Favourite contemporary church songs
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Richardson on Rudd
A brutally honest appraisal. A clear message is coming across through these reports - Rudd was a deeply unpopular leader within the party who was tolerated only because he was successful. As soon as the success vaporated, so did his support...
Global earthquake led to Rudd’s fall
A really brilliant piece of analysis by Jeremy. Many lessons for church leadership in this.
Electricity bill :-(
Power bills are already bad...they are going to go through the roof once there is a price attached to carbon...
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The Challenge - Behind Closed Doors
Hartcher takes us into the back room deals that led to Gillard assuming the top job
Toy Story 3
Saw this with one of the lads this evening. Great characters, great story, very funny, and I was fighting back the tears at the end, as well. Just an all round excellent movie.
Poll bounce for ALP
Gillard begins her honeymoon. I imagine things will settle down a bit in a couple of months, but if she performs well, she will probably shore up the labor primary vote...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Rudd's leadership mistakes
Interesting analysis. It points to five key leadership errors -
* Lack of consultation
* Lack of compassion
* Lack of calm
* Lack of decisiveness
* Lack of delegation
Chapter 14 is underway
Here is a rough draft of my OP -
Preaching lay at the heart of the evangelical revival of the eighteenth century. The early heroes of the movement, Whitefield and Wesley, are remembered today mostly for their remarkable preaching. For the evangelical Anglican, the sermon was the climax of divine service. It was in the sermon that God spoke most clearly and directly to His people. It was in the sermon that the gospel message was most plainly expounded, the message that possessed the unique power to bring sinners to spiritual rebirth and life. For the evangelical, a call to the ministry was a call to preach, and Johnson was no exception in this regard. He saw himself primarily as a preacher, appointed to proclaim God's grace in Christ to "miserable offenders". So, what sort of a preacher was he?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fight for the ALP leadership
I am astounded by this - so foolish in an election year. The ALP seem determined to self-destruct.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The Psychology of Atheism
Really enjoyed this talk by RC Sproul - I found his position very persuasive and encouraging. You can download it for free on iTunes...
Speaking of books...
I've essentially finished my review of sources for chapter 14, though I am still waiting for a hard-copy source to arrive in the mail. In the next week or so I hope to start actually writing the chapter. Lots of folk have asked me about the book recently, and said they are looking forward to reading it. It's given me great encouragement to push on and finish. Something else has happened though, which has made me dig in the spurs - I've had an idea for my next book. It is so bold and presumptuous and outrageous that I've tried hard to shake it loose, but it wont let go, so I guess I'll have to write it. But I need to finish this book first...
Kevin O'Lemon
This is a pretty funny and cutting ad by the coalition. I still think he will win the next election, but it is extraordinary to see the turnaround...
Sovereign Grace Church Plant
Looks like it is all getting underway. Sharp eyed SydAngers may recognise a familiar face in the crowd...
Monday, June 21, 2010
bz night
Kung-fu then quite a bit of writing to do - none of it on my book! :-( But should have some time this week to finish my source survey for chapter 14...
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Going to a ball tonight
The girl has been looking forward to this for months. Should be a good time...
Australia's First Sermon - an historical puzzle
It's (relatively) well known that the first sermon in Australia was preached by Richard Johnson on February 3rd, 1788, with the text being Psalm 116:12 - "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?" You'll see this sermon referred to in numerous places, and there's even a little monument to it in Hunter St, Sydney. But did this actually happen?
I'm currently writing a chapter on Johnson's preaching, and I wanted to trace this fact back to it's source. Regarding the secondary sources I'm mostly using, both Manning Clark and Neil Macintosh refer to this sermon, but (unusually), neither gives a reference. When I looked at a collection of Johnson's Letters, I finally found the citation I was after. The editor (Mackaness), writes -
It is recorded that on this momentous occasion "the behaviour of the convicts was regular and attentive," to which Lieutenant Ralph Clark, whose informative journal is in the Mitchell Library, though still unpublished, adds: "We had a very good sermon, the text being taken from the 116th Psalm, and the 12th verse, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?'."
Ah ha! But here's the puzzle. When I checked the manuscript for Clark's journal, the entry for 3rd Feb, 1788 simply says "Had a very good sermon." There is no reference to the bible text! If this info didn't come from Clark, where did it come from? Is it one of those little historical myths that crop up every now and again, or am I missing something? I'll be doing some more investigation, and I'll let you know what I find...
Shout out to Balmain Auto Repairs
I needed a pink slip. Rocked up there at 8am Saturday morning, no appointment. They took about 10 minutes to look over the car, then gave me one, no hassles. Didn't try to touch me up for unnecessary repairs or anything. Cost me $30, which seems pretty fair. Good job, guys.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Wanted: real leadership
A good article from Gittins on leadership. A quote - "Turns out we have no respect for a leader who merely gives us what we say we want. Somewhere inside us there is a semi-conscious understanding - probably born of our experience as children - that we need a leader who sometimes imposes on us things we don't fancy but he knows are for our own good."
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Richard Johnson Bio...
I've commenced researching chapter 14, which describes Johnson the preacher. I'm currently looking at some of the men who influenced his preaching, which has been pretty fascinating...
The 80s are back
We went and checked out the 80s exhibit on at the Powerhouse Museum yesterday. It was good fun...
Monday, June 14, 2010
Richard Johnson Bio...
Finished Chapter 13. It was a time-consuming but fascinating chapter to write, all about the search for an assistant colonial chaplain. I have 7 chapters to go...
Dwarfs and Giants
This is a new podcast by Angus Courtney of St Phillip's York St. From the blurb - "Dwarfs and Giants is a podcast about theology and history and the relationship between them. It looks at Christian and secular ideas, interesting individuals, good books and parts of history that have shaped Christian theology in a significant way." I've listened to the first two episodes and they are very good...
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Anglicans and the P&C
From this report in the SMH today -
THE Anglican Church is encouraging Christians to join school P&C committees in order to ''branch stack'' them with people who will speak up for religious education over the secular ethics classes being trialled in NSW primary school.
This is a very bad look. Our own research has shown that the vast majority of people in Sydney have a positive attitude towards the Anglican church. I fear that we are doing ourselves unnecessary damage by this political campaign.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The Hymn Debate
In Southern Cross this month, Justin Moffatt and I crossed swords on the subject of hymns. I'm told it has generated a lot of feedback. I look forward to reading it next month...
Dancing...
Went back to dancing 2nite after a couple of weeks off. We did the slow rhythm (probably my favourite) and the jive.
Loving your neighbour..?
Was reading this today from Proverbs 6 -
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor
or entered into an agreement with a stranger,
you have been trapped by the words of your lips —
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor's power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Don't give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.
Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,
like a bird from a fowler's trap.
or entered into an agreement with a stranger,
you have been trapped by the words of your lips —
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor's power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.
Don't give sleep to your eyes
or slumber to your eyelids.
Escape like a gazelle from a hunter,
like a bird from a fowler's trap.
I was wondering how this reconciles with "love your neighbour". Wouldn't putting up security for them be a loving thing to do? Yet scripture is very opposed to this idea...
Monday, June 07, 2010
Southern Cross
Really enjoyed this months Southern Cross. The content has been excellent the last few months...
Federal Politics
A disastrous poll result for federal Labor today. Kevin's fall from popularity has been as quick and spectacular as his rise. History says that a government doesn't lose office in Australia after a single term, but we are in a very different age now, one with sub-second attention spans and unrelenting info-dump. Perhaps a single term is a long time in politics these days, the equivalent of two terms in the past.
Personally, I suspect that the ALP will bounce back before the election and hold on with a much reduced majority. This may actually be what's best for the coalition, because they still look a little undercooked to me. Regardless, there can be no doubt that the shine has worn off KRudd. I've heard that he is very unpopular in the party room, and I would not be surprised to see a leadership challenge next term.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Kung Fu
Just about got my first form sorted out. These things are hard, like dance choreography. There was a grading last week, though I couldn't make. I'm not ready to grade up, anyway...
Richard Johnson Biography - Update
After a bit of stalling, I finished my source survey for chapter 13, which concerns the appointment of an assistant for Johnson. There are some interesting twists and turns in this little tale. Now I just need to find 2 hours and a clear head to turn this into a proper draft chapter.
Friday, June 04, 2010
The A-Team
Can't wait to see this - the trailers look good! As a bonus, one of my favourite fighters, Rampage Jackson, is playing B.A. Baracus...
Xstrata coal halts $600m project
This will hurt the PM, especially in Qld, which was so pivotal to his election victory in 2007.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Nice night
Went to dinner with the girl in Newtown, to a place called "Sherpa" or something. It was Nepalese. I was not game to order "Sherpa Soup". We then wandered down to Gould's and spent a claustrophobic half hour looking at books. I've had a recent craving for some pulpy sci-fi, so I bought a few...
Church Song Pool
Here is the current song pool I am using for church. I am really pleased with it -
Beneath the cross
Blessed Be Your Name
Come Hear the Angels Sing
For You Alone are Holy
God Moves
God of Wonders
Grace Unmeasured
He Is Holy
How Deep
How Great Is Our God
How Marvelous
In the Valley
It Is Not Death to Die
Jesus Thank You
Kingdom Song
Let Your Kingdom Come
My Hope Is Built
Never Alone
Take My Life
The Voice of the Lord
We Belong to the Day
We Cry Abba
You Are God
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
No history
I went to Koorong today to look for a book on the history of Christianity in Australia, especially Anglicanism. There was nothing there. The shop assistant told me this is an area where we are "badly under-resourced".
Update: Not surprisingly, Moore Books seems to have a better selection in this area.
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