The gospels stress the importance of abandoning self to serve others, yet the Harvest information pack reflects a larger problem accross Christendom where we elevate speakers, preachers and ministry leaders as super-heroes of the faith. The gospel is being distorted on the basis that the greatest expression of faith is faith displayed in public (see: Mr. Harvey's earlier post).

What happened to counting other more significant than yourself, to the first being last, and to the greatest among us being the servant of all? Quite simply, cleaning shit is not sexy, it's sure as hell not successful. On the same logic what are we to say for the person who comes to faith in the midst of terminal illness? Have they lived a sub-significant Christian life because their influence never went further than the end of a hospital bed?

I cannot stess enough that this is not angst with the crusade itself. I believe in what the Harvest Crusade do, and I believe it is changing lives. Given the opportunity, I will hopefully have some of my friends and family come along with me to the event. My issue is with what this medium of evangelism models. As the year goes on more and more brochures will slide accross our desks, and they'll nearly all look the same. A photo of a charismatic, good-looking pastor (one hand outstretched, microphone in the other). More and more these brochures arrive with almost no information about vision or biblical purpose, instead pastor 'track record' should be enough for us. Put simply, it's not enough.

While I respect them, the words of Rob Bell, Mike Pilavachi, Tony Campolo, Brian Houston, Paul De Jong, or Greg Laurie are not enough for me. And more importantly, neither is the dream I could one day become like them. I am sickened by a culture that elevates pastors and leaders above the rest, I'm sick of conferences which give them their own special seating area to bathe in the glamour and glory or their rise to fame. Most ministry workers I talk to are repulsed by this idea as well, and would happily trade their opportunity to dine with the guest speaker for the chance to see their youth know the true character of God just a little more.

What are we modelling? Does the discourse surrounding these conferences really reflect the character of God? And if we allow ourselves to be bought by the lie that a life with God is a life in the spotlight, how can we ever truly know what it means to walk in the steps of Jesus? My hope and prayer for the upcoming crusade is that many would come to know Jesus, that they would make a decision for the first time that they will continue to make every day for the rest of their lives. That this crusade would birth a new generation of Christians with a passion to humbly die for Christ, and not for a chance on the pulpit.

We can do better.

EASY TIGERS...

Hey Guys. Just had an article published as part of the 'Soul Purpose' E-Zine. Soul Purpose are a wicked organisation who are building a fantastic influence on New Zealand youth culture. Enter, article...


I have a confession. I, like many young Christians throughout New Zealand, am “on the prowl.” Over the last few months I've watched many of my friends get engaged and married. They all seem to be racing ahead in this game of life while I woefully lament my somewhat endless status as on the shelf.
After waiting six lonely years for little-miss-right to come along I must shamefully admit that I've only just begun to seek God on why things are the way they are.

And as always, whenever I go looking for a little of Jesus’ character, he often reveals a lot – and often a lot of things about myself I would've rather ignored. It's like attempting to empty half a can of spaghetti into a pot, the rest always seems to slide out anyway. A similar situation happened recently on my quest to find meaning within my prowl.

"..a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows that he loves himself." - Ephesians 5:28 (CEV)

Talk about a curve-ball. This sucker hit me straight between the eyes.
You see, the hardest part of this scripture for me wasn't regarding loving a girl the way she deserves, it was about learning to see myself the way God sees me. It was about learning to look past my faint lisp, my awkward running style and my complete lack of co-ordination. But beyond this, it was about learning to love the state of my heart. To see the beauty behind my cynicism, my judgmental mind, my uncontrollable tongue, and my very kiwi desire to cut down anyone who starts to invade my oh-so-precious limelight.

With the help of a friend, I came to the conclusion that it is impossible to love a quality in someone else you can't love in yourself. It is a matter of identity. It is crucial to our ability to love and reach those around us, and it is essential to accepting the grace Christ gave so freely on the cross.

I issue a challenge to myself and others like me. Take a break from your search for the girl/guy of your dreams, and be honest with yourself about your shortcomings and insecurities. God wants to minister to your brokenness and bring healing. As David writes in Psalm 147:3 (NIV), “He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
The more I search for the future Mrs Scottie, the more I discover that my self-worth and security cannot lie in the arms of anyone but my Creator. So easy tigers! Relax, be patient, and allow God to repair and prepare you. Learn to love the person God has created you to be.

UNDER THE KNIFE

Yesterday I went into surgery for the repair of an 'inguinal hernia'.

A hernia essentially involves a gap in the gut lining. As this grows an intestinal loop (or a bit of your intestines) falls through the hole and begins to expand in part of your gut. In this case, my balls. This can get quite painful - luckily mine was not. The operation was very successful and I am presently reclining at the parentals in sunny Tawa.

More news to follow, as well as a 180 degree turn around on my earlier post on 'Cutting Down Other Ministries'.

Ciao!
Scottie

MY 21ST: THE RECAP

Time for the long overdue 21st recap. I have no photos to show you yet as my parents are stuck in the dark ages still using 8mm film or something archaic. Hopefully they'll get these onto discs soon or I can scan them and get them up here. Watch this space.

It's an odd time to reflect on my 21st. As I write this I'm in a pretty weird place. Never before have I found such a desire to know God and hand my life over to him, but much of what I'm handing to him is deeply entrenched in who I am. Everything is extremes. The most beautiful moments I've ever experienced scattered amongst this most bizarre and unbearable pain. Imagine your lover was taken away and the ransom for her/his life was your left hand. It's the pain of cutting off a limb with a rusty saw, but knowing it will be worth it to see them again. Like I'm loving every moment of seeing more of who Jesus is, but dreading the cost to continue that journey. Dramatic huh? probably too much so... but then I do spend my days working with emo kids.

BACK TO MY 21st: What an amazing night! It's an incredible feeling to look around a room and see so many people you LOVE. More amazing than that is the memories that all these faces bring. Every one of them a testament to the amazing things God has done in our lives and the grace he has shown us. For me there was a real sense that Jesus was just loving this. When I look through the bible there are so many times when Heaven is referred to as this big party with the finest wines and choicest of meats. For me this was exactly what my 21st party was like, a little bit of Heaven happening right in the heart of Tawa ;)

After a couple of hours of beers and nibbles it was onto the speeches. I was a little nervous about this one. The worst stories I could think of from my past would probably be grounds for being stood down from ministry. Luckily for me...none of these came out. Everything kept relatively tame, and many of the kind words people shared have really carried me through the last week or two. It's a weird thing to be at the centre of this huge occasion, but I really felt like God was glorified on the night. The light pouring out from everyone who came had a huge effect on some of my friends and family who don't know Jesus. Honestly, what more could you ask for?!

I'm not sure if there's much else to say but thanks to everyone who came. I'm pretty gushy at the moment so I apologise for the over-emotive cheese in the past four paragraphs. I think most of you will see where I'm coming from.

Pulling Apart Other Ministries...

For anyone expecting a round-up of my 21st birthday, that’s currently sitting in my drafts folder. My plans to post that puppy were put-aside by my fury after reading a post this afternoon.

In other words, time for a big old rant on this whole denominations/different communities thing that seems to be going round at the moment. As you may have seen from my earlier ‘pro-chute’ post, I’ve had a real change of heart on this whole matter of how we work with, and talk about, other ministries and ‘Christian’ organisations.

I find it hilarious when I read a post about a disagreement over the values of a Christian organisation, that then goes on to address the current buzz-topic of social justice. I sit here and wonder what God cares about more: The way Parachute conducts their worship time, or the fact that millions are working in sweat-shops in China right now. In general, I hear more complaints about our brethren than the astronomical injustices taking place around the world. Is this where God has called us to champion the cause of the poor and marginalised? In the comfort of our own church walls?!

Here’s what I’m asking myself: Does my attitude resemble a humble person desperate for God’s grace like the woman caught in adultery, or the squabbling and pointless bickering of the Pharisees in the gospels? When I look at the way Jesus reacts to these two different factions, it is easy to see what he requires of me.

In an earlier discussion on this topic, a friend reminded me that the majority of the epistles involve Paul criticising and evaluating the problems within the churches. I agree this is important, I would die without the opportunity to flesh out topics like these to others with mouths as big as my own. That being said, It pisses me off when I see influential leaders making comments on ministries behind closed-doors (maybe the internet?), when they lack the courage and integrity to take these issues to the leaders at the top of the organisation they are criticising. (I'm ashamed to admit I've been a big culprit on this one too) Remember, The Epistles were written about the churches they were sent to. I personally can’t remember an instance where Paul throws out a passing comment to the Corinthians about theological inconsistencies with the church in Phillipi.

In Matthew 18:15-22, we are instructed to take disagreements with our brethren firstly to the person who has hurt us, secondly to them and a leader, and thirdly to the church. Unfortunately most of Christian culture at the moment seems to involve taking it to the church first in order to rally a crew around us who will support our lynch mob. I know most people reading this will have seen this passage a hundred times, but perhaps a few need reminding. This is the word – no disagreement on this, it’s clear what it says, don’t try to justify gossip.

My final rant on this topic involves the danger of talking about these issues in the open where our Sinicism can rub-off on young people who go to events to genuinely find Jesus. There are few things I regret more than sharing my issues with Parachute with youth. Whether you agree with the way things are done or not, we are framing this incredible opportunity for them to meet God through a sinical and self-righteous perspective. Our attempts to right what we see wrong with other ministries often end up limiting their power for any good at all.

Rant end...

PASH 'N ROOT PT.II

The second night of Parachute. Rebecca St James currently playing on Mainstage. 26,000 odd in attendance. Very hot, good vibe about the place, the Soul Purpose promo I'm here for is going well.



So after this year of criticism and mud-slinging at Parachute it seems God has done everything in his power to show me the absolute opposite in all the people I meet here. This morning I got the opportunity to meet a fantastic band called 'Falling Up'. They've just been signed to Tooth & Nail Records in the States and have a small yet growing following around the world. The amazing thing, they're all aged 17-24! With worldwide exposure and a combined age of less than a hundred you'd expect these guys to be cocks. Quite the opposite is true. I got the chance to grill these boys a little about the state of the American Christian Music Industry and where they see their place in it. I was amazed to hear their response. The guys were very open about how hard it is, about how they're always in this constant battle between business and ministry. They went as far as to tell me that this is the hardest part of what they do, and that they're always keep themselves (and their attitudes) in check.



It got me thinking. The enemy always comes to pervert and distort our areas of strength. Where our giftings are is often a challenge to use them the right way, and to remain humble about having them. So what does this mean for my views on Parachute Festival?...



There is a lot of stuff I can pull apart in the philosophy and administration of Parachute Records. I can't stand the way artists are raised up here, I'm sickened by the way Parachute records switch between charity and business ethics depending on their needs, and I especially hate the fact that the Manna Store is currently selling a dance-mat game with Christian pop songs called 'Get Your Praise On!'



But today, as I watched over a thousand kids raise their hands in worship to Jesus - I start to wonder... Is their praise any less beautiful to God?

Is it tainted by the potentially incorrect doctrines at the centre of the organisation facilitating it?

Does Jesus turn away in disgust as his people come together to praise him?

Does God hate the fact that New Zealand is a place where 25,000 people can come together to fellowship?

Is he repulsed by the goal to see atleast 1,000 World Vision children sponsored in 4 days?



I'll probably get a lot of flack for this, but I can't see any reason to pull Parachute apart. Like Zeal (the youth ministry I work for), we do and say a lot of stupid things. If you only looked at our errors you'd probably say God has departed from us entirely. Amongst all our shit, beneath all the times we make the wrong move or say the wrong thing, God is moving. He is bigger than commercialism, bigger than a lighting show. If Jesus wants to meet with his people he sure as hell will, and bad business ethics wont hold back the heart of a young person who calls out to him desperately.



I'm gonna get a lot of shit for this. It seems it's not cool to support anything with over 500 in attendance these days. Screw it! I'm here to see what is beautiful, what is of God. If you're about writing things off based on their errors then you should probably write me off too.

PASH 'N ROOT '07

Well call me a hypocrite but here I am sitting in the Media lounge at Parachute Festival. This weekend 25,000 young people will come together to spend their money, their energy, and hopefully a little time with God too.

On arrival I was immediately convicted on my anti-chute rants from the past year. There's a whole lot I don't agree with about the way things happen here, but how awesome it is to see so many young people coming with an expectancy to meet Jesus. Even more awesome, there are a whole lotta kids here who don't know Jesus, and will come to meet him for the first time this weekend.

So for a glorious 4 days Parachute gets a break.

You wont hear any disgruntled rants, verbal abuse, or intolerant slaggings of shit bands. This weekend I'm praying for God to break my cynicism and show me how he's working in the hearts of people here.

Positive Positive!

Scottie

p.s. The P.A on mainstage is too quiet, hehehe

Packing Myself...

Giving the sermon tonight and I'm freaking out.
I always freak out but for some reason it doesn't seem to get any easier each time.
Unfortunate how the delivery of a message always seems to coincide with the unearthing of all my insecurities.
Right now pretty darn convinced I'm just not cut out for this.
Thinking I might have to call on Jesus to deliver this one for me. Probably not a bad idea...