Slow Off the Mark

Bit slow into the blogging week - sign of some busyness and too much cricket on TV! Gym is going well and the weight is slowly coming off.

Melissa brought the smack on Sunday (someone once said that at Watermark so I've wanted to try that since...). I am so buzzed by having such an awesome colleague who ministers so effectively. She totally aced the message wrapping up our re:incarnation series with re:sourcing - looking at life in the Spirit. Some significant response again.

We are having such a great January with people finding a new home and God - we're not used to it, this being our first January as a church. I guess its a transition time for many people and us being up and running gives us an edge in helping people feel welcome and ministered to. Its been awesome to see.

Had some good times with people this week - some cession leaders + a pastoral meeting in my (unfamiliar) National Secretary role. Went well and a real privilege to minister to a couple who have been wonderfully sacrificial in their first ministry year.

Well gonna get back into the work - have a heap of stuff to clear...

Jonesboy

Re: Laxing...

Its the day off and its been great so far! Weather is nice which is a good start. Solid gym session followed by coffee with Mike and Michelle Yates of Shore Grace, a church plant on the northern shores of Auckland (they're about 3 months older than us). It was nice to hang - talk a bit of "shop" and catch up with family life and 2005 plans. Great couple doing an awesome job.

Then a slightly weird phone discussion - at my MBA graduation (in England) it turned out I was top grad for that group of grads, so I get this prize etc. Now it transpires that there is to be full scale NZ grad ceremony on 1 March. Here's where it gets weird - I get my prize (which I already have) re-presented to me - what's more I get interviewed by NZ's leading business paper! How funny is that gonna be?!!! "Tell us how you're using your MBA?" "Well, I'm asking people to believe that the claims of a 1st century Jewish prophet to be God are true." Nice.

We had our first Life Group for 2005 - I'm very proud of our group - one of our couples will be planting a new group in '05. Life encountering truth. We had a new person turn up - she made a fresh commitment to Christ on Sunday evening. It was pretty cool.

Anyways, I see there's been some fun and games over at Emergent Wesleyan so I thought I'd go weigh in - I read this interesting article on former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp recently which has something to offer the debate.

Jonesboy

My Word

Well the year has hardly started and God has been doing some wonderful things in the midst of the cessioncommunity! We're still in vacation mode but we have had great attendances for this time of year. Last night, we had a breakthrough with one woman who has been coming for around 7 weeks now. She connected with us through the cafe outreach we ran back in November and has been coming ever since. But, she has been counting the cost of following Jesus - she has been hurt by the church in the distant past and has some friendships she fears will be compromised. But nor has she wanted to make a half hearted decision - so this week she decided! Almost as if she were afraid she would change her mind she joined a small group - whichever one was meeting this week! Another woman who's husband I have been connecting with for some months over the possible dedication of their son arrived with son and a friend in tow. They haven't been in church for the best part of 5 years and this is a major opportunity for them to reconnect their family to God. I have a call to return from while I was out at the gym - exciting stuff.

I felt the message went great - I was preaching on the Word - re:wording - I didn't introduce the Word as Jesus until about 2/3 of the message was done - I was trying to identify the Word as the source of the Universe (the Word was God etc through him all things were made) and as the source of all light - truth, grace etc that we receive in this world. Then I introduced him as the Word became flesh - God downloaded into human form - and contrasted God becoming human with the Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist takes on this. It went down well - one newer guy had a ton of questions afterwards and this led to a more personal discussion over coffee. He strikes me as someone with huge potential - currently he lays drains...

It seems to me that sometimes the whole message about Jesus gets "lost in translation" - yeah we used some clips from the movie - "more intensity" "you know lat pack?" Was "gentle Jesus meek and mild" all God had to say? Do people get the wrong idea about Jesus because we mistranslate him to the watching world? Does he get lost in translation? Its hard to hold on to this limited view of Jesus when we understand him as the Word who was God, who is light and who became human flesh - a unique claim among world religions. This kind of Jesus demands much, much more from us as people. Not in the sense of the demanding deity that so many seem to define him as, but rather if Jesus is who he seems to be then he is not someone you can be in peaceful coexistence with - someone who you can negotiate with over what is His and what is ours...

Anyways, need to de-sweat - its always a triumph to get to the gym on Monday.

Jonesboy

Mid Week Check In

Yesterday was a perfect demonstration of what full time ministry could mean in 2005. Worked in the morning on various tasks. Noted my evening meeting. Factored in a half days leave due from last week. Triangulated wife's wistful yearnings for a beach trip on this our second fine day of 2005...So we went to the beach for the afternoon! It was nice to escape and enjoy the sun. Took my bible to allow some scripture to soak in along with the sun as I have to pick up the preaching this weekend due to the unavailability of our expected contributor. It was a no brainer what text I would use - this week's theme is re:wording as part of our re:incarnation series inevitably leads to John 1...here's a thought: if Jesus wasn't "the Word become flesh" then the shepherds and wise men were breaking the first commandment in worshipping him in Bethlehem...anyways it was a fertile time of meditation, relaxation and downtime with Kristen.

This morning was Breakfast Club with Jacob, Reuben and Pete - our first breakfast session of the year - we meet at 7am at a cafe and spend time doing accountability and working through Andy Stanley's "The Next Generation Leader". Such a valuable time.

Gym and nutrition are going well, but for some reason had no energy this morning at the gym. The weight has started to move but I'm not getting too excited just yet - there's a lot of lard to shift before I'll get too much into celebrating!

Anyways, back to the day...

Jonesbuff

Back in the Saddle

Its fun to be officially back at work today. Had staff meeting with Melissa and spent a bunch of time looking at her year and development. Melissa and her husband Jacob are awesome people and totally sacrificial - they're looking to free up as much time as they can for Melissa to be in ministry...seeing as we can't pay her right now. Its very encouraging.

A good night last night - its vacation season here but we still had a good showing with about 10 new people joining us. I preached on re:gifting as part of our re:incarnation series - its in the bible - John 15:9-14...I felt a little flat during delivery but the response was positive. One woman in particular who has been coming for a few weeks now was visibly touched by the evening's events and spent significant time afterwards with one of our core leaders. She has had a rough time of it recently and it would be just awesome if she let God into her situation. A visiting couple who recently moved into the area and are looking for a church commented, "We're used to more charismatic worship but enjoyed the strong biblical message." It made me laugh (afterwards)! First, because our worship is actually pretty charismatic, its just not orchestrated if you know what I mean (!) Second, it just tickled me that someone would characterise my preaching in that way.

We found out for sure today what dates Kristen's parents are coming to NZ in March...its confirmed our suspicions - they're not coming to see us! They arrive 5 days after the baby is due which must mean we're NOT the centre of attention of this visit. I wonder if they'll bring me a fine bottle of red to toast the baby's health...

Anyways, it looks like summer has arrived today. Course that is the way it works on the first day back on the job! "Feeling alright..."

Jonesboy

Pondering...

I am by nature a reflective person. Most of my battles are won and lost in the mind long before they play out in action. This last week has been a great time of relaxation and spending quality time with friends with some ongoing processing whispering in the gaps. I've worked really hard at not working over my break and feel significantly refreshed...and now the year stands before me...

I've branded 2005: the year of no excuses...I have everything a person could want: a phenomenal wife, a family in the making, a full time pastoral appointment (a dream 5 years in the making), a church that has been custom made, friends and partners in ministry who are exceptional, the list goes on...

So. I've run out of excuses for why I cannot be the best Jonesboy in 2005 that I can. I'm left with a bunch of impatient thoughts for this year that I now need to tame and a yoke that I need to take on fully. The book of James captures me so perfectly and is a text that I need to start my year with as I pursue that goal. There's a wrestle ahead for sure! But...this IS the year of no excuses!

And this is the blog where the excuses will be chronicled...so in 2005, feel free to fire away (in love) and help me banish my excuses...

Jonesboy

2005 Arrives...

Yup, there is life on the other side of New Year's Eve. Enjoyed time with friends and playing silly games. Yesterday we had our first gathering - a BBQ with that quintissential Kiwi summer experience: back yard cricket! It had everything - static fielders (the BBQ and paddling pool), hits over the neighbour's fence (did I mention the 2 large dogs?) and admiring female spectators (why did they go inside?) This morning the shoulder is in trouble.

I'm still on leave this week. We're heading south 1 1/2 hours to Hamilton today with some friends to go look at some garden thingie - really not my thing - but its a good chance to hang with this couple.

I've been pondering New Years resolutions. Of all the human decisions we make NY's resolutions must rank as the most overrated and underperformed. My reflection on this is that we simply underestimate the amount of effort and planning that is required to implement the "great idea". We relax into the euphoria of New Year optimism as if there is some kinda magic in operation at this time of the year that will somehow transform our good intentions into reality. Then there is what a psychologist friend of mine labels "a psychology of failure". People who subconsciously overextend their goalsetting. I asked him what the "win" was for them in doing this, thinking that perhaps my pet pop psychology that humanity generally acts in (even misguided) self-interest was under threat. The answer: its not really failure if it was impossible...failure becomes palatable as a way of life.

And yet. There is something good about taking stock. Making plans. Conceiving the better life. As I've been thinking about this I went back to 1 Peter 2:5

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

For me, I'm resolving to make view my resolutions as spiritual sacrifices that will help the ongoing dressing and smoothing of what is sometimes a pretty rough-hewn discipleship. It feels like more than good intentions...

Jonesboy

Lazy Week

Nice week on the home front - just hanging...doing all those things I mean to spend time doing - going to the gym, cleaning out filing cabinets, reading, emptying cupboards, watching DVD's (we set up our lounge as a cinema with the church projector!)...its been good. Wednesday we bought cheap baby furniture (unpainted) and then some paint...so we spent the afternoon applying the first coat. Then I went out on the street and erected a white picket fence...nah...but the day is fast approaching...looking forward to it.

Caught up with Jacob and Melissa on Tuesday - they came for lunch and stayed for dinner! Playing scattergories and Mexican train (dominoes). Nice times. Frank and Melva came over last night and we played Lord of the Rings Risk (The Trilogy Edition). Melva won. By a long way. The analyst in me couldn't help but be impressed by the way she went about it. Very clear goals which she played consistently to...then watched Antone Fisher which was a good watch...enjoying getting to know this couple...tonight we're celebrating New Year at the home of 2 couples from the cessionIcommunity who have moved into this large house together. Should be fun!

I've been a good boy and not worked all week, but have been left holding the baby for this Sunday morning's service so I'm gonna have to organise and execute it. No worship leaders, sound techs, projectionists etc. So its gonna be a non singing, intercessory focussed effort - shouldn't be too hard to find something to pray for...just a tad resentful that everyone else gets to take their holidays...need to get over myself...as always...

Speaking of which, not sure what to think about the whole tsunami thing. I've stayed at Patong Beach on Phuket Island, Thailand. Walked on the beach. But I find myself somewhat unaffected at any deep level by the whole thing. Even vaguely annoyed the Sri Lankan cricket team have cancelled their tour and gone home. We'll give to the relief fund, I'll pray, I'll remind people that more than 10 times the people have died than died on 9/11 but my heart is not broken the way I guess God's would be. Interesting theological issue: is God's heart broken by things that are indirectly caused by the laws of nature he put in place?

Still pondering,

Jonesboy

The Day After...

Well, another Christmas is over...but the first I've spent in NZ in 3 years...I think the novelty of a white Christmas is still something to enjoy...I think we'll do snow next year...

The midnight service @ cession was great - a good crowd in and what can only be viewed as some very positive responses to the message through communion. A number of people responded in significant ways...and it wasn't an "easy invite" - I didn't leave too much room for people to just participate for the sake of it. That was pretty cool. Preached on "The Parable of the Great Banquet" in Luke 14 drawing in the image in Isaiah of the Messiah as a banquet...my Mum came too which was cool and she even brought a friend!

Christmas Day I was on keyboard duty and my sister and her family came! My sister participated in communion for the first time to my knowledge since she got involved in the Anglican church (briefly) as a teenager.

We spent Christmas Day with family. Tried not to eat too much. Scored lots of coffee and red wine - as presents I mean, not by consumption! Present of the year was a new coffee grinder - a burr grinder which is a superior version...my wife did very well. I'm coffeed out today as a result!

Managed to get all the new technology working:

• My new PDA (IPAQ) which I saved my birthday money from 2003 and 2004 to buy - a contact got it for me cheap so I ended up with $10 to spare - that's some serious delayed gratification!
• A digital camera funded by various cash gifts from the last few months which we wanted for baby photos for our US family
• A web cam for a family Christmas reunion over the internet - was a lot of fun seeing everyone!
• A DVD player - part of Kristen's present haul - I wasn't going to get one but got a deal through my sister that gave me 2/3 discount! How could I resist?

Slightly amazed we have all this stuff. Sometimes that whole provision thing is quite arresting. Anyway, a day of lazing around today, watching cricket and DVD's with my wife - I got her the DVD of the first movie we saw together, so we enjoyed watching it again.

More of the same tomorrow I think.

Jonesboy

Something Old, Something New

Tonight we celebrated Christmas Eve Eve...no its not a typo but rather a transplanted Hinterman family tradition now retreaded for NZ conditions. Kristen's family would celebrate Christmas Eve Eve together on the 23rd because they knew: first, that they'd be traveling on Christmas Eve and second, that the general mayhem of an extended family Christmas Day would overshadow some time together as a nuclear family...so they would eat pizza and drink chocolate malts made by Papa Chris on a malt maker brought over on the Mayflower, while watching (sappy) Christmas movies...followed by the unwrapping of presents on Christmas Eve morning...

So, this year (tonight actually) we ran our own version with my late wife's sister, husband and kids - we remain very close and the family has formed their own unique and warm relationship with Kristen. But, we won't be spending tome on Christmas Day...thus Christmas Eve Eve! We ate superb homemade pizza - onions, mushrooms, olives, ham, shrimp with just the right dash of chilli and seasoned with black pepper and basil...followed by chocolate milkshakes and homemade jam tarts...we watched Elf on DVD - I rigged up a big screen and made the kids line up with their tickets...stole the church's projector and we were away! Then presents! Great fun.

Anyways, bed time now - I have all these new gadgets to play with - more on that tomorrow!

Jonesbaked

Prayer Blog

The prayer blog is updated (finally)...you can access it from the menu...

Jonesboy

Counting Down

Its countdown week...Christmas Eve service @ cession this week - the last in our "Which Fork Should I Use?" series. Plus a Christmas Day service @ ECW which is my job to organise...need to do something creative as we usually get a walk up crowd...have to roll out the carols as well...I hate carols...I am the Christmas Grinch...

And then its holiday time - probably 2 weeks. Have to say I'm looking forward to a recharge of the batteries. No plans as yet but keen to make the most of the break.

Fun night last night @ cession. Highlight(!) of the evening was the kids...we've been doing this thing in the gathering having the Christmas story read around the Christmas tree, but this week we also had the kids come do a song they've been practising - the service was called "Gifts For Jesus", the idea being that people would bring gifts for Jesus, in this case a song. Well, you know what they say about working with children and animals...in this case it was children singing a song ABOUT animals - 2 of the young boys took off underneath the staging during the song! A hapless parent pursued them...only to have one of them emerge with a cheeky grin from the other side. Hilarious. Almost as funny was the wrong lapel mike being turned on and the voice of "Mrs Kristen" coming through from back in kids, "Mrs Kristen will use the glue"! Melissa, who was about to speak, was very funny in reply, "We'd better switch that lapel mike off before we hear Mrs Kristen ask for the scissors..."

The joy of giving.

I got to play with this evil looking pitchfork as I did my recurring "forks" meditation around Advent. I have just about used up every meaning I have in my brain around the word forks - in the road, as in chess, as in cutlery, as found on a bicycle, as in the branches of a tree, as used for toasting marshmellows, as used for spear fishing (trident), a tuning fork, the pitchfork...any donations for week 4 would be gratefully received especially as it relates to Jesus! I am the fork of life...

Anyways, time to stock the pantry for the onslaught. Actually, maybe I should just buy in salad. Either that or book in for liposuction. Nobody warned me about the sympathetic pregnancy...

Jonesbuy

Baptisms are cool!

We had a baptism celebration yesterday which was cool. Very cool...actually freezing! Its more spiritual that way - you know it will stick if the water is really cold. Jimmy and Nicola are an engaged couple who joined the church plant team for cession while still sorting out their allegience to Christ. They were believers but on a journey toward becoming disciples. Imagine the celebration we had when they announced their decision to become engaged and to live apart for their engagement to honour God and each other. The community wrapped around them and provided accommodation for Jimmy when he moved out of the house they had been living in together. So it was great to celebrate their baptism together. I marry them in February '05. Leana has been a bit of a faith-wanderer. She connected strongly with the community this year, joined a small group, established a mentoring relationship with Melissa (our associate pastor) and has served in various helping roles since. She invited her family and heaps of friends to her baptism which was very cool. A touching testimony of how her Father had died when she was young and that she had raged at God for much of her life only to discover that He was a true father to her.

Message went well at the gathering later that evening. Some days you're in the groove. Good responsiveness from the gathered, including some of the families/friends of the baptised.

This week I have some nailing down to do of some key initiatives for next year. Trying to cement people to take point on small groups, outreach events and prayer ministry and have meetings related to each of these. Also continuing on the forward planning game.

Anyways, better get underway...

Jonesboy

Feeling sweaty...

I know I'm not the only one...but I have this love-hate relationship with exercise...I always feel great afterwards, enjoy the sense of achievement, love the competition with myself and appreciate the opportunity to live longer because of it...but the battle is in getting there! Anyways, I got there this morning which is why I'm S-W-E-A-T-Y!

Sunday was great, with a number returning from the previous week's cafe outreach and a heap of friends and family there for a dedication. We started a new series leading up to Christmas - week 1 we unpacked the place of Sabbath in our lives - Melissa did a great job on the message round the metaphor of our cups being filled...we have this dining table as part of the set and draw on different elements from the setting. Included her husband popping the cork on a bottle of fine red wine as she spoke on the aroma of life...you had to be there...

Got a heap of ongoing planning to achieve this week. I find I avoid this when I'm on my own - I prefer the engagement with others but they have to work during the week so I guess thats why I get paid the big bucks...

This coming Sunday we baptise 3 of our community! Looking forward to it, although the pool we're using is solar heated only - translation: there's no ice on the surface...

Anyways, better hit the showers...for everyone's sake...

JonesBO

The Week That Was...

Its been a whole week since I blogged?

Actually, for some reason I've been a bit listless and lacking. Came to the end of the teaching block on top of some big church commitments and just stopped...cleared the marking of assessments away plus my 2 holiness essays...a few early nights and I'M BACK! So while I've been a bit tired this week I have managed to clear the decks.

So, last Sunday we had 120 people turn up to our cafe outreach - thats pretty good when you understand that our core community is 70 people. Some great connections and we're hopeful that a number of them will be with us this Sunday as we start our new series: "Which Fork Do I Use?" Preparing For Christmas Dinner. You wouldn't believe the food either, the decor and the whole feel of the place - what an unreal team we have!

It was cool because the Saturday was our final cessionIcore advance for 2004 - it was great talking about how far the community had come and then to see it go another step forward the next night. We got a bunch of things laid out for next year and it feels good to be organised and have a number of new ministries rolling out in '05. A great team of people.

Also had our first Council meeting with me as National Secretary. I went out and bought a large broom and swept vigourously in preparation for this meeting. Thursday's meeting was a good next step for the "new order" and I think there was general appreciation at the prospect of strategic discussion emerging from beneath the clutter of meaningless administration. I'd probably see me as obnoxious and insistent but people seemed to enjoy being organised. There are some people who need to learn some hard lessons about bringing clear recommendations rather than thinking they can turn up with 4 page reports and expect discussion of them...I'm not sure that I'm everyone's best friend it has to be said!

So today is relatively free which is nice - I spent the day off writing my holiness essays - so its good to not have more than 2-3 hours of work to do and no sermon to write either, so even my Sunday afternoon is looking OK between services. Luxury!

So, I need to start thinking Christmas shopping. My wife has nearly finished buying. She has given me a list of things she wants. This could be seen as demanding and unromantic - however the list is long enough (!) for there to be some measure of surprise and ultimately its nice to have the back up of a sure thing if I don't get inspired to be original!

Right. Girding up the loins. Polishing credit card. Shop.

Jonesbargain