Quinns Community Baptist Church

‘Wordles’ are a way of capturing strength of feeling or ideas in an image.

Yesterday during our gathering we asked everyone to write 3 words that they would immediately associate with QBC and one word they would hope to associate with QBC.

To create a ‘wordle’ you then enter all of the responses into the program at wordle.net and then let it create an image. If a word is repeated more than once the image of that word will be larger. If its a word not used often then it will be small.

Below is the image created to depict how the crew on Sunday feel about QBC.

I have to say that I found the image above a really encouraging one because this is very much what we have been working towards over the last year and a half. It tells me that we have been able to move from a somewhat broken and fragmented group to a much healthier and happy group with a relaxed and sincere vibe.

The second image below is one that describes the ‘hopes’ we have or the words we would like to describe us more. This one is a bit misleading as there were only 3 words repeated – outreach, growth and inspirational and the rest were single words. That said it still give you a feel of where we are at.

Alisha Faulkner is a young woman who has left her life in the southern suburbs of Perth to go and live in Bangkok… in a slum…

Alisha has signed up with the UNOH crew, one of the most inspiring Aussie mission crew I know of who make it their business to go where other people fear to tread.

They send teams into the lowest socio economic suburbs in Oz and also have a team in Bangkok under the leadership of founder Ash Barker.

If you’d like to hear some of Alisha’s story and about the work UNOH do then she will be with us at QBC on Sunday June 6th.

Last year around this time we moved house and I built a retaining wall out of jarrah sleepers. Most of the old wall had rotted and fallen down and it was almost impossible to see where it had been. Other parts of it were leaning over and close to collapse. The back yard was a mess.

I didn’t like the idea of spending a lot of money on limestone so we decided to stick with the ‘rustic’ look and save $30K while we were at it by doing some DIY with old railways sleepers. I read up on how to build these walls, found where to buy them and ordered around 100 to do the repairs that needed doing. Then I set about digging holes.

As I read about construction of walls the advice was that for the uprights I needed to dig a hole at least as deep as they were high. This meant digging a 1 metre hole for each post. Fortunately our ground is sandy and I was able to do that without too many problems. But as I did it I saw why the old wall had fallen over. The first installer had only dug to a depth of 600ml, meaning it was just a matter of time before the weight of earth caused the wall to collapse. The foundation was weak.

Its now a year since I did the work and the walls are still looking strong and true and show little sign of stress. It’s a reminder that if the foundations are laid correctly then the structure has a chance of staying up. Of course the same is true in life. If we earth our philosophy of life in something strong, substantial and true then our lives will have a much better shot of making it through the difficult times.

The question that arises is what are you betting your life on?

Its no secret that as followers of Jesus we take his words seriously and we seek to live by them. I don’t think there is a better guide to life than the creator himself. If you need a place to get started then check out Jesus’ well known ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in the book of Matthew ch 5-7 and imagine a world shaped by these kinds of actions.

You’d have to love literature to know that the title for this post comes from Robert Frost’s insightful poem ‘Mending Wall’, the story of two men doing an annual springtime stroll along their stonewall boundary and rebuilding it where the rocks have been displaced.

As they walk one man remarks to the other that ‘good fences make good neighbours’, a belief he has inherited from his father and one that he intends to continue with, even if he hasn’t properly considered its validity.

The message of the poem is that while some may believe relationships work best when we keep our boundaries strong and we don’t get too involved with one another’s lives there is a richness in life that also gets lost because of the choice to erect a wall.

At the start of the poem Frost laments the existence of the wall hoping for a more substantial relationship that can only come when it gets knocked down:

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, 
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast

Walls really are a double edged sword. They do serve to protect, but they also serve to isolate. Whether they are literal walls or simply relational walls that say ‘stop here’, the outcome will potentially be a safe but empty loneliness, a way of life devoid of the richness that comes from intimacy with others.

As people we are made for relationships with one another and with our creator. Maybe you have also inherited the belief that ‘good fences make good neighbours’ and not surprisingly your life is the poorer for it… Maybe a fence has been established between you and God as well…

Perhaps its time to consider that our walls may need to be torn down to afford a healthier and richer life both between us and people and us and God.

As Frost writes:

Before I built a wall I’d ask to know 
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,

Indeed – something there is that doesn’t love a wall…

Here is the full text of the poem

Mending Wall by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors’.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
‘Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.’ I could say ‘Elves’ to him,
But it’s not elves exactly, and I’d rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father’s saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.”

Being in a community with such a huge number of South Africans has been a great experience for us and we’ve seen that the Aussies and South Africans have much in common.

One of those things is a love for the outdoors and good food, so following on from last year’s braii, a day that was a great success, we are having another one this coming Sunday.

We will have the big BBQ set up and ready to go, but feel free to bring whatever food, tools, cooking implements you like and we will eat together and hang out.

The rough plan for the day will be 9.30-9.45 coffee/chat 9.45-10.15 kids go to kids church / adults stay together for a short message 10.15 onwards – we eat and hang out. So if you’re an Aussie then a plate of vegemite sandwiches is fine… (or not!) but if you’re from SA we’d love to have you guys do your thing again.

I came across this story in the latest Baptist Advocate and I reckon it is one well worth sharing.

So much of our relationships in institutional structures can be re-active, or only done in times of crisis, so some pro-activity and positivity is very encouraging to see.

Even better that its happening at Quinns Baptist College.

For the last 6 months Peter and Val Faulkner have been in Christmas Island with the specific task of working among asylum seekers and helping lead Bible studies for new believers and those seeking faith.

If you’d like to hear some of their story and some of the realities of life on Christmas Island (which is often quite different to media hype) then they will be speaking at QBC on Sunday morning this week. Having already heard some of their stories and met people who have recently come to faith I know you will be inspired as you listen to them and hear what God is doing among these folks who land up on our shore with little more than the clothes they are standing in.

So that’s this Sunday 9.30am at QBC.

This year we are going to be having a fantastic mid year holiday in sunny Exmouth, so if the thought of spending the whole cold winter in Perth doesn’t excite you then you might just love a week away with friends from QBC in the north west.

Exmouth is about 1280km or 13 hours drive and has fantastic fishing, snorkelling, surfing and vegging. You can visit Ningaloo, Yardie Creek, the gorges or just kick back with a book…

The plan is to stay at the Big 4 Campsite in town from July 21-28, but you can come and leave earlier if you wish. Follow this link to the caravan park to make your booking.

This is the first week after school holidays because we couldn’t get any spots during the school holiday period, so you will need to take kids out of school if you choose to join us… but just think how much they will love you for it!

If a picture is worth a 1000 words then these pics are a short essay…

Yesterday we did the official ‘Baptist vote’ to say welcome to Janet Cassidy as our new staff member at QBC responsible for the oversight and development of the children’s work both in the church and community.

Janet and Dan landed in Perth about 18 months ago and threw their lot in with QBC, getting involved and becoming valuable and much loved members of the church community.

As our little church has grown we have seen the need to employ someone to work specifically in this area and Janet was the no 1 pick in every way. So starting term 2 she will become a member of church staff team and our leadership.

We’re wrapped to have Janet on board with us and looking forward to what develops…

It was a great weekend for the QBC crew at Club Capricorn in Yanchep.

The weather was kind, there was a good number there and a lot of fun had by all. Some pics are below.

Love to see you there

As we read Acts ch 11 we see Peter reporting back to the rest of the crew in Jerusalem and some aren’t too impressed with his choice to go and eat with the ‘uncirumcised’.

God was at work here but it was hard to see it especially for those who had historically regarded this as making them unclean.

At camp we discussed how we form our theology and how we navigate the tricky path of theological disagreement. Too many churches get torn apart by this kind of stuff, and the first Christians had their own struggles here too.

The story in Acts is a good picture of managing to work out a contentious issue.

Here is a summary of what we shared for those who may be interested:

Typically our theology is formed from at least 4 primary sources:

a) Bible / revelation – we start here, but obviously we do disagree on interpretations so we can’t only have scripture

b) Experience – we interpret and understand scripture through our experience and our experience through scripture. One informs the other

c) Tradition – smarter people than us have gone before and already made some decisions on the big issues. It doesn’t mean they have got it all right, but generally we need to think carefully before abandoning long held perspectives.

d) Reason – we use our intellect to make sense of all of the above. We can’t only rely on reason otherwise we may see miracles as ‘unreasonable’.

Most theology courses will show theology being formed by these primary sources. So while we may say we are ‘all about the Bible’ reality is we are always interpreting through the lens of our experience, our intellect and what we have heard from those who have gone before.

Given these sources we spoke of the need to process theology:

a) in community recognising that none of us have a mortgage on the truth and while some are more educated, that can sometimes be both a help and a hindrance.

b) with a spirit of grace and humility – acknowledging that we could well be wrong and that our commitment to one another requires us to engage in theological debate lovingly.

We agreed that there were times to ‘fire up’ about blatant heresy but that primarily occurs when people mess with the identity of Christ. We needn’t lose sleep over forms of baptism, perspectives on the end times or other issues where there is a large variance of opinion even among knowledgable scholars

That’s a ‘fact sheet’ of what we looked at, minus the stories and illustrations.

Acts 11 shows us the early church managing a contentious issue well by:

a) asking questions rather than accusing
b) doing it as a community
c) being willing to learn and accept that they were wrong
d) reasoning that Peter’s actions actually reflected some of Jesus’ actions and teachings and therefore may have been valid
d) rejoicing in new found knowledge

At camp over the weekend we watched this great little video as a reminder that our words of encouragement to one another are powerful and make a huge difference.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks you will have come across the ‘Kony’ video, a thirty minute online movie designed to rally people to the cause of finding and stopping a man called Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, a rebel force in Uganda who abduct children and make them into child soldiers.

It’s a video produced by a charity group known as Invisible Children, and it has inspired some, angered others and drawn both praise and criticism from all around the world. What it hasn’t done is gone unnoticed and even the negative press has drawn attention to the cause.

Clever.

They wanted to make Kony a household name and its happened, at least in the parts of the world with internet access…

My observation is that it’s easy in this connected world for an idea, or a video to ‘go viral’. Kristian Andersen made a romantic video for his wife’s birthday, put it on Youtube and became an over night hit all around the world, much to the chagrin of many men. Kevin Rudd had a few moments of frustration and Youtube made it accessible to us.

Yet, as easy as it is for ideas and concepts to go viral, action is still as difficult as ever. By action I don’t mean people rallies like ‘occupy’ or other mass gatherings. I mean simply deciding to act on what we know and inspiring other people by our actions.

So my question is why doesn’t ‘action’ go viral?

I’d suggest it doesn’t because action is costly. Action takes our time and energy and resources. Anyone can click a ‘like’ button on facebook, but does that really change the world… even a little bit?

It was Ghandi who said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ There are few who are prepared to live out costly change, who choose to actually live differently so that the world can be reshaped.

When Jesus was around he called people to action, not theory. He called people to hear his teaching and then put it into practice. In fact he said that if we didn’t want to put it into practice then not to bother with him at all. Jesus doesn’t value theory much.

My observation is that many of us think Jesus had some pretty cool ideas about how life could work, but there is still a gap between ideas and implementation and the longer the gap exists the more we end up convincing our ourselves that ‘believing the right stuff’ is what matters rather than actually doing it.

I think we’d love to see the kind of living Jesus speaks of ‘going viral’ in our communities. We’d love to see other centred living as normal, generosity in place of hoarding, interaction in place of isolation and a radical shift happening in every area of our life.

The question that it leads to is not ‘what do you think?’ bur rather ‘what will you do?’ If we are to go beyond youtube videos and facebook like buttons to see actual action go viral, then it will cost us and it will call us to a whole different life.

Who’s in?

This Sunday we keep rolling with the book of Acts and we are up to chapter 8 but we are going to take a departure from our normal Sunday sermon this week and allow people to learn in some different ways. Its going to mean some contributing and ideally some preparation, so if you get a chance before Sunday please read Acts 7:54-8:25 and get a little familiar with it.

When we have finished reading the passage we will be breaking into 4 groups:

Artistics / Creatives – you get a whiteboard and some pens.

Your task is to discuss what you see the essence of the passage to be about and then to draw something that communicates what you sense it is trying to say.

Communicate in an image what the rest of us need words to say…

Contemplatives – you get to sit in a quiet room and listen to the passage a couple of times with someone asking you reflective questions.

Your task is to discern the voice of God as you listen and to hear whatever he may want to say to us

Analyticals – you get to sit in a circle, discuss the passage and come up with:

a) the one big idea you believe is critical to get across
b) three key points that support and expand on that idea.

You are developing a good ole 3 point sermon and we will hear your summary feedback at the end.

The Natural Learners – you get to go sit under a tree and chat about the passage in question.

As you talk discern what God may be saying to us as a church community

After we have spent 20 minutes or so in groups we will return and share some of what we sense God may be saying to us as a church.

I went for a surf this week.

It was my first day of no work in quite a while, so I decided that rather than stress about it I’d enjoy it.

When I got to the carpark at The Spot there was one other car there and it was a beautiful sunny, offshore day with a very small swell. I sat there for a few minutes and watched some waves roll in. Small… low tide, so very shallow, breaking fast, but ridable and best of all, no one out… That’s a rare find at any break these days so I decided to watch a bit longer.

I hopped out of the car and stood in the carpark and got talking to the other guy.

‘Not much happening’ he says.

‘No – true – but still – a beautiful day and no crowds’ I reply.

He was on his phone checking some data on the net. ‘I’ve been here 30 minutes now. The sets are at 5 minute intervals, the tide is rising… and he went on with info about swell interval etc etc.’ He had every piece of data you could want on what the surf was like today and it said to him that it wasn’t any good. Now I’ll grant you it wasn’t epic Spot, but after he drove off I decided to paddle out.

And it was small, shallow (first ding in the new board…) and fast, but I had a good 15-20 waves in the next hour and a surf that was as good as any I have had in the last year.

The difference was that I paddled out and got into it rather than analysing the data and making a sensible decision.

I think we do this often in life. Look at the data, see that the numbers don’t add up and miss an opportunity. There are times to listen to the numbers and times when you just have to paddle out and take the punt. It doesn’t always pay off but then the numbers don’t tell you everything either.

When it comes to faith some people look at the ‘data’ and conclude that ‘the numbers don’t add up’. The evidence doesn’t seem to point to the existence of a God – although it very much depends on whose evidence you are listening to…

And then there are others who get a sniff of the truth and follow their nose into the water, only to discover a reality that defies all apparent evidence. Perhaps you’re in the carpark and have a sense that the truth is out there?

Maybe you need to paddle out and see for yourself?

Its looking like a stunning weekend coming up – and its a looooong one!

So we are planning a Saturday trip to Lancelin and Wedge Island to enjoy some time surfing, swimming, 4Wding and hanging out.

We’re leaving from the Hamo’s house in Yanchep at 8am.

The plan is:

- leave our place at 8.00am
- drive to Lancelin – surf / swim / play at backbeach
- drive to Wedge – 4bies along the beach/tracks and 2wds along the road
- surf / swim / play at Wedge
- home along the road
- BYO food for lunch and we will be home for dinner

The next summer movie will be tomorrow, Saturday Feb 18th out on the school oval where we will be watching Tangled.

BBQs start at 6.30 and the movie around 7.30.

Love to see you there!

Ahn Do nearly didn’t make it to Australia. Fleeing communist Vietnam in the 1970’s he and his family crammed onto a small overloaded fishing boat and made the treacherous journey to Malaysia. They were robbed and left for dead on two separate occasions by pirates. Drifting with no motor, food nor water and ready to die, they were miraculously were picked up by a German ship and taken to safety.

From there they made it to Sydney where Ahn’s parent worked long and hard to establish a new life for their children. Ahn has since gone on to finish a law degree and then become a well known comedian while his brother Khoa was named young Australian of the year in 2005.

Around the same time a young Irish family were also fleeing their war torn country and looking for a happier life in Australia. It was common for those kids to lie in bed at night and hear bombs explode nearby, or to see tanks and barbed wire lining the streets. A shopping trip could easily get cut short when the bomb alarms sounded and people would run for their lives just in case the shop was about to explode. So the hope of a new and peaceful land was powerful. In 1974 when religious violence in Belfast was at a peak, their ship left Southampton bound for Fremantle and a fresh start.

Ahn Do’s story is an inspiration because of what he and his family have achieved since their time in Australia and we now own him as ‘one of us’. My own story – yes, I was the Irish kid – really doesn’t sound like a refugee story because we immigrated officially and weren’t forced to spend time in any detention centre, but the privilege we had doesn’t the lessen the truth that I was also a refugee.

Every time I hear people complain about the ‘boat people’ I want to suggest they walk a mile in their shoes. I want to ask ‘why should we be the privileged ones who enjoy safety and prosperity while others watch their families beaten and sometimes killed before their eyes?’

How does that work?…

When Jesus was on earth the thing he spoke about more than anything else was the ‘kingdom of God’ and by that he didn’t mean a physical place, nor did he mean heaven. He was speaking of the world as God intends it to be – where there is love and justice and peace and goodness. Where evil is no more and where people do not have to live in fear of their lives. It’s the world we would all dream of – the world we would love to live in.

Many of us would remember the Lord’s prayer where Jesus prayed ‘your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.’ Jesus’ hope is that even in the midst of the brokenness and selfishness that is so evident in this world there would be people who would walk to a different drum and who would choose to love rather than hate and give rather than take., who would put the needs of others above their own needs.

Maybe then we would see those ‘boat people’ differently?

Maybe then we’d see them as fellow human beings desperately seeking to stay alive and care for their families. Maybe we’d welcome them and seek to help them in their plight rather than lock them away and treat them as if they were criminals. Maybe then we could get rid of those obscene and disgusting stickers we see on the back of cars and replace with them words of welcome to those who need our help.

It all starts with a vision of a different world – the world as God intends – and there is one bloke who can point us in that direction.

Oddly enough he was a refugee too…

As a church we will be gathering to pray Monday-Friday for the next 4 weeks. We are sensing this is something God is asking us to do to encounter him afresh and be empowered for his mission in the world.

We are asking people to make it a priority to find a way to be there and share this time with the rest of the community.

We will be meeting in the church lounge from 6.15 thru to about 6.45/7.00 and you can come and go as you need to. Kids are welcome and if it becomes tricky with them then we will work it out when we are there.