sunday, blessed sunday

I had a Sunday in Brisbane before the arrival of our GO! Team, and it was spent with the church at Ann Street. It's a small multi-ethnic congregation in the heart of the city, doing what they can to stay alive, grow, and impact their world for the Gospel. They're a mix of white and indigenous Australia, international students, homeless, old timers and newbies. All with one overriding need and desire- to know the life and hope that Jesus offers.

I spoke in the morning service and I was blessed by being back in a small church environment, where time constraints aren't a major factor (not like a mega-church schedule, anyway) and there's an ability to simply exhale and relax before the Lord. The service operated on a more personal basis (that can be good or bad), and I think I'd forgotten how good it was to be a part of such an experience. My spirit was encouraged and strengthened, and I felt I had quality time with God. That's always good.

The afternoon was a blast. My Aussie friend (and Ann St. elder), Tim and I popped into an Islander service that meets downstairs at the church. This little group, about 25 this Sunday, is led by Pastor Graham from Papua New Guinea. We're friends, and when he saw us come in, he promptly told his people that I'd be bringing the message! I shared the account from Luke 9, when Jesus challenged three men to count the cost of following Him. I talked about the priority of lordship and the excuses we make, and even had a running conversation for a time with a homeless guy in the back. I guess some things never change!

As I sat, Pastor Graham offered an impassioned invitation based on the message, and before it was all said and done- and trust me, there was lots said!- 14 people stood before us to recommit their lives to the Lord. It was a great way to end the day, seeing God's hand move in the lives of people a world away from mine. And it reminded me of the urgency of our message wherever we go. For surely, just as people hunger to know Jesus in a real way here in Oz, so in our own neighborhoods and backyards people need the same message. Because they have the same needs. The same hurts. The same Savior.

You may never make it down here, but you've got a message and an audience wherever you are. Look around and find that person in your life now who could use some good news. Then make it your priority to get that message to him or her in some way. No airfare or passport necessary.

Just a heart that cares.

the land of oohs and oz

Tonight's the night! Sunday, the 28th, our KACC GO! Team Australia boards a Quantas 747 and heads for 2 weeks in Brisbane. There are 16 total team members (some shown in this pic) and they'll have a group in the state of Queensland eagerly waiting their arrival. Since I'm already in country, I'll be able (for once) to actually meet my own team coming into their field of service- at 6:00 am on the 3oth!

Australia's a secular county that has seen declining interest and participation in Christianity for several years. And yet there's a spiritual hunger in the lives of many that is opening their hearts again to the words and path of Jesus. Our team will once again partner with Ann Street Church of Christ in the heart of Brisbane (where our own Daun Slauson serves as a missionary!), joining them in sports and evangelistic outreaches to local youth, as well as in service projects. We'll serve alongside Ann Street as they host their monthly version of our Community Supper, will spend several days in an outback community building relationships with locals there as we share our message of life with them, and will even take in an Aussie Rules football game (seen on left)!

Our goal is to serve the Australian Church in every way possible as we learn about God's work (and our part in it) in another culture. We'll continue to build on relationships begun by prior teams and leave a good base on which future teams may continue to add. Please pray for our effectiveness as servants and witnesses, opportunities and boldness, safety and new life perspectives. And for lives to be touched for eternity- theirs and ours.

And check back here for info and thoughts about this experience. Good on ya!

can't get over being down under

As Willy once sang, "I'm on the road again...", my bags are packed and I left for New Zealand and Australia last Sunday (follow at http://www.kaccgoteams.blogspot.com/). The current stop in New Zealand is to get to know a church planting team we're supporting in Christchurch. I'll go on from here to meet our Global Outreach team in Brisbane as we connect again with our missionary, Daun Slauson, and our friends at Ann Street Church of Christ.

My time in NZ, short as its been, has been eye-opening and challenging. So many spiritual needs in this culture. So many similarities with our situation (and many others). Tonight I was struck by those similarities as my hosts brought in a movie, one that speaks of the life situation of the Maori people, the indigenous population of this country. It's called Once Were Warriors, and it chronicles the life of a contemporary Maori family in Auckland, complete with their struggles and challenges.

Once Were Warriors is an intense movie that showcases the futility in which many indigenous people find themselves. Life issues (employment, education, choices) create a downward spiraling cycle that catches the family in alcoholism, abuse, gangs, and violence- a far cry from the ancestry from which they came. The factors and resolve necessary to break such a cycle come at a terribly high price, and while there is forward movement by movie's end, I'm left struggling with images and situations depicted. For a couple of reasons.

First, the life circumstances in which these Maori (and certainly not all Maori face such challenges) are not unique to this culture. Hauntingly similar parallels may be drawn with the Aboriginals of Australia, highland tribal groups of the Philippines, our own Native Americans and more. I shudder to think just how many peoples throughout the world are caught in similar webs of destruction. Surely we must recognize and deal with common factors and reasons if real progress is to be made in reversing so many of these patterns.

Secondly, this movie was secular and the high price paid was the life of an individual. But the spiritual reality is that an infinitely higher price has already been paid for damaged and broken lives (and doesn't that include us all?)- the life of God's own Son. His death provides the path to break through old destructive patterns and discover life the way He intended us to live it. And it's the responsibility of those of us who've chosen to walk this path to do whatever we can to help others walk it as well. I guess I'm bothered by that inasmuch as there are so many traveling the wrong direction, and sometimes I feel that we (I?) do so little to effectively intervene in a way that makes a difference. That's what we're to be about, no matter where we go, no matter what we do. So many are dying before us- what difference do they make to us...and what difference do we make to them? That's a great reminder for me at the front end of a missions trip.

And at every point in life.