For those who have emailed me know that I use Shalom in my greetings/farewells. I have come to have a greater understanding of the phrase from a simple greeting to encompass much, much more.

I was thrilled to come across a series by Peter at localtheology.com about Shalom.

Shalom is an amazing word and concept. recently i have embarked upon a journey looking at shalom and it has been illuminating. So take a seat and relax while I share what i have learned.
Strong’s Concordance 7965 – Hebrew Shalom ….. A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.
Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye. As it does in English, it can refer to either peace between two entities (especially between man and God or between two countries), or to the well-being, welfare or safety of an individual or a group of individuals.

The series is broken up into a series — Shalom & Justice, Shalom & Relationship etc. The first is What is Shalom?

There is such a myriad of meaning and complexity to Shalom that I have decide to break it up into individual posts regarding each topic related to shalom, i feel this is the only way to do it justice.

I will be enjoying the series and may share some more insights into this beautiful word!

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This a short clip about Credocricket — a ministry of some of my mates at Urban Seed in Melbourne City.

The article about the cricket is just after a hero of mine, Catholic Priest Father Bob Maguire is interviewed on the 7pm Project.

What is Credo Cricket?

• Credo Cricket is a celebration of cricket as a means for personal and social transformation.
• Credo is the Latin word for “belief in action”.
• Cricket can be a useful way of revealing some of the things we believe most deeply about our lives, our world and our relationships with others.
• Credo Cricket seeks to offer a mix of re-creational opportunities (physical, personal, social) through which we can challenge negative beliefs and foster the good beliefs that lead to positive change.

Any other ministries like this around the World? Care to share them here?

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I love this short film and the song by the Wright Brothers at the end (which if anyone knows what it is called — let me know I would love to buy it!) — it has awesome lyrics! Discovered the music can be downloaded from the site linked to below. Enjoy!

Here’s the song from the film.…

We need to share stories like this about our past here in Australia to promote healing!

Made by Whitestone Motion Pictures.

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For those who don’t know my history, I grew up for a large part of my life in Wynnum, a bayside suburb of Brisbane.

We settled there in 1979 after my father became the minister at the (non-denominational) Wynnum Church of Christ and I lived in the area or would hang in the area on and off until I moved to Melbourne almost 16 years ago. I would like to think that while I lived there I got to know the area and would often ride my bike around etc.

Today I discovered that there are in fact, two Wynnum Churches of Christ in Wynnum.

The one I am familiar with, and the one dad used to preach at and minister to is the Non-denominational Church of Christ on the corner of Tingal Road and Chestnut Streets in Wynnum. From my memory in was started in the 1920’s and the building etc was built with their own funds etc.

The green arrow is the Non-denominational Wynnum Church of Chrsit, and the yellow A is the other (Denominational) Wynnum Church of Christ

The other one is the Wynnum Church of Christ, part of the Churches of Christ in Australia. Very similar in many beliefs but differing to the other Wynnum Church of Christ in their use of instrumental music and denominational structures.

While I guess you could get into an argument about who was in Wynnum first, or who is having an impact on the community for the Kingdom etc — is it really worth the argument?

My point is that is no wonder the folk in the community can’t understand Christianity. When we have two churches with the same name and differing beliefs I am sure that there are more questions about why etc than there are about the Gospel. This is ridiculous!

What message does this silliness show to the local community about our faith and unity?

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This past Sunday I had the pleasure of speaking at Chelsea Church of Christ, sharing the journey and high’s and low’s of the community meals that we are involved in — The Dining Room and Vive Cafe.

I prepared a short talk that chronicled the journey and took my family and my father along with me. Dad was down for my eldest daughter’s, Siobhan, 10th birthday on the Saturday. It was quite an honour to have Dad listen to me — not sure if he has heard me talk before, apart from prayer and Lord’s Supper as I was growing up in the church in Brisbane.

My talk went well and I opened the floor up for any questions. Much to my delight there were several questions relating to the community’s involvement in the ministries. However, I had to point out that they were already involved with, and making a huge difference in the local community.

The previous week, Steve had shown myself and a good friend, Heather (who spoke that Sunday about her journey — read some of what she had to say about it here), around the church building where they run the Chelsea Men’s Shed each week, a Wednesday Breakfast Community Meal catering to the homeless and the community, and a Computer Lab offering training etc. In fact, for a congregation that is 95% elderly, they lead a very active and involved week with the local community.

Ironically Heather and I had been asked to share our stories when Steve had met us at Learnings from the Locals 2, a network and workshop that I ran with Holy Fools and Big House Communities. He hoped that we would inspire the small congregation to get involved with their ministries.

I must admit that I came away more inspired by their lives and efforts in Chelsea that I believe I inspired them! I hope to share more of their work with you and will perhaps some pics! If you live in the area — pay them a visit, the congregation will inspire you with their passion!

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Just saw this on Alltop!

In an effort to reach a younger demographic, several Buddhist monks in Japan are delivering traditional ancient messages to a hip hop beat. Monk, Kansho Tagai, hosts hip hop shows at his temple, drawing young people to a place that is generally filled with the elderly. His methods are so popular that twice as many people now visit the temple.

According to Tagai:

“The ancient religion is in crisis because monks are not reaching the young with a message that brings spiritual relief. The numbers support his fears. Japan is home to 75,000 temples, but those numbers are on the decline. The Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs reports that since 2000, hundreds of temples have closed every year.”

Watch Tagai, plus several other monks pursuing similar new methods, in action, below.

Had to chuckle as this sounds like the Emergent Church in the West! Do we have something to learn from the Buddhists or have they learnt from us?

What do you think?

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The Indigenous Hospitality House, here in Melbourne, with the Justice & International Mission Unit of the Uniting Church, and the Centre for Theology & Ministry offer this unique course.

Hospitality & Healing on Aboriginal land
A course exploring what it means to live on land claimed unjustly.  Using Biblical and current sources we will explore what it means to give and receive hospitality on Aboriginal land, and how hospitality leads to healing. Six Tuesdays in Lent; starting Feb 23 & final session on Sat  April 10

Week 1:  Intro – Our Stories.
Week 2:  The Tyranny of Terra Nullius.  Land and belonging.
Week 3:  What’s God got to do with it?
Week 4:   Did God arrive on a boat? Indigenous Christian spirituality,
Week 5:  Hospitality and Healing on Indigenous land; The IHH story.
Week 6:  Towards healing:  Dream or emerging reality?
Week 7:  The last seven words. A special liturgical walk

Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St Carlton
Shared Meal:  6:30PM    Workshop:  7:00PM
Cost:   $70
Places are limited, so book early!
Bookings:  IHH – 9387 7557 – house@ihh.org.au -  www.ihh.org.au

I am planning on attending. Would love to see some more of the Church attend!

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This is one of my favourite ads.

While I am a Mac user, this ad speaks volumes more than just spruiking a brand.

I wonder how the church would be today if still followed our radical leader — Jesus, as close as we profess?

Aren’t we all called to Think Different to our culture?

Here’s the voice-over by Dreyfuss;

“Heres to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

Theyre not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you cant do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

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Well at last some good news about the whole Sarcoidosis issue that I have been dealing with the past 18 months — my last checkup has reported the all clear!

That means — 6 months ago the results of an x-ray and other tests showed that the sarcoidosis on my lungs had gone — but we waited until a 6 month checkup with the same tests before actually declaring it gone. The specialist was quite impressed that the x-ray showed no sign of the sarcoidosis and the blood tests and ecg all were normal.

Thank God!

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Regular readers here will know I have written previously about how I feel about being unemployed for 12 months and how it has affected my family and life.

Where is the support — both physical and spiritual from the church, particularly from the church where the unemployed person attends?

Unemployment, particularly long term is mind-numbing and a roller-coaster of emotions, coupled with the struggle to provide for the family.

We cater for the physical needs (poorly in many cases) and offer counselling and prayer when requested, but surely the body of Christ, the family of God should be doing more for those unemployed, within and without the Church.

Any suggestions or comments?

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