Wikipedia -- Is it this easy?

Are you a Wikipedia Editor?

I'm not.

But I have now made two remarkably bold (?) edits on a Wikipedia page. I'm astounded at how easy it is to change the information that people read.

A month ago, I found an error on the Wiki page of Peter Jensen. I corrected the publish date of the Archbishop's book At the Heart of the Universe. To 1991. These things matter, right?

And tonight, I removed a pejorative term from the St Helen's Bishopsgate Wiki page in London. Someone had written "St Helen's Bishopsgate is a bigoted conservative Evangelical church in the city of London."

Anyone want to guess which word I removed?

Are you a Wiki editor? Whats it like? Got any stories to tell?

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Evangelism: 7 Lies (#7)

This is the FINAL post of the 7 lies. The 7 possibilities are coming. Read Acts 8:26-40 to prepare for them.

7. You’ll never be any good.

It is true that there is giftedness. And you can think of the people in this room who seem gifted at it, right? And you wonder what it would be like to be like them. But the lie is that that giftedness is the end of the discussion. 'I’m not gifted, so I won’t do it.'

But in 2 Timothy 4:5, Paul reminds (an un-gifted?) Timothy to do the work of an evangelist, maybe because he didn't see himself as one:

But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry...

So giftedness, then, is only a part of the discussion.

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Pic by CMc$

Evangelism: 7 Lies (#6)

The 7 lies and then 7 possibilities were delivered to encourage the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

6. Saying something to someone is the end of the business.

We can so believe lies 1-5 that when someone... anyone... shows any interest, we get so excited that don’t do anything else after a short conversation about Jesus. But how will I follow up that contact? How will I introduce them to community? What are the next steps?

Imagine if we all opened a new restaurant where very few people come in at first. And then finally someone comes in a looks at the menu, and everyone gets so excited that we run out the back to have a celebration and talk about how good it is that someone looked at the menu.

Go the full distance with people. This requires, of course, a new level of love and new level of organization.

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Pic by Chris&AmyCate

Evangelism: 7 Lies (#5)

The 7 lies and then 7 possibilities were delivered to encourage the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

5. Comfort is the basis for making choices.

I take it that you are here (Jews for Jesus) because you haven’t believed this lie: Getting up early; sorties; contacts; hostilities.

Many people choose comfort unless they are being paid. Then, and only then will they will work hard. In contrast, Hebrews 12:2 says:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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Pic by DieselDan

Evangelism: 7 Lies (#4)

The 7 lies and then 7 possibilities were delivered to encourage the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

4. Timidity is incurable.

The lie (expanded) is this: That timidity is incurable, and that you are then locked into a certain attitude as you stand there talking to people in Brooklyn or Times Square or wherever you are. You are timid, and so you cannot (and will not) do things that non-timid people do.

One of the significant people in my faith was shy. In many ways, I think that his gift was was shyness, as was his curse . Shyness made him a brilliant reader and thinker. And more than that -- he was approachable to some because he was shy. At the same time, he often wanted to withdraw and avoid people.

He knew that God had fashioned him that way, and yet he also knew that the devil wanted him to debilitate him with shyness. So he would force himself to have meaningful contact with people for Christ's sake.

In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul says to Timothy --

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

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Pic by Chris&AmyCate

How much did you pay for Harry?

I am $US22.75 poorer for buying Harry (That $A25.70 for my antipodean readers).

I'm wondering if I was ripped off, or am I good?

How much did you pay?

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A Question for you...

A Question...

What is at the vortex of Perfect Weather, Sunday July 22, 2007 and Central Park, NYC?

Answer: Harry Potter.

We spent all afternoon in Central Park with a group from church yesterday and it was clear to anyone that Harry was being read by the hundreds in Central Park yesterday afternoon.

It felt like a Yo-Yo Craze for adults. (Remember the Yo-Yo Craze?)

Excuse me for a moment, I have to go and buy me a copy...


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Evangelism: 7 Lies (#3)

The 7 lies and then 7 possibilities were delivered to the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

3. You can just love people in.

Very popular today: you love people in. You 'be Jesus to people', rather than 'speak Jesus to people'. And so you say very few or even no words.

I find this phrase interesting: Just be Jesus to people and they will see Jesus in you. It is an appealing way forward, particularly in a world that distrusts evangelicals. But it's odd.

Jesus was just Jesus to people and they killed him.

And Jesus was just Jesus using words all the time. You see the Devil knows the power of words. (1 Corinthians 1:18 Romans 1:16) and doesn't want you to know the secret.


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Pic by d-4ce

Evangelism: 7 Lies (#2)

These are 7 lies of the devil with regard to evangelism; and then 7 possibilities from God. I delivered these to the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

Lie #2. People change like rocks change.

i.e. Never. And if they do, it’s unusual and not to be expected – like a landslide.

But the devil wants you to think of people like rocks. And what do you do with rocks? You stare and them and do nothing. He wants you to think this, so that you’ll do nothing. Or be like a geologist: stare and study and discuss, but expect no change.

But I reckon people are shakier than that. They are more like a reed in the wind, blowing here and there. Most people, I don't think, have a particularly compelling reason to believe what they believe. Some do. Many do. But most don't.

After all, didn't Jesus speak about how it feels and what happens when one builds a house on sand?

So I often say to people: "You aren’t really sure about that, are you?" And "you know that what Jesus says is good and worthwhile!"

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Pic by d-4ce

Evangelism: 7 Lies (#1)

These are 7 lies of the devil with regard to evangelism; and then 7 possibilities from God. I delivered these to the Jews for Jesus Summer Campaign volunteers last week.

First, let me be clear: I am not putting words in the devil's mouth. I haven't had a little chat with the devil on the side. He never took me out for a quiet beer on the Lower East Side to discuss his clandestine ways. I am (as CS Lewis did many years ago), extrapolating this from Scripture.

Lie #1. The message you speak is like a rented budget car.

Here is the lie: The message of Jesus is OK, but it ain’t that good; not by itself. It’s good that you have something to drive around your life in; and its certainly better than no car. But it’s not really that good and not that worthwhile. It gets me from A to B, but you may find better transport.

And so you feel you have to apologize for it.

I've rented budget cars from budget dealers, and I say things like – 'Well its all we needed; it's an economic choice; the smell isn't so bad once you get used to it'.

The devil wants you to believe that the message is sub-standard. But in Colossians 2:16-19 and 2:9-10, we hear the truth:

In Christ Jesus, you have fullness in all wisdom and understanding. (...) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

And like the Colossian Church, you will be tempted to think otherwise.


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Pic by d-4ce

Evangelism: 7 Lies and 7 Possibilities.

A friend of mine called Shaun is this week running the Jews for Jesus summer campaign here in NYC. Shaun, together with his wife, are friends ours from Church. Shaun and I meet regularly to pray and share our ministries with each other. I was privileged to address the volunteers this morning and offer them a reflection: Evangelism: 7 lies of the Devil, 7 Possibilities of God (from Acts 8.)

If you are keen to hear them, I'll share them.

Getting on the Subway in NYC...

I've just got home, and there has in the last hour been an explosion at 42nd St and Lexington Ave. Right next to Grand Central.

There is apparently smoke billing out of the subway. Right now, I can hear some sirens etc coming uptown. It sounds like everything is OK. Apparently only one guy was injured.

And terrorism it ain't.

However, I work about 10 minutes north of the explosion. To get home each evening, I can either catch the 6 subway downtown through the explosion site. Or I catch a bus downtown. As I rule, I catch the bus.

But if I had caught the subway today, I would have been right in the middle of it.

Cool.

I wonder what’s happening there right now.

In a few minutes, I'll be getting back into the subway for a meeting at 34th St. So I'll let you know. Lets hope that there aren't any more. Really not that keen to be stuck in a subway underground tonight…

Famous last words…

(I’ll let you know when I am back…)

Irony

Does anyone else think it’s ironic that Christian people use the word 'Christianese' to describe Christian jargon?

Personally, I think its tops. And a gentle smile comes across my face whenever the word is used.

See also here.

A (Counter-Intuitive) word of encouragement for anyone tired in ministry.

Preparing a sermon on Colossians 1:24-2:5 for Sunday has got me thinking.

I am becoming increasingly convinced that most answers to our deep questions come in counter-intuitive forms. And you'd expect that since we believe in Grace.

What do I mean? Let's say I have a question to answer, or an issue to solve, or something deep and conflicting within my heart that I need resolved. Here is a path I could try:

A. Discern the most intuitive answer, and then...
B. Do the exact opposite.

I want revenge, so I'll seek forgiveness.
I think shopping will make the pain go, so I'll give away that which I hold most dear.
I want to set more boundaries, so I'll say Yes more often.
I want to be first, so I'll plan on being the last.
I want to be great, so I'll plan on being a slave.
I want pleasure, so I'll choose pain.
I want to live, so I'll choose the Cross.


In the spirit of counter-intuition, I offer this reflection for those who are tired in ministry:

My Pastor in Chicago, Bill Leslie, said he often felt like an old hand-operated water pump, the kind still found in some camp grounds. Everyone who came to him for help would pump vigorously a few times, and each time he felt something drain out of him. Ultimately he reached a place of spiritual emptiness, with nothing more to give. He felt dry, desiccated. In the midst of this period, Bill went on a weeklong retreat and bared his soul to a spiritual director. He expected her to offer soothing words about what a sacrificial, unselfish person he was, and then perhaps to recommend a sabbatical. Instead, she said:

"Bill, there’s only one thing to do if your reservoir runs dry. You’ve got to go deeper."

He returned from that retreat convinced that his faith depended less on his outer journey of life and ministry than on his inner journey towards spiritual depth.

From Philip Yancey’s Reaching for the Invisible God .

Discuss.


Pic taken by Brian U on Flickr.

Wedding Tomorrow.

I realized that I have not posted in quite some time. I’d better put something up before I lose every reader. I have been back in NYC for 10 days, but have been catching my tail. I was privileged last weekend to be the (English) speaker at a Chinese Church that gathers in Flushing, Queens. We went Upstate NY, and we explored some parables that provoke. A hungry group of people (for the Bible, that is.)

I write to ask you to pray for two friends of mine. Laura and Clint are members of Christ Church NYC and they getting married tomorrow in Brooklyn. Great news. It will be the first wedding that I will witness in NYC (very different to St Ives, huh?). It shall be a privilege to pronounce them husband and wife.

Laura was one of a few people close to being a student when Laurel and I came to NYC 18 months ago. So she is very special to both of us. The work that exists now at Christ Church NYC amongst students was built around her and only one or two others. She’s a friend.

Clint will be joining us on staff next year at Christ Church NYC. He’s already being doing great work with a group called Student Venture. Clint will be in a kind of MTS role (let the reader understand) before they both go to Theological College next year. Great guy!

2PM Saturday, Brooklyn, NYC.

On Vacation...

Lack of posting due to being on vacation at Nathan and Cassie's in Franklin, Tennessee.

Nice.

December 1980

Feel Free to keep commenting on my JOY post below. Thanks if you've commented. I could always do with more help.

In the meantime, a quick story: My family and I traveled across Australia from Sydney to Perth in December 1980. Click on this MAP -- it’s that little road that hugs the southern part of the continent. That’s a looooong way. It was, of course, as hot as any antipodean summer. And air-conditioning was for the haves, rather than the have-nots. There were 4 kids in the backseat for basically nine days of outback. I know it sounds like hell. But it was a blast, as I remember. Totally defining.

We had, of course, no CD player. (I didn’t see my first CD until 1986.) We had only a portable tape player. And only one compilation tape of classic hits from 1980. Needless to say, those songs are burned on my brain; burned as only desert sun can. For your Youtube-ing pleasure, this one carried us, as on the wings of eagles in the desert:



And this was a 1980 CLASSIC (also on that tape):



What was a song that defined your age 10?

PS Thats us in Perth with Grandma plus cousins.

Sermon Help: Joy in the Morning.

I've been given a text for Sunday: Psalm 30, and a title: 'Joy in the Morning'.

A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.

1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.

6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
‘I shall never be moved.’
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face; I was dismayed.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried,
and to the Lord I made supplication:
9 ‘What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be my helper!’
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.

Some questions that might help you to help me...

• From V5: So, is there a clock to joy? Or maybe a season? ('Weeping at night; Joy in the morning'?)
• What is the relationship between suffering + death + fear and Joy?
• Has God ever 'hid his face' from you (V7)? What does that mean?
• Have you ever had people question whether your joy is real? (God has turned your mourning into dancing; and clothed you with joy, but someone else can't see the clothing?)
• Is there a relationship between this Psalm and John 16:20-22?
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer identified the Psalter as the "Prayer Book of Jesus." How does this Psalm find it's fulfillment on the lips and in the life of Jesus?
• What is your experience of Joy?

Feel free to comment anonymously. And say what you want about Joy!

Advice to churches: 'Anyone new feels alone and stupid!'

Interviewer: In your visits to churches, how important were first impressions, say during the first 5 minutes of arriving? If the first impression was negative, did you sometimes find the overall experience overcame that?

Jim: VERY important- if ANYONE approached us (without it being their job) it was the exception rather than the rule. It hardly ever happened but when it did we NOTICED. Frankly the lack of that failed to change much else for us since we adapted to the environment and simply stopped expecting spontaneous, unsolicited, non-directed greetings. Here’s how people feel whenever they enter a new experience—alone and stupid. Churches need to “attack” those feelings by training Christians (the non-professional and non-highly motivated kinds) to simply say “hi” to someone who they have not noticed before. That one small action would do more to increase church attendance than any other single action currently being tried.

H/T Benjamin.

Pic is by Elektracute on Flickr

(#8) John 16 Sermon: Conclusion

Some of you are not Christian (or at least you are not sure of it), and yet at the same time, you are attracted to Jesus. It’s almost like you’d like to be free of this meddlesome person. But there is something inside of you that keeps drawing you to Jesus.

And I want to help you see that God may have a presence in your life; that you may have God working in the deep places of your heart, drawing you right now to making a choice to follow Jesus. Don’t walk past the violinist. Don’t walk past Jesus.

Some of you are Christian and you are not sure of the presence of God in your life; you are called into this service of Jesus and therefore you are called to be testify to him. And yet at the same time– you are have suffering with (pereivced or real) hatred and hardship.

And I want to help you see that God is present in you as you join his mission to the world, in a way that gives you confidence, even that it feels difficult.

The upshot of all of this is: Love Jesus, and read your Bible, be a part of a community that reads the bible, and he will guide you, my friends.

Fin.

Comments?