World Mental Health Day

The following information was originally posted on today’s Lectio 365 daily devotional resource that helps me pray through the Bible every day.

May I encourage you each to check it out @ 24-7 Prayer where you can download it via the App Store or Play Store.

In part this is a bit of a follow up to today’s Word of Encouragement post as today is World Mental Health Day (Saturday 10 October).

World Mental Health Day was started in 1992 by a man called Richard Hunter, who at the time was the Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation for Mental Health. Over nearly thirty years, it has helped to raise awareness around the world and mobilise efforts in support of mental health.

The arrival of Covid-19 earlier this year, and the months of disruption, isolation and uncertainty since then have been hard for everyone, but they have been particularly dark and difficult for people who suffer with their mental health.

On their website, the World Health Organisation (WHO) writes: “This year’s World Mental Health Day comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The past few months have brought many challenges:

• for health-care workers, providing care in difficult circumstances, going to work fearful of bringing Covid-19 home with them;
• for school pupils, adapting to taking classes from home, with little contact with teachers and friends, and anxious about their futures;
• for workers whose livelihoods are threatened;
• for the vast number of people caught in poverty or in fragile humanitarian settings with extremely limited protection from Covid-19;
• and for people with mental health conditions, many experiencing even greater social isolation than before.

And this is to say nothing of managing the grief of losing a loved one, sometimes without being able to say goodbye.” (World Mental Health Day)

How have these challenges affected me over the past few months?

Pressures with work. Health concerns. Isolation from friends. Anxiety about the future. Grief and trauma.

In spite of the fact that much has been done to raise awareness of, and reduce the stigma around, mental health, it’s still not easy to talk about this stuff sometimes. (Especially for guys) It’s easier for me to hold and hide everything inside, to respond with, ‘I’m fine’, when a friend asks how I’m doing, and to pretend that I’m OK. But it’s not a god thing to do.

“Our mental health is just like our physical health,” says the charity MIND, “everybody has it and we need to take care of it.”   

Imagine standing in front of a mirror for a moment and asking yourself ‘How are you doing?’ Are you holding or hiding anything inside?

According to the World Health Organisation, ‘half of all mental illness begins by the age of 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated.’

Many children and young people suffer in silence with anxiety and depression. 

In these days of uncertainty and constant change, where things are less than stable and our lives could be turned upside down through the actions of one or two that have very little regard for others. 

We need to be constantly on our guard, encouraging and building others up – as we don’t know the journey that other people are on, unless we get alongside them and share in a coffee and a chat. 

Here in New Zealand we set aside a week each year to raise awareness around Mental Health (I posted about it here) and yet, we still have one of the highest suicide rates in the world for young people – So there is so much more that we can do in this space, to not only raise awareness, but also be a safe haven for those affected by mental health issues. 

Your harsh, brash or reckless words could be enough to cause someone to start self-harming, they could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and leads a person down a darkened corridor that they feel that they cannot escape from.

That is why the words of Solomon to his son David are so important for us to take on board in this day and age; as our words (and our actions) can either bring ‘Life & Hope‘ or they can completely annihilate us. 

Refer also to Proverbs 18:8 and Proverbs 26:22 and many more verses that relate to our words and actions here.

The thing is if we are carriers of the light, we need to set aside everything that hinders people from experiencing the light that shines through the darkest recesses of our thoughts and shed love, peace, grace and mercy upon all those that we come in contact with – the merest smile that we show to another person can literally change how they are feeling about themselves and their day. 

It is hard to believe that a little over a month ago we also celebrated here in New Zealand Random Acts of Kindness Day (I posted about that here) – Just maybe we need to revisit this each and every day so that we can be true ‘followers of The Way’.

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Word of Encouragement – 10 October

Throughout the past week or so as I’ve been doing my devotions, reviewing articles and blogs that I’m following, and catching up with some people around the country providing support and encouragement the overriding theme that has been coming through is something that I touched on in my latest health update, albeit briefly – In all things be content!

Now this can be extremely hard when our backs are against the wall or we are facing turbulent or trying times; when things are not going the way that we intended, let alone the way we thought God intended, or when we appear to be living in topsy-turvy times and our worlds come to a grinding halt, or even when due to the actions of someone somewhere not taking seriously the concerns and/or needs of us or others from our perspective.

And in all of this we are encouraged Scripturally to be content – Yeah Right!

I hear a Tui advert playing in my head! (For those of you that don’t know, the kind of advert pictured was popular a number of years ago in NZ for a leading beer company). 

Now, as a Salvationist, I am in no way promoting alcohol, and I personally haven’t touched a drop for approximately 16 years. Which for those of you that knew me in my youth might think wowzers… And even though Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 to “no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities” (New King James Version) which I can relate to with the number of drugs I have been taking.

There are times however when I feel as if I could do with a stiff drink these days – but that’ll more than likely extend as far as a Mocha, especially at Café L’Affare here in Wellington 🙂

Yet in all things we are encouraged to be content – it is almost a requirement of living a Christ-centred life – a life filled with ‘Hope & Life!‘

We are to exhibit it so that others see in us something that is completely countercultural to what they experience in the lives of others that they rub shoulders with. 

So why is it then that this is not the case? Why do so many Christians mirror the same attitudes and personas that people see in everyone else? Has satan won this round and we have forgotten what Paul told the church of Rome?

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)  

Now as is always the case in this day and age their will be some that would point to one interpretation over another and focus on one aspect of the above passage (that some will even say has been taken out of context of the whole chapter let alone the letter) and does not take into effect the overall emphasis of the writers intent, let alone the intent of the ultimate author – and I could go on…

But have we become so well adjusted to the culture around us, that people can no longer distinguish us (followers of the way) from those that do not have a faith?

Have we become so blemished by the smudges, scars and marks on us that we do not know how to love one another, let alone our brothers and sisters that come to us for assistance?

Do we embrace what happens and show to the world around us that regardless our faith is strong enough to see us through and that we can still show love and kindness to all those that we intermingle with?

Do we recognise what God is wanting from us in these days – to be the light, the beacon of Hope and Life in a darkened world that is crying out for what He has established the church to be? The place where His glory and presence shines – through US, His children.   

On thursday I read the following excerpts from the Word for Today and spent some time contemplating its meaning for me in these unprecedented times that we are constantly told we are living in.

If you don’t subscribe to this daily word of encouragement may I encourage you to do so either through Rhema or you can download it on whichever platform works you have.

“True Christ-centred, grace-motivated gratitude fits life’s most desperate moments and difficult situations… Gratitude (contentment) is a hard-fought, grace-infused, biblical lifestyle… and [its] transforming power is reserved for those who know and acknowledge the Giver of every good gift and who are recipients of his redeeming grace.” Read the full Word for Today post here. 

The thing is, contentment is a choice – we can either allow discouragement, doubt, fear and concern to rule our thoughts which if we are not careful leads us into the steely grasp of satan’s plan to cause disruption, distrust, disunity, dismay, despair and derision in our daily lives that over time erode the joy that should be inherit in our lives.

Jesus Christ is the ‘Light’, the ‘Life’, and the ‘Hope’ of the World, and so much more besides – and we as his disciples regardless what we are facing should have that same attitude and persona about us that shows that we believe that that is so.

Not that we want to gloss over all the stuff that can crowd in on us – but through our faith in Him and our trust in God the Father we need to show that in all things that we are going through we can and we will get through, and come through the other side triumphant 🙂

For we have won the victory!

We are to be content in all circumstances – take another look at what Paul went through on his journey of faith (refer to 2 Corinthians 11). Check out the story of Joseph, or Job, or Nehemiah, or even Jonah – They all went through extraordinary times and yet learnt to be content (to a large extent) and this doesn’t include the many examples we can draw on throughout history of people who have learnt to trust in God, and be content in all circumstances, shining as examples to us today as heroes of the faith. 

So how about in the next day or two, rather than focussing on all the bad stuff that is going on, start focussing on the good that is happening – be encouragers, not naysayers, build each other up with psalms and songs of praise, not ripping into someone or gossiping, slandering or even putting down anything that is not going the way that ‘you’ want.

That is not Christ-like and according to most counsellors, mental health advocates and the like is something that we need to ignore (although at times this can be extremely hard to do) or completely disregard, unfriend or remove from our spheres of influence all together…

Let’s be a body of believers, the church, that stands up in these days and offers encouragement to a world that seems to have lost a fair chunk of hope! For we should be bringers of Life and Hope!

Blessings 🙂

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Sunday 11 October

This Sunday 11 October we conclude our sermon series looking at ‘Heroes of the Faith’ – Exploring those people of faith that have had a lasting impact, or influence on our lives.

This week we are extremely blessed to have Major Jeanine Serevi join us and preach on Nehemiah.

Mjr. Jeanine is the Central Division Youth and Children’s Secretary and she’ll be providing an overview of the first six chapters of the book of Nehemiah and unpacking the characteristics that appeal to her and why.

So if you are in the Inner City of Wellington on Sunday morning why not come and join us @ 10:30am at 92 Vivian Street, Wellington – Limited parking is available on site via 6 Jessie Street.

For those of you that are unable to attend for whatever reason or are wanting to check us out online you can view our ‘Church Online’ Service @ 6pm (NZ Time).

Links will be posted on our Wellington City Corps and Wellington Citadel Band Facebook pages and on this site on Sunday afternoon.

Please share these far and wide amongst your friends, family, social media contacts etc. so that we can continue reaching out with God’s love to those that may need it in these uncertain times, as we endeavour to ‘bring life and hope to the Inner City of Wellington’ and beyond.

The Covid-19 pandemic that continues to disrupt countries around the world has forced the church universal to ‘reimagine’ what our methodology looks like. For us here in Wellington, New Zealand we need to look at what that means not only at a local level, but also within the wider New Zealand picture, and also in this ‘online’ space worldwide. This brings with it many challenges and plenty of opportunities, as we seek to be ‘His hands and feet‘ in a world that desperately needs to see the “Life and Hope” that can come through the Message of Christ’s love.

It is our intention that through our musical offerings and the sharing of God’s Word for us in these days, that you would journey with us as we embark on making our services even more accessible in today’s world, and that you would be blessed by them and share that blessing with others.

May God continue to bless you each, and encourage you as we each endeavour to live out our Christian Faith in these unprecedented times 🙂

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Health Update #2

This year has been a bit of a topsy turvy journey for many of us, as we’ve had to grapple with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic that continues to cause disruption to our everyday lives.

It has had a devastating effect on hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Regardless if they have been affected by the virus physically or not.

The flow on effect according to many so called specialists, that come out of the woodwork in times like this, is that it will last for many years to come in some form or another.

As someone that has journeyed through a number of crisis’ over the years of ministry and throughout my life I have lived through some quite challenging and uncertain times, and have had to learn to look on the bright side of life regardless what life throws at me.

I’m reminded of the scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (The Message) where it tells us to “be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.“

Many of us need to take this to heart and be content in all circumstances as Paul also advised the church of Philippi, refer to Philippians 4:11-13 (The Voice).

On a personal level this year has been further compounded, as Annette & I have had to deal with health complications due to my autoimmune disease (Scleroderma & Raynaud’s), which was only diagnosed two years ago along with other issues that we are facing both personally and in our ministry.

As many of you are aware (if you have been following my blog or facebook posts) over the past few months I have attended quite a number of appointments with doctors / general practitioners, rheumatologist specialists, respiratory specialists. And have had numerous medical tests and blood tests to find out what is going on with my health.

Last months health update provided some insights into the fact that I have some permanent lung disease (NSIP). This has put me at a high risk in the current environment and also going forward, as we along with the specialists ascertain if the new course of medications will improve my overall health and wellbeing long term.

As mentioned in that blog entry I’ve been put on a high dose of steroids to try and clear any lingering inflammation in my lungs and also stabilize my breathing and energy levels (as this previously was drained extremely rapidly). These steroids at such a high dose come with their own set of challenges and side effects.

The course of medication that I have been put on to treat interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc-ILD) is the same drugs used to treat cancer patients. I’ll be having monthly chemotherapy over a period of 6 months, which will hopefully improve my overall health and well-being. These obviously come with its own set of complications and side effects.

As I’m sure you can appreciate there are going to be good days and not so good days, and some really rough days in between where I will feel as if I’ve been hit by a bus as I continue to serve the Master in these unprecedented days.

So if all of a sudden I have to cancel or postpone appointments to another time or if I am out of action for a day or two, I hope that you will exhibit grace not only to me, but also to Annette and the wider leadership team as we continue to guide and lead the Corps through some interesting times.

Their will be days when I am not in the office at all due to my calendar being booked up with appointments, meetings and or time set aside for focussed time on projects that we are working through.

At no time in recent history have we as a country, let alone the world, had to deal with so many situations like what we are facing today in such quick succession or even at the same time; pandemics, civil unrest, natural disasters and so much more besides – Add on to that the often complex personal stuff that many people are facing in this day and age there is no manual and with the complexities of mission and ministry within The Salvation Army and the wider church today with its multiple policies, procedures and structures that have been put in place over the past generations, we are all treading new ground.

As we here in New Zealand are now at COVID alert level 1, I will be returning to Sunday morning meetings and spending more time in the office and out in the community, rather than working predominantly from home (which I’ve been doing for the past few months) having to isolate from crowds and potential sources of cold / flu-like viruses.

Through online connections that I have made in the past few months and friends that I have around the world I am very aware that some people with autoimmune disorders and diseases (similar to mine) have had to shield themselves from others for the past 9 months.

My heart goes out to people like them that have to contend with rare diseases and disorders that are incurable, and I pray that they can soon start socialising in person again. But without a reputable vaccine in place, that is tried and tested, their reality is that that may be a long way off for them yet 😦

I want to thank you for your ongoing prayers and support as Annette & I continue navigating this difficult period in our life and ministry, and we are truly thankful for the support of local leadership, and especially DHQ in these days, as they are fully aware of the situation and are supporting us each as we need it.

I have also been hugely encouraged by the work that has been going on to further enhance our mission and ministry not only now, but also in preparing us for what the new year holds.

So that we can continue reaching out to our local community and serving The Salvation Army not only around the country but also around the world.

The thing is, God is at work in and through us impacting the lives of people and providing “Life and Hope” to those within the Inner City, and beyond.

I recently read an article by Jolene Underwood entitled ‘When Life is Topsy Turvy and You Feel Afraid, Step Forward Anyway‘ where she unpacks transitions and changes that we face and have to adapt to.

May this be an encouragement to you as we each grapple with the ‘new normals’ that we inevitably will be faced with as we journey through these days. And may God continue to bless you each as we each step out in faith trusting in His provision 🙂

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Sunday 4 October – Recap

If you were unable to join us last Sunday at 10:30am in-house, or at 6pm when we hosted ‘Church Online’ on our facebook Wellington City Corps or Wellington Citadel Band pages, you can have a recap of what we covered during our meeting by clicking on the link to our YouTube channel below.

This week we continued our sermon series looking at ‘Heroes of the Faith’ – Looking at people of faith that have had a lasting impact, or influence on our lives; exploring aspects of their faith and the characteristics that appeal to the preacher / speaker and why, and how they can relate for each and every one of us as we continue living out our Christian faith.

Again we were blessed to have Cadets Ben & Jesse Willis preach and lead the Corps while Annette & I were on furlough (holiday). Ben preached from Malachi 3:1, 6-7 and Isaiah 40:3-5, drawing on the life and ministry of John the Baptist.

Approximately 700 years before Jesus of Nazareth was born John was prophesied about and according to the book of Isaiah, John would be the messenger preparing the way for Jesus to come into His earthly ministry.

We hope and pray that through the words and music that you hear, and the many talents used in His service to bring this meeting to you each week, that you will be uplifted in your spirit and encouraged as you continue trusting in God and living out your journey of faith. Knowing that through His Holy Spirit He goes with you, He is walking beside you, and He is also preparing a way forward for you.

If you’d like to check out our previous services you can subscribe to our Corps YouTube Channel. You can also subscribe to the Wellington Citadel Band Channel where we have highlights of our recent tour to Singapore and Japan in 2019.

For those of you that have stumbled across this site, page or post and may want to know more about the Christian faith and what this can do to impact your life – why not check out the Gospel Message page as we all have a responsibility to share the “Good News” with others especially in today’s world 🙂

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7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth

Sociologists C. Kirk Hadaway and Penny Long Marler reported in their 2005 Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion that “over the past 30 to 40 years, denominations had increasingly reported a decline in their numbers“.

In the past 9 months there’s been a lot of talk about the accelerated decline of church attendance.

A large part of this in these days is due to the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected churches worldwide. We are living in a world of uncertainty and with the threat of further lockdowns being imposed on us at the drop of a hat if community transmission of the virus is picked up, some churches are actually growing.

Now this may all sound paradoxical – How is the church growing, or going to grow when it looks like it is in decline? Another way to look at it – Is God at work pruning the vine? Is God calling us to disturb the present so that we can have a more effective future?

The thing is hope is not lost, Jesus has already advised us that “He will build His church and the church will reign triumphant” refer to Matthew 16:18 (The Voice).

Carey Nieuwhof has identified 7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth:

1. Personal Invitation
2. Refusing to Settle for the Mediocre
3. An Open Door Online and a Great In-House Experience
4. Genuine Relationship
5. Deep Engagement
6. Clarity
7. Risk and Experimentation

In another post he identifies that “most Christians who are not returning to church are not leaving Christianity. They’re not even leaving your church. They’re just not coming back to the building, and perhaps they won’t even after there’s a vaccine and the pandemic is a distant memory.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has been an accelerator and now that the effects of the pandemic have stretched on for a number of months, with no real resolution in sight as far as a vaccine – regular attenders will more than likely become less regular and irregular attenders may well become even less frequent attenders.

The reality is this is just a sign of a shifting culture and it will necessitate a paradigm shift for the church as it grapples with its methodology. (I touched on this a couple of months ago when posting two articles about Reimagining the Methodology – Part 1 and Part 2).

Another person I have been following online of late is Doug Paul, who has spent more than 6 months working with a cultural anthropologist to put together something that he thinks will not only be interesting, but wonderfully useful as we enter into the third decade of the millennium. (And only proved more true by the COVID-19 pandemic.)

He has written a free ebook: 10 Church Predictions for the Next 10 Years that may shed some light on what the future could hold for us as we navigate the impending days ahead.

You can also read the article 6 Predictions that Didn’t Make the Cut.

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