My Writings. My Thoughts.

First Chapel Service

// February 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

We had a great first chapel service in our new Auditorium. The topic was ‘What do you feed yourself?’.

We made a smoothie on stage where the students voted on the ingredients. It ended up containing sardines, octopus, spaghetti and milk!!

We looked at Psalm 119:102-104 Where David explains how God’s teaching and instructions were sweet to his lips and helpful for understanding life.

We have a choice to feed ourselves good things that will help us or not so good  things which will leave a bitter taste in our mouths and be harmful to ourselves and others.

Can’t wait till next week!!

Volunteers to drink the smoothie

Volunteers to drink the smoothie

Priorities for a New Chaplain

// January 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Chaplaincy, Spiritual

Posted on this a yr ago but may be helpful to some new readers.
Yesterday the school installed you as their Chaplain.   You know that you need to prepare excellent chapel services, disciple christian students, and listen to those who are going through tough times etc but how do you actually start? What should you do on your first week?

There is a sense in which you shouldn’t do a thing. No, don’t stay home and watch foxtel. Just don’t think that you need to change everything in three months. You may have the title, but the position of chaplain is as much earned as conferred. There is much to learn about your school and students before you start making changes or implementing any strategic ideas.

With that in mind, here are five priorities you should bring to your first week of chaplaincy.

Priority 1 – Learn everything you can about the people you will be involved with (Involvement – 1 Peter 5.1-4).

You are a shepherd. Good shepherds smell like sheep, and they know their sheep by name. Suggestions:  Talk to previous chaplains. learn all that you can about the founding of the school. What was the original doctrinal statement if they had one? does the school have any statements of belief or Denominational statements that you should be familiar with?

Become familiar with the “old-timers.”  Talk to the staff members who have been at the school the longest. Ask them about traditions, histories, policies, and so forth. Ask what they thought worked well with chapel services in the past and what they think can be improved. Make sure you introduce yourself to everyone on staff - especially the people in the office and the maintenance crew as they will be the people you will need to ask favours off in the future!!

Priority 2 – Spend time with  leadership (Humility – Philippians 2.5-8).

Suggestions:  arrange time to sit down and talk with the senior staff member in the school. Ask them how your role can assist them. these people are the ones who have the power to make the decisions in the school so it is vital that your role as chaplain is ‘on their radar screens’. Know where the school is heading, especially in terms of any new building projects, so that you can be thinking ahead to how you may utilise the new space for chaplaincy/school activities. eg my school is in the process of building a new performance space that will be perfect for chapel/ministry events.

Ask them for their assessment of the school’s spiritual health? Ask what key events in the school’s calender should be celebrated and whether there are any events or milestones that should be added to that list.

Identify your strong christian students who are willing to be involved in Chaplaincy events. It is great to have a few in each grade so that they can encourage their friends along to events and also make announcements to the grade at assemblies if necessary.

Priority 3 – Plan your speaking (God’s means of growth – Romans 10.17).

Preaching in chapel is a huge priority for the chaplain. It is listed here as number 3 for the sake of thought-progression. The information you gather will influence your what you speak on and who your ‘target audience’ is.

Chapel services are usually compulsory which means that you are going to have students sitting in the service who want to be there and some students who don’t want to be there. Through the chapel service you have the opportunity to give students a positive experience of  Jesus. If you make your talks boring and irrelevant then those who don’t go to church wont want to start going.

Work hard on presenting your message in an engaging way (think youtube clips, student interaction/participation, guest speakers, students musical items, talk about current events etc). If you can speak in a way that not only engages with the audience but brings words of comfort and life then the students will start looking forward to chapel and may even consider comeing along to other things that you run in the school during the week.

Priority 4 – Spend time with students who aren’t Christians (Considering others – Philippians 2.4).

Hang out at recess and lunch with students who might not have any reason to talk with you as a Chaplain. Chances are in the future they will have some event in their life that means they will want someone to talk to and if they know you and are familiar with you then they will be more likely to have a chat about the deep issues in their life.

Always be willing to get involved in sporting teams and excursions as it provides great opportunities to ‘hang out’ with students outside of a school setting. It also enables you be there for those important moments when they achieve eg winning a sporting match or swimming carnival. It is vital that chaplains should be there for the students in the tough times but also the times of celebration.

Priority 5 – Plant a fruit tree (or a garden) (Faithfulness – 1 Corinthians 4.2).

Things that produce fruit need cultivation and time, and watching a tree grow will remind you of that. You have started a marathon; pace yourself.

The key thing I have found for seeing something grow is repetition and momentum. You need to begin something and then make sure it continues. For example if you start a prayer group before school but you always are late or forget about it then the students will not come as they are not sure if you are going to be there or not. You need to earn their trust by making sure events and meetings happen if you say they will.  My prayer group at school is growing steadily as students know it will always be on (if I am away I arrange one of my student chaplains to take the meeting).

My piece of advice is to begin things slowly, don’t ‘bite off more than you can chew’ because if you regularly start something and then it just stops, the students will become cautious about getting involved and will wait to see if this latest event or meeting will last before they commit.

based roughly upon http://9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526|

I’m Back!!

// January 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

After a few weeks on Christmas holidays I’m back for the new year - lets go build some dreams!!

Winning v Success

// December 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

With profound simplicity, Coach John Wooden redefines success and urges us all to pursue the best in ourselves. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father’s wisdom.

What strikes me most about Coach Wooden’s talk is his emphasis on teaching and developing character over winning. One of his three most important rules, “no criticizing of teammates, I’m paid to do that,” is a great rule that translates well to the classroom and the workplace.

Poem about Following Jesus

// December 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Adrian Plass – Amen

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, Your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen – I think.

But , Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say Amen! – a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good Book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true, he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You said I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say, Amen – tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me,
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit.
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said, Amen! – I quit.
I’m very sorry, Lord, I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said, Forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry,
When the nails break your body – are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn t upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again.
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

Bible Rapped in 4 Minutes

// December 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Spiritual

Here are the lyrics:

It’s the greatest story ever told.
A God pursues foes whose hearts turned cold.
The greatest story ever told.
Restoring all that the enemy stole.
The greatest story ever told.
The glory of Christ is the goal, behold.
The greatest story ever told.
It’s the greatest.

Alright check it: let’s go back in time, brethren. Divine lessons always keep your mind guessing. The glory of the Triune God is what I’m stressing. The origin of humankind was fine. Blessings were plenteous. God is amazingly generous. Crazy benefits in a state of innocence. God told the man what he could taste was limited. Not long after came our nemesis in Genesis. He scammed well, man fell, damned to hell. The whole human race—he represented it. Fooled by the serpent, man through his work, woman through birth—even the earth ruled by the curses. But instead of a wake immediately. God said her Seed would be the One to crush the head of the snake. Yo, wait what is this? Whoa, a gracious gift! In Jehovah’s faithfulness He clothed their nakedness. This was so they would know their Savior’s kiss and bliss. But first, many growing pains exist suffering in the worst form, ugly deeds. Eve’s firstborn seed made his brother bleed. Indeed things got progressively worse. Every section of the earth is been affected by the curse. And though God’s judgments against sin were gory, praise the Lord! It’s not the end of the story.

Next scene: man’s sin was extreme. God gets steamed, man gets creamed. The Lord is so Holy that He drowned them in the water. Fire in the valley of slaughter – Sodom and Gomorrah. But at the same time, He’s so gracious and patient that from one man He created a whole nation. Eventually enslaved by the mentally depraved, they cried out to the only One with the strength that He could save. He brought them out with signs and wonders – satisfied their hunger. Then He appeared on Mount Sinai in thunder. Where He laid down the law for God-ruled government. Commonly referred to as the Mosaic covenant. Sin was imputed. So for man to know he’s unrighteous, God instituted animal sacrifices. This was to show our constant need for atonement. And when it came to sin, the Lord would never condone it. And when His people disobeyed and went astray, He raised up prophets and kings to lead them in the way. But they would get foul with their idolatry—wet and wild prophecy—send them into exile. To take their punishment like a grown man. Then with His own hand He placed them back in their homeland. And while in their forefather’s land they dwelt, they awaited the arrival of Emmanuel.

After 400 silent years filled with sighs and tears. In Bethlehem the Messiah appears. God in the flesh—Second Person of the Trinity. At thirty begins His earthly ministry. Baffling cats with accurate, exact facts and back-to-back miraculous acts. A stumbling block to the self righteous. But the humbled—His flock, said “There’s no one else like this.” He came from heaven to awake the numb. Demonstrated His power over nature, son. A foretaste of the Kingdom and the age to come. But the reason He came was to pay the sum for the depths of our wickedness, our wretched sinfulness. Bless His magnificence! He is perfect and innocent. Yet He was wrecked and His death. He predicted it. Next He was stretched, paid a debt that was infinite. He said that He finished it. Resurrected so the elect would be the recipients of its benefits. Through faith and penitence we get to be intimate. His grace is heaven sent, it never diminishes. Now the Holy Spirit indwelling is the evidence for heaven’s future residents who truly represent Jesus, the Author, Producer, Director, and Star of a story that will never, ever end!

NT Wright on Blogging/Social Media

// December 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Technology

Snippet of an interview with theologian NT Wright on the issue of blogging/social media. I believe NT Wright is urging caution on the use of blogging at the expense of human interaction rather that the medium itself.

The main danger with blogging is that everyone has equal voice and discernment is needed when reading material online. Watch the video for yourself below.

NT Wright on Blogging/Social Media from Bill Kinnon on Vimeo.

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