Is it Time To Stop?

5333, 5334, 5335 and stop...its done at last...

When Does Life Exist?

No, I'm not trying to increase hits on my blog by opening up the abortion = murder, pro life v pro choice debate (although it is murder if somebody else kills an unborn baby...so why wouldn't it be?) I'm more interested in understanding what will happen if I throw my computer off my roof onto the concrete below...

The question is: what are the conditions required for life? For example, free will. My computer displays significant capacity for free will - like for example yesterday it decided that it didn't like the changes I had made to my assignment over the period of an entire day, so it happily reverted to an earlier version. Is this evidence of life and therefore moral culpability that would justify an extreme reaction from me? Another example, not realising that the document had reverted I then proceeded to wipe out my back up completely unknowing - now is the computer culpable in this case? Standing by while something bad happens to someone - again a very human response and therefore indicative of life. I also think my computer lies to me - this is a very strong indicator of intelligence because it signals the presence of ego with a drive towards self-preservation/advancement. When it came time to locate the missing version the computer steadfastly refused to yield up its secrets. We both know its there but she refuses to tell me where...

All this to say I am seriously weighing the consequences of completing a physical search of my computer's innards in my quest for the document and the answers to life's deeper questions...

For those of you who like to know: 3200 words - I know its not much progress but ask my computer how many of those it stole...

Homocidal Kiwi

On and on and on...

This has become the most fascinating blog on the planet...a new count very day or so....for those following the epic tale of my essay progress - I have passed the 3000 word mark - now comes that difficult decision: how much is enough? The answer of course is: just enough (as a wise friend reminded me recently). So I am now working on getting to just enough - which I figure in a 3-5000 word essay is about 4,500. It is the most boring crap I have ever written (this blog excluded) but I cannot wait to be done with this whole Masters. It has been a huge learning experience but I really am over it. I can't wait for the inevitable letter from our National Board of Ministerial Development asking me to start some real study now...I think I need a break. I'm pretty sure I can keep them on the run for a while...

On that note - here's my Master plan for never getting ordained but staying a pastor for the rest of my useful life! I took the unusual step of telling my candidate interview panel that I didn't believe in ordination - I see plenty of evidence in scripture for leadership being "set apart" to lead for a certain season, but I don't see any justification for life time membership of the professional christian club. Other than of course a life time of calling lived out. But I just don't see how people who step out of a formal ministry appointment should nevertheless be considered ordained. So because my church will treat me as a pastor if I am "licensed" - on the ordination track and in part time ministry/study - I figure I can keep that part time study going for the next 30 years!

I think I'll tell them I want to study through a Baptist college...that should keep the discussion going for a while so I can have a break...

Right, if procrastination is a sin then...well you know what I mean if you're reading this...GET A LIFE!

Pin-up Kiwi

PS Comments welcome on whether I should respond to Deurty's provocative recent postings with a little photo gallery of my own...or should I turn the other cheek?

PPS I want credit for extra traffic you'll receive now D from the 2 people who read my blog...

For some reason...

I thought a recent photo might look cool online...

I'm Forever...

821, 820, 819...

I discovered its 3,000 - 5,000...

2821, 2820, 2819...

At least my dissertation is in for binding...

140 pages of waffle...

Back to the grind...43 emails this morning from my students...

Jonesbag

PS Does anyone know where Deurty gets those photos from - is there like a weirdphotos.com out there?

Still Counting...

1511, 1510, 1509...

Counting...

2444, 2443, 2442...

3000 Green Bottles sitting...

I have one week to write a 3,000 word Project Management Manual. If I am successful in doing this, I stand a good chance of receiving my Masters. If I don't I will be the world's most qualified recipient of a Diploma. One week between a Masters and a Diploma. Short blogs this wee...

2999, 2998...

Jonesboy

PS Had my nieces and nephews over today - last day of their school vacation - how could I resist? We made pizza, iced cookies, played soccer - I know - priorities...I think I have them pretty much right...

Here's the Link...maybe...

Alright lets see if I can do that link to the series promo automatic-like...

cession|community series promo

CloseUp...

We start our new series this weekend: CloseUp: "...people are stories are people..." Check out the site for the promo - www.cession.org.nz - in preparation for this week's story - "CloseUp: On Community" - I met with a young couple to prepare for the chatshow-style interview we'll do with them. What a cool time sharing at a deep level about a whole bunch of stuff from a pre marital pregnancy, the journey to faith in Jesus and the role which people from the cession|community had played along the way. I was amazed at how God had moved in their lives and I thought I already knew their story!

Got the baptism photos through today. There are some excellent shots that perfectly capture the joy of that moment for people. On a personal note, I really shouldn't wear orange...I like wearing orange, especially with blue...but I'm not sure it works for me as a fashion choice...oh well...

Big day today - with 50 posts from students to process, staff meeting and all sorts...better run away...

The Running Kiwi

I Like God...

...because when He gets hold of a human life, something amazing happens: You see a life blossom...

I had the awesome privilege of baptising 4 people from the cession|community this Sunday. Peter, Fonz, Stephen and Marilyn. It was great to hear their stories - so different, yet sharing that sense of awe and wonder at a God who could be so much to them - in stark contrast to how their lives had been up to that point. Some cool one-liners:

"I thought the Bible was just propaganda to scare people until I checked it out for myself..."

"I tried not talking to God for a whole year...that was pretty hard..."

"I feel like I am standing on the edge of a cliff and its time to jump off..."

He did.

Anyways, it was significant to me that I got to baptise Pete first - he was my first baptism - for me he symbolises why the cession|community exists: to be a place where you can see life enountering truth. Pete was one of the first people to come fresh to the community - He received Christ last Thursday.

Yup. I like God a lot.

The Swimming Kiwi

Is it Over Yet?

I've spent the day (Saturday) working on my dissertation (well that's not entirely true - I pulled a few hours on the law job before brekkie). I have to have the Dissertation handed in along with a 3,000 word essay I have yet to start by the end of April! One thing I know: whatever happens it WILL be over by the end of April...no more extensions available. Having now finished a 25,000 word dissertation (but for the conclusion) I am confident that a mere 3,000 words will fly off the computer...A "C" is a pass right?

The amazing thing is, I'm even quite happy with the result - taking the extra time has been well worth it - some good feedback from my tutor on the level my draft was at and some good suggestions has left me with something I am pleased with personally. Its been a long haul. But there's an excitement knowing its nearly at an end, one way or the other - I even quite enjoy the buzz of working under pressure - panic is a wonderful way to focus the mind!

So - maybe I should stop basking in the light of "nearly finished" and go write the conclusion...

Seeing some friends tonight - Vania and Reuben - they are good people - probably play some mini golf, eat some pizza, watch some rugby...

Speaking of which, I went to see my home team get thumped last night - unbelievable - this was a real thrashing - and they were the champs last year...I was a little annoyed - Kristen screamed herself hoarse yelling for our team. She thought it would have been nice if they had won...and admitted to not understanding it a whole lot - she says she understood enough to scream at the right time though! What a woman!!!

Well I'd better conclude...

The Typecast Kiwi

On The Other Hand...

This week has been a good, but strange, one. Good, because despite some nagging issues I have yet to resolve, I am remarkably upbeat! My petition to God to increase the hours in a day seems to have gone unheard...yet I am enjoying hugely what I am getting to do. I'm hopeful that this means I am slowly getting my priorities better in line - course it could mean I'm just doing what I like...

I'm pumped about:

* The 4 people who are getting baptised this weekend. I met with them as a group last night and we worked on them telling their stories - what awesome, amazing examples of transformation! One from a background of abuse, another a church kid gone way wrong coming back to Christ. Two with no Christian background - one who decided to check out Christianity for himself and was overwhelmed by the evidence, another who was coverted to community before he ever started to check out the claims of Christ. I can hardly wait!

* Our new series: CloseUp: We are gonna tell the redemptive stories of people from the cession|community who have firsthand experience of life encountering truth (that's our vision). The guy I told you about yesterday - he and his wife have agreed to be first up! Another couple, who came to the cession|community living in a de facto relationship are gonna announce their decision to live apart in obedience to Christ - I can't wait for that one...Others in the pipeline just as mindblowing...

* The new people who have been coming along on Sunday nights - God is drawing his children to him

* The new life group I'm starting in 2 weeks for new Christians - actually I think it started last night with our baptism group sitting round telling their stories!

* A conversation with my brother-in-law this week concerning The Passion - he brought it up having just seen it...I couldn't quite believe that he was even thinking about it - you'd understand if you knew him...but I am reminded that we are all the same when it comes down to it - in need of God and on a quest to have that need met...Praying for a next step...

I was gonna write this counterpoint: "I am deflated by" but now I'm too pumped to do it! Positive confession is good for the soul...

The Flying High Kiwi

Take Me To The River...

Today was a good day. I got to pray with a friend of mine as he received Christ. He's been coming to cession for a while, growing in his following of Jesus, and truth be told I reckon God would have grabbed him should the need have arisen. But today marked an unequivocal declaration of his faith in Christ and his decision to follow him 100%.

I like God a lot.

Wash me down,

The Flying Kiwi

Easter Blog

Its been quiet in Jonesboy blogspace cos I've been communing with nature these past few days...actually that's not true - I wouldn't have played quite so much Halo or Timesplitters 2 if I had truly been doing the nature thing...But we were at an Easter Camp for Young Adults which is run in large part by the cession|community for people from all sorts of churches. And there was forest and ocean. I was real proud of my team for what they achieved and had a great time relaxing as well as getting some good time alongside some of the campers.

I managed to twinge my upper, inner, hamstring...early on in the cricket game, but pushed through the pain for the next 2 hours of cricket and rugby...I am man, hear me roar...

I got to preach on one of the 4 camp days (this is a Thursday pm through Monday camp...) We were running a theme throughout: "Reconcile" Taking the passage from Luke 8 on the bleeding woman and looking at reconciliation with self, with God and with others. I did the last day which meant I got to sum up as well as talk about "community" - it was fun. I could see some of them sit up and pay attention when I began to confess an addiction to the assembled masses - but it was "only" the addiction I have to "self" and so they soon settled back to sleep until I used the h*** word (you get special, dispensation on day 4 of a camp)...my big idea was on how Jesus noticed the un-noticeable in that story...and how that points us to the horizontal aspect of the Cross - the restoration of oneness with each other - actually, I think it went OK. It was a sobering message to prepare - what with the addiction and all.

Speaking of addictions - we hired this coffee machine for the weekend (for the price of the coffee we used) - a real commercial espresso maker...awesome...we only used 5kg of beans...

A bunch of hurting people within the fun. I have a bunch of followups to do...amazing how many people are caught in sexual addictions of various shapes...well perhaps not that amazing...it goes with the territory that what God intended to be a powerful force for good, be twisted for harm...

Makes that whole vertical and horizontal aspect of the Cross even more poignant. Pray with me for these people who are hurting, but becoming reconciled to God, others and themselves...

Hope you had a great Easter

The Jonesboy...

Sucked In...

Had this in "interesting" visit from a vacuum salesman the other day...yeah, really...they're not just urban myths they really do exist. Nice young guy, pretty new to the job. Anyway, if you want to part with the purchase price of a small second hand car you can get this vacuum cleaner that really is phenomenal. Realising very fast that there is no such thing as a free lunch, I began to weigh the real cost of having the carpet in the living room cleaned for free - several hours of my time. Its often the case for me - I get swept away with myself and totally miss the opportunity for a Kingdom moment. And then something clicked and the tables turned. If Lee was going to be in my house for these few hours then he'd better go away with something more than an empty order book. Turns out his real dream is to be involved in graphics and multi-media, so I dragged him down to the office and cruised the cession website and showed him some Flash stuff we have done - he was impressed he's being doing some Flash programming himself. Invited him along to the next cession gathering - he lives very close by to the school we meet in. God, would you draw Lee?

The free lunch at cession did cost something but it is free...

Kiwi Bloke

Success!

Well, she was surprised! It was hilarious - she was so annoyed about having the meeting on her birthday - I'd done this reflection sheet for a community time at the start - 1. What's something you're celebrating today? 2. What something that's irritating you? Why do you think that is? She actually wrote down about how annoyed she was about the meeting. So we're like having this deep discussion about trust in teams, bla bla when the door opens and in walk all these people yelling out "aardvark"...no sorry that was something else...they yell out "surprise"...people stayed all day and we played cricket at the park next door - that's like baseball only interesting...I have to say my aging body stood up to the rigours of extreme fast bowling - and there was a magic moment when my beautiful wife was watching over the fence and my powerful, athletic body produced a murderous delivery that clean bowled the hapless batter. Yup, we may be happily married with nothing to prove but I am still taken with the need to show off to my wife! Ah, the joy of testosterone-driven ego...

She said it was the best birthday she'd ever had. Made me feel like it was my birthday when she said that...

Sunday night we ran our cession|cafe outreach - www.cession.org.nz - had this great band in, served up awesome curries, nachos and pasta along with these amazing looking desserts...the team were fantastic transforming the school auditorium into a retro cafe right down to our beatnik waiters! Had the chance to connect with some new people - Scott a new guy recently moved into the area - second time along - does TV production in his spare time - God you wouldn't be that good would you? Mark - who asked how he could start giving to the cession|community - when I'd picked myself off the floor I remembered to ask him to come along to our next "Plugging In" - kinda of an orientation to cession thingie. Jean, second time along - spent the whole night in the kitchen - she came last week and asked whether she could help out! I was a little disappointed with the turn out after the huge night we had the first time we ran this but convinced even myself in the post match rev up that this was our second biggest night ever and that it was a successful event. Plenty to learn from...will need to make some time to capture the learnings...

Well job #2 is calling - its yelling actually - man, if I didn't need the money...

Still flying in Kiwiland

Birthday Blog

Well its not my birthday, but it is my wife's! She is struggling between gratitude for the gifts and breakfast in bed she received this morning and the meeting I have scheduled for cession|core leaders @ lunch - what she doesn't know is that there is no meeting - well there is but its people meeting to celebrate her birthday. She is the world's best surprise killer so I may not have pulled it off yet - but I did hear her talking to her grandmother this morning when she thought I wasn't there - she kinda cheerfully but ironically mentioned the meeting...Is it the competitive part of me or the loving part of me that wants to pull this off?

Probably a bit of both.

Happy Birthday.

Transformations...

We had small group last night - it was very cool - we're doing this series on what it means to be a small group - actually its cooler than it sounds - especially when your group starts demonstrating the very thing you plan to cover that night before you even get to start. One of our couples is experiencing a family crisis with cancer so they weren't there having to be with their family member. So the group is like totally engaged on how we can help and is coming up with these great ideas. Made illustrations very easy to source later in the night. Another guy - has been struggling a bit - in fact a lot! He ended up getting in to a wee bit of drug kind of trouble - anyway the group has been supporting him through this period and he's now clean and sharing with one of his friends (aka The Pusher) about Christ - he's even inviting him this week. Awesome. Yet another guy, shared very deeply about how something the group did for him on his birthday touched him in a significant way - basically this guy is 34 and unmarried without a prospect in sight - he finds birthdays a really difficult time - so we told we wouldn't be celebrating how many years he had been alive but rather the fact that he was born at all - so we made him endure us telling him why we were glad he had been born! It was way cool - cooler still to hear his response a month or so on. We're just gonna love the despair out of him!

I think the series might be working just a bit...or somebody is...

The Yobsenoj