Category Archives: God

A story that shapes hearts. Including mine.

Posted in AccessTheStory, God by

[Originally published 9th March 2012]

It’s been almost four years since a local church easter camp hosted the raw and unpolished pilot of Immerse. That weekend marked the beginning of an incredible journey for me, and many others (it would now seem). Having just returned from my tenth (!!) Immerse experience, I felt it fitting to mark the occasion with a reflective blog of sorts.

We recently spent five days with this years Year In The Son students on a journey through the greatest story ever told. A story that breaks down preconceived ideas about a God that was once distant and unobtainable, and reveals his loving heart and relationship with his creation.

The setting was beautiful.

{Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliot.}

 The students were inviting, fun, adventurous and ever so sarcastic… (That last bit could be something I inspired and maybe even encouraged… whoops!)

The Story was confronting, challenging, inspiring, restoring, encouraging and motivating. We wondered about what it would have been like to be there – what we would have seen, smelt, felt, tasted…?

{The separation experience}

Once again, I saw a genuine community form around laughter, prayer, inclusion, and the courage to ask questions we may not have the answers to – yet. We dared to venture into the realm of the heavenlies and walked out with reshaped hearts.

{Re-telling the story with some artistic flare.}

{Inside the story room}

We even played duck, duck, goose. (Sadly, no photographs were taken of this.)

But at the end of the day, the reward is not in the friendships made, the laughs had, or the new range of instagram photos I have to share. (Although they are all great things, of course.) No – it’s when you read the thank you letters from your students and you can’t hold back the smile….

“… to experience the bible in such a practical way has made it come alive!”

“… I’m actually excited to pick up my bible now.”

“… I’m feeling more confident in my faith and loved what I learned.”

“… the way we received it, I think it will stay with me for a long time.”

If I could selfishly ask for any more than this, it would be that the story inspired a new group of movement makers, dedicated to sharing the story with others.

Perhaps there will be many more that will mark a number ten against their list of Immerse experiences. I surely hope so. Not because it is some revolutionary answer to contemporary youth ministry in Australia (although, I do occasionally wonder…) but because the journey of these past four years has made me, shaped me, taught me and led me to the very position I am currently in. And let me say, the view from here is amazing. A little scary at times, admittedly, but amazing nonetheless.

To my four special girls, you were indeed a sprinkle of delight in my life. (Get me a bucket.)

😉

Just saying.

J xo

Don’t box me in.

Posted in God by

[Originally published 20th December 2011]

I feel I should start with an admission… a confession.

At a younger age, I went through the “Hillsong-dream-phase”. I secretly wanted to be the next Darlene Zschech, a feeling that I admit contributed to me going to Bible College to study Music Ministry. But I grew up, I got over it, moved on, and don’t need to post inflammatory blogposts to vent about how it’s Hillsong’s fault that I once idolised Darlene.  If anyone is to blame for my Darlene-aspirations, it’s me. But I don’t think there’s much wrong with finding a role-model  in who was one of the best in the field I wanted to work in. Isn’t that just part of growing up? So that’s what I did – I grew up, realised there is more to ministry than writing the next big contemporary worship song, and more to church than four walls and flashy lights… and annual reports…

My friend Andrew recently posted a blog about the issue of Christian consumerism and the profit vs giving debate in mega-churches like Hillsong. A lot of what Andrew wrote is fair, and to give some context to what I’m about to write I encourage you to read it. However, since we are all entitled to our opinion, I’d like to respond. (Andrew is actually a personal friend of mine and we are not strangers to friendly debates over such matters. I am confident he will enjoy this… hehe)

I should start by saying that I don’t much care for the “Hillsong – profit vs giving” issue.

What I do care for is the assumption that we* are all like Hillsong, or want to be like them. Don’t box me in.

(*faith-filled Jesus freaks, aka the average Christian.)

I also care about the link between Christian consumerism and Jesus. Whatever is wrong with the “mega-church”, it’s not Christianity that is the problem. The heart of the Gospel is (as it has always been) about sacrificial love, the restoration of brokenness and the service of others. If this message has been warped or misunderstood along the way, it’s not Jesus’ fault. Humans are not perfect and sometimes we get it wrong. But just because some of us get it wrong, doesn’t meant we all do.

Don’t box me in.

On that point, while I often enjoy and appreciate the work of Banksy, I do find his image of Jesus offensive. Why? Because it’s not His fault. It falsely depicts that the cause of Christian consumerism to be rooted in Jesus and the cross. This is ridiculous. How can a man who willingly gave up his life, never owned much, didn’t search for fame, be at the heart of consumerism? #confusedface

I don’t believe that ‘in Churches, size matters’. In actual fact, size doesn’t matter at all. Furthermore, the ‘size’ of a ‘church’ is open to personal interpretation anyway. Big or small churches, what’s the difference? We’re all part of a global community of believers anyway – it’s up to you how you distinguish between the individual groups within the worldwide community. If you do that by dividing us into buildings with various signage that reads “Baptist”, “Lutheran”, “Uniting” or even “Pentecostal”, that’s your prerogative. I for one, don’t see the walls. I just see the people.

In a faith community this large, (I’m talking globally now) there’s bound to be differences when you break it down between the individual or smaller groups. But just because we all believe in the same God, please don’t assume we all aspire to be like the biggest, loudest, richest and best-dressed one of us. We don’t all aspire to be like Hillsong.

Don’t box me in.

I do, however, agree that the entire church should be the example of giving to the rest of the world. I also believe it should also be the example of love, acceptance, growth, truth, justice and everything else that Jesus lived and died for.

Dare I suggest that if you dared to dig a little deeper, or ask around, you will find a growing number of Christians that DON’T follow the Hillsong model, that care less for slick Sunday Services, great looking buildings and worship teams. I haven’t actually purchased a Hillsong album for a long time. The Christian faith DOES in fact thrive in people’s living rooms.

And it’s often these low-profile groups of believers that fund various works both locally and globally.

I can tell you about a gathering of hundreds of young Christians that regularly give of their time AND money to fund and participate in a project that protects, cares for, and celebrates teenagers in Adelaide. This same group of Christians are now responsible for an operation that aims to do the same thing in the heart of Adelaide’s city during peak night times on Saturdays.

This operation isn’t a “mega church”. But it is the church doing something pretty ‘mega’ in my eyes. The coolest part is that you won’t find this group of Christians in one particular building each Sunday. It’s scattered all over South Australia. It’s still church though… ‘cos “the church” is a movement of people. Not a building.

Don’t box me in.

There may be some problems with how mega churches do what they do, but they are only one part of a much bigger, less definable, global community of Christians who all do things differently.

I believe my responsibility is to live my life according to the truth I know. Not point the finger at those who I deem worthy of my judgement.

Don’t box me in.

Just sayin’

He loved me enough.

Posted in God by

[Originally published 22nd April 2011]

“The curtain it closed and it felt like the end. But your blood caught the fall and took away every sin. Even though men deny, you’re the only sacrifice that loved us enough. You loved us so much, Lord, that you gave your life. See, you saved my life.”

When I hear these words, I am drawn back to the brokenness of this world and those who live in it – us. And on a day like today, Good Friday, I take a moment (well, actually I take the whole day…) to dwell on one of the most (if not THE most) significant events that I believe changed the course of humanity.

FACT: We live in a broken world. Just look around you. I used to struggle to understand this and often questioned how this God-dude fit into the whole picture. But over the years I have come to believe brokenness doesn’t make sense without God.

I can’t understand brokenness outside the context of sin. (Cos that’s what sin is.) And to know sin, I need to know God. But the beauty of this is that once I understand sin in the light of God, (the one from whom sin tears us away from,) I am immediately exposed to the love and forgiveness that happened on this day, Good Friday. So while Good Friday reminds us of pain, separation and hurt, I cannot dwell on this sadness for more than a moment when the truth of sacrificial love and salvation come bursting into my darkness and give me the hope that makes my brokenness bearable.

And all because He loved me enough.

This is what I believe. Hope that’s ok with you.

By the way, that song I quoted at the start is “Hero“, by Kirk Franklin. Check it out. He’s one of my favs…

Love.

J x

Braced for battle…

Posted in God, Life by

[Originally published 17th March 2011]

It’s the time of year again, and I’m in Sydney for Colour Conference once more.

On the one hand I am excited about the weekend ahead, and have some amazing memories and lessons learned from previous Colour Conferences. (This is my fourth, and I love it every time) However, I can’t deny that a couple of hours out of our first session, I’m a little afraid. Why? Because the enemy awaits and the battlefield is set… No, not the spiritual enemy, but an emotional enemy. I’m talking about the Christian culture that celebrates marriage and occasionally finds wives  innocently bragging about their amazing husbands and all the amazing things about marriage… Leaving us single chicks feeling rather uncelebrated and unqualified as women.

As per a previous blog post I have mentioned that I haven’t always found it easy to be a twenty-something single Christian female. Over time I have processed most of these feelings and can happily say I am in a place where I am ‘ok’ being where I’m at in life. However, on the brink of one of the largest Christian Women’s conferences in the world, I can’t help but feel I am about to enter a battle; the battle of being ‘ok’ in a room full of passionate (and mostly married) women, who look for jewelery on your left hand right after they smile and say hello… Yes, it happens. And no, I don’t have any bling on my ring finger. Unfortunately. Man I really love bling… 😉

The trouble with being a 27 year old, single, female, Christian in Adelaide…

Posted in God, Life by

[Originally published on 13th Nov 2010]

All the descriptive words in the title of this post describe me. I am all of that. And before I go off on my rant, here’s my disclaimer…

(1) Life is good. I’m not unhappy.

(2) This isn’t about some self-indulgent, personal vent. I know I’m not the only one who experiences this and I don’t mind admitting that life can be tough sometimes, even amongst the good times.

I expect none of this will be news to anyone, but I don’t think it hurts to just put it out there… Just saying…

I turned 27 in August – – I recently discovered that I have grown up with a core-belief that it’s expected to be married by your mid-twenties. Hence, my birthday this year brought up some discomfort with being single. Should I be feeling that I’ve been ‘left on the shelf”? NO! Are you kidding me? But do I feel it anyway? Yes, sometimes. The truth is the majority of people in the ‘real-world’ don’t get married until their thirties. Having said that, there were times when marriage looked like a serious possibility and as much as it hurt to walk away at the time I am happy with where I am at now, compared to where I could have been. I also acknowledge that it’s only in recent years that I’ve truly started discovering who I am and what I’ve been created for. I can’t imagine what life would be like as a young married person not knowing what I now know about myself. 

I’ve been single for a while now – – Do I get lonely? Yep. Do I like admitting that? Of course not. No one does. ‘Cos life is meant to be perfect with Jesus at your side right? I wish. Truth is, life isn’t perfect as a Christian, but it does make the difficult times a lot more bearable. Knowing that I have a hope and faith that allows me to cast my burdens onto someone stronger than me. So the loneliness can really suck sometimes but being single has its ‘ups’. I must admit I enjoy having the freedom with my spare time that doesn’t exist when you have to factor someone else into it all the time. 

I am a girl… duh… – – Do I dream about the day when I get to walk down the aisle? Sure, sometimes. But I wonder if that might still be the case if weddings, marriages & brides weren’t celebrated such a way that it leaves us single women feeling so uncelebrated just cos our left ring finger remains so bare. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never truly succeed in life until my surname changes and I’m a part of the young-married’s club. 

I am a Christian and I live in Adelaide – – We all know it’s a small town. As if it isn’t hard enough as it is to meet someone new, I gotta narrow it down even more by looking for someone with the same faith and love for Jesus… Now, when you meet someone new it’s hard to not automatically go into sussing-out-mode (or be temped to face-stalk them) because you know that person is rare. What’s worse is that you feel like all the non-single people in the room notice when two eligible single people are having a nice chat in the church foyer or at supper one night. If you are one of those people that like to look, stare and talk, please let me ask nicely – Stop it. It’s annoying and puts unwanted pressure on the friendship to be something that probably isn’t destined to be anyway. 90% of the time we all just want to be friends anyway. (And yes, I believe that it’s possible to have a healthy friendship with other single guys in this world. So if you see me having coffee with someone don’t assume it’s a date, please.)

Why did I bother to write this? Maybe cos I think someone needs to say it, so we’re all aware that is isn’t easy and maybe, just maybe, we could be a little more sensitive to wherever we’re at in life.

If you’re married, congratulations. I’m a little bit jealous of you. If you’re single, then rock on. Enjoy it while it lasts. ‘Cos while I’m happy to admit that I don’t want to be single, it can be lots of fun and I believe firmly that marriage is forever so once my single days are over, they are well and truly over.

Just saying…