I am stopping my usual attempts to catch up on my blog to share my heart for a moment.
I just returned from an amazing Easter Camp with the people here (at which I was speaking and helping a ton...more on that soon).
But here is my problem. My heart is torn. I realize now that I am starting to see this place as home. I have made so many connections and friendships, impacted so many lives, seen so many amazing people do amazing things. I see a desperate need here for gifts that I have and know I can grow more into.
It frightens me.
I can't see this as home, right?. I have a home to come back to and a life which must move forward (graduate school plans, ordination?, etc.). But how do I tell my heart and mind that?
Maybe I am not supposed to. Maybe God is calling me to this area in ways I can't understand yet. Perhaps this feeling of mine is exactly what he wants.
The reality is that I don't know.
I walk by faith as always. I know God will lead me, but that doesn't make it easier in my heart and mind.
I love these people. I love this church and I am honored to work with, learn from, and minister to them.
This is just a quick post, but I felt compelled to say something.
In Christ,
Chris
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Singing with the Choir
After dinner with Dave on Monday (4/4), I had to run to church and attend a choir rehearsal. In an ongoing effort to pour into all the groups of people here at Hope Valley, I decided to join the Valley Singers. The Valley Singers is a group within the church open to all, but only really participated in by the older members of the congregation. It generally sings a few times a month during the 9:00 am service and every other month or so with the 10:30 am service. It is such a lovely group of people and I enjoy getting to know them. I figure it is a good way for me to pour love into a part of the Church that is not often ministered to by people of my generation. I think they appreciate me being there as well. Brett and I are the two youngest members of the choir. The next youngest past us is in his 50's. We stand out!
The choir is under the direction of a fine man named Graham. He is a bit demanding of a group of mostly amateur singers, but the product he draws out of the group is pretty amazing. I have had a chance to do a number of songs with the group now and I am very impressed with their sound. I have a hard time fitting in because my ability to find pitches from reading music is poor, but once I hear my part all is well with the world :-).
The group is so kind. The ladies are wonderfully sweet to me and sitting around joking with the old guys makes my night.
Anyways. The choir practice went well and we can add that to my list of ministries pursued while here at Hope Valley.
In Christ,
Chris
The choir is under the direction of a fine man named Graham. He is a bit demanding of a group of mostly amateur singers, but the product he draws out of the group is pretty amazing. I have had a chance to do a number of songs with the group now and I am very impressed with their sound. I have a hard time fitting in because my ability to find pitches from reading music is poor, but once I hear my part all is well with the world :-).
The group is so kind. The ladies are wonderfully sweet to me and sitting around joking with the old guys makes my night.
Anyways. The choir practice went well and we can add that to my list of ministries pursued while here at Hope Valley.
In Christ,
Chris
Monday, April 18, 2011
Me...a babysitter?
Despite the busy day on Sunday, I was back to work on Monday (4/4) and working hard on that week's projects.
Jon usually doesn't come in on Monday because he works as a physical therapist. As such, I am usually on my own. Pastor Dave was kind enough to invite me to his house for dinner that night. "Nothing special," he told me, "just a quick meal with my family." Dave has two kids. Jeremiah, his boy, is about four years old and every bit the energetic boy that he ought to be. He also has a darling daughter, Katie, who is still an infant. Both are a delight to be around and both seem to have taken a liking to me. Wheneve
r I am around, Katie recognizes me and smiles with both hands out outstretched. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is comfortable enough with me to make fun of my accent a bit. He is a good kid. Dave's family is pictured at right.
I accepted his offer for dinner and we went. Chilling with Dave and his lovely wife and kids was wonderful. Catherine had made up a delicious bit of curry for us and I had the pleasure of just talking with them and playing with the kids.
Over the next hour or so, I helped settle the kids down for bed, read them stories, and helped entertain them. I felt like an uncle or something! Haha. I had better watch out, as Dave might soon be asking me to babysit for real.
I don't think I am that comfortable with little kids yet ;-). I know you two read this blog...thank you for the lovely evening. I hope we get to do it again sometime soon.
In Christ,
Chris
Jon usually doesn't come in on Monday because he works as a physical therapist. As such, I am usually on my own. Pastor Dave was kind enough to invite me to his house for dinner that night. "Nothing special," he told me, "just a quick meal with my family." Dave has two kids. Jeremiah, his boy, is about four years old and every bit the energetic boy that he ought to be. He also has a darling daughter, Katie, who is still an infant. Both are a delight to be around and both seem to have taken a liking to me. Wheneve
r I am around, Katie recognizes me and smiles with both hands out outstretched. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is comfortable enough with me to make fun of my accent a bit. He is a good kid. Dave's family is pictured at right.I accepted his offer for dinner and we went. Chilling with Dave and his lovely wife and kids was wonderful. Catherine had made up a delicious bit of curry for us and I had the pleasure of just talking with them and playing with the kids.
Over the next hour or so, I helped settle the kids down for bed, read them stories, and helped entertain them. I felt like an uncle or something! Haha. I had better watch out, as Dave might soon be asking me to babysit for real.
I don't think I am that comfortable with little kids yet ;-). I know you two read this blog...thank you for the lovely evening. I hope we get to do it again sometime soon.
In Christ,
Chris
"For This I Was Born"
The drive home on Sunday (4/3) went quicker than expected and without much incident. We arrived home in plenty of time for me to clean up, rest, and prepare my heart and mind for the message I was to give that night at the 6:00 pm service.
My message was on living a life of purpose, a life given meaning by testifying to the truth of Christ and his love. Since we are in the Lenten season, the message was drawn from John 18:29-38 where Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate. In this passage, Pilate asks whether Jesus is a king. Jesus' response is amazing: "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth" (v. 37). What an amazing statement! Pilate, however, heard this and responded "What is truth?" and walked away, ignoring truth incarnate standing right in front of him.
From this passage I basically argued three points.
1.) There is Truth. Jesus can't bear witness to the truth if truth doesn't exist. This truth is absolute, coming from outside the world to change the world. It is a truth not affected by the world. It is a truth that was, is, and always will be true. It is a standard by which we can measure our life, the finish line at the end of our race. It is true. From this I argued against the relativistic, post-modern world. I argued that we needed to understand that there was truth before we could ever talk about purpose.
2.) Our purpose is to bear witness to the Truth. Just as we are slowly to take on the characteristics and personality of Jesus in our walk of sanctification, it makes sense that our purpose in life is like Jesus' purpose. So if He was here to bear witness to the truth, it makes sense that we are here to do the same. How we go about this took up the majority of my message from this point forward. I talked of how we could do all things in life with purpose and meaning if it were done with a heart of worship in love for God and our neighbor. After all, right after Jesus stated his purpose so categorically, he marched up a hill and committed the greatest act of love in the history of mankind. Thus, love has a lot to do with bearing witness to the truth. I won't go into all the details here of this point. You can listen to my sermon (linked below) for a fuller explication of where I took this.
3.) Don't be like Pilate and walk away. This was my call for response. I argued that our purpose is standing right in front of us. It is right here and right now. We need not ask questions of "where is God calling me?" and "what am I supposed to be doing for God?" God, I stated, would work out the specifics of our calling in his time and in his mercy as long as we were living a life which testifies the truth. We could grab that purpose now and apply it to wherever we were at in our walks. Don't walk away like Pilate, I warned. Commit to living a life of purpose and meaning here and now.
So that was the central scope of my message. If you are interested in listening to it, I have posted it online with some cheesy background pictures for atmosphere (thanks, Dad!). Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/22263980 . There is also a link on that page to the first sermon I ever preached at Hillsdale Free Methodist Church right before flying to Australia. You are welcome to watch that as well. Neither are great in my opinion, but I am trying my best. With two sermons under my belt now, I think I am well on my way to learning how to do it well. I am hoping that God has truly gifted me in this area.
I was so nervous about preaching the sermon in question though. This is partly because I vowed to do the whole thing with as little notes as possible. Thus, the sermon you hear is pretty much me preaching without anything in front of me. This is a huge step from my first sermon where I was tied quite a bit to my notes. To go from a bunch of notes to just a few scribbles on a page in my Bible is a big step. I was so nervous about forgetting stuff and not saying things the way I had planned them. After a few minutes, however, I fell into the flow of things and felt pretty comfortable with it. Of course, as soon as I was done my mind was racing over how many things I would have liked to say differently and what not. I will have to train myself to be content with what the Spirit laid on my heart during the message and not look back.
The sermon was well received by the congregation. I was quite happy to hear that people found it relevant and meaningful to where they were in their lives. Some even told me that I had them crying during certain parts. Praise God! The pastors here liked it as well. I am honored that they gave me their stamp of approval.
So that was my first sermon at Hope Valley. I will be preaching a couple more before I leave here and I look forward to growing in my abilities with each one.
After the sermon I went our with a few friends to the House of Pancakes, a local, 24-hour legend here in Adelaide. Though overpriced and nothing compared to American pancake places, I was quite happy to eat an old favorite and just chill with some wonderful people.
In Christ,
Chris
My message was on living a life of purpose, a life given meaning by testifying to the truth of Christ and his love. Since we are in the Lenten season, the message was drawn from John 18:29-38 where Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate. In this passage, Pilate asks whether Jesus is a king. Jesus' response is amazing: "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth" (v. 37). What an amazing statement! Pilate, however, heard this and responded "What is truth?" and walked away, ignoring truth incarnate standing right in front of him.
From this passage I basically argued three points.
1.) There is Truth. Jesus can't bear witness to the truth if truth doesn't exist. This truth is absolute, coming from outside the world to change the world. It is a truth not affected by the world. It is a truth that was, is, and always will be true. It is a standard by which we can measure our life, the finish line at the end of our race. It is true. From this I argued against the relativistic, post-modern world. I argued that we needed to understand that there was truth before we could ever talk about purpose.
2.) Our purpose is to bear witness to the Truth. Just as we are slowly to take on the characteristics and personality of Jesus in our walk of sanctification, it makes sense that our purpose in life is like Jesus' purpose. So if He was here to bear witness to the truth, it makes sense that we are here to do the same. How we go about this took up the majority of my message from this point forward. I talked of how we could do all things in life with purpose and meaning if it were done with a heart of worship in love for God and our neighbor. After all, right after Jesus stated his purpose so categorically, he marched up a hill and committed the greatest act of love in the history of mankind. Thus, love has a lot to do with bearing witness to the truth. I won't go into all the details here of this point. You can listen to my sermon (linked below) for a fuller explication of where I took this.
3.) Don't be like Pilate and walk away. This was my call for response. I argued that our purpose is standing right in front of us. It is right here and right now. We need not ask questions of "where is God calling me?" and "what am I supposed to be doing for God?" God, I stated, would work out the specifics of our calling in his time and in his mercy as long as we were living a life which testifies the truth. We could grab that purpose now and apply it to wherever we were at in our walks. Don't walk away like Pilate, I warned. Commit to living a life of purpose and meaning here and now.
So that was the central scope of my message. If you are interested in listening to it, I have posted it online with some cheesy background pictures for atmosphere (thanks, Dad!). Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/22263980 . There is also a link on that page to the first sermon I ever preached at Hillsdale Free Methodist Church right before flying to Australia. You are welcome to watch that as well. Neither are great in my opinion, but I am trying my best. With two sermons under my belt now, I think I am well on my way to learning how to do it well. I am hoping that God has truly gifted me in this area.
I was so nervous about preaching the sermon in question though. This is partly because I vowed to do the whole thing with as little notes as possible. Thus, the sermon you hear is pretty much me preaching without anything in front of me. This is a huge step from my first sermon where I was tied quite a bit to my notes. To go from a bunch of notes to just a few scribbles on a page in my Bible is a big step. I was so nervous about forgetting stuff and not saying things the way I had planned them. After a few minutes, however, I fell into the flow of things and felt pretty comfortable with it. Of course, as soon as I was done my mind was racing over how many things I would have liked to say differently and what not. I will have to train myself to be content with what the Spirit laid on my heart during the message and not look back.
The sermon was well received by the congregation. I was quite happy to hear that people found it relevant and meaningful to where they were in their lives. Some even told me that I had them crying during certain parts. Praise God! The pastors here liked it as well. I am honored that they gave me their stamp of approval.
So that was my first sermon at Hope Valley. I will be preaching a couple more before I leave here and I look forward to growing in my abilities with each one.
After the sermon I went our with a few friends to the House of Pancakes, a local, 24-hour legend here in Adelaide. Though overpriced and nothing compared to American pancake places, I was quite happy to eat an old favorite and just chill with some wonderful people.
In Christ,
Chris
One Night Stand
When we arrived in Tumby Bay on Saturday evening (4/2), the whole town was abuzz with thousands of people who came for the concert. People were everywhere! For a small country town like Tumby, it was very noticeably. The concert, entitled One Night Stan
d, was to be held on the town's footy oval. There was a massive stage, food vendors, merchandise vendors, and a ton of people.
Since the concert was still a ways from starting, we did a quick walk around Tumby. The beach at Tumby is also quite gorgeous. On the pier a MASSIVE pelican perched itself on top a light post. This thing was amazing. It let me get extremely close for my pictures too. The pelican had the most beady, evil-looking eyes ever. Nice birdie...
The concert was a lot of fun. Since I had to preach the next day, I decided to take it easy
and not mosh like a crazy man. That was a good choice. We ended up standing not too far from stage and so we had a pretty good view of all the acts. It was nice to just stand and enjoy the music. Maybe I am growing up a bit.
The first act was a band called the Jezabels (http://www.myspace.com/jezabelsband ). They were actually one of my favorite acts for the night, as they have this amazing female lead singer. She really has an awesome voice. The band was a pretty standard rock band, but the lead made them unique. Go check out their stuff if you are interested.
The second act was a techno-dance-pop band called Art vs. Science (http://www.myspace.com/artvsscience ). They were quite a bit of fun actually. They sing about absolutely meaningless stuff, but their tunes are catchy and danceable. I enjoyed them quite a bit. The crowd enjoyed them even more. Everybody was jumping up and down, dancing, and going nuts.
The last act of the night was Birds of Tokyo (http://www.birdsoftokyo.com/ ). I already told you about them, as they played at the Clypsal 500. They were even better this time around, putting on an amazing show and really working the crowd.
The lineup of bands was just awesome.
Since this was put on by the national broadcasting company of Australia, the concert was streamed all over the country. There were cameras swooping in and out of the crowd and radio hosts on stage between sets...the whole works. I think they did a great job putting the whole thing on.
After the show all the crowds dispersed to party the night away (a sad part of the evening). We eventually made our way back to Thuruna to sleep, rise early, and start driving back home so I could preach.
In Christ,
Chris
d, was to be held on the town's footy oval. There was a massive stage, food vendors, merchandise vendors, and a ton of people.Since the concert was still a ways from starting, we did a quick walk around Tumby. The beach at Tumby is also quite gorgeous. On the pier a MASSIVE pelican perched itself on top a light post. This thing was amazing. It let me get extremely close for my pictures too. The pelican had the most beady, evil-looking eyes ever. Nice birdie...
The concert was a lot of fun. Since I had to preach the next day, I decided to take it easy
and not mosh like a crazy man. That was a good choice. We ended up standing not too far from stage and so we had a pretty good view of all the acts. It was nice to just stand and enjoy the music. Maybe I am growing up a bit.The first act was a band called the Jezabels (http://www.myspace.com/jezabelsband ). They were actually one of my favorite acts for the night, as they have this amazing female lead singer. She really has an awesome voice. The band was a pretty standard rock band, but the lead made them unique. Go check out their stuff if you are interested.
The second act was a techno-dance-pop band called Art vs. Science (http://www.myspace.com/artvsscience ). They were quite a bit of fun actually. They sing about absolutely meaningless stuff, but their tunes are catchy and danceable. I enjoyed them quite a bit. The crowd enjoyed them even more. Everybody was jumping up and down, dancing, and going nuts.
The last act of the night was Birds of Tokyo (http://www.birdsoftokyo.com/ ). I already told you about them, as they played at the Clypsal 500. They were even better this time around, putting on an amazing show and really working the crowd.
The lineup of bands was just awesome.
Since this was put on by the national broadcasting company of Australia, the concert was streamed all over the country. There were cameras swooping in and out of the crowd and radio hosts on stage between sets...the whole works. I think they did a great job putting the whole thing on.
After the show all the crowds dispersed to party the night away (a sad part of the evening). We eventually made our way back to Thuruna to sleep, rise early, and start driving back home so I could preach.
In Christ,
Chris
Port Lincoln
The drive to Port Lincoln on Saturday (4/2) was not terribly long. After a full-on day of driving the other day, this was very welcome. Port Lincoln itself was very beautiful. Being a port city, it is full of really wealthy shipping owners and tuna farmers. Some of the houses were just amazing. The town itself was a nice, historic port-side town with little shops, cafes, and restaurant. The beach, of course, was astounding. The cloudy morning had turned into an amazingly beautiful day.We spent most of the morning exploring the city a bit and walking along the beach. A few things of note: 1.) Port Lincoln is known for its shark sightings. There are signs along the piers telling people of the emergency shark plans and the like. I found this a bit unsettling. Apparently you can even book tours to go out and swim with the sharks in a big shark cage. I would not find that cool in the slightest! 2.) Off of the pier they had a little area for people to swim. This was interesting because it was all fenced off underwater. Jon said this was to keep the sharks out of a designated swimming area. What a different
culture! Go swim in the fenced off area. That will keep the sharks away...interesting. I took a picture of it to show some you what I mean 3.) There are some massive old trees right along the beach. The branches are as thick as most trees I have ever seen (see above pic).For lunch we had the most amazing meal I have had in Australia to date. Being a port town and having a huge fishing industry, Port Lincoln is known for its fresh seafood. We all went to a restaurant and ordered two of their massive seafood platters for the five of us. Though they were expensive (Jon was payin
g!), they were absolutely amazing. I would be willing to guess that some of the stuff on the platter had been caught that morning it was so fresh. The best part was, because I so rarely get seafood in Michigan, everything on the plate was new to me. Jon had to teach me how to eat most of it, haha.The platter had fries, salad, mussels, oysters, pickled octopus, pickled scallops, fried Whiting fish, salt and pepper calamari, garlic prawns (shrimp), and these massive things called King Prawns. I had a bit of everything. The only thing I didn't care for were the mussels. They had an odd consistency and tasted a bit too salty. But the rest of the meal was great. Not only did I enjoy the food, I enjoyed playing with it too (see picture). So good!
Wow...I can be such a child.
After lunch we took off to head back toward Tumby Bay.
In Christ,
Chris
Thuruna
As I told you in the last post, waking up at at Thuruna was an amazing experience. Though spartan and somber in its building style, the location was unbelievably idyllic. It was nestled in this little bay a few meters away from the ocean. To the left, a beach stretched to the tip of the bay's entrance. To the right, the surf pounded against a rocky tidal area. There is literally nothing else around for miles. It is quiet and peaceful.
Saturday morning (4/2) I woke up to a cool, windy, and cloudy morning. I woke before everyone and went for a walk outside. The setting was just perfect. As the sun slowly worked its way through the clouds, little bolts of light came piercing through like tubes. I was very much at peace out there and had a moment to think about my sermon (haha!) and pray.
I didn't spend a lot of time though, as I needed to go and get ready for what was go
ing to be a very busy day. By the time I was done with showering and breakfast, everybody was up. We all went outside to enjoy walking and exploring the shore. Jon told me that if you lifted the rocks, you could often find crabs hiding away. This was a lot of fun actually. Almost every rock we lifted had a little crab under it. Jon and Josh made fun of me for hesitating to pick one up, but I eventually succeeded. It was nice to just hang out as a bunch of friends.
Enjoy some of the pictures I took of the camp.
We did have a lot to do that day though. So after a bit of exploring, we made our way to the car. Before the concert that night at Tumby Bay, we were going to explore another nearby city called Port Lincoln. More on that in my next post.
In Christ,
Chris
Tumby Bay or Bust!
Part of why I was so busy earlier on during the week of March 28th was that Jon and Katie had planned a big road trip for the weekend prior to my sermon. I basically needed to have everything squared away before Friday in order to make it so I could enjoy the trip. I was pretty successful at this, finishing my outline, practicing it several times, and making sure all the aud/vid stuff was organized. Fearing I still wasn't ready, however, I was very worried about going on the trip. Eventually I decided to go anyways and I am very glad I did. I had an amazing time and I will tell you about it in the next couple of posts.
Our destination for the road trip was Tumby Bay (http://www.tumbybay.com/), a small, quaint seaside town about 8 hours away from Adelaide. Tumby Bay had randomly been selected for an annual free concert in Australia called the "One Night Stand." The concert is put on by Triple J, the Australian Broadcasting's adult-contemporary radio station here. Every year, Triple J gathers some of the biggest names in Australian music, brings them to a rural town, and throws a big party for anybody willing to come. Did I mention the concert was free? That was the best part for a cheap guy like me. Tumby Bay is also very important in the history of Hope Valley, as they apparently used to send missions teams there every year. Jon and Katie, who grew up in Hope Valley, knew the area well and knew I would love it.
So on Friday afternoon (4/1), Jon, Katie, Josh, Amy and I took off. I was pretty excited to go, as it meant another trip outside the city of Adelaide. Even though I have a very specific job while I am here at the church, any opportunity to see the country is exciting for me. The car was packed with all of us adults and our luggage. I was fairly uncomfortable. This was soothed, however, by the fact that we had brought a bunch of candy and chips in the car with us. No road trip is complete without junk food!
The country immediately surrounding Adelaide, as I have mentioned before, is very hilly. The scenery is just gorgeous. Past the hills, however, the country flattens out quite a bit. As you continue to drive north, the vegetation becomes sparser and the ground more red (just as in all the famous pictures of the Australian Outback). Though we did not go far enough inland on the trip to get this full effect, I got my first taste of what the flat, sparse, Australian Outback looked like.
Though such scenery is beautiful, it quickly becomes quite boring. We entertained ourselves in the car by playing an epic game of Catch Phrase. As a side note: They do not sell Catch Phrase in Australia. Jon and Katie brought it back with them from the States when last they visited. As such, the game is an instant hit amongst whomever we are playing with.
Jon also let me drive part of the trip. This was a welcome relief from the cramped backseat. Moreover, driving just makes me feel at rest. I am glad he let me do it. The road we were on was extremely flat at points. It literally seemed as if you see forever. Most of the roads in Australia between smaller cities are also not double-lane. Thus, getting stuck behind a slow moving vehicle is vexing. To alleviate this, scattered along the road are small sections where one side of the road widens to two lanes and allows for passing. You need to drive aggressively when this extra space is given! Another interesting thing about driving around Australia is how many warnings they give about driving while tired (perhaps because the land is so flat?). It seemed every other mile or so there was a sign telling you to take a break, that driving tired = driving dead, that there was free coffee offered at the next intersection, etc. I found this interesting.
We stopped for dinner along the way in a tiny town along the coast called Cowhill. I only mention it because the dinner we had there at the pub was really good! Being a small country town, we had expected it to not be the greatest. I ordered a beef schnitzel (thin layer of beef, lightly breaded, fried, and covered with gravy) and it was just perfect. Yum...
In the early evening we arrived at Tumby Bay. The concert was scheduled for the next night, but plenty of people had already arrived to camp in the temporary camp sites and enjoy the town. As we drove into town, Jon was pulled aside at a police checkpoint. Jon told me it was a random alcohol test and that they happened all over Australia. The police officer came up, asked the usual questions, and gave Jon a breathalyzer test right there on the roadside! Jon, of course, passed the test and we drove on our way. The idea of random tests like this baffled me so much. In America, where an officer has to have suspicion of wrong doing before pulling over a car, that would never fly. Jon says they are quite common here. If you are found over the legal limit, your license is taken away immediately. Regardless, I am glad they have such a tough policy on drunk driving.
So Jon showed us around Tumby Bay a bit and then we drove to where we were staying. Jon had actually secured some really cheap lodging for us at a Uniting church campsite a bit north of Tumby called Thuruna. Thuruna was completely off in the middle of nowhere. You drove on dirt roads for about fifteen minutes to this absolutely scary looking concrete building nestled up against the coast and in sight of no other light or building. Inside the building were a ton of rooms with bunks in them for the Uniting churches which do camps and retreats up there. It was a bit freaky having the five of us in this massive building which could easily sleep a few hundred. All we needed was room and a shower though and the price was right ($10 a night per head). It was also quite nice once you got used to it. The building sat a stone's throw away from the ocean and waking up to that view the next morning was perhaps the closest to heaven I have yet been (more on this in my next post).
That night we found a small room in the dormitory with five beds and we all bunked together. We had a wonderful night. I taught Amy and Josh how to play Euchre and they played Jon and Katie. It's good to increase love of the game stiff further ;-).
Bed was welcome after all that driving.
In Christ,
Chris
Our destination for the road trip was Tumby Bay (http://www.tumbybay.com/), a small, quaint seaside town about 8 hours away from Adelaide. Tumby Bay had randomly been selected for an annual free concert in Australia called the "One Night Stand." The concert is put on by Triple J, the Australian Broadcasting's adult-contemporary radio station here. Every year, Triple J gathers some of the biggest names in Australian music, brings them to a rural town, and throws a big party for anybody willing to come. Did I mention the concert was free? That was the best part for a cheap guy like me. Tumby Bay is also very important in the history of Hope Valley, as they apparently used to send missions teams there every year. Jon and Katie, who grew up in Hope Valley, knew the area well and knew I would love it.
So on Friday afternoon (4/1), Jon, Katie, Josh, Amy and I took off. I was pretty excited to go, as it meant another trip outside the city of Adelaide. Even though I have a very specific job while I am here at the church, any opportunity to see the country is exciting for me. The car was packed with all of us adults and our luggage. I was fairly uncomfortable. This was soothed, however, by the fact that we had brought a bunch of candy and chips in the car with us. No road trip is complete without junk food!
The country immediately surrounding Adelaide, as I have mentioned before, is very hilly. The scenery is just gorgeous. Past the hills, however, the country flattens out quite a bit. As you continue to drive north, the vegetation becomes sparser and the ground more red (just as in all the famous pictures of the Australian Outback). Though we did not go far enough inland on the trip to get this full effect, I got my first taste of what the flat, sparse, Australian Outback looked like.
Though such scenery is beautiful, it quickly becomes quite boring. We entertained ourselves in the car by playing an epic game of Catch Phrase. As a side note: They do not sell Catch Phrase in Australia. Jon and Katie brought it back with them from the States when last they visited. As such, the game is an instant hit amongst whomever we are playing with.
Jon also let me drive part of the trip. This was a welcome relief from the cramped backseat. Moreover, driving just makes me feel at rest. I am glad he let me do it. The road we were on was extremely flat at points. It literally seemed as if you see forever. Most of the roads in Australia between smaller cities are also not double-lane. Thus, getting stuck behind a slow moving vehicle is vexing. To alleviate this, scattered along the road are small sections where one side of the road widens to two lanes and allows for passing. You need to drive aggressively when this extra space is given! Another interesting thing about driving around Australia is how many warnings they give about driving while tired (perhaps because the land is so flat?). It seemed every other mile or so there was a sign telling you to take a break, that driving tired = driving dead, that there was free coffee offered at the next intersection, etc. I found this interesting.
We stopped for dinner along the way in a tiny town along the coast called Cowhill. I only mention it because the dinner we had there at the pub was really good! Being a small country town, we had expected it to not be the greatest. I ordered a beef schnitzel (thin layer of beef, lightly breaded, fried, and covered with gravy) and it was just perfect. Yum...
In the early evening we arrived at Tumby Bay. The concert was scheduled for the next night, but plenty of people had already arrived to camp in the temporary camp sites and enjoy the town. As we drove into town, Jon was pulled aside at a police checkpoint. Jon told me it was a random alcohol test and that they happened all over Australia. The police officer came up, asked the usual questions, and gave Jon a breathalyzer test right there on the roadside! Jon, of course, passed the test and we drove on our way. The idea of random tests like this baffled me so much. In America, where an officer has to have suspicion of wrong doing before pulling over a car, that would never fly. Jon says they are quite common here. If you are found over the legal limit, your license is taken away immediately. Regardless, I am glad they have such a tough policy on drunk driving.
So Jon showed us around Tumby Bay a bit and then we drove to where we were staying. Jon had actually secured some really cheap lodging for us at a Uniting church campsite a bit north of Tumby called Thuruna. Thuruna was completely off in the middle of nowhere. You drove on dirt roads for about fifteen minutes to this absolutely scary looking concrete building nestled up against the coast and in sight of no other light or building. Inside the building were a ton of rooms with bunks in them for the Uniting churches which do camps and retreats up there. It was a bit freaky having the five of us in this massive building which could easily sleep a few hundred. All we needed was room and a shower though and the price was right ($10 a night per head). It was also quite nice once you got used to it. The building sat a stone's throw away from the ocean and waking up to that view the next morning was perhaps the closest to heaven I have yet been (more on this in my next post).
That night we found a small room in the dormitory with five beds and we all bunked together. We had a wonderful night. I taught Amy and Josh how to play Euchre and they played Jon and Katie. It's good to increase love of the game stiff further ;-).
Bed was welcome after all that driving.
In Christ,
Chris
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Working with Hope
The week of March 28 was spent pretty much exclusively at the church doing work. There were not any random excursions and adventures to tell you about. Why? Well...above and beyond my normal duties and projects here at Hope Valley, I also was scheduled to preach that Sunday (4/3) during the 6:00 service. The pastors here all thought it would be an important part of my discerning a call to ministry if I had opportunity to preach. So they were more than happy to give me some time slots between now and when I leave.
Having only preached once before from the pulpit in my life (the week before coming to Australia actually), this occupied my mind for the whole week. Sermon prep is hard work! I said it after I prepped my first sermon and I say it again now: I admire pastors for the work that they put into preparing a sermon. It is an activity that is always on your mind. You never "check-out" or "get off work" when it comes to sermon prep. At any time, a great idea could hit you and you need to be prepared to write it down and incorporate it into the message. God is faithful to those wanting to preach his word, but He is not always timely with his inspiration!
So I had this sermon for which I had to prep. I will talk more of it in my next post.
Since I was at the church and not out doing a lot of stuff, it seems fitting to talk a bit about the pastors with whom I am working. They are all just wonderful and I pray that I have been as much of a blessing to them as they are to me. I could say so much about these wonderful guys, but I will just briefly introduce them.
First, there is Kynan Brookes (at right). Kynan is the senior pastor at the church and largely in charge of the team of pastors under him. He is an amazing man of God with a real gift in the area of equipping and strengthening those around him to exercise their spiritual giftedness. He is a man with amazing vision and clarity of purpose. Under his leadership, the church raised nearly 1.4 million dollars for a recently completed building campaign! He is truly a charismatic and inspiring leader. He is also a gifted expositor of scripture and a delight to hear from the pulpit. I hope to learn much about preaching by watching his subdued, calm, and collected style of delivery. I admire him quite a bit and am honored to learn about ministry under him.
Second, there is Roger Brook (at right). Roger is the pastor in charge of missions here at Hope Valley. He also works part-time as a lecturer of pastoral care at the local Uniting College. He is an amazing communicator of truth and a calm, reverent man of God. I am very comfortable talking to him about just anything (and I have). He is a man who genuinely cares about people and living a life characterized by Christ's mission of love. He is the one who organized, for example, the "Feed the Homeless" events I have been attending. He is constantly trying to get the members of the church to see their lives in light of a greater mission. To this end, I think he is very successful. Under his leadership, the church has several thriving local missions in addition to a annual yearly mission to Bali. His heart and how he encourages people to take part in the mission of the Church is really inspiring. I am learning a lot from watching him. Roger is also an excellent preacher from the pulpit. He has a very kind and compassionate approach to speaking without sacrificing truth or opportunities for response. Wow! He has really taken me under his wings too. For this I am glad.
Third, there is Darren Shelton (at right). Darren is our worship pastor and he does an excellent job therein. Unlike many churches, where the worship pastor leads most of the worship, Darren is the head of a huge number of "teams" which he organizes every week for each of the thr
ee services. Though he is a fine musician and singer himself, he rarely is actually up leading worship. Darren's worship teams are service specific and, as such, can really cater to the mood and tone sought for each service. For the 9:00 am service, there are a bunch of older people who lead in hymns and older worship songs. At both the10:30 am and 6:00 pm service, he has a full worship band on stage. The teams stay the same and rotate with the weeks. The system is really quite ingenious. I am not sure how many members of the church are involved on all the teams combined, but it is a big number. As an administrator and facilitator of this massive operation, I admire Darren. I don't think I could do that part of the job!
More personally, Darren is man with sound reason and a calm, principled faith. He has a heart for ministry to men and leads the church's men's small group. This is one of the strongest and most successful men's Bible studies I have ever seen in any church. It is amazing to see him as the charismatic leader of so many guys that just want to come and increase the faith. Darren is the real deal when it comes to working in this environment. Darren also has an evangelist's heart and is always talking of taking advantage of evangelism opportunities and being aware of them (in this, specifically, he has taught me a lot). Combine this with his strong love of worship and Darren makes a wonderful addition to the team.
Fourth, there is Dave Green (at right). Dave is the children's pastor here at Hope Valley and he is amazing at it. There are few people in my life which I think are truly anointed to work with kids. Dave is one. Interestingly enough, many here have described me as "reminding of them of Dave." I wonder how I should take that?!? Dave is very energetic, easily distracted, somewhat unorganized, and a master at building relationships. He is an ex-salesman and he takes those skills into the ministry. He is an amazingly easy person with which to strike up a conversation. He is encouraging, lively, and easy-going. He is a man who knows that relationships and genuine care for people builds the Kingdom. Moreover, he doesn't see his role as a children's pastor as an end in itself, but as a way through which to reach whole families. That is why he eagerly does things like sponsoring weekly playgroups for area mothers to bring their kids to play at. Through such means as these, I have seen him bring whole families into the church. Amazing! Dave also knows how to encourage and uplift everybody around them. He is really a delight to work with. Moreover, he has a lot of work and is very eager to hand some of it my way! I don't mind at all ;-). I love working with the kids here.
The fifth pastor on staff here (and another part-timer like Roger) is Jon Joyce, my good friend and host. Jon is the young adults pastor here at Hope Valley. The position sounds like a very interesting one, as most churches don't have one like it. It is definitely a n
eeded position here, however, as the young adult portion of the congregation is huge. So Jon's job is to pour into their very specific needs, organize their life groups, and lead the 6:00 pm service here (which is geared toward this group). Jon is a pretty busy guy! Between him and Dave, I can find all the work I need. It is an honor to help and serve him though.
Jon is another pastor whom I can't say enough about. Jon is a deeply sincere, devoted, genuine, and honest man. Moreover, he cares deeply for those under his care. In many ways he is my opposite when it comes to gifts and "comfort-zones." So it is inspiring to see how he works with people, how he goes after a task with all his heart, how he doesn't need lots of time to think it through. His mannerisms and passions make him perfect for working with the group he does. Jon also does some preaching in the 6:00 pm service. He has impressed me very much the few times I have seen him do so.
So there you have it...
Like I said, I could go on forever about these guys. I find it unbelievably cool that God brought these men together in one place. Between them, I think they have all the necessary skills to lead a strong church and bring revival to the area. It is astounding to thing how well they fit together. Kynan is the visionary, charismatic leader bringing out the best in everyone. Roger keeps the vision of the church firmly rooted within the call to minister to the community at home and abroad. Darren's heart for evangelism keeps that central to the mission of the church. Dave, with his unbelievable ability to build relationships and break down barriers, keeps that relational perspective always before the eyes of the staff. Jon and his organized, "go-getter" personality can execute anything and just make things happen. Between them, I reckon they could be unstoppable....the pastoral "Fab 5."
I wish I knew what I brought to th
em though. I would like to think that I have something to offer these men in the ministry here. Hopefully when all is said and done, these guys will be able to tell me just what that was.
As evidence that my praise is well-founded, God is doing some amazing things here. These are the men he has chosen to be at the helm of this church. I am honored to be a part of that process and honored to call all these men my friends and my brothers in Christ.
In Christ,
Chris
Having only preached once before from the pulpit in my life (the week before coming to Australia actually), this occupied my mind for the whole week. Sermon prep is hard work! I said it after I prepped my first sermon and I say it again now: I admire pastors for the work that they put into preparing a sermon. It is an activity that is always on your mind. You never "check-out" or "get off work" when it comes to sermon prep. At any time, a great idea could hit you and you need to be prepared to write it down and incorporate it into the message. God is faithful to those wanting to preach his word, but He is not always timely with his inspiration!
So I had this sermon for which I had to prep. I will talk more of it in my next post.
Since I was at the church and not out doing a lot of stuff, it seems fitting to talk a bit about the pastors with whom I am working. They are all just wonderful and I pray that I have been as much of a blessing to them as they are to me. I could say so much about these wonderful guys, but I will just briefly introduce them.
First, there is Kynan Brookes (at right). Kynan is the senior pastor at the church and largely in charge of the team of pastors under him. He is an amazing man of God with a real gift in the area of equipping and strengthening those around him to exercise their spiritual giftedness. He is a man with amazing vision and clarity of purpose. Under his leadership, the church raised nearly 1.4 million dollars for a recently completed building campaign! He is truly a charismatic and inspiring leader. He is also a gifted expositor of scripture and a delight to hear from the pulpit. I hope to learn much about preaching by watching his subdued, calm, and collected style of delivery. I admire him quite a bit and am honored to learn about ministry under him.
Second, there is Roger Brook (at right). Roger is the pastor in charge of missions here at Hope Valley. He also works part-time as a lecturer of pastoral care at the local Uniting College. He is an amazing communicator of truth and a calm, reverent man of God. I am very comfortable talking to him about just anything (and I have). He is a man who genuinely cares about people and living a life characterized by Christ's mission of love. He is the one who organized, for example, the "Feed the Homeless" events I have been attending. He is constantly trying to get the members of the church to see their lives in light of a greater mission. To this end, I think he is very successful. Under his leadership, the church has several thriving local missions in addition to a annual yearly mission to Bali. His heart and how he encourages people to take part in the mission of the Church is really inspiring. I am learning a lot from watching him. Roger is also an excellent preacher from the pulpit. He has a very kind and compassionate approach to speaking without sacrificing truth or opportunities for response. Wow! He has really taken me under his wings too. For this I am glad.
Third, there is Darren Shelton (at right). Darren is our worship pastor and he does an excellent job therein. Unlike many churches, where the worship pastor leads most of the worship, Darren is the head of a huge number of "teams" which he organizes every week for each of the thr
ee services. Though he is a fine musician and singer himself, he rarely is actually up leading worship. Darren's worship teams are service specific and, as such, can really cater to the mood and tone sought for each service. For the 9:00 am service, there are a bunch of older people who lead in hymns and older worship songs. At both the10:30 am and 6:00 pm service, he has a full worship band on stage. The teams stay the same and rotate with the weeks. The system is really quite ingenious. I am not sure how many members of the church are involved on all the teams combined, but it is a big number. As an administrator and facilitator of this massive operation, I admire Darren. I don't think I could do that part of the job!More personally, Darren is man with sound reason and a calm, principled faith. He has a heart for ministry to men and leads the church's men's small group. This is one of the strongest and most successful men's Bible studies I have ever seen in any church. It is amazing to see him as the charismatic leader of so many guys that just want to come and increase the faith. Darren is the real deal when it comes to working in this environment. Darren also has an evangelist's heart and is always talking of taking advantage of evangelism opportunities and being aware of them (in this, specifically, he has taught me a lot). Combine this with his strong love of worship and Darren makes a wonderful addition to the team.
Fourth, there is Dave Green (at right). Dave is the children's pastor here at Hope Valley and he is amazing at it. There are few people in my life which I think are truly anointed to work with kids. Dave is one. Interestingly enough, many here have described me as "reminding of them of Dave." I wonder how I should take that?!? Dave is very energetic, easily distracted, somewhat unorganized, and a master at building relationships. He is an ex-salesman and he takes those skills into the ministry. He is an amazingly easy person with which to strike up a conversation. He is encouraging, lively, and easy-going. He is a man who knows that relationships and genuine care for people builds the Kingdom. Moreover, he doesn't see his role as a children's pastor as an end in itself, but as a way through which to reach whole families. That is why he eagerly does things like sponsoring weekly playgroups for area mothers to bring their kids to play at. Through such means as these, I have seen him bring whole families into the church. Amazing! Dave also knows how to encourage and uplift everybody around them. He is really a delight to work with. Moreover, he has a lot of work and is very eager to hand some of it my way! I don't mind at all ;-). I love working with the kids here.
The fifth pastor on staff here (and another part-timer like Roger) is Jon Joyce, my good friend and host. Jon is the young adults pastor here at Hope Valley. The position sounds like a very interesting one, as most churches don't have one like it. It is definitely a n
eeded position here, however, as the young adult portion of the congregation is huge. So Jon's job is to pour into their very specific needs, organize their life groups, and lead the 6:00 pm service here (which is geared toward this group). Jon is a pretty busy guy! Between him and Dave, I can find all the work I need. It is an honor to help and serve him though.Jon is another pastor whom I can't say enough about. Jon is a deeply sincere, devoted, genuine, and honest man. Moreover, he cares deeply for those under his care. In many ways he is my opposite when it comes to gifts and "comfort-zones." So it is inspiring to see how he works with people, how he goes after a task with all his heart, how he doesn't need lots of time to think it through. His mannerisms and passions make him perfect for working with the group he does. Jon also does some preaching in the 6:00 pm service. He has impressed me very much the few times I have seen him do so.
So there you have it...
Like I said, I could go on forever about these guys. I find it unbelievably cool that God brought these men together in one place. Between them, I think they have all the necessary skills to lead a strong church and bring revival to the area. It is astounding to thing how well they fit together. Kynan is the visionary, charismatic leader bringing out the best in everyone. Roger keeps the vision of the church firmly rooted within the call to minister to the community at home and abroad. Darren's heart for evangelism keeps that central to the mission of the church. Dave, with his unbelievable ability to build relationships and break down barriers, keeps that relational perspective always before the eyes of the staff. Jon and his organized, "go-getter" personality can execute anything and just make things happen. Between them, I reckon they could be unstoppable....the pastoral "Fab 5."
I wish I knew what I brought to th
em though. I would like to think that I have something to offer these men in the ministry here. Hopefully when all is said and done, these guys will be able to tell me just what that was.As evidence that my praise is well-founded, God is doing some amazing things here. These are the men he has chosen to be at the helm of this church. I am honored to be a part of that process and honored to call all these men my friends and my brothers in Christ.
In Christ,
Chris
Friday, April 8, 2011
KCO (Kids Campout) for the win.
The weekend of March 26-27 was the Uniting Church's Kids Camp Out. Ever
y year, the Uniting Churches of South Australia gather those kids who want to attend from the grades 2-7 for a one-night camp. With some 2000 people attending this year, it's a pretty massive event. Usually, the kids come and take over a large RV camping park. Each church is responsible for supplying its own lodging (tents) and food for the whole event. There is programming for the entire time, but there is quite a bit of downtime as well to just hang out as a church family. It is an interesting setup. I enjoyed it.
Anyways....Hope Valley was sending a portion of its children along with a whole mess of leaders. I was asked by the children's pastor to go along. He knew of my experience in camping ministry and thought I would be helpful with playing games and general entertainment of the group during downtime. Since I am here to serve and it would be a good opportunity to get out of the city, I agreed.
The day before (25 March) was spent busily preparing for the arrival of the kids. In the morning I helped Dave, the children's pastor, gather a few things together and hook up his camper. By mid-afternoon we had left with a whole carpool of about eight guys to set up our campsite. We drove into the Barassa, which is a famous wine region of South Australia and very beautiful. Upon arriving at the site, we began setting up the tents. We barely had enough loaned to us to house all of Hope Valley's kids (nearly 60!). We set up four tents for the girls, three for the boys, one for food storage, and a big pavilion to eat under. It took us several hours and we worked up an appetite. Dave went and bought us all pizza as a thank you for volunteering. The pizza was delicious (and ought to have been at $23 a pie).
Most of the guys took off for home after dinner. A few of us just stayed overnight, as we were needed the rest of the weekend. Dave brought his camper up. So for the first night, I had a comfortable couch to sleep on.
In the morning, I moved into my tent (ugh...I hate tents) and the kids started arriving. I h
elped with registration and getting things around. The rest of the weekend from this point was dominated by programming. I will spare you the minute by minute and just give the highlights and observations.
1.) The food was amazing. Our church did such a good job feeding these kids well (and me!). Australians seem to take a million-and-one different breaks for food: breakfast, tea, lunch, tea, supper, and dinner before bed. That is a lot of food!
2.) Remember when I blogged about Iced coffee? Well let's just say that there is no way on this planet that caffeinated, sugar drinks should be sold to children without limit and at low costs. No. This is wrong and an abuse of all volunteer staff.
3.) One of the other Uniting churches from the country, Lameroo, had arranged a while back to share meals with us for the weekend. Hope Valley has a huge barbecue trailer for such events and Lameroo didn't have the resources we did. So we had all our meals with these really interesting kids from a small country town of South Australia. I thought the partnership was great between a well-resourced city church and a country one.
4.) Though the camp is for kids, grades 2-7, it seems most of the programming could only appeal to a younger set of kids. I was in charge of a group of older boys for the weekend (see above picture). They were way too "cool" for all the (admittedly) childish things the camp was doing. I think the KCO board needs to consider how to better pour into the older kids. Either that, or acknowledge that you can't and don't invite them. It was a wrestling match the entire weekend to get the boys interested and engaged. I can honestly say that I failed in this.
5.) Since this was not a Hope Valley event, but a Uniting Church event, the content was a bit suspect. I have already told you in this blog that the greater Uniting Church is fairly liberal and open-minded. The camp reflected this tendency. There was no real gospel message,
no real attempt at evangelism, no altar call, no concrete Biblical teachings. This really bothered me, as I believe ministry must hinge upon these things. Camping ministry, where you only have kids for a short time, needs to hinge on these critical sort of teachings.
The religious theme for the weekend was "I Wonder." When all was said and done, the central message of the camp was that if we ask questions about God and "wonder" about Him, it proves we are interested in Him and wanting to know Him better. What sort of a vague, wishy-washy message is that? I know plenty of people that wonder an awful lot about God and never come into any sort of an understanding of how a relationship with him ought to look. I was bothered by this quite a bit. Where is Jesus? Where is the gospel? Indeed, when I got in front of all the kids (which i will get to in a second) and mentioned that Jesus loved them, it was almost as if a shock went over them. It was one of the only times Jesus had been mentioned the entire weekend. Now, maybe I just don't understand how to evangelize in Australia. Perhaps the KCO leaders are well intentioned and have thought this all through. I will not assume I am right. I am sad to think, however, that this is the direction such a fine evangelism opportunity would take.
6.) Dave was constantly asking me to lead games and songs with the kids. I was happy to do this, of course. I love working with kids and I love playing around with them and watching smiles inch across their faces. It reminds me of how much childlike joy and faith we ought to have when we approach God. The kids loved my games and songs. I pulled out all of my old Camp Michindoh favorites (thank you Michindoh for such valuable training).
7.) But word had gotten around that I was pretty good entertaining and working with kids. One of the leaders of the activities (not the teachings) for the weekend, Renee Orchard, was actually a Hope Valley lady. She approached me a bit earlier in the week and asked me if I would be willing to emcee an aspect of Saturday evening's programming. Without realizing what I was getting myself into, I said yes.
This is was how things went down: At night, the whole mass of kids were to be split into two groups. One group would stay at the main stage and watch an Australian singer named Sean W. Smith (apparently quite famous in children's church circles). The other group would go across camp to another area for a time of activities titled, "It's a Knockout." After a bit of time the two groups would switch. Renee had asked me to emcee "It's a Knockout." What I basically had to do was lead a bunch of silly games for the adult leaders to do on stage and the kids to laugh at. I would fill time, select adults victims, explain the games, encourage applause, and the whole works. Ok....sounds easy, right?
Well I got to thinking that day about the likelihood of entertaining a bunch of kids solely by letting them watch others play games. Even the funniest of games could not keep a kid's attention for 45 or so minutes. Right? That is what I thought anyways. So I asked Renee if I had the liberty to add in my own things, tell my own jokes, get the kids involved in some songs and activities themselves. That was cool with her.
So I arranged to get a hands free microphone (a must for someone as energetic as I am) and ran through sound tests and the whole works. Each group I would be speaking in front of was nearly 1000 people. That's outrageous! Imagine little me, standing in front of hundreds of screaming kids. I have never had to entertain that amount of people. I have to admit that I was really nervous (to the point of throwing up).
But the long and short of it was that everything went fine. I pulled out all the stops I knew to keep the attention, boost participation, and help them have a good time. I had to yell nearly the entire time though, as I had kids cheering and hollering for every second of the games. It was good. I almost felt like a natural up there.
I was introduced, made a few jokes about America, and started in on the games. These were just plain silly. We had a doughnut-on-a-string eating contest, a game that involved shaving another person's face blind-folded with a plastic spoon, a wacky cross-dressing relay--etc. In between the games I would tell jokes or get the kids going crazy about some aspect of Australian culture (like Kangaroos and "lollies"). When I felt I was losing their attention, I got everybody up to sing a silly song or play an easy game like Grrrahhh. The kids loved it all (I hope).
It was a real rush for me. I even got a gospel message in (which seemed to shock them, as I said above). Right when I came on stage I said something like this: "I came all the way from America because Jesus loves me and He wanted me to tell you that He loves you too. He loves you so much he died for you. And because of that we are forgiven, we can live free, and we can have fun. Which is what we are about to do..." You know, something really simple like that. I didn't think much about it at the time. The next day, however, I started asking random kids why I was at the camp. Their response always had to do with that statement. It had sunk in! They didn't look at me blankly or say something strange, they told me it was because I loved Jesus and wanted them to know that. God used just a sentence to make an impact on some lives. With that in perspective, all the yelling, nerves, and spent energy were repaid thousands of times over.
I wish my friends back home could have seen it.
8.) I didn't sleep a wink that Saturday night. Seriously, I doubt I fell asleep at all. Which was funny because I was sleeping on a cot. My back was just killing me the whole night. Perhaps I am just getting older than I want to admit. There is no reason why my back should have hurt so bad--I am 23!
9.) I completely and utterly lost my voice by the end of the weekend. After playing games with the Hope Valley kids and yelling over the collected voices of thousands more at "It's a Knockout," it was gone. I guess my vocal chords are not in the same shape they used to be when I was working with kids full time at camp.
10.) People were very grateful for all that I did that weekend. I received so m
any thank you's and compliments. Some people were even saying that my activities had saved the whole KCO experience (a fact I am not claiming). Everywhere I looked, the kids were singing the songs and playing the games I had taught them the night before. I reckon they all went home to their churches still singing and playing. Perhaps I single-handedly annoyed every parent throughout the Uniting churches of South Australia. Haha!
In all seriousness though, it seems I did leave a legacy. Maybe they will want to fly me out next year to lead the camp in "Boom Chicka Boom." :-)
A few days later, there was a message left at the church telling Hope Valley how great its "new minister" had been with the kids. That made me laugh. I am just a punk kid who doesn't know where his life is headed. I am honored and humbled. God be praised. Also...I thank Dave Turner, Steph Riebe, Terry Bayer, Eric Knauff, and Camp Michindoh in general for teaching me so much about working with kids. I don't think it is a natural gift of mine.
So that was KCO in a nutshell. I had a great time with the kids and just pouring the love of God over them. I was upset about the evangelistic focus of the camp, but some things you can't change. What I am responsible for--bearing witness to the truth of Christ's love--I did.
Sleep on Sunday night was great :-).
In Christ,
Chris
y year, the Uniting Churches of South Australia gather those kids who want to attend from the grades 2-7 for a one-night camp. With some 2000 people attending this year, it's a pretty massive event. Usually, the kids come and take over a large RV camping park. Each church is responsible for supplying its own lodging (tents) and food for the whole event. There is programming for the entire time, but there is quite a bit of downtime as well to just hang out as a church family. It is an interesting setup. I enjoyed it.Anyways....Hope Valley was sending a portion of its children along with a whole mess of leaders. I was asked by the children's pastor to go along. He knew of my experience in camping ministry and thought I would be helpful with playing games and general entertainment of the group during downtime. Since I am here to serve and it would be a good opportunity to get out of the city, I agreed.
The day before (25 March) was spent busily preparing for the arrival of the kids. In the morning I helped Dave, the children's pastor, gather a few things together and hook up his camper. By mid-afternoon we had left with a whole carpool of about eight guys to set up our campsite. We drove into the Barassa, which is a famous wine region of South Australia and very beautiful. Upon arriving at the site, we began setting up the tents. We barely had enough loaned to us to house all of Hope Valley's kids (nearly 60!). We set up four tents for the girls, three for the boys, one for food storage, and a big pavilion to eat under. It took us several hours and we worked up an appetite. Dave went and bought us all pizza as a thank you for volunteering. The pizza was delicious (and ought to have been at $23 a pie).
Most of the guys took off for home after dinner. A few of us just stayed overnight, as we were needed the rest of the weekend. Dave brought his camper up. So for the first night, I had a comfortable couch to sleep on.
In the morning, I moved into my tent (ugh...I hate tents) and the kids started arriving. I h
elped with registration and getting things around. The rest of the weekend from this point was dominated by programming. I will spare you the minute by minute and just give the highlights and observations.1.) The food was amazing. Our church did such a good job feeding these kids well (and me!). Australians seem to take a million-and-one different breaks for food: breakfast, tea, lunch, tea, supper, and dinner before bed. That is a lot of food!
2.) Remember when I blogged about Iced coffee? Well let's just say that there is no way on this planet that caffeinated, sugar drinks should be sold to children without limit and at low costs. No. This is wrong and an abuse of all volunteer staff.
3.) One of the other Uniting churches from the country, Lameroo, had arranged a while back to share meals with us for the weekend. Hope Valley has a huge barbecue trailer for such events and Lameroo didn't have the resources we did. So we had all our meals with these really interesting kids from a small country town of South Australia. I thought the partnership was great between a well-resourced city church and a country one.
4.) Though the camp is for kids, grades 2-7, it seems most of the programming could only appeal to a younger set of kids. I was in charge of a group of older boys for the weekend (see above picture). They were way too "cool" for all the (admittedly) childish things the camp was doing. I think the KCO board needs to consider how to better pour into the older kids. Either that, or acknowledge that you can't and don't invite them. It was a wrestling match the entire weekend to get the boys interested and engaged. I can honestly say that I failed in this.
5.) Since this was not a Hope Valley event, but a Uniting Church event, the content was a bit suspect. I have already told you in this blog that the greater Uniting Church is fairly liberal and open-minded. The camp reflected this tendency. There was no real gospel message,
no real attempt at evangelism, no altar call, no concrete Biblical teachings. This really bothered me, as I believe ministry must hinge upon these things. Camping ministry, where you only have kids for a short time, needs to hinge on these critical sort of teachings. The religious theme for the weekend was "I Wonder." When all was said and done, the central message of the camp was that if we ask questions about God and "wonder" about Him, it proves we are interested in Him and wanting to know Him better. What sort of a vague, wishy-washy message is that? I know plenty of people that wonder an awful lot about God and never come into any sort of an understanding of how a relationship with him ought to look. I was bothered by this quite a bit. Where is Jesus? Where is the gospel? Indeed, when I got in front of all the kids (which i will get to in a second) and mentioned that Jesus loved them, it was almost as if a shock went over them. It was one of the only times Jesus had been mentioned the entire weekend. Now, maybe I just don't understand how to evangelize in Australia. Perhaps the KCO leaders are well intentioned and have thought this all through. I will not assume I am right. I am sad to think, however, that this is the direction such a fine evangelism opportunity would take.
6.) Dave was constantly asking me to lead games and songs with the kids. I was happy to do this, of course. I love working with kids and I love playing around with them and watching smiles inch across their faces. It reminds me of how much childlike joy and faith we ought to have when we approach God. The kids loved my games and songs. I pulled out all of my old Camp Michindoh favorites (thank you Michindoh for such valuable training).
7.) But word had gotten around that I was pretty good entertaining and working with kids. One of the leaders of the activities (not the teachings) for the weekend, Renee Orchard, was actually a Hope Valley lady. She approached me a bit earlier in the week and asked me if I would be willing to emcee an aspect of Saturday evening's programming. Without realizing what I was getting myself into, I said yes.
This is was how things went down: At night, the whole mass of kids were to be split into two groups. One group would stay at the main stage and watch an Australian singer named Sean W. Smith (apparently quite famous in children's church circles). The other group would go across camp to another area for a time of activities titled, "It's a Knockout." After a bit of time the two groups would switch. Renee had asked me to emcee "It's a Knockout." What I basically had to do was lead a bunch of silly games for the adult leaders to do on stage and the kids to laugh at. I would fill time, select adults victims, explain the games, encourage applause, and the whole works. Ok....sounds easy, right?
Well I got to thinking that day about the likelihood of entertaining a bunch of kids solely by letting them watch others play games. Even the funniest of games could not keep a kid's attention for 45 or so minutes. Right? That is what I thought anyways. So I asked Renee if I had the liberty to add in my own things, tell my own jokes, get the kids involved in some songs and activities themselves. That was cool with her.
So I arranged to get a hands free microphone (a must for someone as energetic as I am) and ran through sound tests and the whole works. Each group I would be speaking in front of was nearly 1000 people. That's outrageous! Imagine little me, standing in front of hundreds of screaming kids. I have never had to entertain that amount of people. I have to admit that I was really nervous (to the point of throwing up).
But the long and short of it was that everything went fine. I pulled out all the stops I knew to keep the attention, boost participation, and help them have a good time. I had to yell nearly the entire time though, as I had kids cheering and hollering for every second of the games. It was good. I almost felt like a natural up there.
I was introduced, made a few jokes about America, and started in on the games. These were just plain silly. We had a doughnut-on-a-string eating contest, a game that involved shaving another person's face blind-folded with a plastic spoon, a wacky cross-dressing relay--etc. In between the games I would tell jokes or get the kids going crazy about some aspect of Australian culture (like Kangaroos and "lollies"). When I felt I was losing their attention, I got everybody up to sing a silly song or play an easy game like Grrrahhh. The kids loved it all (I hope).
It was a real rush for me. I even got a gospel message in (which seemed to shock them, as I said above). Right when I came on stage I said something like this: "I came all the way from America because Jesus loves me and He wanted me to tell you that He loves you too. He loves you so much he died for you. And because of that we are forgiven, we can live free, and we can have fun. Which is what we are about to do..." You know, something really simple like that. I didn't think much about it at the time. The next day, however, I started asking random kids why I was at the camp. Their response always had to do with that statement. It had sunk in! They didn't look at me blankly or say something strange, they told me it was because I loved Jesus and wanted them to know that. God used just a sentence to make an impact on some lives. With that in perspective, all the yelling, nerves, and spent energy were repaid thousands of times over.
I wish my friends back home could have seen it.
8.) I didn't sleep a wink that Saturday night. Seriously, I doubt I fell asleep at all. Which was funny because I was sleeping on a cot. My back was just killing me the whole night. Perhaps I am just getting older than I want to admit. There is no reason why my back should have hurt so bad--I am 23!
9.) I completely and utterly lost my voice by the end of the weekend. After playing games with the Hope Valley kids and yelling over the collected voices of thousands more at "It's a Knockout," it was gone. I guess my vocal chords are not in the same shape they used to be when I was working with kids full time at camp.
10.) People were very grateful for all that I did that weekend. I received so m
any thank you's and compliments. Some people were even saying that my activities had saved the whole KCO experience (a fact I am not claiming). Everywhere I looked, the kids were singing the songs and playing the games I had taught them the night before. I reckon they all went home to their churches still singing and playing. Perhaps I single-handedly annoyed every parent throughout the Uniting churches of South Australia. Haha! In all seriousness though, it seems I did leave a legacy. Maybe they will want to fly me out next year to lead the camp in "Boom Chicka Boom." :-)
A few days later, there was a message left at the church telling Hope Valley how great its "new minister" had been with the kids. That made me laugh. I am just a punk kid who doesn't know where his life is headed. I am honored and humbled. God be praised. Also...I thank Dave Turner, Steph Riebe, Terry Bayer, Eric Knauff, and Camp Michindoh in general for teaching me so much about working with kids. I don't think it is a natural gift of mine.
So that was KCO in a nutshell. I had a great time with the kids and just pouring the love of God over them. I was upset about the evangelistic focus of the camp, but some things you can't change. What I am responsible for--bearing witness to the truth of Christ's love--I did.
Sleep on Sunday night was great :-).
In Christ,
Chris
Thursday, April 7, 2011
A failed attempt at my life (group)
A couple of posts ago, I talked about how Hope Valley operates a series of "Life Groups" within the church to get people engaged in the faith outside of the Sunday setting.
In a never ending effort to run enough groups for everyone in the congregation, Jon and I started leading one. We planned to meet every other Wednesday night, making the 23rd of March our first meeting. Unfortunately, enough people ended up canceling throughout the day that we had to cancel the whole thing. Bummer!
And we totally had a ton of muffins ready for eating! (More for me? Yes...)
So instead of having our life group, we invited a good friend, Matt, over for some ice cream, muffins, and Euchre. Euchre? Yes, you heard right. They don't really play it much over here, but I told Jon and Katie it would fun for me to teach them. They were pretty good students actually and I think all involved liked the game a fair bit.
So there you have it: I am doing my fair part to spread the glories of Euchre. Though Des Joyce tells me that he used to play all the time. Perhaps I will find some hardcore Euchre players while I am here :-).
In Christ,
Chris
In a never ending effort to run enough groups for everyone in the congregation, Jon and I started leading one. We planned to meet every other Wednesday night, making the 23rd of March our first meeting. Unfortunately, enough people ended up canceling throughout the day that we had to cancel the whole thing. Bummer!
And we totally had a ton of muffins ready for eating! (More for me? Yes...)
So instead of having our life group, we invited a good friend, Matt, over for some ice cream, muffins, and Euchre. Euchre? Yes, you heard right. They don't really play it much over here, but I told Jon and Katie it would fun for me to teach them. They were pretty good students actually and I think all involved liked the game a fair bit.
So there you have it: I am doing my fair part to spread the glories of Euchre. Though Des Joyce tells me that he used to play all the time. Perhaps I will find some hardcore Euchre players while I am here :-).
In Christ,
Chris
Slave Labor
Tuesday (3/22) I helped the children's pastor here, Dave Green, build a retaining wall at his house. This was back-breaking, excruciating and grueling work (not really). It was good though as I had a chance to work with some of the men of the church who were also out helping.
Afterward, I was rewarded by a lovely dinner of beef roast at Jon's parent's house. Jon's parents--Des and Carol--are lovely people and I enjoy their company quite a bit. Carol is also quite the cook :-).
In Christ,
Chris
Afterward, I was rewarded by a lovely dinner of beef roast at Jon's parent's house. Jon's parents--Des and Carol--are lovely people and I enjoy their company quite a bit. Carol is also quite the cook :-).
In Christ,
Chris
Pastor Lunch
On Sunday (3/20) I had two important roles at the church
First off, I had to help teach the reception (kindergarten) Sunday School class. Anybody who knows me well, knows that this is the most uncomfortable place for me to be in. I love working with kids, but it tends to be that I only like the older kids. I feel so vulnerable around the little tikes, as I am bad with crowd control at that age. The problem is, kids at that age seem to love me! It makes it a real "catch-22." I had a good time with the kids though. We played a game of "telephone" which the kids here call "Chinese Whisperers." The Australians are so much more politically incorrect than we are in many ways ;-). They also have a little candy confection called "Chicos" which is represented by a little black boy. It makes me laugh. We Americans think about that stuff WAY to much.
After morning church, we had a "Meet the Pastors Lunch" for the newer members of the congregation. I was invited along to help with the meeting and the greeting part of things. This was good fun actually (though I am not terribly good at the whole meeting people thing). I met a really interesting Korean man. I thought that was neat. I can't say I have ever spoken with a Korean before. The church here is really quite diverse, I have found. Perhaps anything is diverse compared to Hillsdale!
In Christ,
Chris
First off, I had to help teach the reception (kindergarten) Sunday School class. Anybody who knows me well, knows that this is the most uncomfortable place for me to be in. I love working with kids, but it tends to be that I only like the older kids. I feel so vulnerable around the little tikes, as I am bad with crowd control at that age. The problem is, kids at that age seem to love me! It makes it a real "catch-22." I had a good time with the kids though. We played a game of "telephone" which the kids here call "Chinese Whisperers." The Australians are so much more politically incorrect than we are in many ways ;-). They also have a little candy confection called "Chicos" which is represented by a little black boy. It makes me laugh. We Americans think about that stuff WAY to much.
After morning church, we had a "Meet the Pastors Lunch" for the newer members of the congregation. I was invited along to help with the meeting and the greeting part of things. This was good fun actually (though I am not terribly good at the whole meeting people thing). I met a really interesting Korean man. I thought that was neat. I can't say I have ever spoken with a Korean before. The church here is really quite diverse, I have found. Perhaps anything is diverse compared to Hillsdale!
In Christ,
Chris
Clipsal 500
On Friday (3/18) and Saturday (3/19), I decided to be a racing fan.Well...not really.
I don't think I would ever be a racing fan. Big engines and looping around a track have never really interested me. Yet it interests so many people back at home. The Nascar culture is just huge in America. Well....it's no different here.
They, of course, do not have Nascar here in the Land Down Under. Australians have other sorts of race circui
ts. One of the more popular is the v8 Super Car Series. The event held in Adelaide is known as the Clipsal 500.The Clipsal 500 begins setting up right after the Fringe Festival ends. The set-up is a massive undertaking. You see, the Clipsal is a street race. It is done partly on the streets of downtown Adelaide. The problem being, of course, you can't have your city covered with seating, barriers, and the like year round. So all the set-up for the massive race (drawing thousands and thousands of fans) happens in the weeks prior to the event. And the set-up is on a large scale. They have to put concrete barriers everywhere along the track, erect a huge stage, construct seating for thousands, and a ton of other things. It is amazing to walk into the event an
d know that, two weeks ago, none of it was there.The event itself is a three day race. The main feature is the V8 Supercar races (souped up Ford and Holden (or GM) street cars). Surrounding these races are a whole mess of other ones (amateur leagues, truck races, mini-cars, muscle cars, etc.). There is almost always something going on along the track. Each day of the race ends with a big concert. The concerts tend to have a common theme. This year, the "young-adult" bands were playing on Friday evening. The Doobie Brothers, ironically enough, were ending the whole event on Sunday.
Jon had never been to the race before and thought it would be a good idea to go with me. We figured, even if we were not into the racing, it would be a good to experience. So Jon was able to scrounge up some free tickets. The ticket for Friday came from the lovely Ms. Jodie. Her father is one of the volunteer fire marshals for the event and has access to some tickets b
ecause of that. Saturday's tickets came from Katie's Dad who buys season tickets every year.I was glad that we had a chance to go, as it was really impressive to see what they had done to the quiet streets of Adelaide. The clientele of the event is similar to the "local color" you would see at a Nascar or Indy event back in the states (translation: Not particularly classy). Scantily clad girls walk around as billboards for various companies and take pictures with drunken old men. You know...really fun stuff.
What we saw of the racing on both days was quite good. We honestly did not watch a lot of the racing, however, as neither of us were all that interested. The main attraction of Friday was the concert! I love music, as you all should know. They had a pretty decent lineup of bands set for the night (even though, at that point, I had really never heard of any of them). Since I didn't know any of them too well, I decided to mosh with reckless abandon. It was great fun! I got so nasty, sweaty, and gross. It reminded me of when I used to go to concerts a lot (I haven't been to many lately). The last band of the night, Birds of Tokyo, really impressed me. I commend them to your attention: http://www.birdsoftokyo.com/ They have won several awards for their music and I found their show really enjoyable.
So that was the Clipsal: I gave racing a good try and I still say it is not for me. Glad I went though and I had a blast at the concert Friday night.
In Christ,
Chris
Back to School
On Friday (3/17) I went to visit one of the local schools here in Adelaide. Steve (whom I blogged about some time ago) is a teacher at Torrens Valley Christian School just down the road from the church I work at. After expressing some interest in seeing how an Australian school operated, he invited me to his classroom.
As a private school, Torrens Valley is not necessarily typical of the larger Australia educational system. It certainly gave me a good idea, however, of how schools operate here. I was very happy to go.
A few words about Australian schools in general:
1.) Private schools are a much bigger deal here than they seem to be in the States. Teachers at private schools are generally higher paid and more respected (from what I can gather). Private schools are EVERYWHERE around here. It seems every school kid is wearing a uniform. Coming from an area where private schools are generally poorly funded and poorly attended, I find this interesting.
2.) Most Australian schools operate using a four term school year. A week or so of holiday separates them.
3.) Inter-school sporting is not a big deal. Most kids participate in club sports and do not do it through the schools.
4.) Their "Reception" is the same as our "Kindergarten." After this, they also have 12 years of schooling. The first seven, I believe, are called "Primary School." Eight through twelve are known as "Secondary School."
5.) After graduation, you either join the work force, go to Uni or enter this program they have here called TAFE. TAFE is essentially a trade school. You go and gain specific training in a service trade and increase you experience and chances at a job. I think the premise is very good. I know we have similar things in the States, but these are quite popular here. The odd thing about the university culture here is how centralized it is. In America, a graduating senior can choose from any one of hundreds of schools that all send pamphlets. It is not uncommon at all to travel many states away to attend the "perfect" school. The culture here is very different. Most everybody here stays here for University. As such, there is not much need for dormitories and "campus living" and the like. Because you generally stay here for University, your choices are slim. Essentially, there are about five options for the students around Adelaide (and most of South Australia!). Uni also seems to be cheaper than most schools in the U.S.
Some things I noticed specifically during my visit:
1.) Australians place a massive emphasis on sports and physical education in school. Seriously, I went outside with the class for "gym" and felt like it took hours. That day's lesson involved track and field events. Who teaches track and field events to 6th graders? My gym experience growing up was kickball...that's about it. Apparently, much of their physical education training leads up to a big Sports Day they hold every year. This is a massive school-wide event where all the families are invited to watch their kids compete in various activities. Sport is a big deal to these kids.
2.) Their school day is actually fairly short (8:50-3:00ish for Primary school kids). Moreover, they get quite a few breaks during the day. I don't remember getting so many when I was younger (but it was a long time ago). A few hours into the day we broke for morning tea and the kids got out snacks and played on the playground for about 20 minutes. Lessons resumed promptly after that and lasted to lunch.
I am not saying that Australian schools are easy. Actually, it appears as if they use their time a lot more effectively than my grade school did.
I learned quite a bit and enjoyed my time. I'll have to keep going when I have the time. The kids liked me a lot too (which was nice).
In Christ,
Chris
As a private school, Torrens Valley is not necessarily typical of the larger Australia educational system. It certainly gave me a good idea, however, of how schools operate here. I was very happy to go.
A few words about Australian schools in general:
1.) Private schools are a much bigger deal here than they seem to be in the States. Teachers at private schools are generally higher paid and more respected (from what I can gather). Private schools are EVERYWHERE around here. It seems every school kid is wearing a uniform. Coming from an area where private schools are generally poorly funded and poorly attended, I find this interesting.
2.) Most Australian schools operate using a four term school year. A week or so of holiday separates them.
3.) Inter-school sporting is not a big deal. Most kids participate in club sports and do not do it through the schools.
4.) Their "Reception" is the same as our "Kindergarten." After this, they also have 12 years of schooling. The first seven, I believe, are called "Primary School." Eight through twelve are known as "Secondary School."
5.) After graduation, you either join the work force, go to Uni or enter this program they have here called TAFE. TAFE is essentially a trade school. You go and gain specific training in a service trade and increase you experience and chances at a job. I think the premise is very good. I know we have similar things in the States, but these are quite popular here. The odd thing about the university culture here is how centralized it is. In America, a graduating senior can choose from any one of hundreds of schools that all send pamphlets. It is not uncommon at all to travel many states away to attend the "perfect" school. The culture here is very different. Most everybody here stays here for University. As such, there is not much need for dormitories and "campus living" and the like. Because you generally stay here for University, your choices are slim. Essentially, there are about five options for the students around Adelaide (and most of South Australia!). Uni also seems to be cheaper than most schools in the U.S.
Some things I noticed specifically during my visit:
1.) Australians place a massive emphasis on sports and physical education in school. Seriously, I went outside with the class for "gym" and felt like it took hours. That day's lesson involved track and field events. Who teaches track and field events to 6th graders? My gym experience growing up was kickball...that's about it. Apparently, much of their physical education training leads up to a big Sports Day they hold every year. This is a massive school-wide event where all the families are invited to watch their kids compete in various activities. Sport is a big deal to these kids.
2.) Their school day is actually fairly short (8:50-3:00ish for Primary school kids). Moreover, they get quite a few breaks during the day. I don't remember getting so many when I was younger (but it was a long time ago). A few hours into the day we broke for morning tea and the kids got out snacks and played on the playground for about 20 minutes. Lessons resumed promptly after that and lasted to lunch.
I am not saying that Australian schools are easy. Actually, it appears as if they use their time a lot more effectively than my grade school did.
I learned quite a bit and enjoyed my time. I'll have to keep going when I have the time. The kids liked me a lot too (which was nice).
In Christ,
Chris
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