VCANZ Blog

Invasion:WinterCamp

VCANZ — 2012-05-15T09:00:00+12:00

It gives us great pleasure to announce that our annual winter gathering of the Vineyard youth groups of the North Island is all go! This will be the 11th WinterCamp, and this year we have renamed it Invasion:WinterCamp due to several Vineyard youth groups around New Zealand sharing the name Invasion now.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be interviewing the camp organiser, Calvin Culverwell, and asking him some more about this great event - but till then, know this:

Invasion:Wintercamp
6-8 July, 2012 (middle weekend of the school holidays)
Lake Taupo Christian Camp
Feat. Ben Hughes (Grace Vineyard youth pastor) and Laura Thomson (Youth worker)
An event for all youth and youth leaders of Vineyard youth groups in New Zealand
Cost is $100 until June 15th, $110 after June 15th till camp

Register here!

New Vineyard Records UK site

VCANZ — 2012-05-08T13:00:00+12:00

Our wider family over the other side of the world, Vineyard Records UK, have recently launched a new website full of great material and inspiration. Get your worship teams and leaders onto it! In particular, the Inside Worship part is very good…

GO TO vineyardrecords.co.uk

It's in the practice

VCANZ — 2012-05-07T11:00:00+12:00

This GROW 2012 excerpt is taken from Vineyard College’s Next Level on Spiritual Gifts, which you can download in it’s entirety here

The only way to really learn about spiritual gifts is by practice and being there. There is little, in my opinion, that can really be learned by reading or developing a long, authoritative and systematic definition of each gift, even though people like myself hunger for that. It is noticeable that while the Bible refers a lot to spiritual gifts in both the Old and New Testaments, it also provides no systematic definitions of them. Instead it provides numerous stories in which God works with people through gifts in a great variety of ways. Furthermore, these stories defy our attempts to classify and define gifts except in the most generalised ways. But they do create a hunger for God to do the same things through us and those we know.

The variety of ways God works in these stories and Paul’s teaching also makes it hard to try and develop any method whereby we may do the same. Healing in the Bible, for instance, can occur by mixing mud and spit, by command for a person present or somewhere else, in public or in private, whether they seek it or not, by the laying on of hands, by handkerchief, by an angel stirring the water of a pool, by inadvertently touching the bones of a dead prophet, by getting in a river, by being breathed upon, with the help of faith, or in the presence of unbelief or even anger at it happening. It happens and doesn’t happen to the deserving and the undeserving, to those who persistently pray and cry out to God in desperation and those who do not. In short, God grants these gifts and we cannot box him into a method or a system.

All we can do is hunger, be there when it is happening, read the biblical stories, learn some general principles, take a risk and try while being willing to look like a fool if nothing happens and do this over and over again. We may feel full of the Holy Spirit, experience bolts of electricity coursing through us or absolutely nothing at all and wish we weren’t there.

DOWNLOAD GROW 2012 RESOURCES HERE

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A Presence-led movement

VCANZ — 2012-05-01T00:00:00+12:00

This GROW 2012 excerpt is taken from Lloyd’s Leadership Letter The Importance of Using Spiritual Gifts, which you can download in it’s entirety here

One of the significant promises God gave me when we started this movement of churches in New Zealand was Exodus 33:14, “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest’.”

We are a Presence-led church-planting movement more than a purpose-led, or programme-led movement, though purpose and programme are important. We are churches and people who are looking for the Lord’s Presence. Outside of the church gathering we are looking for the “breaking in of the Kingdom”. There is a swirl of activity around the advancing edge of the Kingdom and we seek to spend as much time as possible with people who are at the advancing edge of God’s Kingdom. It seems that certain people attract more supernatural activity than others. There are some who the Lord seems to draw near to especially – people in pain, the poor and the marginalised, the foreigners, the brokenhearted, the needy, the humble and those in transition (life stage transitions, geographical transitions, relationship transitions etc).

It is good to remember that the results of using spiritual gifts, which produce “signs, wonders and miracles”, are all signs – they point people to Jesus. While they certainly alleviate suffering, they are not an end in themselves – they draw people to their God. Our adventure is looking for the times and places that the Kingdom breaks in and God draws nearer to a person, and in that moment, taking a risk and partnering with Him as He brings His Kingdom to people.

DOWNLOAD GROW 2012 RESOURCES HERE

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What should be on your bookshelf: Pete Greig - God on mute

VCANZ — 2012-05-01T11:00:00+12:00

As a person reading here on a Vineyard website, you probably know about “tension” all too well. We live in the now and the not yet. God On Mute by Pete Greig is an incredible work by a man passionate about prayer (Greig started the international ministry 24/7 Prayer) and his journey of struggling with suffering in the midst of that.

Greig asks the timeless questions of what it means to suffer and to pray and to suffer through the silence because your prayers seem unanswered. This silence, Greig relates, is the hardest thing. The world collapses. Then all goes quiet. Words can’t explain, don’t fit, won’t work. People avoid you and don’t know what to say. So you turn to Him and you pray. You need Him more than ever before. But somehow…even God Himself seems on mute. In this heart-searching, honest and deeply profound book, Pete Greig looks at the hard side of prayer, how to respond when there seem to be no answers and how to cope with those who seek to interpret our experience for us. Here is a story of faith, hope and love beyond all understanding.

This book is perfect for any leader wanting to look into prayer in a deeper way and especially on the not-so-popular side of the suffering pray-er. While you’re ordering it, throw his first book Red Moon Rising in there for good measure too...

God On Mute @ Amazon

God On Mute @ Book Depository

Round Tables

VCANZ — 2012-04-30T15:00:00+12:00

Vineyard Churches Aotearoa New Zealand are proud to announce a series of national round table gatherings designed to help us minister better together. For more details, click here.

Contextualising the gospel to culture

VCANZ — 2012-04-26T09:00:00+12:00

This GROW 2012 excerpt is taken from Vineyard College’s Next Level on Vision, Values and Practice, which you can download in it’s entirety here

Why does the Vineyard talk in the language of values? Because John [Wimber] primarily wanted to build a church that people who he knew before he met Christ would want to go to. The church would have to feel like “home” to those sorts of people, it would have to taste, smell, sound, dress, talk and be like them without compromising the gospel. This is the task of every missionary–to contextualise the gospel to a culture, or to make the gospel “fit” the culture so it is not seen as “foreign”. Being trained in sociology and willing to use its language, John wanted to create a church that had many of the same values as the people he was trying to reach, a church that would express his own values as someone who came to Christ from a non-church background in his thirties.

The dangers of this approach are the same for any missionary who attempts this process. We can go so far that we become no different from those we are trying to reach and compromise the gospel – syncretism. In the other direction, shunning the culture, we can become such a sub-culture, so different from the prevailing cultural values, that we ourselves are a hindrance to conversion and can only grow by families having more children and transfer growth. The Amish are Christians, but how many new converts do they get?

DOWNLOAD GROW 2012 RESOURCES HERE

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Resurrection Stories

VCANZ — 2012-04-11T10:00:00+12:00

Shore Vineyards intern, Rachel Ross, makes short films. She is a director and writer, and is embarking on a dream of being a film-documentary maker about where the worlds of secular and faith meet.

At Shore Vineyards this Easter, the team wanted to celebrate the resurrection stories that where within their own church family. So, they made this film to document them and used it as the main focus for their Easter service on Easter Sunday.

We thought you might like to see it so we have posted it here, and if you would like to show it in your church, contact Rachel to access a high res version of it.

Letters To A Young Leader: The Lord works in mysterious ways

VCANZ — 2012-04-03T11:00:00+12:00

Letters to a young leader is a series of leadership mentoring advice. It is written by Vic Francis who is the Chairman of the VCANZ board. Vic and his wife, Fran, pastor Shore Vineyards in Auckland and have four children.

The Lord works in mysterious ways

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“All the great religious leaders eventually learn that they must do ministry within the confines of a human body. Having a body means being finite, having limits, being vulnerable to fatigue, illness and death.”

Roy Oswald

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I nearly died a few years ago. Over several months I was in hospital three times with a range of conditions including meningitis, an abscess in my spinal column and liver shutdown due to a massive drug reaction.
Throughout that touch-and-go winter, my wife and church supported me wonderfully, while Christians around the world prayed fervently for my life and my health. It was a strange experience, though, because I never felt moved to ask God for healing for myself. Instead, I asked him to reveal himself to me in my illness.
Eventually I recovered 100 per cent – triumphantly taking my last antibiotics in the backblocks of India – and today I have no on-going ill-effects of that ordeal. But I look back at that adversity and consider it one of the most growing experiences of my life.
It was there that I received my one and only vision. It was there that I learned I won’t be afraid to die when my time comes. It was there that I once and for all proved God’s faithfulness in the tough times.
I don’t want to go back there. But I’m grateful it happened.

My somewhat Pentecostal theological background tells me that Christians have no right to get sick. By his stripes we are healed, the curse is lifted, the Garden of Eden is restored.
My experience is somewhat different, though. I see God often walking with people through health issues or life crises rather than plucking them out of them. I see God drawing closer as we cry out in pain or desperation. I see God growing in our lives during our darkest days. Recently I sat with four unemployed men who shared the small blessings of an hour or two of work, or a meal delivered to their home, or a bill which was less than expected. God was at work in the room, and it wasn’t through me, the employed one.
I have learned more through my failures than my successes. And while I don’t embrace negative experiences as a primary means of connecting with God, I do know that in his mercy he is particularly close during failure, or sickness, or depression, or fear, or despair.
The Lord does, indeed, work in mysterious ways.

Next entry: God will provide

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Four M's

VCANZ — 2012-04-02T11:53:25+12:00

This GROW 2012 excerpt is taken from Lloyd’s Leadership Letter Vision, Values and Structure, which you can download in it’s entirety here

Every generation needs to redesign or re-develop what the church could and should look like so that it remains connected to the culture it finds itself amongst. When we work cross-culturally, it is obvious that we need to contextualize both the gospel (what the words and concepts mean in that culture) and the structures (how we do things) if we are to connect at all to the people we are trying to reach. It is just as vital to contextualize to a generation, a socio-economic, an ethnic context.

The four main elements we need to work with are:

The Message - while we must never add to or take away from the gospel as expressed in the Bible, it must be translated into the place we find ourselves.

The Messenger - those who have embodied or incarnated the Message - people like you and I who are living the message of the gospel in such a way as to encourage as many other people as possible to follow.

The Media - the various ways we carry or communicate the gospel. These obviously change with technological advances and culture changes. For example, websites, blogs, YouTube and social media were not mainstream communication forms even five years ago.

The “Market” - our culture, society and communities are dynamic and ever-changing and so we must change with them, or be left behind as an irrelevant group.

The challenge and pleasure we have is to bring the unchanging Message to a dynamically moving Market, using appropriate Media and Messengers who embody the Message and are in the world but not of it.

DOWNLOAD GROW 2012 RESOURCES HERE

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What Love Can Do 2012

VCANZ — 2012-02-23T12:40:13+13:00

We have a great conference coming up in April - head to the events page to register, and if you would like to help promote the conference in your church you can download some flyers to print out at the resources page.

Children's Ministry Conference

VCANZ — 2012-02-09T09:59:39+13:00

There’s an exciting Children’s worker conference happening in Christchurch, here’s the details:

Unlimited 2012 Children’s Ministry Conference, Upsize Me!

Friday 9th March - Saturday 10th March (9am-5:30pm)

We have upsized our speakers this year by bringing to you not only Tammy Tolman, but also Brendon and Cathie Clancy! Together they will help us focus on
‘up-sizing’ our personal relationship with God so we can lead our children in ‘up-sizing’ their commitment and journey with Jesus too.
‘Upsize Me’ is designed to inspire and equip you and your whole team, with awesome teaching, encouragement, ministry, networking and practical how to’s.

Up size in 2012 by kick starting yourself and your ministry team during this action packed conference!

Click here for info, rego and posters.

Letters To A Young Leader: God loves your people more than you do

VCANZ — 2012-01-16T13:00:00+13:00

Some things you need to know about God: God loves your people more than you do

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“I can’t invade other people’s lives and inject them with commitment . . . but God can.
My role is to relax,
be as real as I can be,
do the best job I can do at church,
and trust God to work in people’s lives.
What a relief it is to get off the throne of the universe!”

Judson Edwards

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I came back from my first missions trip in 2003 knowing my life would never be the same. I had spent a wondrous two weeks serving the underground church in China, experiencing the presence of God in a new way and was exhilarated by the experience.
As I walked with my wife Fran on the beach, full of a new convert’s zeal, I suggested that she, too, might like to go on a missions trip and that what had changed me was bound to change her as well. Her reaction was sceptical, unsure about this brash new urgency to save the world.
The following year, Shore Vineyards were sending a team to northern India to work among pastors in the Nepali-speaking areas of the Himalayas. Still excited about missions, I urged everyone in our church to take five minutes to ask God if he wanted them to go.
One person who did just that was Fran. She sat at a beach and in just a few minutes found her heart warmed towards this adventure, laughing out loud as she realised her recent reading of books by William Dalrymple and other writers on India was part of God’s very sneaky preparation of her heart.
She went on that journey and we have since then regularly done missions trips together. I’m not sure if she would say missions has changed her life. But it has certainly enriched it.

Five minutes is all it takes. We can preach the most inspired sermons, make passionate pleas for response and appeal to people’s emotions, intellect or better nature. But it’s only when God speaks that lives are truly changed. We, as the saying goes, can lead a horse to water, but we can’t make it drink. And that’s as it should be.
There’s a frustration in there of course, because often we believe a certain course of action could transform a person’s life. But we need to allow people to act because of their own convictions and their sense of the leading of God – not ours.
We need to trust God with our people. He loves them more than we do, he knows them better than we do and he has a plan for them that we can’t even begin to understand.
Of course we worry whether our congregation members will bother to take that five minutes to ask God if he wants them to go on the missions trip. But time and again I have been awed and honoured as I’ve observed the godly way people indeed seek God on big issues and the wonderful ways he answers.

Next entry:God will provide

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A Christmas Message

VCANZ — 2011-12-17T10:19:56+13:00

It is God’s mercy & kindness that He gives us distinct markers which enable us to manage our lives well if we use them effectively. He gives us time periods – days, weeks, months, years and even decades – which allow us to make “mid-course corrections’ in our lives.

The 24 hour period is the most fundamental marker. We begin each 24 hour period (using the Jewish tradition of the day starting with the evening & ending in the evening) with rest and sleep which enables us to roll off that day’s events – some successes and some failures – on to Jesus to make sense of, and to celebrate and build on, and to mourn and repent of. It is significant that each of our days start with darkness and rest – just as the creation story starts with darkness, and the invitation of Kingdom life is to start from rest (Heb 3 & 4; Ex 33.14 “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”) When we wake from rest we align our day with what God would have us do, and go into the day to spend it well.

The other kind of markers God gives us are commemorations and celebrations.

Christmas is the Church’s celebration of the incredible entry of God Himself into the human race to effect a rescue. It was the stupendous act of courageous, humble sacrificial love for Jesus to leave the Father’s side, living in total perfection, to be born as a helpless human baby in “less than ideal” conditions. But what Christmas tells us is that God’s invasion has begun. His loving, benevolent rule in our broken and fallen world which is continually advancing through people like you and I.

So as you go to sleep on Christmas Eve, take some time to roll all your hopes and dreams on to the Saviour of the world – the one who “came to give life – life in all its fullness.”(John 10.10). And roll all your failures and disappointments onto the One who was & is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1.29) As you wake on Christmas morning you wake to a world – both global and personal - where you have a “friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Prov 18.24) Where you are in relationship with the One who created the world, and “will save the world” (John 3.17). Give the gift of your life to the one who gave you the gift of His life. He is looking for obedience from us – but not a compliance born out unwillingness – rather a surrender of our lives. We get to surrender to Love!

Then a week later another marker! As you go to sleep on New Years Eve, it is a wonderful time to realign your life. To ensure that the life you are living, is really the life that wants to live in you. It is a time to align your passion, and talents, and calling, and circumstances to living a life that makes a difference. When you wake on the 1st day of the new year, take time to be with your God, and ask Him to align your life with His plan for your life. Ask Him for fresh grace and passion for a new year. Ask Him to clear the way for you to live your life on purpose. And He is utterly, completely and passionately committed to working His fantastic plan through ordinary people like you and I. He brings us alive more than we ever dreamed possible.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a purposeful new year. I look forward to working with you again in 2012.

What should be on your bookshelf: Desmond Tutu - No Future Without Forgiveness

VCANZ — 2011-12-05T19:38:05+13:00

Perhaps, instead of wasting this recommendation by giving you all the review details that you can just Google for anyway, I will just sum the need for this book up with a simple, yet profound quote from my own life.

The setting is this: Myself and my friend, J.R., are having one of our infrequent coffee meet ups in a cafe in Auckland when this gem happened.

Me: “I have just been reading Desmond Tutu’s book, No Future Without Forgiveness” - it’s amazing.”

J.R. : “My mum says that’s not a book for every Christian to read - it’s a book for every human to read.”

She’s right, it is. That’s the end of this review.

No Future Without Forgiveness @ Book Depository

No Future Without Forgiveness @ Amazon

It's all in the mind: Things to avoid

VCANZ — 2011-11-14T15:00:00+13:00

It’s All In The Mind is a series of helping tools for doing pastoral care with people suffering from mental illness. It is written by Kirk Vette from Shore Vineyards Churches, who is a clinical worker for YouthLine NZ. Kirk and his wife, Caroline, live in Auckland with their three children and on his day's off you will find him sneaking off for a surf.

Depression - Things to avoid

Today, our blog post is a very easy one; the things not to say.

• It’s all in your head.
• We all go through times like this.
• Look on the bright side.
• You have so much to live for why do you want to die?
• I can’t do anything about your situation.
• Just snap out of it.
• What’s wrong with you?
• Shouldn’t you be better by now?

Next week I will post some of the things that are important to understand from the side of the helper when working with depression.

Next entry: Things to understand

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Letters To A Young Leader: A relationship that grows

VCANZ — 2011-11-15T15:00:00+13:00

A relationship that grows

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“Just as we cannot love without having had the experience of being loved,
so we cannot bring the water of life to others if our own spiritual well is dry.
This means we have to be intentional about finding opportunities for spiritual growth.”

Lawrence Farris

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I don’t have quiet times any more. There, I’ve confessed. It’s now public knowledge.
When I was a new Christian, quiet times were life-changing. The regular discipline of Bible reading and prayer filled my tank and inspired me day-by-day to live for Christ.
But over the years these times dried up as the Bible became less inspirational, probably because I had come to know it quite well, and my prayers became formulaic and dull. Eventually, despite some guilt, my quiet times slipped away. John Calvin wrote that “Our religion will be unprofitable if it does not change our heart, pervade our manners and transform us into new creatures.” Quiet times were no longer changing my heart, and so it was time for them to go.
But while quiet times are now a thing of the past for me, my relationship with Jesus is again growing stronger day by day. These days I don’t often read large chunks of the Bible, but I reflect more deeply on smaller passages. I pray less, but listen more; I strive less, but trust more; I know less, but am closer to the one who knows more.
And I don’t feel guilty about it.

I’ve been married to Fran for nearly 30 years. Over that time our lives have changed hugely – five pregnancies, four children, three births (figure that one out!), plus three churches, mortgages and life’s many adventures, do that to you. Our relationship has changed too – less intense and more secure; less striving and more content; less independent and more mutual. Relationships are like that. Unless they adapt from their early difficult-to-breathe stage, someone is going to burn out.
In a similar way, our relationship with God also has to evolve. Fran, a spiritual director, has great advice for people who have lost connection with God. “Are you still doing the things that used draw you close to him?” she will ask. If not, then resume those things and you will probably rediscover that precious relationship. But if you are continuing to do the things that used to work and are discovering they don’t any more, maybe God is inviting you into a new depth of relationship with new ways of growing in your love.
Bernard of Clairvaux in his famous sermons on the Song of Solomon identified this progression of relationship with God as going from the kiss of the feet to the kiss of the hands to the kiss of the mouth. Sixteenth-century Spanish saint Teresa of Avila, in her book The Interior Castle, wrote of an internal journey towards the centre of our being where Jesus lives.
Whatever language or imagery you use, we must continually seek new depths with God. And for pastors, whose lives are ones of regular depletion, this growing relationship is doubly vital.

Next entry: God loves people more than you do
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Letters To A Young Leader: He's constantly wooing you

VCANZ — 2011-11-09T08:00:00+13:00

Some things you need to know about God: He’s constantly wooing you

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“You would not be seeking him or loving him unless you had first been sought and loved.”

Bernard of Clairvaux

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When going on a seven-day silent retreat this year, I determined I would read the entire New Testament during that week. I am a methodical person, and worked out that if I read 40 pages a day I could achieve my target easily. So on days one and two I laboured through Matthew, Mark and Luke – and, to be honest, was somewhat disappointed. Not surprisingly, I suppose, they all told stories I knew.
And then I got to the Gospel of John and my 40 pages a day evaporated. That day, I read a mere 18 verses of John chapter 1. I was captivated by the first five verses about God becoming flesh – it was as if I’d never read them before. I was heartbroken by verse 11 – “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him”. I was theologically stirred by verse 17 – “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Of course none of this was any newer to me than Matthew, Mark or Luke had been, but that day John stole my heart. As I discussed this with my spiritual director a couple of days later, I had a moment of inspiration. “Do you think God’s inviting me to a ‘John’ relationship more than a Matthew, Mark or Luke one?” As the words fell out of my mouth, I didn’t need her to confirm that God was inviting me to intimacy, closeness and love like I’d never experienced before.

The great 19th-century Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon talked of God “driving you away from the shallow waters and bringing you into deeper seas, where your nets shall bring you larger draughts”. Jean LeClercq, writing of the 12th-century Cistercian mystic Bernard of Clairvaux, says: “Jesus comes so that the soul will cling to him; he goes away so that the soul will call him back. He wants us to love him and takes certain steps to win our love: He gives himself so that we will enjoy his presence; he then leaves so that we will then long for it even more”.
God is passionately interested in a deepening relationship with you. He loves your labour for his kingdom’s sake – he’s called you to it after all – but never at the expense of his invitation for you to know him more.
And so he woos you constantly – by moving close and, at times, paradoxically, by moving away – always, though, inviting you to discover new depths of his love.

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Jesus - a murder mystery: Making sense of the story

VCANZ — 2011-11-03T09:00:00+13:00

Jesus - a murder mystery is a series of strong theology and thinking for the resurrection of Christ. It is written by Tim Denne from Harbour Vineyard who in his spare time likes to read theology.

Making sense of the story

From the first sermons in Acts by Peter, Stephen and Paul, we can hear a simple message: you don’t have to understand atonement theory to come to faith in Jesus, but you do have to believe that he is alive. God can, and does, forgive on the basis of his authority; he is beholden to no one. And that is fine if that is all there is to the story – just a rescue (getting Israel to the Promised Land; getting us to Heaven). But the message is about more than rescue. From when God first called Abraham, the purpose of choosing a people was so that they would “do righteousness” (do what was right – Gen 18:19): live justly, demonstrate God, bless the world (Gen 12:2-3) and act like a light drawing others to God (Isa 42:6-7).

But they (and we) have to be righteous (in the right) to do righteousness (do what is right).

I believe the theories of atonement are right:
• when Jesus’ death is seen as being required for God to satisfy himself (to be utterly consistent and true to himself – for his name sake);
• To the extent that they portray God’s hatred of sin and his love for us; and
• When they note that the devil is defeated (via death & resurrection)

But they don’t tell the whole story. We get a much fuller picture of why Jesus died by understanding it as Jesus declaring that the story of Israel was being rewritten and coming to completion in him. The exodus from Israel and the coming to the Promised Land is also a picture of our rescue; the kingdom in which we live is, like the wilderness, “already and not yet” (they were with God but had not yet got to their permanent home).

By becoming the Passover meal, Jesus has started the exodus; he has rescued us from Egypt/sin; he is the manna for us to eat in the wilderness; he is the atonement sacrifice which was started in the wilderness for those already rescued as the means by which they could meet with God and deal with their sin; and he is the one who will guide us through to the end - the new Moses.

All of this is wrapped up in Jesus’ death.

Although God has absolute authority to forgive sin, he chose to deal with the problem of sin and death once and for all through Jesus – his death and resurrection – and in a way that is familiar to Israel and faithful to the story. This vindicates those who had lived faithfully to the old covenant and those who join under the new.

If I tried to summarise this, it might look like this:

The God who made the world and everything in it promised Israel that they would show what he was like and be good for that world, drawing others to him. Because of their inevitable failings, and to be faithful to his promises, God sent Jesus, who had always been God, as a person and to be Israel as she was meant to be, to speak and act with authority, and to suffer and die to show: God’s hatred of sin, his faithfulness in doing what was right (righteousness) and his love. Jesus rose from the dead to show that he was Lord (equal with God and fully in control), and as a first step and guarantee of the eventual renewal of the world so that it truly will demonstrate God and give him glory. God chose to use Jesus’ death-resurrection event to deal with sin and its consequences once and for all. We are invited to believe in who Jesus is (the living God) and what he has done, and to be part of the plan to bless the world, starting now.

That’s all for this series, I hope it has helped you in some way.

Will write again soon,

Tim.

Wimber Wednesday: What it's supposed to be.

VCANZ — 2011-10-27T04:00:00+13:00

On Wimber Wednesday we will post inspirational audio, video or articles of the founder of the Vineyard movement, the late John Wimber. May they help you be a disciple, and make disciples.

Years ago in New York City, I got into a taxi cab with an Iranian taxi driver, who could hardly speak English. I tried to explain to him where I wanted to go, and as he was pulling his car out of the parking place, he almost got hit by a van that on its side had a sign reading The Pentecostal Church. He got real upset and said, “That guy’s drunk.” I said, “No, he’s a Pentecostal. Drunk in the spirit, maybe, but not with wine.” He asked, “Do you know about church?” I said, “Well, I know a little bit about it; what do you know?” It was a long trip from one end of Manhattan to the other, and all the way down he told me one horror story after another that he’d heard about the church. He knew about the pastor that ran off with the choir master’s wife, the couple that had burned the church down and collected the insurance—every horrible thing you could imagine. We finally get to where we were going, I paid him, and as we’re standing there on the landing I gave him an extra-large tip. He got a suspicious look in his eyes—he’d been around, you know. I said, “Answer me this one question.” Now keep in mind, I’m planning on witnessing to him. “If there was a God and he had a church, what would it be like?” He sat there for awhile making up his mind to play or not. Finally he sighed and said, “Well, if there was a God and he had a church—they would care for the poor, heal the sick, and they wouldn’t charge you money to teach you the Book.” I turned around and it was like an explosion in my chest. “Oh, God.” I just cried, I couldn’t help it. I thought, “Oh Lord, they know. The world knows what it’s supposed to be like. The only ones that don’t know are the Church.”

When you joined the kingdom, your expected to be used of God. I’ve talked to thousands of people, and almost everybody has said, “When I signed up, I knew that caring for the poor was part of it—I just kind of got weaned off of it, because no one else was doing it.” Folks, I’m not saying, “Do some-thing heroic.” I’m not saying, “Take on some high standard, sell everything you have and go.” Now, if Jesus tells you that, that’s different. But I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, participate. Give some portion of what you have—time, energy, money, on a regular basis—to this purpose, to redeeming people, to caring for people. Share your heart and life with somebody that’s not easy to sit in the same car with. Are you hearing me? That’s where you’ll really see the kingdom of God.

It's all in the mind: How to help

VCANZ — 2011-10-24T06:00:00+13:00

Depression - How to help

To be fair helping a person with depression is not an easy task.

Rule number one from my experience in working with depressed people. The hardest part of working with people with depression is watching them struggle. Don’t get caught in trying to rescue the person. Their low mood, despair and misery can draw a person in who cares and wants to help. I have learnt that this time will pass once they get the help, encouragement, support that they need.

Number two don’t be afraid to refer to a doctor and counselor, if the person is significantly low and fits the criteria above or you are just simply concerned for them get advice from another professional. The sooner help is sort and action taken the less severe the depression will get. Working back from severe depression can be a tough thing to do.

Three would be from a preventative view point; you can only be of assistance when you are in a good place yourself. Make sure you have plenty of the fun, exercise, good sleep and healthy diet. Take a long term view to your work and give yourself the breaks and stress relief that you need so that you don’t burn out.

I have quoted the following “How to talk to a loved one about depression” from this website, it says it very well.

Sometimes it is hard to know what to say or where to start when speaking to a loved one about depression. You might fear that if you bring up your worries he or she will get angry, feel insulted, or ignore your concerns. You may be unsure what questions to ask or how to be supportive. Try using some of these suggestions to guide your conversation.

Ways to start the conversation:

I have been feeling concerned about you lately.
Recently, I have noticed some differences in you and wondered how you are doing.
I wanted to check in with you because you have seemed pretty down lately.

Questions you can ask:

When did you begin feeling like this?
Did something happen that made you start feeling this way?
How can I best support you right now?
Do you ever feel so bad that you don’t want to be anymore?
Have you thought about getting help?

Remember, being supportive involves offering encouragement and hope. Very often, this is a matter of talking to the person in language that he or she will understand and respond to while in a depressed mind frame.

What you can say that helps:

You are not alone in this. I’m here for you.
You may not believe it now, but the way you’re feeling will change.
I may not be able to understand exactly how you feel, but I care about you and want to help.
When you want to give up, tell yourself you will hold of for just one more day, hour, minute — whatever you can manage.
You are important to me. Your life is important to me.
Tell me what I can do now to help you.

Next week, I will state some things to avoid - this entry has gotten too long so come back then!

Next entry: Things to avoid

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Letters To A Young Leader: He is God, and you aren't.

VCANZ — 2011-10-18T10:00:00+13:00

Some things you need to know about God: God will not fit in your box

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“But it would not be good if our will were always done because we would then become too sure of ourselves.
It is enough for us that we have a gracious God.
Why he permits this or that evil to befall us should not trouble us at all.”

Martin Luther

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I have a file on my computer littered with three, four and five-year plans. You know how they go – if we do “a” and “b” we’ll inevitably get to “c”. These days, though, most of my precious plans are locked away out of the public eye, and I’m not sure whether any of them has really eventuated the way I anticipated.
But, and this is important, our churches have grown, people’s lives have been changed and the kingdom has been and is being extended. God has moved in and through and sometimes despite me and the people of the Shore Vineyard Churches.
I’m not against three, four and five-year plans. Just a few Sundays ago I spoke to our churches about the next decade and what I see God doing in and through us.
But I have also learned that while planning is everything, the plan is nothing; that God’s plan dwarfs our plan; and that what he wants must trump what we want.

The first commandment remains the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before him.
When we travel in India, those “other gods” can be pretty obvious – Kali, Krishna, Shiva et al. But in the West our other gods are perhaps less obvious – try materialism, independence or cynicism for starters. Or even your call, your agenda or your five-year plan.
It doesn’t take long for leaders to realise that God is outworking his plan with and despite us, rather than the other way around. Let’s spell it out. It is God’s church, not ours. They are God’s people, not ours. It is God’s plan, not ours. It is God’s glory, not ours. It is God’s responsibility, not ours.
This is surprisingly hard to accept sometimes when we burn so brightly with the plans and dreams and callings that we are so sure God put on our heart in the first place. But hold them a little lightly, realising with Martin Luther that just being loved by and knowing him is “enough”. Anything else is pure icing on the cake.

Next entry: He’s constantly wooing you

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Jesus - a murder mystery: Jesus' Explanations

VCANZ — 2011-10-16T14:00:00+13:00

Jesus’ Explanations

Prior to his death, Jesus gave hints to his disciples about what was about to happen; it reached its climax at the Passover meal they had together – the Last Supper. Mark describes it like this:

While they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it’ he said. ‘This is my body.’ Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. ‘This is my blood of the covenant’ he said, ‘which is poured out for many. I’m telling you the truth: I won’t ever drink from the fruit of the vine again, until that day – the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. They sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives. (Mar 14:22-26).

Luke’s version adds words about doing this in remembrance of him.

There is far more to this than immediately meets the eye. Here and elsewhere, Jesus is saying:

that he is instigating a new Passover centred on him. They were gathered to celebrate the original Passover, as set out in Ex 12:43f. It had been introduced to remember the rescue from Egypt. The implication is that Jesus’ death resulted in a new rescue - from evil;
as such, he is starting the new exodus – the start of the journey to the new Promised Land, a symbolism that fits well with the “already but not yet” depiction of the kingdom of God. And consistent with this motif, Jesus is thus the new Moses (as promised in Deut 18:15-18), something Jesus has alluded to previously, such as his first miracle (water to wine) having clear echoes of the first plague (water to blood);
continuing the Exodus theme, he is the new manna (see John 6: 48-51), the bread that gives life;
he was instigating a New Covenant relationship (sealed in his blood). This new covenant, promised in Jeremiah 31, is the unilateral declaration of forgiveness of sins, coupled with the law being written on hearts and the promise of knowledge of God;
the sacrificial system was also part of the original covenant and it is clear that Jesus’ death was also being interpreted as a new sacrifice of atonement. But note, this was a sacrifice for people already rescued; it is not what rescue depends on. It is more the means for Israel to deal with its sin, so they can get on with what they are meant to be doing – being a blessing to the world;
he is also the new temple – the place where God meets his people.

It also appears that he fully integrated his death into the Passover meal, tying his death into the four cups of the Passover seder that remember the four steps of Exodus 6:6-7. Brant Pitre’s brilliant little book, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist describes this well. Luke 22:14-20 describes 2 cups (vv 17 & 20) (which appear to be cups 2 & 3 of the seder); at Gethsemane he talks of wanting to avoid the cup (see Matt 26:39-42), and he avoids drinking (eg Mark 15:23; Matt 27:34) until he finally does on the cross, and then he dies (Mar 15:36-37). If this is correct, Jesus’ death is not only tied up with, and re-expressing the story of Israel’s exodus, but is also tied up with and reinterpreting the celebration of the Exodus.

The way that Jesus’ death is described in Scripture is very different from the abstract world of atonement theory. It is wrapped up in the continuing story of Israel, making it clear that what he is doing is breathing new life into that story. What he was about to do makes absolute sense in that context: God was being faithful to his original covenant, while introducing a new and everlasting covenant that redefined covenant membership, dealt with the sin problem, and enabled God’s people to get on with their job of being the image of God.

I’ll try to bring the ideas together more fully in one more piece.

Next entry: Jesus - a murder mystery: Making sense of the story.

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It's all in the mind: Causes of depression

VCANZ — 2011-10-14T15:00:00+13:00

Causes of depression

It is important here not to rush to any conclusions about what may be the cause of a person’s depression. Sometimes a person may become depressed from a single event or may become depressed over time. There are often a several reasons for a person’s depression.

There are three areas that can influence a person’s likely hood of becoming depressed. They are called risk factors. These are family history, lifestyle choices and life events. (www.depression.org.nz)

Firstly family history, this includes a history of abuse in the family and / or a history of depression in the family.
Life style choices that may cause depression include excessive alcohol consumption, recreational or party drugs, social isolation, lack of sleep,poor diet , lack of exercise and stress.
Life events include death or loss of someone close, relationship break-ups, traumatic, often life threatening events, financial pressure, unemployment, serious accidents (particularly head injuries) or long-term illness, some medication (check with your doctor),stress or problems at work, school or university, bullying or abuse, some women experience depression during pregnancy or after childbirth

Understanding that some of these areas may be the cause of depression helps to identify those that are relevant and address them. John Kirwin does an excellent job on the depression.org.nz website of helping people to identify the risk factors and then what treatment there is that may be appropriate to help. (depression.org.nz)

Next entry: How to help

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What should be on your bookshelf: Christmas Wish-list special

VCANZ — 2011-10-10T11:00:00+13:00

There is tinsel going up in shopping complexes around New Zealand, which leads some of us to think, “What do I want for Christmas this year?” Meanwhile, the more cynical viewer may be thinking, “Tinsel already? Good to see the consumerism-machine is rolling along nicely still…”

It’s with the former thought I get the pleasure of introducing today’s What should be on your bookshelf: Christmas Wish-list Special. I will leave the latter to another time perhaps.

A book wish-list is the perfect thing to start and conveniently leave lying around for your other-half to find. Good options include:

The “wish-list as a bookmark” slipped into the book your other-half is reading currently.
The “wish-list fridge magnet” popped next to the fridge door for that subliminal marketing.
The “wish-list that I threw out, but oh whoops - you found it” lying next to the bin, but not in it.
The “wish-list that is hinted to by leaving the BookDepository page of that book open in the web browser” trick.

I’m sure you get the point. But what should you be asking for? That’s where I am here to help. I put together my own top-five for your convenience. In no particular order they are:

If you are into controversial-then-when-you-read-it-it’s-not-so-bad-after-all, then Love Wins by Rob Bell is probably right up your alley. (Especially good if you are a N.T. Wright Surprised by Hope fan.)
If you want something leather-bound to match you leather sofa, and your leather wallet, then ESV Study Bible has become one of the best in the business.
After something classic-feeling, yet something modern at the same time? Brian McLaren’s new A Naked Spirituality is rumoured to be perfect.
If you like authors who wear sports-coats and do speaking addresses to the staff of Google, then The Reason for God by Tim Keller might be something to add.
A magazine subscription to Neue for the whole year will make your coffee table well stocked with a fantastic leadership magazine for those “I was killing time, flicking through this magazine, when I read this article that was so good I tore it out” moments.

So, there’s the help with the books - but getting the wish-list safely in the hands of your other-half, I can’t help you there.

By Dan Sheed

Letters To A Young Leader: Some things you need to know about God - God will not fit in your box

VCANZ — 2011-10-07T13:00:00+13:00

Some things you need to know about God: God will not fit in your box

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“Things never happen the same way twice, dear one.”

Aslan to Lucy

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It was my first evangelistic sermon. I was a fresh-faced youth pastor about to speak at an evening youth “rally” at our church. I prepared fanatically, polished my message, prayed on my knees during the afternoon, dressed in a suit (yes, a suit!) and was nervously ready to give it my best shot.
I suppose 50 people were there as I launched into my sermon, starting with Genesis, describing the fall, the exodus, the arrival of Christ, the reconciliation offered by God and giving the invitation to become a follower of Jesus. Then I drew a deep breath and called people to respond – every head bowed, every eye closed. And when I looked up, at least a dozen people were standing in front of me making a commitment to Christ.
A miracle was taking place before my eyes.
The next week, another youth rally was scheduled. Well, why wouldn’t you when the last one was so successful? I prepared fanatically, polished my message, prayed on my knees during the afternoon, dressed in a suit and was nervously ready to give it my best shot. After again preaching my heart out, I drew a deep breath and called people to respond – every head bowed, every eye closed. And when I looked up, not a single person was standing in front of me.

It took me all of one (successful) sermon to put God in a box. The response at that first youth rally became the blueprint for every similar event to come. When you prepare a certain way, pray a certain way, dress a certain way, gesticulate a certain way . . . God will magically appear. Not true.
Somehow on that first night I had tapped into the grace and power of God and lives had been changed for eternity. By the following week, having become instantly formulaic, the grace and power had departed and I was left looking a little silly.
Things never happen the same way twice. In his book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis says, “He’s wild you know. Not like a tame lion.”
I’m all for good systems, for preparing diligently and for maximising the abilities of myself and my people. But put God at a box at your peril. He just won’t allow it.

Next entry: Things you need to know about God - Part III
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Jesus - a murder mystery: Theory

VCANZ — 2011-10-06T13:00:00+13:00

Jesus – a Murder Mystery: Theory

Paul’s letters, especially Romans 3 and 5 plus 1 Corinthians 1, and the unknown author’s letter to the Hebrews provides the background to a string of theories of what happened through Jesus’ death. If you want to read more, the late John Stott’s excellent book, The Cross of Christ, summarises this well, and my brief summary is as follows:

Ransom theory/Satisfying the devil – since the fall, people are under the devil’s influence; the devil has rights that needed to be satisfied. Jesus death satisfied those rights but he was tricked when Jesus rose from the dead
Satisfying the Law – God has established a law that required death as a result of sin. He must keep the law.
Satisfying God’s honour and justice - sin dishonours and insults God. God cannot overlook this: it is not proper or possible for God to pass by sin unpunished.
Satisfying God’s moral order - God is the supreme ruler governing with authority according to a moral order. Sin is an attack on this and there needs to be a supreme example to demonstrate God’s dissatisfaction.
Moral influence theory – the cross is an act of love and inspires us to love (see eg lyrics to When I Survey the Wondrous Cross)
God satisfying himself - satisfying God’s law, honour, justice and moral order make sense to the extent that these are seen as part of God’s character with which he has to act consistently. He acts for the sake of his name.

Other terms often used are: penal substitution, which is a combination of emphasis on law and justice; the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) but Jesus takes the sinners place. He bears the penalty that sinners should have borne and thus placates an angry God; and Christus victor – God achieves victory over death, sin and the devil.

Some of these will be very familiar to us from sources such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which Aslan does a deal with the Devil (the White Witch) in which he dies to save Edwin’s life but he tricks her through rising from the dead to bring an end to an otherwise endless winter (with no Christmas).

As Stott and others point out, all have some degree of truth in them, but if not worded carefully they can suggest that God is beholden to something outside of himself (the devil, the law), or they can set up Jesus against God, ie God is the angry one and Jesus is the loving one.

God satisfying himself makes a lot of sense and is consistent with Scriptures such as Romans 3:25-26 which explain Jesus’ death as showing God’s righteousness. But rather than make conclusions at this stage, I want to go on to look at how Jesus himself described what he was doing, and he did this most clearly at the Last Supper before his death.

Next entry: Jesus - a murder mystery: Jesus’ Explanations.

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Wimber Wednesday: Seeing the Ministry of Jesus

VCANZ — 2011-10-05T12:00:00+13:00

On Wimber Wednesday we will post inspirational audio, video or articles of the founder of the Vineyard movement, the late John Wimber. May they help you be a disciple, and make disciples.

What action should a person take?

VCANZ — 2011-10-05T13:00:00+13:00

What action should a person take if they or you recognise the signs depression?

The most important thing to do is to start to get help, talking about it with someone. Don’t think that by not doing anything about it a person is coping, most often people will get worse if they do not get the help they need.

If the key signs of depression are what you recognise then I recommend that people see their doctor or GP and get some help from them. As well as the GP find a counselor who is experienced in working with depression and talk with them about what they are experiencing. The medical to help enhance what your body is not producing in terms of the natural feel good chemicals and the counselor who will be able to help them to understand what is happening and how to move forward. They can also help to explain more fully the following treatment options such as self help techniques, and talking therapies.

The self help techniques include getting good sleep, reducing stress, regular exercise ,keep doing the things that you would normally find fun, stay connected with your friends and stop alcohol use .

Your Doctor can prescribe you antidepressants that will replace the feel good drugs that your body stops producing when you are depressed.

Talking therapies can be helpful to work through the possible underlying issues of the depression.

Creating opportunity for the presence of God to touch their life is an excellent treatment also.

Thinking holistically about dealing with depression will help the person embrace treatment. Medical, environmental, lifestyle and spiritual interventions will all work towards moving through depression.

Working with a doctor and counselor will greatly enhance the likely hood of the depression reducing faster. If the person finds that the treatment that they are receiving is not going well for them review what they are doing with your doctor or counselor.

Next entry: Causes of depression?

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Letters To A Young Leader: Some things you need to know about God

VCANZ — 2011-09-29T11:00:00+13:00

Some things you need to know about God: God is nice and he likes you

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“Tony dear, you will only be able to love when you understand how much you are loved.
You are loved, dear with a limitless . . . fathomless . . . all-embracing love.”

Father Joe to Tony Hendra in the book Father Joe

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As a young Christian in the 1980s, I loved the comical-yet-profound writings of an English Anglican named Adrian Plass.
I was a pretty serious twentysomething following Jesus with great fervency and more than a little legalism, and yet Plass’ gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle prods at Christians and the church amused me in an I-hope-God-doesn’t-send-a-lightning-bolt kind of way.
So, as a Christian journalist, I was delighted when Plass came to New Zealand and I had a chance to hear him speak and to interview him. I asked this “great big yeti of a man” (his words) whether, among all his topics and characters and messages, he had one over-arching, fundamental theme.
He said something that I have found profound ever since: ”God is nice and he likes you.”

When God looks at you, does he smile or frown? Is he facing you or is his shoulder turned? Are his arms outstretched or are his hands in his pockets?
The answers you, or others, give to these questions will tell you a lot about how you or they see God. For some, God is distant, disinterested, judgmental. For others, he’s something of a Santa Claus, an endless source of blessing and gifts. For yet others, he’s mystical and unknowable.
In my early Christian years, I was definitely in the I’ve-got-to-work-hard-to-please-a-somewhat-disapproving God brigade. But Adrian Plass and others have convinced me that God is, indeed, nice and he likes me. It’s the foundation of my relationship with him and one that carries me through good times and bad.
Oh, there are plenty of times he doesn’t do what I want him to do. He’s certainly not a Santa Claus. But neither is he distant, disinterested and judgmental. My God looks at me and smiles. My God faces me directly. My God’s arms are outstretched. And that’s the God I want to introduce to my congregation.
What is your God like?

Next entry: God will not fit in your box
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What should be on your bookshelf: N.T. Wright - Jesus and the Victory of God

VCANZ — 2011-10-03T13:00:00+13:00

We may as well come out and say it straight away. We are big fans of N.T Wright here at VCANZ, and rightly so. He is one of the leading scholars of this age, and one of the clearest communicators of theology today - perhaps his English accent and clear pronunciation of big words helps there.

If your library is lacking things such as his “________ for Everyone” commentaries on the New Testament, or his Mere-Christianity-esque, Simply Christian, then you need to probably put them on a wish list for Christmas this year.

But there is one book in particular we want to draw your attention to today: Jesus and the Victory of God. In this work, Wright offers a penetrating assessment of the major scholarly contributions to the current ‘quest’ for the historical Jesus. He then sets out in fascinating detail his own compelling account of how Jesus himself understood his mission: how he believed himself called to remake Israel, the people of God, around himself; how he announced God’s judgement on the Israel of his day, especially its Temple and hierarchy; and how he saw his own movement as the divinely ordained fulfilment of Israel’s destiny.

Recommended by Mark Brickell, the principal of Vineyard College, and many other key leaders of Vineyard Churches Aotearoa New Zealand, this one needs to be purchased for a nearing study break or sabbatical reading. It isn’t however one of those weekend-reads, but is perfect for some long-term growth and digging deeply into theology.

Jesus and the Victory of God @ Bookdepository
Jesus and the Victory of God @ Amazon

Jesus - a murder mystery: The Living God

VCANZ — 2011-09-27T11:00:00+13:00

The Living God

The question of why Jesus died has exercised minds for two millennia, and by this I mean the underlying (theological) reasons, not the proximate causes (accusations of blasphemy and/or stirring up rebellion), although they have been controversial. In this series of posts I want to briefly explore the theories (as they are still the source of debate) and look at how Jesus himself explained it in the context of the history of Israel, re-lived through the Passover meal.

My starting point is the way we hear or present the gospel. Gospel itself is a loaded term but let’s leave it be for now. Reading the book of Acts, the main biblical source for evangelistic presentations of the gospel message, I am struck by how very different these messages are from how I am otherwise used to hearing it. Typically we hear some variation on: we are separated from God because of our sins; although deserving of punishment, Jesus died in our place so that we can be reconciled to God.

In Acts, in a series of sermons preached by Peter (2:22-36; 3:12-26; 4:8-12; 5:29-32; 10:34-43), Stephen (7:1-58) and Paul (13:16-41; 17:22-31) it is very different; Jesus is placed into the story of Israel, and what is emphasised is his resurrection. His death is mentioned, but largely as a necessary first step towards resurrection. We hear preached: Jesus died, has risen and as a result has become Lord and Christ (see, eg especially Acts 2:36). These titles are laden with meaning; Lord appears to refer back to Psalms 110 (verse 1 of which is the most cited Old Testament scripture in the New) and implies that Jesus is greater than David and is the one who is now seated at the right hand side of God, ie he is equal with and one with God. Christ means Messiah or the anointed one, the one they believed would come to rescue Israel.

The preachers in Acts set out the clear message that, because he is risen, he is shown to be Lord and can forgive sins, has power to heal, is shown to be judge and is the source of unity for Jews and Gentiles. The message is: you are forgiven because Jesus is Lord; not because Jesus died. You are forgiven because Jesus is judge, and he will forgive those who appeal to him for mercy. The important thing appears to be not that he died but that he is alive. In a similar vein, Paul sets out in a number of places in Acts that the reason that he is imprisoned and on trial is because of his belief in resurrection. Recall also, Jesus’ own actions; he announced forgiveness of sins on the basis of his authority, not on the basis of appeal to his future death.

So have we got our emphasis on Jesus’ death wrong? You get the impression reading the first sermons that maybe we have. Their good news message was Jesus is the living God.

But the story doesn’t finish in Acts, and soon after Jesus’ resurrection Paul is writing and investing theological significance in Jesus’ death. In the next instalment, I will start to dig into some of the theories of what was achieved through his death.

Next entry: Jesus - a murder mystery: Theory.

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Capturing a new sound

VCANZ — 2011-09-22T11:07:34+12:00

One year ago on October 1st 2010, at Urban Vineyard, a group of young people from the various Auckland Vineyards gathered for a night of worship. We pressed record to capture what happened, and called it Invasion:Urban. It’s raw and real, the sound is something fresh but the heart of worship is still the same.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of recording Invasion:Urban, we are going to release interviews with the key people involved to find out what the heart was behind this new generation of worshippers and what has happened since.

For now, if you haven’t got Invasion:Urban in your iTunes, you can get it here - and check back for the rest of this great series looking at the new breed of worshippers emerging in the Vineyard of New Zealand.

Depression - What is it?

VCANZ — 2011-09-26T19:00:00+13:00

Depression - What is it?

Unfortunately depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness in New Zealand.

Most people experience low moods at some time in their life after a difficult situation such as the death of a loved one, loss of a job etc. As life moves on the low mood generally dissipates we experience pleasure and the low mood becomes a memory.

However if the low mood lasts for 2 weeks or more and a person generally feels down for most of that time and has no pleasure in the things that normally give them pleasure they may be experiencing what is called a depressive episode.

The web site www.depression.org.nz clearly outlines the signs that indicate a person may be experiencing depression;

Key signs

constantly feeling down or hopeless
having little interest or pleasure in doing things you used to enjoy

Possible signs

irritability or restlessness feeling tired all the time, or general loss of energy
feelings of emptiness or loneliness
no longer interested in favorite activities
sleep problems – too much, or too little
weight loss or gain
low self-esteem
problems with concentration
reduced sex drive
thinking about death a lot

If you recognise any or all of these signs – particularly the key signs – you should take action sooner rather than later. Depression is far easier to deal with before it gets serious. (www.depression.org.nz)

Next entry: What action should a person take?

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A Community of Disciplers

VCANZ — 2011-08-10T13:00:00+12:00

We have probably heard the saying “it takes a whole village to raise a child.” In the same way it takes a whole church community to make a disciple. Making disciples is the “business” we are in as Christians and as churches. I would like to draw our attention to 2 key words in this article.

Firstly “disciple.” Essentially a disciple is someone who is becoming an apprentice of Jesus. We are called to partner with God in making full-time students of Jesus. Our privilege is to transform ordinary people into disciples / apprentices whose ordinary lives are immersed into the reality of God. Apprentices of the King who routinely do the continuing work of the Kingdom – preach heal, deliver, etc.”

We are called to turn lost people into missionaries!

I am very grateful for 2 men who invited me, as a brand new believer at the age of 20, into their busy lives to give me some of their time, wisdom and experience, and to receive from their spiritual gifts. One did Bible study with me and gave me an enduring love of study and appreciation for the transformative power of the Bible. The other showed me how to grow in my faith and give what I had experienced away to others, by inviting me to join him on the streets in sharing my story and faith experiences in “open air” preaching and in personal witnessing. I learned the value of continually growing and freely giving away what I had learned, which led me into a lifelong adventure of “joining God in His mission.”

I still have their finger prints on me, which have been joined by many other finger prints over the years of following Jesus. You and I are the result of the people who have discipled/influenced us over the years.

I urge you to be very deliberate about starting or continuing to be deliberately discipled, and as part of that, deliberately discipling others that you can give your life and experience away. This is the main way the Kingdom advances, and we must give full attention to it.

The second word I want to draw our attention to is “community.” When we grasp the importance of the practice of being a functioning part of a church community and serving each other and our surrounding communities as a cohesive whole rather than a group of individuals it spares us 2 almost inevitable undesirable Christian extremes – the super Christian and the non functional Christian.

Sometimes Christianity is portrayed as each individual Christian needing to encapsulate the whole gospel in themselves. So we feel this pressure to be a great evangelist, who can counsel deeply and powerfully, and move strongly in the prophetic, perform signs and wonders regularly, teach profoundly, organize proficiently, move mountains by faith, pray up storms, and generally be a super-Christian who is always happy, who perfectly portrays the whole image of Christ at all times! Of course that is too heavy a burden for the vast majority of ordinary Christians and can lead many to the opposite extreme of non- functioning because its all too far beyond mere humans.

Being part of a community frees us to simply bring the aspect of Christ that we best reflect, and to use our gifts in the community-wide process of making Kingdom disciples.

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“You would not be seeking him or loving him unless you had first been sought and loved.”

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“Tony dear, you will only be able to love when you understand how much you are loved.
You are loved, dear with a limitless . . . fathomless . . . all-embracing love.”