Aggressive Christianity Conference

ACC is now going strong... some highlights:
covenant day - a reminder of the supremecy of Christ in my own covenant... to LOVE him supremely all my days... a stirring and faith-building time with Janet Munn bringing the Word alive...
Commissioner James Knaggs bringing the word with power and intimacy last night - mercy seat lined... people responding to a personal God with a personal willingness to GO. good times.
Significant silence in worship... a sweet presence filled with Holy Spirit... we lingered for a while - really beautiful.
Russell Rook delivering a beautiful and moving take on the Emmaus walk... challenging us to GO and inviting Jesus to walk with us and catch us up on the way...

I've been struck by the simple message of Jesus - His love, presence, touch and words... and I'm praying that I will not only hear but do the work of the Kingdom.

Top 10 reasons TO wear the uniform

OK so in follow-up to the last post - the top ten reasons we WANT to wear the uniform:
1. superior treatment at airport security! ;-)
2. authority of the movement (125 years plus of reputation on you in suede)
3. cleans you up well! (hattip:my mom)
4. epaulets are cool.
5. saves a lot of time on choosing an outfit.
6. public sign of covenant (I've made a promise with God)
7. solidarity with soldiers around the world
8. it's still better than camel hair (hattip: john the baptist)
9. who doesn't want a supersuit you can wear at night and fight injustice? (hattip:dh)
and the top reason we WANT to wear uniform
10. access - people's houses/jailcells/alley's/dignitaries/boardrooms/schools/cities/towns/kings/queens and paupers.... people's hearts... all for Jesus - it begs us to ask this question:
Why not wear it more?

peace out.

top ten reasons you don't want to wear uniform

had a funny conversation today about reasons you don't want to wear uniform. here's the top 10
10. replacing the metal parts after dry cleaning
9. lifting arms in worship
8. high heels
7. nylons
6. tight tunic syndrome
5. little brooch doesn't sit right
4. ironing
3. finding the perfect uniform shoes
2. wearing a tie

and the number one reason:
1. not having time to direct people at the airport

Guilty by association?

"If we are members of a privileged group that profits from structural evil, and if we have at least some understanding of the evil yet fail to what God wants us to do to change things, we stand guilty before God. Social evil is just as displeasing to God as personal evil. And it is more subtle."

I'm still reading Rich Christians in An Age of Hunger by Ron Sider... this section has been a challenge... what kind of culpability do we have for continuing to support unjust systems of economic and political power for our own benefit. Fairtrade is a solid example... why do I keep buying things I know were most likely made by children at great cost to them and little cost to me?
Why don't I demand a change in the global wealth distribution to be more equitable? Because it would cost me! that's why.

I've been thinking about how many things I do for my own benefit at the expense of others... particularly the poor. I've got to sort it out... but how?

बित्टर Chocolate

Chocolate leaves a bitter taste
September 18, 2008
It is enjoyed by millions of connoisseurs around the world, but in recent years chocolate has started to leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

Canadian author Carol Off, whose book alerted readers to the ethical quagmire of chocolate consumption when it was released two years ago, is currently in Australia to talk up the topic.

Her book, Bitter Chocolate, lifted the lid on the use of child slavery in the cocoa plantations of West Africa.

The link between slavery and chocolate is as old as history, Off said.

"There has always been a case where cocoa has been produced by people who didn't have a lot for people who do," she said.

"The Aztecs and the Mayans produced cocoa for the King of Montezuma and in Europe they produced slaves to harvest cocoa beans for the chocolate fanatics of Europe."

Things haven't changed, she says.

"We have chocolate bars today that seem to be cheap and affordable even to a child ... but the truth of the matter is we can only afford this chocolate because people who are picking the beans and cultivating it are children in West Africa," she said.

"A lot of children voluntarily go (to the plantations) because there's nothing for them in countries like Mali.

"Their crops are failing and nothing is growing in that part of the world, So a lot of the kids are sent off by their parents to get some money.

"But child traffickers see the vulnerability of these kids, there's nobody watching over them and they round them up and take them over the border into the Ivory Coast and make money from them."

It is difficult to help these children, Off says, because much of the Ivory Coast, which produces most of the world's cocoa supply, is torn by civil war.

The government uses profits from the cocoa trade to fund the war, Off says.

"The complicity here is with them and the big chocolate companies."

"There are only a handful of multinationals that control the industry and basically they are able to operate with impunity in Africa and Ivory Coast because everybody that has power over the situation is getting what they want."

Fair trade systems were having a small impact, Off said, but would never provide a full solution.

"They pay a premium to the farmer, the chocolates are more expensive and the profits go back to the farmers.

"Where I went in those situations, the kids are going to school, there was health care, clean water and all these things were paid for by fair trade premiums - but there's so few of them.

"It represents not even one per cent of all the cocoa being produced, so the vast majority is under this other system."

The CEO of The Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia (CMA), Trish Hyde, said the CMA was a part of a global initiative to eliminate child slavery and forced labour in the industry.

She said the CMA and other chocolate companies from around the world were working with the governments of the Ivory Coast and Ghana to help eliminate child slavery and forced labour.

"The important thing is from our perspective is the collaboration with government and NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) on the ground, with industry programs ... that are actually making changes in the communities."

The CMA says that in July this year it also helped implement a reporting system that would certify all labour on West African cocoa farms.
AAP
This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/09/17/1221330918327.html

फाके?

Faking It: The Female Image in Young Women's Magazines is a magazine-style research paper published by independent women’s think tank Women’s Forum Australia.

In a glossy, dynamic, magazine style layout, Faking It explores issues around the objectification of women and girls in the media and popular culture, with a focus on women’s magazines.

Faking It helps young people recognise and critically assess messages in advertising and pop culture which tell them they have to be ‘thin’, ‘hot’, and ‘sexy’ to be acceptable.

Read more - I'm sick and tired of the messages that girls/women are only valuable or significant if they look a certain way... I'm wanting to see a generation released who are confident in their character, gifts and skills - not their 'surface - level' attraction... let's dig deeper.

WOMEN in leadership

So, lots of talk these days about the vice president candidate Sarah Palin. Commissioner Joe Noland raised the comparison within the existing Salvation Army system - is it even possible to imagine:
44 year old women leader, mother of five, fiercly maverick - being made the chief of staff?
I think it's a good question - why do we disqualify some of our best leaders because of their marital status and/or motherhood?Surely being a good wife and mother is evidence of good character if not some leadership essentials. The real question is why on earth we would ever limit ANYONE with leadership gifts when the Kingdom needs desperately to keep advancing?
Frankly, I'm getting tired of simple asking the questions - it's time for some action. Here's some ideas:
1. if you have a gift - get it ready and start using it - cultivate it, shape it - challenge yourself (VOLUNTEER)
2. if you don't know your gift.. find some people who will speak into your life and help you discover the place you should serve
3. if you've been limited by the 'system' - get back up and start leading the kingdom to advance in whatever capacity you have to do so... just keep on... get people saved, discipled - lead from wherever you are..
4. challenge the status quo - refuse to accept mediocrity...
5. if you are man in leadership - actively look for able women who have leadership gifts and LET THEM LEAD.. figure it out.. cheers to those of you who have been doing this already!

those are just a few ideas- and I'm simply thinking outloud... but God help us figure it out soon.. for His Kingdom come!