Something to think about!

Welcome to Nicky and Sila Lee. I met their team at Holy Trinity Brompton in 2003 when I went to research marriage education as an Associate Minister at St Matthews in Geelong.  St Matts was one of the very earliest churches in Australia to use the Alpha Course to share Jesus with people.  Over 2000 people did Alpha at St Matts before I moved over here to Perth.  Cheryl and I ran the Marriage Course up until we left as well, as we have done here.Good programs take called, committed teams who find life in serving together. Programs take work fuelled by passion.  Just consider the Cottesloe Carols proclaiming Jesus for their 18th year this year.  Mission members become like a family who have shared deeply, survived trials and prospered. That’s why they come back. Relationship with purpose.Did you see the article in this week’s Weekend West [Missions Bring Lessons for Life] about the Sparrow family? Talk about a family with purpose.  Phil and Julie were introduced to me by the Howe family. Phil’s focus as a committed Christian is very “out”.  When I met them they were just heading back to do aid work in Afghanistan. It’s fair to say some people think Phil and Julie are crazy.As we think of our families, I wonder who really lives in the more dangerous place? Who really is putting their family at risk?In the article Phil explains that not every bit of Afghanistan is deadly.  They did good work there, made wonderful friends, saw and experienced unique things, culture and people and their kids regularly ask, “ When are we going back?”Phil goes on to say, “Material aspirationalism characterises our society.  It distracts people away from the real core goodness and issues of life.” Julie follows up, “It’s not that there’s no risk here. There’s plenty of risk here.”“I agonise about them [kids] becoming secular materialists whose only aspiration is to own a bigger, flatter TV,” Phil says.  “There are risks here to kids’ moral health and mental health.  The threats here are to a child’s moral wellbeing.”I wonder if you agree? People frequently share their concerns with me that at Cottesloe they might get eaten by a shark - particularly Poms! Maybe the cultural water we swim in is much more dangerous than Cottesloe beach?!  We are just used to it.“In Afghanistan our kids grew up with a sense of meaning and purpose.  They understand such issues as justice, violence and poverty and they were developing a social conscience……those things are compelling reasons to live in Afghanistan,” Phil says.As we listen to Nicky today and consider our society, its culture and context, the marginalisation and softening of clear biblical convictions about marriage,  family and the building blocks of society, what is forming us? Should we be doing something about it? If so what and if not why not?  Or is it all just too hard – let’s just go to the beach?In the AdventureMalcolm