Archive for April, 2005

Email, multi-tasking, exhaustion and IQ

Monday, April 25th, 2005

Cartoon from The Times - That's not your mobile, it's the remote for the TVInfomania is leading to reduced IQ.
That’s the message coming through this weekend.

I read it first sitting in Australia Fair, looking out over the Broadwater, espresso in one hand, The Australian in the other. The mobile phone was at home, keeping the laptop company.

There on page 17 was the heading, “Low IQ 2day, m8? It’s the technology, stupid”. Michael Horsnell of The Times told me all about the research at King’s College that exposes the impact of constant checking and sending of emails and SMS messages at work and home. It’s getting so bad that people will even check their work email when they’re on holiday or at home for the weekend.

Glenn WilsonGlenn Wilson, psychological expert at King’s College, London (pictured right) took 1100 people through tests to measure the impact of constant infotech multi-tasking on their intellectual capacity. He’s found that people become exhausted by trying to focus on too many things at once, holding too much information at once. The result is worse than the impact of smoking marijuana.

That certainly got my attention.
And I’ve followed it up online.
Not everything you read in the newspaper is true!

The London research was sponsored by Hewlett Packard, who issued recommendations on practice in the King’s College press release. These �best practice tips� including using �dead time�, such as travelling time, to read messages and check e-mails and turning devices off in meetings. David Smith, commercial manager of Hewlett Packard UK, said: �The research suggests that we are in danger of being caught up in a 24-hour �always on� society. This is more worrying when you consider the potential impairment on performance and concentration for workers, and the consequent impact on businesses.�

The Times version of Horsnell’s article finished with a few statistics that weren’t included in the condensed Australian version. More than 50 billion e-mails are despatched every day wordwide; in 2001 the traffic was less than 12 billion. Of these 88 per cent are junk e-mails including around 1 per cent which are virus-infected. The average number of e-mail messages received per person per day is 32. This is rising by 84 per cent each year.

Saturday morning I sorted through 1096 unread emails, all from one discussion list, fortunately stored in a separate folder. I normally don’t have the energy to engage with these discussions while I’m focusing on the more pressing parts of my job. Even though I pay to be part of the discussion, I just can’t afford the energy to check in on conversations that ultimately have little to do with my work.

Blogging can blunt my intellectual sharpness. There’s the research I do to keep current on five areas of research can be exhausting. Add to that effort required to write something worth reading. And then there’s catching up with what others are writing - a task that could take over one’s waking hours.

I don’t think it’s just the infotech side that is at work here. It’s the expectation we have about how much information we can process, the number of people we can engage with at one time, and the number of tasks we can take on at one time. I was at a meeting all day Friday. Four out of seven people had their laptops in front of them. One was taking the minutes. The others were mult-tasking - filling in the dull moments by writing emails, reading documents and so on. I didn’t bring my laptop that day. But I found myself drawn to read a pile of documents on my desk from another committee. I believe that as a result of our multi-tasking the meeting lost its intelligence quotient. Why do we do it? It’s because we want to achieve MORE. What we get is more mediocrity.

The problem isn’t going away. We’re going to have to train up the kids in dealing smartly with information overload, or face exhausted, overstretched and mediocre generations.

Scott Peck In Search of Stones

Thursday, April 21st, 2005

In Search Of StonesI’ve just finished reading M. Scott Peck’s book, “In Search of Stones: A Pilgrimage of Faith, Reason and Discovery“.

I’ve been trying to read a chapter a night, just before going to sleep. At twenty one chapters that should have taken three weeks, but I think it’s been more like three months.

In Search of Stones was worth reading and worth blogging about.

Scott Peck and his wife, Lily, in 1992 took a three week trip through the countryside of Wales, England and Scotland, visiting the many megalithic stones that mark the landscape there. Each night Peck journalled the day’s experience, along with related reflections on related aspects of life.

In 1995 the book came out, with illustrations for each day drawn by Chrisopher Peck, the son of Scott and Lily. Topics covered are reason, romance, addiction, holiness, changing, religion, aging, parenthood, money, death, pilgrimage, gratitude, peace, adventure, consideration, space, time, art, integration, despair and conclusions. Peck mines his life experience to share wisdom with his readers. I appreciated Peck’s ability to be frank and yet keep healthy boundaries around private parts of his life that include his wife and children. When considering the meaning of the many standing stones, Peck introduces the concept of over-determination. The term, first used by Freud, helps us resist simplistic reductionist explanations. It’s a useful term that can be used in a number of settings. We are influenced by so many factors and in turn we influence our environment in more ways than we could ever realise.

Scott’s first book, “The Road Less Travelled“, was written in 1978 and has been translated into over 20 languages. I like his first sentence, “Life is difficult”. Inspiring realism!

The next book, “People of the lie: The Hope for Healing of Human Evil“, was an excellent but disturbing exploration of the link between deep dishonesty and the denial of life known as evil.

The third book, published in 1985, was “What Return Can I make? Dimensions of the Christian Experience“, established Peck’s reputation as an evangelist for Christianity in a psychological framework.

The next book, The Different Drum: Community Making and Peacetarget=”blank”", published in 1987, introduced us to the phases of community development. I found his material on emptiness particularly helpful in leading groups of people beyond task orientation. We were treated to the learnings from the Foundation for Community Encouragement, established in 1984 and disestablished in 2001.

The fifth book, “A Bed by the Window: A Novel of Mystery and Redemption“, published in 1990, was a novel set in a nursing home. Not recommended for the prudish.

Scott PeckThat’s as much as I’d read until now.

Scott is now retired and turns 69 next month. His official web site features a biography, a list of his publications, a reference to his archives at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, and an excerpt from a conversation with theology and psychology students at Fuller in 1998, on the soul and God, on being a Christian, and pyschiatric illness.

The FCE web site is still running but is limited to the narrative its beginnings and principles.

Cardinal Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI

Wednesday, April 20th, 2005

I heard the news on the radio this morning about 6.20 am. There is a new pope. And it’s 78 year old Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. He’s been described as a scholar and a leader, a conservative.

Ratzinger first got my attention back in 2000 when he issued a letter to bishops warning them about the use of the phrase “sister church”. The last line got the attention of the press.

“Finally, it must also be borne in mind that the expression sister Churches in the proper sense, as attested by the common Tradition of East and West, may only be used for those ecclesial communities that have preserved a valid Episcopate and Eucharist.”

Understandably anyone who wasn’t Anglican or Orthodox felt somewhat uneasy about this approach. And my Catholic colleagues in youth ministry coordination in New Zealand.

Reading through the document it makes it clear though that Ratzinger was trying to clarify where the Roman Catholic church was at in developing sister relationships with particular churches. He was concerned that the holy Catholic Apostolic Church be seen as the mother of all churches. Did he mean that to be the Roman Catholic church?

The document is online at the Vatican.

We watched Ratzinger officiate at the funeral of John Paul II. As a member of a non-sister church (Uniting Church in Australia) I struggled to be gracious toward the man. I’m sure he’ll have a lot to offer the church.

One fascinating angle on the election of pope has been the speculation linked with the prophecies of St Malachy, Irish bishop at the beginning of the second millennium. Malachy allegedly predicted that there would be 112 more popes before the final judgment. Benedict is number 111, the Glorious Olive. Peter the Roman is to be number 112 and will lead his people through tribulation before the end when Rome is destroyed and the judge presents his judgment. I’ve seen commentators suggest that Malachy only said that the last pope would be Peter the Roman and that there could be any number between the 111 and 112. It all sounds a bit like the rules around how many Dr Who incarnations can take place.

Even though the pope traditionally continues until his death, every one in the long line of succession has been there “for a limited time only”.

One Way Jesus

Wednesday, April 20th, 2005

This week’s gospel reading is from John 14:1-14.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I wouldn’t tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together. You know the way to where I am going.”

I’ve taken many funerals and often read from John 14 at those funerals. I’ve done so because I believe in some sense of life after death, life in a new dimension. In these words Jesus gives us a hope that what we have now is not all there is. He’s inviting his followers to trust that it will be OK in the next dimension.

However I’m not so keen on founding Christian faith on an anxiety about whether or not we’ll make it into heaven. Looking at the life and teaching of Jesus, he didn’t spend a lot of time making sure that his disciples had an assurance of salvation or life in heaven. Most of his work was about making heaven come alive in the lives of people right now.

I’ve always liked the phrase “It’s not just pie in the sky when you die, it’s steak on the plate while you wait”. I heard it first in a Pentecostal church in Invercargill. Sure, there was a hint then of triumphalist expectations that life would be cruisy because of healing and peace of mind. And of course, there’s a consumerist approach underlying the promise. “But wait, there’s more!”
It has been observed that people who have it tough in this life are more motivated to long for the next life. People who have it comfortable are more likely to want to enjoy this life and put out of mind any worries about the next life.

Despite the talk of rooms or mansions Jesus does get into specifics about the next dimension. He focuses more on the relationship that will be sustained even through the transition of death.

Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are going! How can we know the way?”

“I am the way, the truth, and the life!” Jesus answered. “Without me, no one can go to the Father. If you had known me, you would have known the Father. But from now on, you do know him, and you have seen him.”

A man dies and goes to heaven, and meets St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter shows him in, and begins to walk him to his designated room. As they walk, he gives the man a bit of a tour. “Over here in this area are all the Buddists, over here we have the Jews, and over there are all the Hindus.” They’re about to turn a corner when St. Peter says “Shhhhhh, be sure to be real quiet when you’re walking around here.” “Why?” Asks the man. St. Peter answers “Because this is where we keep all the Catholics, and they think they’re the only ones up here.”

Back in the 1970s there was a common bumper sticker with the slogan, “One Way Jesus”. Larry Norman came out with his song, “One way, one way to heaven”. This was all linked up with the conservative Evangelical teaching that people would get into heaven only if they trusted in Jesus’ atoning death on the cross. If you trusted in your own works, you were done for in God’s eyes. If you didn’t even think about the basis for your relationship with God your eternal destiny was in danger.

But I don’t see that approach here in John 14. Jesus says that if we connect with God through Jesus, we’ll be able to do the same things that he did, and even more.

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we need.”

Jesus replied: “Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don’t you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father? Don’t you believe that I am one with the Father and that the Father is one with me? What I say isn’t said on my own. The Father who lives in me does these things. Have faith in me when I say that the Father is one with me and that I am one with the Father. Or else have faith in me simply because of the things I do. I tell you for certain that if you have faith in me, you will do the same things that I am doing. You will do even greater things, now that I am going back to the Father. Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. I will do whatever you ask me to do.”

David Tacey on Australian Spirituality

Monday, April 18th, 2005

Zonker from Doonesbury comic stripThis last weekend I attended a Uniting Church conference featuring David Tacey in a forum on spirituality and the future of religion in Australia, held at Indooroopilly Uniting Church in Brisbane.

David Tacey is not to be confused with David Tracey, Chicago theologian. This David is Associate Professor and Reader of Arts and Critical Enquiry at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

David reminded me a bit of Zonker Harris from Doonesbury comic strip, as shown on the right.

Australia’s changing spiritual and religious landscape

The Friday night session with David included an hour-long lecture on spirituality. He helped us look at spirituality as both transcendent and immanent, including both religious and secular forms. We looked at spirituality as a journey, a life project and a ‘work in progress’. I must admit I missed part of the talk as I was over in Indooroopilly KMart looking for name tag holders to cope with the influx of people registering on the night. KMart didn’t have any! Anyway, I came back to hear David talking about the need to find alternatives to literalistic fundamentalism on the one hand and atheistic progressivism on the other. We were challenged to rediscover the power of myths without becoming captivated by the need to develop rigid belief patterns around them.

The lecture was followed by a very helpful dialogue with a panel of four respondents, Michelle Cook, David Bosch, Ann Cross and Rob Bos.

Teaching and Learning the Art of Spirituality,
or Doing Religion in a Non-Religious World

David TaceyDavid gave us some insights from the course on spirituality he’s been running at La Trobe University. David began with quotes from Douglas Coupland, with particular reference to his book, Life After God. What happens when a whole generation of people are raised without any reference to spirituality? It’s like a beach ball held under the water. It must rise again. One of the most helpful parts of this presentation was the constant reference to the developing spirituality of students. I appreciated the reference to Derrida’s later material in which he engages with religion. “Religion is what succeeds in returning”.

We broke up into small groups. Somehow I ended up having morning tea with David. We got into talking about the impact of Star Wars on the mythology and spirituality of emerging generations. I’ll put something on that in a separate post, with reference to the connection between George Lucas and Joseph Campbell. Over lunch I asked David about the connection with David Tracey. He mentioned presenting a lecture in the United States to a packed auditorium only to discover that people thought they were going to hear the more well known Tracey.

Western Religion and Interiority: Finding Spiritual Resources

Tacey books The session after lunch must be the hardest to stay awake through. I know one conference organiser who bans meat from the lunch menu in an effort to keep people from dozing off. Anyhow, whether asleep or awake, we had an opportunity to engage with the inner human. David’s connection with Carl Jung became evident as we explored the connection between spirituality and the psyche. The Evangelical tradition has long been suspicious of anything that has its source from within rather than from an objective shared resource. We were reminded that religion and spirituality can form a valuable partnership.

Questions

Once again, the most energising part of the afternoon was the dialogue in small groups and in the plenary session after. At one point someone asked how we go about developing ’safe spaces’ for engagement with the sacred. Spaces safe from the extremes of fundamentalism. I think there’s a lot to be said for developing intentional, perhaps time limited, faith communities that find neutral places to meet with others from the community. It’s the Third Place that Ray Oldenburg writes about - not the home, nor the workplace but the public space of cafe or bar where regular conversation is encouraged.

One of the fascinating questions of the day was that of socioeconomic background. We were hearing the stories of postmodernist university students. What about young adults who had no intention of engaging with university study? Was there a spirituality for them? How would it be expressed? How do we help a spirituality develop in their context? I appreciated this question and suspect we could have spent more time engaging with the issues it raised. Spirituality does not need to be an academic exercise. Indeed we too often assume that spirituality is cerebral or contemplative. What about spiritualities that engage with action and camaraderie.

I enjoyed David’s honesty and willingness to humbly think aloud. He showed a willingness to suspend judgment on the spiritual explorations of others, including people who are entering from a conventional perspective.

Books by David Tacey

We had David Tacey’s books on sale. Edge of the Sacred: Transformation in Australia, published in 1995. Re-Enchantment: The New Australian Spirituality, 2000. And The Spirituality Revolution: The Emergence of Contemporary Spirituality, 2003. All published by Harper Collins Australia. The most recent is more accessible to the overseas market. We’re treated to a healthy mixture of autobiographical insight and engagement with worldwide scholarship applied to Australian settings. I’d be interested in anyone’s comments, whether in response to the books or to the conference.

Christ the Good Shepherd

Saturday, April 16th, 2005

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down its life for the sheep.”
John 10

I must admit I haven’t been much of a fan of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. For two reasons.

Lost Lamb, Howard Schroeder of Painted PsalmsOne reason is the over-sentimentalised lamby pamby lovey dovey approach in which children are encouraged to see themselves as helpless little lambs in the care of Jesus. There’s a song that goes “I just want to be a sheep”. Well I just don’t want to be a sheep smothered by sweetness!

The other reason is that I grew up on a sheep farm that was a lot different to the fenceless operation of the Middle East. Male lambs are castrated at an early age. All lambs are tailed. In Australia merino sheep are ‘mulesed’ - parts of their skin are cut off to avoid fly strike. Sheep in this part of the world tend to be left to themselves most of the time. And when they are mustered in, they tend to be either shorn or sent off to the freezing works. Not a great image for the relationship with Jesus!

Maybe a better image down under would be the relationship between farmer/stockman and dog. Of course that wouldn’t have been right for 1st century Palestine. But here there’s a sense of comradeship, care and loyalty.

Having said that, there is still something about being part of the flock, protected and cared for by the good shepherd as expressed in John 10. The sheep in Jesus’ company have quality of life because of their relationship with the shepherd. Note the focus on abundance of life rather than ‘eternal life’ as in John 3:16. The two approaches to life should really go together. Sadly they’re often taken as mutually exclusive goals by different branches of Christianity.

Christ The Good Shepherd

Imagery I’ve been looking at this last week includes the one included above, Christ the Good Shepherd: A 5th century mosaic from the tomb of Galla Placidia, near Ravenna in Italy, in which a clean-shaven Greek-looking Jesus cares for the flock, wielding his cross as shepherd’s crook. The tomb is now the church of Santi Nazario e Celso.

Howard Schroeder of Painted Psalms has in the image, Lost Lamb, at the top of this post, included a foot stamping on a snake, thorns in the foreground, safe sheep in the background, and religiously enhanced mountains!

(Don’t confuse Howard with the other artist of the same name, Howard S. Schroeder, the now deceased Delaware landscape artist, or his son, Howard A. Schroeder, a sculptor in North Carolina.)

First Steps at Spiritual Retreat

Friday, April 15th, 2005

I’ve just returned from a spiritual retreat for Uniting Church clergy at James Byrne Retreat Centre, near Toowoomba.

I was asked to come as worship leader - with the responsibility of leading the eucharist each day, each time with a different style. We worshipped in the chapel, outside, and at the tables in the dining room. The four styles revolved around song, pilgrimage, meal and poetry. The Scriptures for the week took us from last Sunday’s gospel reading in which two disciples encounter Jesus on the road to Emmaus, to this coming Sunday’s readings focusing on Jesus the shepherd.

Resources we used included A New Zealand Prayer Book, published by the (Anglican) Church of the Province of New Zealand/Te Haahi o te Porowini o Niu Tireni. We used three different prayers based on Psalm 23 from David Grant’s Grant Us Your Peace.

I’ve listed some of the thoughts of the week at my Gospel Notes blog.

Dawn Courtman was the retreat leader. At one point she was pastor at Windsor Rd Baptist Church in Brisbane. She now specialises in spiritual direction and is associated with Brookfield Centre for Christian Spirituality and The Stillpoint Centre.

First Steps by Vincent Van Gogh

On the first morning with Dawn we were invited to enter one of the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, “First Steps”. Painted in the last year of his life, while he was still living at an assylum in Saint-Remy de Provence. The painting can be viewed online at the Vincent van Gogh Gallery.

In the painting a farmer has put down his spade to encourage the first steps of his child, supportingly held by the mother. We used the painting to explore our relationship with God - reflecting on our movement towards God and God’s movement towards us.

I certainly feel refreshed after the four days of focused retreat. There was time for silence and solitude, as well as relaxed camaraderie. There was no capacity for blogging, checking email or browsing on the net. My family warned me not to spend the whole week stressing out over worship. I guess there was a certain amount of hard work associated with being there - which I was sparing others. But I made sure there was time for my own personal reflection, sleep and recreation.

Why The Long Face?

Friday, April 15th, 2005

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?” He said, “What has happened?”

Luke 24:18

The long faced disciples remind me of the joke told by Geraldine Grainger, Vicar of Dibley, at the end of one of her shows. “A horse walks into a saloon. When he sits down the bartender asks him: ‘why the long face’?” What’s probably more funny is the response of Alice. “What’s so funny?” “Don’t you get it Alice? Horses have long faces.” “I didn’t know horses get depressed…”

What I appreciate about this resurrection story is the way in which the risen Jesus walks alongside these depressed guys who don’t even recognise him for who he is. Jesus listens. He draws out of them their grief, their version of the story. And gradually helps them get some perspective.

“What has happened” is such a great question to open up a review of recent events. It’s a question that Jesus continues to ask as he comes alongside us now.

Supanova Pop culture fest

Saturday, April 9th, 2005

My 10 year old daughter talked me into taking her along to Supanova today - at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane. I didn’t really know what I was in for. When we arrived we bumped into an array of in-character twenty-somethings ranging from one of the Incredibles to Sora of Kingdom Hearts. One of the car park attendants was dressed up as Darth Vader. The police were there interviewing people caught stealing cards from one of the stores inside.

Supanova Logo

Comics Galore

Walking into the display hall we mingled with comic writers/artists Jason Rand from Small Gods, Glenn Ford from The Phantom, Eddie Campbell & Daren White from Batman Order of the Beasts, Stewart McKenny from Captain America, and Nicola Scott from Star Wars Tales. Somewhere round there was Scott Lobdell, creator of Marvel’s Generation X series, and writer for Uncanny X-Men and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Yugio Card

Role Playing Card Games

We queued for a free introduction and starter kit for Upper Deck Entertainment. Bought the Yu-gi-Oh movie from JB HiFi who threw in another starter pack! Nice.

[eminimall products="Yu-Gi-Oh"]

Star Wars Convention

We sat in on a question and answers session with Ray Park, martial arts actor who starred as Darth Maul in Star Wars I and The Toad in X-Men. We said kia ora to Temuera Morrison at the barbecue, who was at Supanova because of his role as Jango Fett and the Clone Army in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. We watched the trailers for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

Anime Action

At the Madman Entertainment Anime Theatre we were treated to a panel of artists and writers introducing their work. Great artists but not good with an audience.

FilmInk

Movies

Had a chat with Dov Kornits, the producer of Filmink an Australian film review magazine. Subscribed on the spot for six months. Looks like a good alternative to Empire which is aimed at 18 - 25 year old ‘blokes’ and based on the UK version of Empire. The deal with Filmink included a free DVD - which for me was Labyrinth.

Reflections on the day

So what was going on here? Supanova was billed as a ‘pop culture expo’. For me it was a chance to experience all at once the many variations of the meld between Japanese anime culture and American comics culture. There were so many people there who get their kicks out of this world. I used to think that it’s only kids who are into the card games - but here there were hundreds of people in their twenties. Children under ten were hardly to be seen!

There was an incredible lack of self-consciousness in the fans who were prepared to dress up as their favourite character. It showed the freedom that comes from gathering with other members of the tribe with similar passions.

Road To Emmaus

Friday, April 8th, 2005

That same day two of Jesus’ disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. As they were talking and thinking about what had happened, Jesus came near and started walking along beside them. But they did not know who he was.
Luke 24:13-49 :: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

I was challenged at a recent conference by Tom Bandy’s “Quo Vadis” question. It’s the question people asked of Jesus, “Where are you going?” Where was he going when he met up with the travellers to Emmaus. Obviously not to the religious centre of Jerusalem. And apparently not to Emmaus on the outskirts, as he indicated that he meant to keep moving when they stopped.

It’s a question I struggle with as part of a new church plant on the Gold Coast. We’ve been going three years almost and are now searching for the next point of connection with people outside the church. We have no building and currently do not employ anyone. But how do we sustain the journey ‘beyond Emmaus’?

Charlie Wear at Next Wave reflected on Tom’s “Quo Vadis” challenge back in 2002:

So here is the question God is asking twenty-first century Christianity ……. “Will you follow Jesus once again into the mission field?” If we wish to be faithful to the name “Christian,” we may have to abandon the comfort of our institutions and follow Jesus into the mission field.
Church planters will do well to need to heed this question.

At first glance, it might appear that if anyone is on the mission field with Jesus it is church planters. Surely starting a new church qualifies? But does it? Bill Easum and Tom Bandy don’t think it’s a slam dunk. Consider how quickly new church planters get bogged down in buildings and institutional maintenance or how quickly parishioners get comfortable within the four sacred walls. Church planters are constantly plagued with the question of recycled saints, “When will we build and become a real church?” Or what about the loud cries of judicatories wanting to know how soon the new plant can “Charter” so they can add it to the number of new church starts for the year. Could it be that the primary reason church plants begin to plateau during the first four years of existence is because they begin to function as institutions tied to a location rather than a movement that is portable enough to follow Jesus wherever he goes. They begin to expect people to come to them instead of following the example of Jesus and going to them.

Do you want to be with Jesus in the mission field? If you want to be with Jesus, you must accompany him on the road. Church planters need to spend less time in their office and not more time on the mission field with Jesus.

So the question, “Do you really want to be with Jesus in the mission field?” is the key to the Christian movement in the decades ahead. Tom Bandy and Bill Easum are so sure of this that they are anchoring their tour in the Emmaus Road story in Luke 24 which shows Jesus heading away from the “home office” of the faithful into the gentile mission field.

Postkiwi Duncan Macleod

Duncan Macleod posts on life, faith and culture in Australia, drawing from his involvement in the creative industry, the Uniting Church, the blogosphere, generational research, the emerging church and life on the Gold Coast.

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