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Posts Tagged ‘Make a Change’

Being the Hands and Feet

Posted in Blogs, Books & Music, Devotional, The Leadership Challenge, The Word, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Over the past few weeks or so I have picked up a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite a while.

I initially read it about 5 years ago, but it is proving quite pertinent in these days; as churches grapple with the sudden surge of digital use and technological activity online, but also for our individual setting as Annette and I start reimagining what the Corps could look like post Covid.

Taking into account the amount of change that has in one way or another been thrust upon us as we navigate what church and Corps life looks like today and into the future – it will no doubt prove to be a useful resource for us all going forward, as well as the church universal.

The name of the book is “rewired” and explores ‘how using today’s technology can bring you back to deeper relationships, real conversations, and the age-old methods of sharing God’s love’, written by Brandon Cox.

On the back cover it says:

“If God’s desire to enlarge His family matters… If the church of the future matters… If the gospel still matters… We must embrace the changes that are happening in our world.“

If you haven’t read it, it is well worth a read 🙂

Within its pages are a number of pearls of wisdom that were not only relevant about 6 years ago when the book was written, but even more so today. An example of which follows; 

Jesus is one of the world’s best-known brands. More than half the world knows HIs story to one degree or another…. you too have a brand whether you realize it or not, and your brand reflects Jesus. The church also has a brand – a story people tell about it. In western culture the brand of Jesus is maintaining pretty well, but the brand of church is suffering. Since God desires to bring people to Jesus through the context of the church, this is a problem for our mission.

Artie Davis wrote in his book Craveable that when someone introduces themselves as a Christian, what goes through the mind of a person outside the kingdom is often something like this: “Before me stands a judgmental, mean, ignorant, and intolerant person. Why should I listen to anything they have to say?” People perceive that the church has lost its way in the light of public scandals, personal rejection, and spiritual abuse. Our brand is hurting.

It is not possible to concoct a story about the church that is better than what people actually experience in the real world, but it is possible to tell the right stories and to tell them well. Part of flooding the online space with God’s glory and with the gospel of Jesus is making sure the gospel is given a great deal of attention next to all the other stories being told. This has been our mission since the beginning, and we now have more tools than ever for getting it done.

Dare I say it that this is just as true in our local Corps and church settings – not just in the ‘online space’ as we try to dispel the bad news stories that people have heard, or experienced for themselves. 

Unfortunately this is often due to the bad examples of Christian behaviour which they have seen or heard for themselves which has unwittingly pushed them away from church and from growing in their knowledge of God. But that is another issue altogether 😦

Brandon goes on to write;

If the story people associate with the church as God’s people is to become a more positive one, it has to begin with our showing genuine love to one another and to the people living in the proximity to us. Right now I sense another potential great awakening for the church that is less about creeds and more about deeds. Church leaders are pressing forward with their congregations to show the gospel and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us. This is all good, and social media gives us the opportunity to share this story well.

For us as The Salvation Army Wellington City our mission statement is: “to bring life and hope to the inner city of Wellington” – How are we going about this?

Are we being the hands and feet of Jesus? Or are we leaving it up to others to do? Are we being a good example of what it means to be Christ-like? Or are we opinionated, judgmental, mean, ignorant, and intolerant? Are we welcoming and inviting people to join us on the journey of faith? Or are we scaring them off before they even get an opportunity to meet with Jesus?

Only you can answer those questions for yourself – but we need to be aware that our actions and our words can have a devastating effect on the potential spiritual life of others.

We need to take on board the advise of Paul in Romans; “Here’s what you need to be concerned about: that you don’t get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is.” Romans 14:13 (The Message)

And also when he was speaking to the church of Corinth saying that “we must destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.” 2 Corinthians 10:5a (New Living Translation)

So, may we each go into the coming week with that thought percolating in our minds and our heart as we interact with others – for we don’t want to be driving a wedge between them and God through our words and or actions – we want to be bringing life and hope to all those that we come across.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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International Day of the Girl

Posted in In the News, Prayer, Social Justice Initiatives, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »

In 1995 at the World Conference on Women in Beijing, countries unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing the rights of not only women but also girls. 

Furthermore in 2011 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, highlighting the unique challenges they face around the world.

The International Day of the Girl focuses attention not only on the need to highlight and address these challenges, but also to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015, embody a roadmap for progress that is sustainable and leaves no one behind. (I have previously posted about the SDGs here and how we are promoting this locally).

In New Zealand the International Day of the Girl is a reminder that not every Kiwi child gets the childhood they deserve. Shakti, a refuge for ethnic women in New Zealand, is promoting the day to highlight the veiled childhoods of some of our girls.  

Shockingly, up to 50 per cent of Shakti’s crisis work is with girls forced into underage marriages. ‘It’s surprisingly prevalent in migrant communities,’ says Shakti spokesperson Polly Peña, who recently helped set up a safe house in Wellington.

Chris Frazer, social justice advocate for the Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) says that ‘overwhelmingly, extreme poverty and deprivation continues to wear a female face.’ She is working with Shakti to promote the International Day of the Girl. ‘We are all made in God’s image. And girls – as well as boys – deserve the chance to grow and thrive in the knowledge they are loved, respected and valued,’ she says.

 

Sunday 11 October provides ‘each one of us the opportunity to read, reflect, pray and above all, to act to bring violence, harmful judgment and indifference to an end.’

Check out the following links:

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World Mental Health Day

Posted in Children & Youth, Devotional, Health & Wellbeing, In the News, The Word, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

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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