Postkiwi

March 19, 2005

Tracking Visitors with Site Meter and Extreme Tracking

The question every blogger faces. Why write this online? Does it matter if only two people read this?

Today I’m adding site meters (excuse American spelling) to my blogs. They’ll give me (and you) an idea of who’s visiting here and where they’re coming from.

The two I’m trying out are Site Meter and Extreme Tracking.

Already – since starting the site meter at Duncan’s TV Adland three hours ago – there have been five visits, viewing 17 pages. 13 of those pages were looked at by one person, with an account with Optimum Online in the USA. There was one person from Mexico.

March 19, 2005January 29, 2017

Old Friends in New Zealand

Last night we caught up with a friend I knew from school and university days. Margaret found my name in Old Friends – an online reunion service in New Zealand. The last time we saw each Margaret was 20 years ago at our wedding in Invercargill. As we arrived for dinner the first thing remarked upon was ‘you haven’t changed much’. But then the not so visible changes emerged.

I took a bottle of wine for dinner last night. At university I had a more staunch approach to alcohol, still cautious about the dangers of following in the footsteps of an alcoholic father. I think back then, in the early 80s, I was also careful to follow the expectations of Southland/Otago Evangelical circles.

What changed all that? I remember sitting in a Presbytery meeting that was getting stewed up about policies on alcohol and smoking. And then one of my colleagues, hailing from the Netherlands, pointed out that this attitude was clearly shaped by ethnic and cultural backgrounds. On the European Continent, he remarked, no one would think twice if the pastor lit up a cigar and enjoyed the occasional lager. That was a freeing moment for me.

So last night we enjoyed a red wine.

Old Friends

www.oldfriends.co.nz

March 15, 2005August 7, 2020

Courier Mail Celebrates 50 Years of Rock Music in the womb

On Queensland TV we’ve been handed a treat with McCann Erickson’s ad for Brisbane’s Courier Mail. It’s a promotion for the weekend series on 50 years of rock music. The 30 sec ad starts with the context – an ultra sound check of a pregnant mum. Inside we have an unborn child playing air guitar! Excellent visual effects!

Courier Mail Womb Rocker

Continue reading “Courier Mail Celebrates 50 Years of Rock Music in the womb”

March 14, 2005

Passion Sunday on the street

I have vivid memories of Palm Sundays.

1991. My daughter, Kristen, was born on Palm Sunday. Our church, Brockville Union, in Dunedin, was celebrating that morning by making and distributing little crosses made out of New Zealand flax.

1993. St Mark’s Presbyterian, Tokoroa, celebrated Palm Sunday with the fronds from tree ferns. They were strewn around inside the church building. I invited the congregation to pick them up and take them for a walk down the street. The reaction was mixed. Most of the kids really got into the occasion. This was much better than sitting in church! A number of adults entered into the occasion. Some participated with scowls of disapproval. And some just stayed behind waiting for what would happen next. We came back and talked about the challenge of living Christianity out ‘on the street’, rather than in the privacy of our own homes or dedicated worship space. One person I spoke to later told me she’d found it harder to take part in the street walk than sharing faith in an overseas country as a ‘missionary’ just a few years before. I’m not sure how I’d do it differently. Perhaps give people some options, rather than forcing people to choose between conformity or rebellion. It certainly got people thinking though.

1995. Tawa Union (Presbyterian/Methodist/Church of Christ) in Wellington. I’d written a play exploring the mixed expectations of the crowd on the day of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. It was intermingled with the political agenda of the time – the occupation of Moutoa Gardens in Wanganui. Maori protesters standing up against the confiscation of property in an earlier time.

1999. The Woolworths carpark in Tawa, Wellington. Geoff Allen, a playwright and director, put together live theatre to add some spice to the end of the traditional Sunday afternoon street march. Instead of gathering in a church, we were worshipping out in public. Some of the Anglican members took on the role of concerned religious leaders. We had a few Baptists, Pentecostals, and Union members take roles as crowd, disciples etc. I was Peter, unsure about it all, looking on from a distance. And then Jesus calls me down for a closer conversation. How apt that was. Jesus calling for an intimate conversation even in the middle of a high power rally with so many agendas at play.

Now in 2005, it seems strange not to be in a large religious gathering this coming Sunday.

March 10, 2005February 24, 2015

Transformed by Trouble

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us
an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (New International Version)

It is the fire of suffering that brings forth
the gold of godliness.
Madame Guyon

“God has a purpose behind every problem.” Rick’s first sentence for today’s chapter, in Day 25, Purpose Driven Life. I can relate to that. It’s so much more helpful than saying that God has planned every detail of our lives. It moves us beyond asking “why” to asking “what now, Lord?”

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes.
Romans 8:28-29

I appreciate the unpacking of these words of Paul in Purpose Driven Life. Rick uses the analogy of using the ingredients of a cake to make something palatable, even though individually they make be distasteful or unpleasant. I’ve also seen the analogy of a weaving of a tapestry, in which seemingly random threads are tied together to make a beautiful pattern.

On the way home from work today I heard Erwin McManus speaking on Jesus and John the Baptist. John was not spared suffering difficulty and death, even though he was right up there with the prophets. So why do we think God will guarantee our comfort or ‘prosperity’?

Driving with Purpose

As usual, Rick provides a point by point ‘how-to’ approach to responding to problems as Jesus would. I guess this appeals to those of us who need lists to remember.

1. Remember that God’s plan is good. Rick quotes from Jeremiah 29, reminding us that God plans to give us hope and a future. Yep, it certainly helps to focus on the long term plans of God. It helped me, in the face of my own daughter’s death, for example, to remember that God is ultimately in control, even though God has chosen to let go of absolute control. In the middle of powerlessness God’s capacity to change the world is discovered.

2. Rejoice and give thanks. I remember a couple of authors back in the 1970s introducing the power of praise. Merlin R. Carothers and Frances Gardner Hunter made popular the phrase “Praise the Lord” and “Praise the Lord, anyway”. It’s not about attributing everything to God’s plan and giving thanks for it. It’s more about finding signs of hope and God’s action even in the middle of catastrophe. I’ve seen this attitude turn into super-spiritual naievity that refuses to genuinely lament before God. It was Jesus who said that those who mourn will be blessed because they will be comforted.

3. Refuse to give up. This is one of my favourite action plans. It’s in the lines of so many songs, like Chicane’s “Don’t Give Up”. And also in the Pantene shampoo TV advert with Rachel Hunter’s famous line, “It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”. As Rick points out, God does not guarantee a smooth life. But God does give us a sense of purpose for the future. Somehow we can work it out.

March 10, 2005February 19, 2015

Death and Birth

Dave Edwards at Multimedia conference Monday afternoon – had an email saying that Dave Edwards, a Uniting Church youth worker in Wagga Wagga, had been killed in a car accident at 7 am. Dave was going to be hosting the camp in Mittanong where I was to be the guest speaker. I’d met Dave at youth workers conferences, a couple of multimedia conferences, and at National Christian Youth Convention. A good man, laid back with an excellent sense of hospitality, humour and adventure.

The news of Dave’s death came only minutes after I posted 3 thoughts on Jesus and Lazarus: Where is Jesus when we’re hurting, Freedom from Addiction and A Personal Note on Grief, in which I included a photo of the grave stone of Kristen, our daughter who died when she was hit by a car at the age of 18 months in 1992.

Tuesday 6 am – met Cliff next door as we both took out the rubbish bins. Told me that his daughter had finally been born in the weekend!

I’m not too sure about the phrase, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away”. Read my posts and you’ll see why. But I do believe that we’re created as fragile beings – able to enjoy a fascinating world, but also prone to the damage done by disease, ageing and accident. I don’t think it’s the result of any ‘fall’ though.

I read a note to Journey during the week that expressed horror that someone could challenge the idea of a pre-fall perfect world without suffering. How could God create a world in which suffering was a natural part of the plan? Well… imagine a world without any sense of pain or loss. It would be a world without change. It would be a world without adventure. It would be sterile.