My couple of quiet days in New Norcia incorporated St Patrick’s day. As well as green hats and discounted Guiness at the pub, the monastery bakery did some honouring of it’s own….
Community
Mar 182010
I was challenged this week by a young intelligent woman to “read the paper”. She wasn’t suggesting I didn’t, she was just saying how her experience of some Christian leaders is to speak authoritatively out of ignorance. She wasn’t suggesting the need for more academia just know what’s going on in the world and what people are facing every day.
Kim Beazley Senior’s autobiography, The Father of the House touches for me the authentic experience of the spiritual battle fought in and through the warzone that is Australian politics. Beazley is brutally honest about his personal need for inner transformation as a man if he were to be an effective voice of truth. His passion for the unpopular because it was right and his decision to structure his days around time with God in the midst of constant opposition are inspiring. This is the big story of God’s rule reigning in one man’s public life. This is what a spiritual life that’s natural and a natural life that’s spiritual looks like – if it’s a battle we fight this book shows me what it looks like and how the battle works. Do read this book.
Mar 112010
The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille
This bloke is a French American psychologist who is on retainer to 100 of Americas Fortune 500 companies. Rapaille, using deep listening and focus groups has established underlying codes buried deep inside a country’s unconscious. For example, in the whole are of health in America, the code for doctor is HERO and the code for nurse is MOTHER but the code for hospital is PROCESSING PLANT! The American health system is deeply disconnected in the national mindset. The book is worth reading for the codes of seduction, love, beauty and sex! When you consider the codes a lot makes sense about why we see America as we do and why America is as it is. Raphaille describes the US as adolescent. Australia too is a young aspirational nation so don’t be surprised if you see cultural parallels. Relevance for Christians? We think it’s our faith and our God who forms us. Scripture encourages this to be so but is it? There is an interesting discussion to be had having read this book.
Mar 082010
Well a big gap between this time and my last blog. Why? Well, I write on my iPhone and I washed it in the shower. Did you know that inside your iPhone is an inbuilt pink strip that tells the mechanic if water has gotten inside. If it has the phone goes in the bin and depending on your phone plan you get very sad or a new iPhone turns up in the mail. Just had lunch with Phil Hirst, who is not only St Phil’s treasurer but also web master extraordinare. Check out the St Phils website to see what he has been up to. Would Jesus have been into all this communications technology? I think so. These toys are the lights on the hill of Jesus day. Like any tool they can be used productively and helpfully or not! Let’s think about how good news can be shed abroad. The St Phils website might give you some ideas.
Jan 092010
Our middle daughter Georgia thought the whole idea of schoolies week on Rotto was a waste of time and potentially more than time. She and a group of friends decided to save up and go to the Philippines to do some sight seeing and a bit of community work. An alternative schoolies!
Unfortunately Georgia got sick in Manila. We managed to vet her back for surgery the week before Christmas and she is thankfully fine now. We saw Gods hand in that adventure all the way, not because it worked out but because we were upheld amazingly through it.