Encourage the Good

I have very mixed feelings as we come to the start of another year.  2021 has not been an easy year for many of us. There have been highlights and celebrations of course and we give thanks for these. But for me the year has been overshadowed by disruption, disappointment, deception, division and despair. I pray that as we enter 2022 we will know the Lord’s mercy, truth, light and power and that th...

The Niagara Falls are breathtaking but white water can also be scary I have spent a little bit of time on the Amazon. It is a lot wider than the Niagara River and 20% of the fresh water in the world flows through it. As the Amazon meanders it continually adjusts it’s course so that charts are out of date almost as soon as they are published. On flatter land water tends to follow the line of least...

I have lost the ability to feel instinctively at home anywhere. The flip side of my own sense of misplacement is that I do feel a little at home everywhere. This is also the nature of heavenly citizenship, we have authority given to us to go everywhere from the one who has had all authority given to Him. We become all things to all people to live out the good news right in the middle of their live...

Philemon is a short, personal letter that Paul and Timothy wrote to a friend and fellow worker. It is interesting that Paul does not mention his being an apostle in this epistle but rather greets Philemon as their dear friend. I strongly believe that friendship is the basic building block of effective and fruitful teamwork and meaningful community. The gospel is advanced by groups of friends who w...

Yesterday my friend Arlen was helpfully commenting that having physical or geographical limitations does not mean that we are not able to have a significant impact. The key thing is not what constraints are placed on us but in how we respond to them. There is always the potential to find opportunity and to encourage the good no matter how daunting and difficult our situation. Some of the best and...

Although I have not gone far I definitely feel that I have been on a journey. The debate that propels Phileas Fogg on his epic voyage, around the world in 80 days, takes place in the Reform Club. Some of those considering the possibility of the challenge wish that they could make the journey themselves rather than wagering on it. Jules Verne describes the scene. “The noble lord, confined to his ar...

These thoughts were a result of going to live sport for the first time in over a year. The title is intentionally ambiguous because sport is also life to be lived. Many of the seven things I mention also have significant implications for a faith community. It is good to play, to belong and to hope. Perseverance, inspiration, humility and discipline are core values in life and faith as well as spor...

Today I had planned to be in Rocky Mountain House in the foothills of the mountains. Pioneer Alberta is celebrating 70 years of camping at The Ranch. My current limitations meant that I had to cancel the trip but I am happy that many friends will be there to give thanks. They say it takes a village to raise a child and it definitely takes a community to run a camp. Through the generations staff an...

It is not that this music drowns the wails of Rachel. Rather that songs of jubilant praise and desolate heartache both have a place in our songbook. Christmas brings into focus the extremes of life. Families gathered and separated, laden tables in warm houses and hungry homeless shivering outside, squealing children opening presents at the tree and an empty chair at the table. It is the best of ti...

My friend Lynda has a series of posts that she calls “Perspective Adjustments” sharing pictures of nature in her neighbourhood that help her see life differently. When I have thoughts in my head repeating “this is not what I signed up for” I need my own perspective shift. There is nothing in my employment contract, marriage vows or Christian commitment that says I will have an easy life and every...

A Special Christmas to you and for you.  I hope this will bring  you a  wee smile. This is a little bit experimental or as my friend Neil would say “a wee bit mental more like” It is a remastered and slightly updated version of the very first pod cast I ever made on Christmas Day last year. Who would have dreamed back then that we would be celebrating another Christmas in the shadow of Covid.

Some ideas on leadership and ministry from “Clarkson’s Farm” on Amazon Prime and “The Biggest Little Farm” on NetFlix. “They start by clearing the ground. The farmers believe a natural ecosystem will produce the highest possible level of biodiversity. One of their initial objectives is to get rid of things that never should have been planted in the first place. In New Zealand, I observed a similar...

We have a tendency to compare ourselves to people who look like they are doing better than us.   If my security is based on a positive or negative comparison with other people when my circumstances change my strength will fail and my confidence will evaporate. So today I am mindful that meeting with the Lord is the only thing that brings true perspective. I am thankful that when I am unsteady God...

Today I am thankful that I live at a time in history where this promised king has come. I am grateful to have seen more of that better country that the heroes of the faith in the Old Testament were looking forward to. I am thankful that I can read this psalm knowing Jesus and to be able to join today with the chorus of the psalm echoing through history. 

Last night I dreamt I went to Ecuador again. This was at the invitation of Ruth rather than Rebecca and I was not dreaming. I went by Zoom and my entrance was halted for a while not by iron gates but needing a passcode to get in, which was duly provided. I have had the joy of being in Ecuador physically in the past. There has been a long partnership between TSCF in New Zealand and CECE the movemen...

It turns out I am much better at accepting other peoples shortcomings than my own.  It is not easy for me to accept underachievement, limitations and circumstances I cannot control. I prefer things I can change, and timelines and plans I feel I can manage. Of course this sense of control is mostly illusory at the best of times. There are always some things I can influence the outcome of and many m...

Shards On wooden bench The glass lies ready Soon stained and fixed Hot work and heavy Leaded and cemented Finally raised in place Illuminating space On sandy beach More glass is ready  Ground down by time Cool work and light Tumbled and salted Precious but hidden Waiting the artist’s hand  And resurrection

People talk about an emotional roller coaster but some days it feels more like going up and down and round and round with not much forward momentum. Sometimes I compound my own heartache through inflating my expectations. I realise that being more of an optimist leaves me more susceptible to disappointment. Patience may well be a virtue but today I am feeling more frustrated than virtuous. Yet eve...

It is a common misconception that dedication will increase commitment and greater time will result in higher productivity. In fact if we value outcomes more than outputs we will understand that high commitment, long hours and limited focus will more likely be a route to fatigue, frustration, conflicted families, divided teams and burnout.  I firmly believe that the way a nation, company or organis...

This is part of my challenge in reading and understanding the Bible. I am a westerner looking through an urban lens at a book that mostly comes from an agrarian society.  Remote places have mattered to God and been part of his plan from the beginning. There are no boonies in the sovereign purposes and love of God. Urban and rural, city and village, nation states, provinces and unceded lands are al...

The highlight of today was being part of an online reunion for those who started the Relay Program in the UK 20 years ago. The virtual reunion today was incredibly moving.  It was fabulous seeing 40 plus faces on screen and listening to their stories. Just in this group we had 12 nations represented as people joined from 5 continents. We heard examples of church leadership, sustainable development...

Feeling that we have nothing left to give puts us in a vulnerable position. It is tempting to respond to the aftermath of intensity with escapism, addiction, indulgence, self pity or anger.  I am thankful for the reminder that my perspective is skewed by many factors and that the way I see things can be warped and distorted. We need restoration, rest and reset.  This may be obvious to us when thin...

Leadership is about service not self importance, sacrifice not self actualisation and it is exercised through love not power. Each of us has a part to play, no part is more important than another. It is not better to be a President than a director, more significant to pastor a large church or a small one, more strategic to be running programs or cooking meals at camp. I like watching individual co...

There are times in the last three years when I have been afraid and when I have been discouraged. Much of that has been connected with facing opposition, with adapting to a new culture and a new organisation, experiencing loneliness, dealing with the frustration of deficits and making difficult decisions.  Just as it looked like there might be light at the end of the tunnel it turned out to be the...

As yesterday went on I found myself becoming increasingly less positive. It involved me in having to apologise for being a bit grumpy and difficult. We don’t get much post so it was nice when Ailsa brought a card back from the mailbox. It was from Ben Carswell with a picture of Otago on the front. He said he was was mostly writing to cheer me up or cheer me on, it was hard to tell from his hand wr...