Malcolm Potts September 14th 2014 ~ "Even the stones will cry out"

Did you know that the average age of cycling fatalities is 57 years? That is how thoroughly the middle-aged men in lycra has taken hold.At coffee with the bike boys Thursday morning I was chatting with a relative newcomer to our group… Lovely chap who shared that his best mate is a Minister in Sydney. He likes the fact that they can be mates without any pressure to join his Minister mate's club.  What he said next I found very interesting. These are his sentiments I am reporting:He said that people have become too clever by half. They have gotten too smart for church and exchanged it for footy. But footy is just a distraction, like the many other distractions people run after. Then, he said, when we need a hand, we discover that we haven't a community to call on so we go to a counsellor instead of the Minister. The counsellor has a few tricks that are ultimately tied to his or her economic advantage and cannot address the real need which is extended family and community. Interestingly, he said, the Minister, if he/she is any good, has spent their life investing primarily in extended family and community. My friend went on to say how wary he and his non-practising Hindu spouse are of people who seem to invite them or their kids to things under a pretext of getting them into church. But, he volunteered, he'd be happy to talk to any of the guys he rides with and he'd trust and consider our church because he has seen us in action in life.As Jesus said, “Even the stones will cry out.”  My cycling friend gave me a perfect argument for the work we are doing to build our Christian life and mission around healthy family, whatever that family affiliation might look like.As we conclude our five weird weeks of internal church struggles, the message is:  keep the Messiah at the centre and trust the word of God to reveal him reliably and accurately and don't tamper. Then live, with him as your centre, a life worthy of inviting others into.  As things in our world unravel, this simple formula will become increasingly valuable and relevant. BlessingsMalcolm