Dancing prison inmates? Very unusual indeed

SBS shows the documentary Dateline every Wednesday night. I managed to see this past Wednesday's edition - the first one I've seen for a long long time.

Among the stories featured was "Jailhouse Rock", which featured the prison inmates of the maximum security prison in Cebu, an island in the Philippines. Most of the men there had violent criminal histories & are among the most dangerous criminals in the Philippines. However, there's 1 thing unusual about these inmates - they perform synchronised dance routines every day. It's not the sort of thing that one would associate with maximum security prioners. But it's true - the prisoners do the synchronised dancing daily. And they seem to love it!

The person responsible for introducing all that dancing is Byron Garcia, the Cebu prison's overseer. He was actually the security adviser for the Cebu provincial government - his sister, Gwen Garcia, is the Governor of the Cebu province & she gave him that job. Upon his appointment, the first thing he did was to clean up the Cebu prison. He made sweeping changes, which included getting rid of the corrupt prison guards, changing of the prison security program whereby different guard report to different commanders & also closer monitoring of visitors to the prison. He also isolated prison gang leaders from the rest of the prisoners, so no more trouble can be stirred inside the prison. Then one day, when he observed the prisoners marching, he came up with the idea of intoducing music & dance to the prisoners. So there you are - the prisoners of Cebu are now really into the synchronised dancing. Every day, they would do various dance rehearsals (which looked quite difficult) & exercises in harmony with the music that was playing. There's even a prison choreographer to look after all the dancing!

When I saw all that, I laughed. It was hilarious watching a bunch of prison inmates dancing here & there. It's certainly very unusual. But hey, they're all happy & they really like it. As a result of Byron Garcia's sweeping changes (capped off by the synchronised dancing), the Cebu prison is a much happier place - no more fights, no more argument between inmates, all get along with each other & all seem to live in peace & harmony. What the prisoners are doing is apparently making headlines in the province & the country, & is gaining such popularity that there's talk of the President of the Philippines visiting to watch their dance performance! Byron Garcia thinks the prisoners are happy being in the Cebu jail, & as both the Dateline reporter & Garcia agreed at the end of the story, perhaps it's the happiest prison in the world.

One other thing I should mention - some of the Cebu inmates are Christians! Yay! Those inmates who are Christians hold daily evangelistic-style church service, & it's often packed. It seems Byron Garcia is also behind all this - he's got one of the prisoners, an ex-cop named Leo, helping him out introduce system of discipline that is based on Christian principles. Leo is one of the service leaders for the Christian prisoners. As a Christian, I'm encouraged by the sight of the Christian prisoners singing & giving praises to God. I saw Leo say the following prayer (something along these lines): "God, we ask that the hindrances in our hearts, sinful & evil, be washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. When you are in jail, the world thinks that you are bad. We want to show the world that it is not too late to change".

Very heartening indeed. It reminds me of God's love & grace for humans, that He would sacrifice His Son Jesus to pay the price of sin that humans were meant to pay for. Jesus died (& was later resurrected) for everyone, including myself & those Cebu prisoners. Watching the Christian prisoners reminds me that salvation can never be beyond anyone who truly want to repent from their sins, no matter how grave the sins they have committed. That's certainly the case with those Christian prisoners - one day, I will get to meet them in heaven :)

Now, my computer won't start :(

To quote Dick Dastardly: drat, drat & double drat. I say that because my PC at home is bust. It just won't start. I noticed some "weird, erratic" behaviour with my PC on Monday night, not long after the modem played up. But that didn't mean they are linked - PC was still working when modem played up. Was it anything to do with the storm that night? I dunno.... I have doubts because my brother's PC still functions as normal. Anyway, now I got to get my PC fixed :( That's one more thing on my plate. I hope it won't cost a bomb to fix the problem(s). Anyone got any good computer shops to recommend, let me know. At this stage, I think I'll be looking at computer shops near where I live. We'll see how we go. Hopefully, everything will be resolved this weekend. In the meantime, I'll be relying on internet at work ;)

CM5 - win some, lose some

Remember the Championship Manager 5 game that I blogged about a few days ago? About how I was playing in season 2026/2027 & the Dutch football club I'm coaching, Vitesse Arnhem, was gunning for 3 trophies in that season?

Well, Vitesse did win the Dutch Eredivisie championship - so champions of the Netherlands once again! Our nearest rivals Ajax Amsterdam finished second in the Eredivisie ladder. Vitesse also won the Dutch Cup, beating Ajax 3-2 in the final. But 3 days after that, Ajax gained revenge by beating Vitesse 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League final. Scoreless at half-time, Ajax got a penalty & opened the scoring, then added 2 more goals in the last 10 minutes to seal the Champions League trophy.

That means I got 2 trophies out of 3. Ajax got the biggest prize - the UEFA Champions League, making them club champions of Europe. I was disappointed with the Champions League defeat. Ai yah, I guess u win some, u lose some. I had a couple of key players missing through injury, & they could have made the difference had they been available. However, I don't want to dwell on those missing players - after all, I did win the Dutch Cup without them, & so perhaps should have been able to cope without them in the Champions League final. Anyway, I'll try again next season to see whether I can go 1 better & make a clean sweep of all trophies that Vitesse compete for.

My brother BT found the defeat "amusing", & did not hold back in poking some jokes about my Vitesse team. He just loves bagging my team.

To those who are wondering what's CM5 is about (one church brother asked me on Sunday): Well, I think I blogged about it previously a few months back. CM5 is a soccer management game, & you pick a club side & manage the club. You buy players, you sell players, you hire the coaches to train the footballers, you hire the physios to look after the players when they get injured. You create a training program for the club. You select your line-up for the team's matches. On match day, you watch how the team you select perform, & you can make player substitutions or change the team tactics as you see fit.

It's different from such soccer games like FIFA2008 or Winning Eleven, that you see on PC or XBox or PlayStation. CM5 is different from those soccer games, because in CM5, you do NOT control the player movements & you don't make the players on the screen pass, tackle or shoot. In CM5, you simply manage the club & do all the things I talked about in the preceding paragraph. It's fun!! Do try it if u are up for it & if u have the time to do so :)

Internet access down :(

Arrgggh, drat. Internet access is down at home :(
That's why I couldn't surf the net last night, & couldn't add more photos to my Multiply blog (which I only use to store pictures). Apparently, the internet unavailability has something to do with the modem. Goodness knows when the modem (&/or whatever else that's preventing internet access) will be fixed or replaced. It means at this stage, I can only access internet at work. So don't be surprised if my blog posting is irregular over the next few days. Until we get back the internet access, it looks like any posts over the next few days will only take place during my lunch break at work.

Anyway, those of u who have been visiting my blog, thanks for popping in. Keep coming. Feel free to drop a comment as you see fit. If you show your blog when posting the comment, I will visit yours too :)

CM5 - chasing the treble!!

Those of u who know me well would know that I'm rather heavily addicted (some say too heavily addicted) to the PC football management game, Championship Manager 5. The team that I manage on CM5 is Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, & I use the name Roger Van Haaren - a fictitious, cocky Dutchman.

I'm currently in season 2026/2027, & Vitesse are chasing honours on 3 fronts.

Firstly, Vitesse are top of the Dutch Eredivisie (the top league in the Netherlands), lying 9 points ahead of Ajax Amsterdam with just 4 matches to go. That means that 4 more points from the remaining 4 games will be enough for Vitesse to clinch the Dutch championship.

Secondly, Vitesse are also in the final of the Dutch Cup, & their opponents are once again those aristocrats from Amsterdam. The Dutch Cup final is scheduled on 23/5/2027, after the Dutch Eredivisie has concluded.

Thirdly, Vitesse are also in the final of the UEFA Champions League. Guess who are their opponents in the final?? Yep, Ajax Amsterdam once again!! The Champions League final will be played on 26/5/2027, just 3 days after both sides contest the Dutch Cup final. The winner of the Champions League final will be crowned champions of Europe.

So if Vitesse wins all 3 trophies, they will win the treble for the third time in the CM5 history.

By the end of the Champions League final, both sides will be absolutely sick of the sight of each other. For the last number of seasons on CM5, Vitesse & Ajax have been each other's major & bitter rivals, particularly in the Dutch Eredivisie. In real life, there's no real rivalry between these clubs. But on CM5, the rivalry is huge, thanks to me! Ajax regularly finish second in the Eredivisie behind my team Vitesse! So, I wouldn't think Ajax are especially fond of Vitesse & manager Roger Van Haaren. The rivalry can be considered to have reached unprecedented heights in the current season (2026/2027) because both teams will face each other in the Dutch Cup & UEFA Champions League, on top of being in the top 2 of the Eredivisie.

So what are Vitesse's chances? Well, they are likely to win the Dutch championship, because the gap is 9 points & Vitesse' has a far superior goal difference than Ajax. As for the Dutch Cup & UEFA Champions League, well, they are one-off games, so anything can happen. Even if Vitesse wins the Dutch championship, there's no guarantee they will win those 2 cup finals. The fact that Vitesse have not lost to Ajax in the Eredivisie in the current season (played Ajax twice, drew one, won one) may be seen to give Vitesse a psychological edge going into those 2 cup finals. But as stated earlier, cup finals are one-off games, so anything can happen. Needless to say, I will endeavour for Vitesse to win the treble. Go Vitesse!!

Toowoomba trip, Mid Autumn Festival, wedding

Saturday 29/9/07

I was out for much of Saturday. A few of us (myself, Winston, Eilen, Maria & her friend Jen) went to Toowoomba to visit our dear friends Hung, Stella & their baby Nathaniel. Thank goodness we arrived safely, although the day almost started badly with our car (we took Jen's Honda CRV 4 wheel drive - Maria was driver) almost got hit from behind as we changed lanes on the Ipswich Highway roundabout.

We arrived at Hung's place (some sort of villa/townhouse? it was nice) just before mid-day, when Hung was out working. He returned home shortly after, & we all headed out to the city for lunch at The Deli Cafe. After lunch, Hung took us to a couple of parks: Laurel Bank Park, & then Queens Park. My goodness, such beautiful flowers!! Both parks are beautiful, & there was a sizeable number of visitors, though not overly crowded, which was good. I don't think both parks were that different from each other, really - though I recalled Queens Park had tulips but not sure if Laurel Bank Park had tulips. Oh well...what the hey, they were both nice. I certainly appreciate flowers more than when I lived in Toowoomba many many years ago (when I was a "teenage geek").

From Queens Park, Hung then directed us to the residence which had the Prize Winning Garden (annual garden competition in Toowoomba). We drove past my old church (Toowoomba Gospel Chapel), upon entering the Prize Winning Garden, immediately understood why the won. Hung told us that the owner apparently took some 27 years to construct such a garden. That's remarkable. He sure did a good job, & deservedly won the prize.

I took so many pictures, mostly of the flowers in Laurel Bank Park, Queens Park & the Prize Winning Garden. I'm not a "flower person", but on this occasion got carried away with my camera, & kept snapping shots after shots. I certainly enjoyed every minute of the day trip to Toowoomba, & I heard that everyone (including Jen) did too. I will post the photos in my Multiply blog.

We rushed back to Brisbane in the evening, to get to our church's Mid-Autumn Festival, which the church held to essentially celebrate Chinese culture (at the same time, give thanks & praise to God for blessing the church). It was good, too. The food was quite nice - lots of nice curry dishes (of course, I'd say that, given my bias towards spicy food). There were lots of items, such as Sunday School children singing, a play (Chinese opera style) on Sodom & Gomorrah, kung-fu/martial arts presentation, & Chinese choir. Have I missed anything?? Anyway, they were all good. I got to eat some mooncakes, too.

So, all in all, one of the best Saturdays in memory. Thoroughly enjoyable, & I praise God for the day.

I will provide the link to my Multiply blog, once I put the photos there. Here are some of them:




These are the people we visited - Stella, baby Nathaniel, Hung - such lovely people!

That's us at The Deli Cafe!

Flowers from Laurel Bank Park










Another view of Laurel Bank Park











Tulips from Queens Park











Queens Park - nice, eh?











A glimpse of the Prize Winning Garden







Sunday 30/9/07

On Sunday afternoon, I attended the wedding ceremony of my friend (Sharon, formerly of YF & Clay), at Eight Mile Plains Methodist Church. The crowd was sizeable, but not overly huge. I didn't know most of the people there. The exceptions were Pastor Steve, Keiyeng & Ray Fong (who knew Sharon's husband Andrew from uni) - them & myself were the only Clay contingent. Also saw Euan & Selena, who I see from time to time at various functions (like BLT). Yi (also formerly of YF) was the maid of honour. But yeah, apart from that, I don't know anyone else.

Anyway, the ceremony was good - short & quick. Like many weddings, the pastor's message covered the Christian view of marriage, & he covered how it mirrors God's relationship with the church, how marriage should not be entered into lightly, bla bla bla, you get the idea. There were some nice snacks & refreshments after the ceremony. Sharon & Andrew, I thank God that He has brought u both together. May He bless your future richly.

Again, photos will be posted on my Multiply blog. Here are some:





Newlyweds - Andrew & Sharon










Whoops, he blinked










The Clay contingent who attended - Ray Fong, me, Keiyeng, Steve

MEM #5 (23/9/07)

Bahhh. From my rantings about Qld Roar's inadequacies in the previous post, now let's move on to something considerably more edifying (!) - Missions Encouragement Meeting.

The latest MEM at church drew a smaller crowd than normal (perhaps a lot of people are too busy doing other stuff, or are away). But it was no less enjoyable than previous ones. Those present the past Sunday evening learned more specific details about the upcoming short-term mission trips by various church members to Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, & even a local trip to Dalby - which is some 2-3 hours drive (possibly more?) from Brisbane. The overseas missions are organised by various organisations, & our church members will go together with people from other churches. There was a mixture of video & verbal presentations about those mission trips, & prayer points relating to the trips were shared by the various people going on the trips. Not everyone going on those trips were present at MEM on Sunday. And because the projector was not working, we had to huddle around the laptops to view the videos.

The details about those short-term missions trips:

Taiwan

A couple of YFers went last year. This year a few YFers will head over to Taiwan, to join up with the same church which was visited by the 2 YFers who went last year. They look forward to interacting with the local church people & share God's love for them, as they seek to continue building up the relationship.
Prayer requests include for personal walk to be more like Christ, energy & preparation, confidence in own abilities, & being a blessing to the people.

Japan

The crew heading to Japan include two married couples from my Bible study group, Clay. Both couples will join a few other people from other churches. Among other things, they will fellowship with the local Christians, meet Japanese students & get up to doing various tasks (organising Christmas parties, sharing the meaning of Christmas, cooking classes etc).
Prayer requests include advice on how to cope with the cold weather, support by prayer (re. preparation etc), & financial support as they discovered that the cost of the trip will be higher than initially expected. One of them even mentioned that it would be good if we could pray that the Australian dollar will grow stronger against the Japanese yen, so that it will help with the cost of the trip.

Thailand

Just one person from our church will be heading to Thailand - our church's Sunday School co-ordinator. And by virtue of that, it's not surprising that her work in Thailand will relate to children. She will be running a program with the children, which will involve teaching, looking after them, singing, doing arts & other stuff, etc. (I didn't catch much of what she'll be doing in Thailand).
Prayer requests include provision of energy, wisdom, creativity, good health, bonding with others, prayer & encouragement, & people to hear (not just listen) to the word of God.

Hong Kong

One Clayer will go to HK this year. She will join other people from other churches & even other countries. These people are placed there by those who set the HK program. There will be lots of singing & dramas, & the Clayer is looking forward to the HK trip to meet other fellow believers, help spread the gospel & be changed by the trip.

China

A couple from church will go to China. I didn't catch much of the specifics of what they will be doing there. That's because we weren't given much - at this stage, there are lots of unknowns & the couple await more details as they come. Nevertheless, they did leave us with a lengthy prayer request! They include training & preparation, team bonding & serving, being equipped & refreshed, communication in Mandarin, spiritual & physical fitness, diligence & faithfulness in prayer, & good time management, & preparation for the upcoming intensive training.

Dalby

A number of people will spend 1 week in Dalby doing country ministry. They will be partnering with the local Anglican & Presbyterian churches in doing that ministry. The aim is for 10-12 people to go, & they are currently looking for more team members (especially males). Some prayer requests include courage to step outside comfort zones in sharing the gospel, & for God's blessing which will grow awareness of His greatness & opportunities to share the gospel.


Overall, everyone was clearly eager with the missions trips, excited about the opportunities to evangelise to others & proclaim the gospel. Some of them will encounter barriers (e.g. language), & I pray that the various barriers faced will not be insurmountable & not hinder the effectiveness of sharing the gospel. I also pray that they will have a blessed time, that God will be with them all the way tendering to their needs, & that God will use them effectively to further His kingdom & be an encouragement to those that they meet.

But now they're fourth

Drat, drat, drat!! Qld Roar lost - got beaten 1-0 by Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium yesterday (Saturday) evening, meaning they slip from third to fourth place. I'm not happy about the result & Qld Roar's performance.

I'm sick & tired of rocking up to Suncorp Stadium & witness another winless performance from the Roar. And goodness gracious me, it's the same old story: they had more of the ball, didn't take whatever chances they created. Not that they created many chances. They are not dangerous enough & can't seem to threaten the opposition keeper. It's due to poor decision-making (especially when Roar approaches opposition penalty area), poor shooting, & some sloppy uncoordinated play.

Who's to blame for the latest setback? I think the team & the coach should collectively share the blame. Let's go through the team:

Goalkeeper:
He's ok. I don't think he's as bad as my friends say he is. For me, he hasn't done anything that suggests he should be dropped. Yes, some goals conceded were preventable, but it's more the fault of the defence than the keeper himself.

Defence:
The goal they conceded is avoidable. It would not have occurred had some of the defenders not been slow to react to the danger created by the Sydney footballers advancing into their penalty box. Ognenovski must always play - dunno why he didn't start the Sydney game. Some co-ordination & less ball watching will help.

Midfield:
Hmmm. I think we need 1 commanding central midfield general (better still if we can get 2). Someone who leads the midfield, tackles powerfully & keeps the passes simple & gets the team moving along. The African guy at Adelaide Utd (his name's Salley) is exactly the type of midfielder we need. He played so well against Qld Roar. We lack that type of midfielder. I hope Qld would consider luring Salley from his current club. That aside, Murdocca should start at right midfield. Why did he start the Sydney game on the bench? As soon as he came on, Qld looked a bit more lively & a bit more threatening.

Forwards:
Aaarrgggh! Don't get me started! Of all the departments, this is the one we are in most need of substantial improvement. That's because from what we've seen, the current Roar forwards (Reinaldo, Lynch, Milicic) are simply bollocks. They all managed to score a grand total of ONE goal between them, after 5 games this season. That is simply unacceptable!!!

Reinaldo more resembles a volleyballer than a footballer. He should shoulder much of the blame for the Sydney defeat. Sure, he had a header well saved by Sydney's keeper, who also made about 3 other good saves. But Reinaldo 's shooting had been poor, even non-existent. He muffed up 3-4 shooting opportunities. Lynch & Milicic are both lightweight, with Milicic having the added "qualities" of being old & slow.

An idea would be to ditch these forwards & replace them with new ones. Radical it may sound, but the possibility cannot be disregarded.

And what about the coach? Good old Mr Farina is fast losing his depth. As a Socceroos coach, he was ok at first & then started to decline. And he got worse by the time he got the Qld Roar coaching job. The Qld Roar fraternity might want to consider shortlisting some potential replacements, & be ready to act if Farina continues to fumble & stumble. After the Sydney game, he said Roar was unlucky to lose because they had more of the ball. Duh!! We all know that's been Qld's problem for ages. Question is - what are YOU going to do about it, Mr Farina? Stop being such a clueless & helpless muppet, and do something. We're sick of the same old thing every damn time, so something needs to be done. Change tactics, change the training regime (emphasizing finishing & co-ordination between the defence, midfield & attack), bring in more playing staff (especially new forwards), resign. Whatever - just do something!!

And suddenly, they’re third!

All of a sudden, Queensland Roar are third! Thanks to their 2-1 win away to Perth Glory last Sunday, Roar moved from third last (or second last?) to third from the top of the A-League ladder. What a difference one week makes. What a difference one win can do to your team’s standing. Winless after the first 3 games (and I’ve whined about it in a previous post), they came from a goal down to beat Perth last week. Yes, Qld Roar did beat someone. Yes, they actually scored some goals – in last Sunday’s case, 1 more than other team did. So now, after 4 games, Qld Roar is third on the 8-team ladder. Amazing, isn’t it??

Considering their finishing inadequacies & old flaws from the previous games, it’s not bad to be sitting pretty on the table with only 2 teams in front. I mean, if they fumbled & laboured & somehow still managed to get to third spot, it must in theory bode well for the rest of the season that Qld Roar are looking to improve on their performances.

Anyway, that win in Perth sets us up nicely for this evening’s clash against Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium. What a game it promises to be, & I’ve been looking forward to this for ages. Both teams played on the last day of the previous season, where Qld Roar needed a win to get to the A-League playoffs but could only manage a 1-1 draw, so Sydney FC got the last playoff spot instead. More than 31,000 turned out for that game. I would love it if there’s a similar turnout at this evening’s game.

And if you think Qld Roar have their problems, Sydney FC are having an even worse time, having started the season in a worse fashion than Qld Roar. They have not won a game so far this season, are actually last coming into this evening’s game. So they will be under more pressure to win than Qld Roar. But given the tightness of the A-League, a win for Sydney FC this evening will pull them level on points with Qld Roar. No one can write-off Sydney FC – they may have started the season badly, but a string of wins can do wonders for their standing & team confidence. Sydney FC will want to kick start their season this evening with a win, & Qld Roar will be keen to win in front of their fans. So I think both sides will have a go at each other, & it should be a cracker. Bring it on!!

He's gone! Mourinho leaves Chelsea

The shock of the day came just before mid-day. I hopped on to the internet to check the latest football news. Headlines such as "Jose Mourinho quits" & "Mourinho leaves Chelsea" screamed from the computer screen.

I was absolutely stunned. I mean, who would have expected this to happen? Jose Mourinho, regarded as one of the world's best football coaches, departs glamour London side Chelsea, apparently by mutual consent. Successful, controversial, often derided as cocky & arrogant, he is a colourful character & English football will be poorer for his departure. His verbal spats with rival coaches make interesting news reading. I, for one, will miss all that.

Mourinho apparently left because of a breakdown in relationships with Chelsea's owner, the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Mourinho brought success to the club, winning everything there is to win in English football: English Premier League titles (twice), the FA Cup & League Cup. The only thing that has eluded him at Chelsea is the UEFA Champions League (Mourinho has won this before, but as coach of FC Porto). It is the elusive Champions League trophy, together with a failure to get Chelsea to play the sexy attacking football that Abramovich wants, that marred the relationship.

Well, since Abramovich poured lots of money into the club, he expects nothing but the best. He expects instant results, & instant return on investment. Patience is pretty much in short supply. Mourinho may point to Chelsea's dominance in England during much of his tenure at the club as evidence of his managerial abilities. But Abramovich would say Mourinho hasn't brought the Champions League (which Abramovich's obsessed about) to the club. Moreover, Chelsea have not had the best of starts to the current season, & that would have soured Abramovich's feelings towards Mourinho.

Given that scenario, many felt that his departure was not such a huge surprise, as they could see it coming. What surprised them was the timing of his departure - only a few games into the season & there's plenty of time to get back on track. As stated earlier, Mourinho has left by mutual consent. So, he was not sacked. Nor did he resign. Mourinho & the club (especially Abramovich) reached a point where the working relationship had broken down, & this has negatively affected the team's performances. Hence it was time for him to go. Many Chelsea's fans would have been devastated by Mourinho's departure. Whoever replaces him will have a very tough act to follow - just look at Mourinho's list of honours:

With F.C. Porto:
Portuguese Championships (2): 2002/03; 2003/04
SuperCup Cândido de Oliveira: 2003
Cup of Portugal: 2002/03
UEFA Cup: 2002/03
UEFA Champions League: 2003/04

With Chelsea FC:
FA Premier League (2): 2004/05; 2005/06
Football League Cup (2): 2004/05, 2006/07
FA Cup: 2007
FA Community Shield: 2005

MTE Session 5 - Perfect Peace

Summary

Keith Birchley did the fifth & last session for this year's MTE. He covered James 3.

He started by talking about paradigm shifts, which is a sudden change in the way one sees something. Shifting paradigms, says Birchley, is fun once you get over the shock. What we see is predetermined by what we prepare to see. What we see if often a product of what we prepare to see. If we change the paradigm, we will change the way we see the church.

Birchley made a few points:

#1:
Wisdom is more walk than talk.
It is more behavioural than intellectual. James 3:13-18. We are countering the idea that wisdom is all about ideas/intellect. "Pretend" wisdom (i.e. wisdom not from above) creates trouble (see v 14 - jealousy & selfish ambition; v16 - disorder & every evil thing). What wisdom from about is like is the complete opposite of earthly wisdom (v17). God given wisdom is pure & from above.
So, we are not to assume that someone is wise if they know a lot of stuff. Something can be accurate, or sharp & discerning, without being wise. What all that represent is not true wisdom. A thing is not true wisdom if it leads to a trail of destruction (Look at the fruit of the thing to decide whether the thing is or is not true wisdom). Wisdom is defined by the walk behind the talk.

#2:
Quarrels are more internal than external.
It is what is going on inside that creates what is going on outside. James 4:1-3 starts & ends in "pleasures". Pleasures drive desires which in turn drives quarrels & conflicts. Pleasure seeking drives adversarial acting. A person who is a perpetual arguer is pleasure seeking.
James 3:14. Motive is extensive in poisoning.
The best idea in a meeting of leaders is not necessarily wisdom even if it is intellectually the best idea or accurate by any objective criteria. That is because wisdom is more walk than talk. Ideas may be right but motives can be wrong. Pause before you push the "send" button - if there is any doubt as to your motives.
The great conflicts are within people, not between people. The real disagreements are within. Thomas Cranmer's anthropology states: "What the heart loves, the will chooses, the mind justifies".

#3:
Maturity is giving to the right jealousy, humbly submitting to the Lord's jealousy for us.
Birchley referred to James 4:4-10, also Exodus 20:3 (no other gods), Exodus 34:14.
Growing up is giving in to God's jealousy. Birchley referred to James 4:7 & 8. We are to resist those things of the devil, resist the devil by not fostering divisive ambition & resist destructive behaviour. God's pure & holy jealousy for his people.
Keep in mind that God is jealous for our unity. He wants us, therefore we should clean up our act.
Men like to fight. We like fights. We rejoice here together (in MTE), applauding each other's ministries.

Birchley then recapped the above:

• Wisdom is more walk than talk.
• What is going on inside creates what is going on outside.
• Maturity involves not spending too much emotional energy with jealousy towards each other.
  

Reflections

• Phheewww. I marvel at Birchley's talk & his style. It's pretty deep (I hope I haven't misrepresented his talk). I think Birchley is a really wise man & though I don't know him well, I certainly get the impression he is more walk than talk. Which is more than can be said about myself! (even if I sometimes delude myself into believing I'm wiser & cleverer than I actually am). Me, I'm "all talk & no action". When it comes to applications, if I'm not trying to get out of discussion, I will talk about it during Bible study, but hardly get around to doing them. So when people ask "how's your applications, DT?", I got no answer. I should really take applications more seriously.
  
• With maturity, it is my selfishness (with my time) & my self-centeredness that prevents me from giving in to God's jealousy. I need to remember that God is a jealous & personal God who loves & really cares about me. It's not a matter of "God is up there, I'm down here. I do my thing; if I really need His help, I call Him". I need to get God much more involved in my life & rather than marginalising His involvement. So, I should, as Birchley say, clean up my act. Do some things to get God more involved, such as spending some more time reading & reflecting on the Bible, & set aside some time for prayer. Ahh, look at that - Bible reading & praying more often. Doesn't that look familiar - how many times have I already got that as my applications?!!
• Birchley has been saying: "Wisdom is more walk than talk". Final thought on this: after all my MTE posts, perhaps someone might want to remind me that "wisdom is more walk than blog".

MTE Session 4 - The Man who would sacrifice anything to get what he wanted

Summary

Phil Campbell's session is based on Judges 9-11.
He started by referring in passing to Judges 11 & 12, which considered that passage to contain an account so sad that he dislikes speaking about it, as it shows the foolishness of one of the greatest of the judges, Jephthah - another man behaving badly.

Here, we see another "judge-cycle". Things in Israel were getting worse. But this time, when they cried out to God, God was "cynical". They repented, & then God could not bear Israel's misery any longer. Into the picture step Jephthah. He is one of those guys who want to win at all costs; he would give anything to guarantee a win. So, he made a vow to God (even God already had planned to save Israel) in exchange for victory against the Ammonites. Jephthah would sacrifice anything to make it to the top. The deal was that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering the first person to greet him when he returned. Jephthah did get the win - God kept His promise. OK, so he got what he wanted. When he returned home, the person who greeted him turned out to be none other than his daughter (the only child of his). So she had to be sacrificed! Jephthah didn't have to do the deal in the first place (God already planned to save Israel), but he did. So at the end, he got what he wanted - at the cost of his daughter's life. He was willing to sacrifice anything (even the life of a loved one) to win.

The real king of Israel is different. He sacrificed Himself for others, instead of sacrificing others for Himself. James & John (in the New Testament), like Jephthah, wanted to make it to the top (see Mark 10:35). They didn't know what they were asking for.
Those who want to be first in the Kingdom of God must be slave for all. Do not come to be served, but to serve. Serve others, instead of ruling them. Sacrifice yourselves, instead of sacrificing others.

Campbell then referred to recent headlines in Australia where 12 men, including a Presbyterian minister, were caught with obscene children images. He implored us to not sacrifice our children & let our kids suffer. Be a man & turn yourself in. If we are not to be men behaving badly, then maybe it is time to evaluate & make some changes.

Reflections

Hhhmmm. For me, in relation to my career & my money, I wonder: what will I sacrifice to build my career & my money/"wealth"/investments? I have "grand" future plans for my career & building my money/"wealth" investments. The story of Jephthah comes as a warning that there's a limit as to what I should give up to get something - it would silly & unwise to sacrifice something more important to get something that is not that important (or not important at all). Is it wise to sacrifice whatever spirituality I have to gain the things of this world? So, will I get sucked into sacrificing my time & money in the future, as I climb the corporate ladder (should I even climb this ladder?) or look to build on what assets I accumulate? Time which may be better spent doing things for God's kingdom than for personal gain. We shall see.

MTE Session 3 - The Men Who Refused to be Men

Summary

Phil Campbell's session is based on Judges 4-5.

He referred to the 1990s British sitcom, Men Behaving Badly. The lead character in that show epitomised the typical guy - too much beer, no commitment. We laugh, but sometimes the men behaving badly are not funny, especially those in our lives. We behave badly (selfish, lazy, cowardice), just like the men of Israel. The book of Judges takes us to the low point of Israel, where the prevailing attitude is "anything goes".

Back in those times, Israel was living the "deadly cycle" where they commit evil, get punished for it, repent, God sends judge, God saves, then they revert back to committing evil again. And so on & so goes the cycle. That is like people today, who only repent when everything gets taken away from them.

In the passage, we see Judge Deborah calling Barak to lead the troops to take on Sisera & his Canaanites, telling Barak that God would be be with him. But that would not persuade Barak. Put it simply, Barak he refused to be a man. At the time, Israel was corrupt. Until Deborah came, nobody was saved. Not a man among them did anything about it until Deborah came. So Deborah set an example in leadership which none of the men at the time could live up to.

Where were the men of Israel? It was hard to find a real men in Israel, a man who would take a stand for injustice or take a stand against the odds. Campbell referred to a quote by Franklin Roosevelt: "Courage is not absence of fear; it is doing what you have to do despite the fear.

Jesus alone is doing something Israel needed. Here is a real man; here is a perfect man. John 19:5 - Here is the man! Here at last is the man who is prepared to pay the price for His people. Criticism should be for men of God who refuse to be what men of God should be. We should be leaders in costly & inconvenient way, not to take a step back & let the women do the work.

Too many young Christian guys are too scared to commit, just like the guy in Men Behaving Badly. And it seems that in marriage, it is the guys who do not want to do the steps to make things work when things go wrong. In The Simpsons, Marge is the one who wants to get the kids to church whereas Homer wants to stay at home.

We should be men, not mice. Men who are confident in God's victory. We should take the lead as real men - courageous, faithful, strong. God wants courageous, faithful men. That is what God wants most. We are called to give ourselves up for others, just as God gave Himself up for the church.

Reflection

• I'm very much a man who behaves badly. Sometimes, very very badly. To the tune of John Cena's song, I'm a bad bad man!
• Sometimes, I also have the attitude of "anything goes". Guess I would fit perfectly into Israel had I been alive back then.
• Campbell's comment that men of God should "lead in a costly, inconvenient way" does not sit easily with my often prevailing attitude of "I do what I want when I want". To lead in a costly & inconvenient way involves sacrificing our time.
  
• One area I can "lead in a costly & inconvenient way" & "take the lead as real men" is with my role as an events coordinator in my Bible study group (Clay). The other events coordinator is Melina. As the male coordinator, I should be the one stepping up & taking the lead. I feel I'm slowly getting into this (especially with preparations for Clay's Dialogue Meeting next month), although whether or not I'm actually doing this would be best ascertained by talking to the other people in Clay ;)
• I pray that God would change me so that I am able to lead effectively in the roles I have within church & Clay. I still dread the word "lead" & often question whether my current roles in church & Clay really involve leading, as I don't really see myself as leader. Nevertheless, Campbell's talk highlight God's desire for men of God to lead like real men & lead in a courageous, faithful way. I pray that God would instil in me a desire to lead for Him & be a real man of God.
  

MTE Session 2 - Perfect God

Summary

One of the ways to discover ourselves it to look away from ourselves (i.e. not focus on ourselves) & focus on others. For Christians, that would be God. Birchley referred to James 1:17, & he had 4 things to say:

#1:
God gives every good thing. Every good thing we get comes from Him. He has a monopoly on goodness. Whenever we see goodness, we owe God a debt of gratitude. If God gives every good thing, we are to be "thanksgiving junkies".

#2:
God gives only good things. Something wrong happens, we blame someone else & possibly shame them as well. Some Christians doubt God's goodness.
Every good thing comes from above. God does not have inferior stock; He is incapable of giving second best. Because God gives good things only, we are never to doubt Him. It is better to doubt our perception than to read negativity into God's intention.
Never doubt God.

#3:
He is the Cosmic Father. The Father of Lights. The one above is the one who rules the world.
The God of the Bible is the one we should truly fear as we love Him. Fear is tempered by love & also intensified by love.

#4:
He is utterly consistent. No variation or shifting shadow. He is constantly here. It is because of His determination to give every & only good gifts that He is consistent. He is determined to be generous. So, why should we not utterly be consistent in a similar way? Be consistently obsessed with other's needs ahead of our own & be inflexible with being generous.

Jesus is concerned with our lack lack of consistency & integrity when God is Himself consistent & has integrity. If God is all consistent goodness, it does not make sense for His children to be double-minded.

Consistency is to be accompanied by integrity. A consistency that begs for integrity. Our consistency is to flow from a deep appreciation of His.

Reflection

• Am I a "thanksgiving junkie"? Probably not as much as I should be. I mean, I am a junkie of junk food, football, bludging, procrastinating etc. But a junkie of "thanksgiving"? I can't say I am. As I reflected back in June, I don't praise God enough for all that He has done for me, & consequently I don't give Him enough thanksgiving. One more thing for me to change!!
  
• I need to remember that God gives me good things & therefore never complain or have an attitude of dissatisfaction with whatever I get. For example, I should never compare myself to others & say "I got this, but he got that, so why can't I have what he got?". What I get is from God, & hopefully I never doubt God's intention with what He gives me. Again, I should never compare.
  
• Also, following on from that, it's comforting to know that God loves me & knows what's best for me. So, really, I should leave my future plans in His hands & not get hung up about the future's uncertainties. That is easier said than done, as my mind is always thinking about my future plans without necessarily including God in my thinking of those plans. I should let God take control, knowing that He gives only good things.
  

MTE Session 1 - Perfect People

Summary

Keith Birchley started by asking the question: What are Christians after - maturity or perfection? He referred to Bennett who suggested that the answer is both.

"Perfection" seems to be very close to James' heart. It is mentioned 7 times & the theme trickles right through the letter.
James talked about being perfected in holiness, having a heart being predisposed to living in God. The obligation for holiness remained; indeed, it is even intensified in the letter. God is more than mature; He is perfect. Perfection is more than just maturity. We are never told to be omnipotent or omniscient, but we are told to be holy, because we were made to be perfect. It is the essential character of our Holy God.

Birchley then referred to James 1:2-3 (the trials of life). He made several points:

• The Bible passage encourages us to rejoice in trials. Experience pure joy, i.e. joy supremely (it is not joy at the expense of anything else, & it is not joy exclusively).
• Consider it all joy when we experience trials, i.e. have a considered state of mind, & be like that at all times.
  
• Joy when you encounter various trials ("when", not "if"). Be prepared spiritually. Be prepared for trials so they do not catch us off-guard.
  
• The trials mentioned refers to all kinds of trials. It is not limited to Christian trials. On this, Birchley said we should be surprised by the absence of trials, rather than their presence.
• James is not concerned with the trials in themselves, but rather our response to the trials.

In making his points, Birchley posed some challenging questions for the audience to ponder. Questions like:
Have we reached a place where we can have joy in the trials of life?
Have we reached the place where we can have a settled conviction to have joy in the trials of life?
Have we reached the place where we are not surprised much by life's trials?
Have we reached a stage where we expect testing rather than "grin & bear it"? Do we expect testing?

Birchley then introduced different "trial-processing" profiles that any person could fit in (I doubt I got every spelling below correct, but anyway, here it is):

• #1 Raging revolutionary: The person who is quick to take offense, & lacks mature knowledge about realities of life.
• #2 Pessimistic pattunglum: The person who regards every year as a bad year, completely loses it in terms of perspective & lose sight of joy.
• #3 Naive ned: The person who is sucked in for the Xth amount of time, never learn from the same lesson, forgets or never comes to grips with life's realities.
• #4 Active denial: The person who lives in quiet desperation; very private person, but can also be very sad & miserable; lacks an active, considered assessment of life.
• #5 Stiff upper-lip: Stoic person, unemotional, lacking engagement of real issues.
• #6 Grin & bear it: The person who picks any 1 of the emotions listed above, & bear it.
• #7 Realistic survivor: The person who acknowledges the realities of life faced, & gets on with it.
  

Christian maturity is determined primarily by our response to trials. What is really important is what we have done with the trials God has given us. Do not run away from trials.

Reflection

• It 's been a while since I had any really significant trials. I do come across trials every now & then, but they are not all that huge. Though I enjoy my present state of sheer comfort, I am not sure if that is helpful in preparing myself for trials when they do come. I hope I can remember the James passage to remain joyful when I encounter trials in the future.
• With the "trial-processing" profiles, I can see myself fit a few of those, depending on my mood & the situation/circumstances I happen to be in. For example, if my mood is particularly bad, I would be #1. When I'm in better mood or more placid, then I see myself being #5 or #6. The ones I don't see myself fit in would be #3 & #7. I don't consider myself naive in the way described. And at the same time, I'm not a "realistic survivor" - I usually have a whinge when something goes wrong (which would probably make me #1), rather than immediately acknowledge that I just have to get on with things. If I don't whinge openly, I will sulk in silence & continue the negative disposition on things (shades of #2). Or I might deny that I have any problems (aka #4) & maybe try to portray the facade that "all is well" (like #5).
• At this stage, I don't think I can answer any of Birchley's challenging questions in the affirmative. I mean, it's possible & quite easy for me right now to say: "Oh yes, I expect trials, I expect testing, I'll be right". But when the trials actually come, will I be able to be joyous, will I be able to be all those things? I can't say "yes" or "no" until the trials do come in the future. Then, it is hoped that I remember this talk & what the book of James has to say on how we believers ought to react to trials & tribulations.
  

Men’s Training Event (MTE) 2007 – general reflection

It all started on a Friday evening a few months back. I was at church, waiting for the Clay study to begin. Pastor Steve handed me a brochure. I looked at it & then exclaimed: “The Perfect Man? Huh?” Pastor Steve’s response was something along the lines: “Yes, DT. The Perfect Man. I want you to try to be a perfect man.” To which I would have said: “Oh, I dunno about that”. I did chuckle a bit; I didn’t believe being “the perfect man” was an attainable goal for me. I remembered Pastor smiling & nodding his head, his way of affirming what he said to me earlier.

The brochure I was given is a Men’s Training Event (MTE) brochure. MTE is an annual convention held at The Tamborine Convention Site at Mt Tamborine, where Christian men get together to study, learn from, & be challenged & inspired from the Bible. It runs from Friday evening/night to Saturday evening (i.e. just 1 night stay). It started in 2001, which I did attend. I also attended MTE the following year (2002), & somehow managed to miss out on the next 4 conventions (between 2003-2006) before making my return this year (which means this year’s my first in 5 years). As I alluded above, the theme for this year is “The Perfect Man”. Pastor Steve has been encouraging me to attend MTE. And I did. And I’m glad I did.

There were 5 sessions, all made up of talks. This was a little different from the last MTE I attended in 2002, where (if I recall correctly) we had a mixture of talks & workshops. For me, the talks were really intense & challenging. Very very intense! All 5 talks were delivered by 2 speakers - Keith Birchley (who works on University of Queensland with Evangelical Students) & Phil Campbell (pastor at Mitchelton Presbyterian Church). Birchley's talks were drawn from the book of James, whereas Campbell covered the book of Judges. Both have contrasting styles. Birchley's style was more elaborate, prim & proper, & "formal". Campbell's was a bit more "laid back" & less "formal". That's not to say 1 is better than the other. It's just that both present the talks differently, which is good as we get exposed to different styles. Those who were there at MTE might know what I mean.

Ok, that's the talks. What about the rest? Campsite was ok, not bad. Food was allright - well, breakfast was great, lunch not so. Morning & afternoon teas were adequate. As for sleep, well, I didn't sleep well (only 1-2 hours!). I think it's mainly because of the loud snoring on the scale of "construction worksite equipment" (& I won't name names in this regard). But maybe it's also because I wasn't feeling tired so had no inclination to sleep. Maybe also because something's subconsciously bothering me. I dunno, & anyway, it's already passed, & it was only for 1 night....

I managed to purchase a book from the book stall - it's called "Disciplines of a Godly Man" by R Kent Hughes, & it comes with a complete study guide. The book was highly recommended by a few people, including Pastor Steve. I made jokes at the book title with a couple of people, saying that I'm not that godly so I have to get myself up to a godly level & only then I will use the book to discipline myself.

Well, as I said, I was glad I attended this year's MTE. I've been challenged & left with many things to think about. People have asked me about MTE, what was it about. So, over the next few posts, I will try & summarise the talks so they (if they visit my blog!) will get an idea. I will also put in some personal reflections from each talk. Like I said, they were intense & challenging. Watch this space, read my subsequent posts & u may find out why.

Queensland Roar – after 3 rounds

So far, the A-League ledger for Queensland Roar reads: Played 3: Draw 2, Lost 1. The results: 2-2 at home v Adelaide Utd, 1-1 away v Newcastle Jets, 0-1 at home v Central Coast Mariners. That is, after 3 games in the A-League, Qld Roar are winless. And I’m not happy about that.

I went to both the home games (v Adelaide Utd & Central Coast Mariners) with some friends. From what I saw, it's the same old story again for Qld Roar. Silly mistakes & lack of concentration leading to goals conceded. Wastefulness in front of goal. Failing to test the opposition goalkeeper due to poor and/or weak shooting.

To be fair, Qld did have some unlucky moments in the home games, with the opposition keeper making some good saves to keep Qld out (especially in the Mariners match). OK, fine. But the bottom line remains, Qld have not won a match so far this season, & poor finishing is a bigger contributing factor than simply bad luck.

I wonder what is it that the Qld coach Frank Farina does with the players during training. Play card games? Conduct beer drinking contests? Jokes aside, judging from Qld's displays so far, one would think that shooting practice does not feature prominently in the Roar's training program. Qld have not changed much from past seasons - well, maybe there's some slight improvement, but that won't be enough to make the top 4 play-offs.

And oh, interestingly, former Roar coach Miron Bleiberg (Farina's predecessor) has recently said that perhaps fans should tone down criticism of the team & the coach. Bleiberg pointed out that Qld Roar are not the only team struggling to score in the A-League this season, citing increased competitiveness & general evenness of the competition as reasons that goals have not flowed abundantly so far this season.

OK, perhaps Bleiberg has a point. But still, we as fans have every right to be critical when Qld don't score as many as they should. We pay good money to enter the Suncorp Stadium to see our team play hard, entertain & score some goals. We don't expect Qld Roar to sweep aside the rest of the A-League, & we don't expect them to win every game. We expect Qld Roar to try their best - ok, perhaps they do. We expect more goals than we're getting, & one can't help but feel that Qld Roar's forwards really should buck up. We're not asking them all to score loads, but just score a fair share. Is it too much to ask & expect the forwards to do their job? I think not.

And the fact that the other A-League teams may have also struggled to score (as alluded by Mr Bleiberg) is not something I want to dwell much on. If they struggle in that department, let it be. I'm not all that concerned with how the other A-League teams fare. I am concerned with how Qld Roar fares. Right now, not too well. Yes, true, it's only 3 games played, so there's plenty more to come. But, Qld Roar must do something to improve. And quickly, too - or else, they will suffer the same fate as the previous seasons & miss out on the A-League playoffs.

We shall see how Qld goes in their next few games, & will perhaps talk more about it in a future blog post. Qld play Perth away this Sunday evening (16/9/07). Then next Saturday, the big one - home game v Sydney FC. Given the sport rivalry between Qld & New South Wales, the game will be huge. I already bought the tickets to that game, & I cannot wait! Come on you Roar!!

The exodus of friends - maybe I'm causing it?!

The friend I referred to in my previous post (IC) is just the latest friend to have left Brisbane to head either interstate or overseas.

# The first "exodus" started in 2003, when a YF friend headed to Sydney to do the Ministry Training Strategy program.
# Then another friend moved to Sydney, for work.
# Then in 2004, a friend I met at uni went overseas, to the UK. She's still there, & the impression I get from visiting her blog is that she's having a ball of a time over there.
# Not long after, another friend returned to Singapore. Initially, I did keep in touch, but it has tapered off, & I think I should send her an email shortly.
# Then around the end of 2004, a rather close friend moved to Melbourne. He's one of the fun guys to hang around with. Since moving to Melbourne, he's come back to Brisbane a few times (at least twice) & I've managed to catch up with him.
# And then came a period of time where one friend after another (these are from YF) started trickling towards Sydney.
# Last year, a close friend moved to HK for work. She's enjoying herself, & has since returned to Brisbane for a visit.
# In the middle of last month, another friend (reasonably close, too) moved to Melbourne. That came as a bolt out of the blue. Just a couple of weeks before his move, I got an email from him informing me of the move. He later told me he felt a need for change of surroundings & I always knew he likes Melbourne (that's where he was from before moving to Brisbane many years ago).
# Now, as I previously posted, IC has just gone to Sydney, for work.

Have I missed anyone?

Who's next among my friends to be leaving Brisbane? Oh yeah, I can think of a couple who's heading overseas early next year, but they said they'll be back in Brisbane within say 18 months. Anyone else? Imagine if one day, I'm the only one left in Brisbane....

Anyway, I was talking to IC the other day about my "exodus of friends". IC joked that it's because of me that people are leaving Brisbane. I then wondered, maybe there's something about me that's driving these people away. We laughed about it. But then, I think someone once said that there's some truth behind every joke. Hhhmmm....

Farewell, my friend

A really good friend of mine (IC) is about to head to Sydney tomorrow, to begin his new adventure. Our Clay group had a farewell hangout for him on Sunday evening, at another friend's place. I managed to hang out with him again this evening, before saying my goodbyes to him (again!).

I found it rather unexpected when he first told me the news a few weeks ago. The Sydney job, apparently found him just as he was looking around in Brisbane. He said he feels it is God's will for him to go there. So there u are, IC is moving.

From a totally selfish point of view, I will really miss him. He's very funny & great to hang around with. I will miss the good times, all the laughs, all the mucking around & all the paying each other out, his imitation of the Indian accent (which I know has fooled a few calllers in thinking he's Indian!), just everything. I will also miss having lunch with him almost every Friday in the Brisbane CBD (although of late, I kinda got used to not lunching with him). Above all, I will miss his Christian brotherly friendship.

Now with his impending departure (& with the benefit of hindsight), I am starting to regret the times when I could have hung out with him (usually at his invitation) but didn't. Such as that time when he phoned me after work & asked me to join him to watch Transformers The Movie on the Thursday of first release, & I didn't because I was apparently tied up at work. Also a couple of other times, when I couldn't (or shall I say, didn't) join him & a few others for poker, because I was "too busy doing other stuff".

However, at the same time, I am very happy for him, because this Sydney opportunity seems to be a good one for him - lots of travelling involved, so it gives him a good chance to go places. As he said, he will let God lead him to wherever He desires for him to go. And I pray, my friend & brother, that He will continue to bless u wherever u go. Selamat jalan (Malaysian for goodbye). However, goodbye doesn't mean forever, & we shall surely meet again. Till then, God bless.

PS: Actually, to be fair, he did say that he will pop in to Brisbane quite often, as part of his job requirements. Which is absolutely fine & good, as we can catch up with him when he's here.

Reflection - Six Steps to Encouragement

Clay St Lucia finished the “Six Steps to Encouragement” series of studies a few weeks ago. I had been meaning to post my reflections earlier, but couldn’t get around to it until now – which probably means that my thoughts are a tad fuzzy….

But anyway, “Six Steps” talks about how it is possible for us to use words to encourage others, whatever the context may be - 1 on 1 conversation, group conversation etc. “God’s words changes us: through us, it can change others, too”. This was regularly emphasized throughout the series.

For me, there were some points to come out of the series (or at least, it's my attempt to summarise the points that came out):

Session 1 (God's word is powerful & true)

## God speaks powerfully. He speaks to us via the Bible, & we can trust God’s word.

## God speaks powerfully in 5 ways: to create, to judge, to save, powerfully to show us Himself, & to change us.

## God's word sustains creation & judges those who reject Him.

## It is the power of God that saves, not our failure or success to live up to the gospel's standards. We are called to be messengers of the gospel.

Session 2 (God's word changes us)

## God's word is eternal, stands firm through time & endures always. God is faithful throughout all generations, & that means we can trust in God's word & use God's word to encourage others.

## We should be careful that the words we use to spread the gospel do not distort the truth. We can use different means of spreading the gospel depending on our audience, but must never ever compromise the truth of the gospel.

## Even in the face of the opposition, we should remain bold to speak the gospel - because God is on our side. (Someone during the study - possibly Ray Fong - came up with the catchy line "it is gold to be bold").

## Telling the gospel is fine & good, but we should also live the gospel.

Session 3 (Through us, God's word changes others)

## God controls Christian growth. We have a role to play in that growth. It's not that God needs us (he doesn't), but that He chose to work through us. Our part is the "planting & watering" of the seed. God uses us to speak His word & bring life & salvation to others.

## Therefore, how we think of our role in Christian growth is important. If we think too highly of our role, we may forget to rightfully acknowledge God. If we don't think highly enough of our role, then it may result in us being less productive (& perhaps complacent) in doing God's work, & not caring for others as much as we ought to.

## God's word can be spoken via many ways - 1 on 1, small groups, etc. Ultimately, the way we decide to speak is irrelevant. It is the fact that we speak that matters. That was apostle Paul's approach. Nothing was going to hold Paul back from getting God's word out to the people, & he did not care how it was done so long was it was done. Paul did not twist God's word & he did not change the word to suit people.

Session 4 (What to say)

## God's word sets out the basis of the truth that we speak - all the info we need is in the Bible. If the person we speak to can see the truth in our message, then our inadequacies (whatever they might be) may be overlooked.

## There are various reasons that the content of the Bible does not enter our conversations that much. One of the reasons may be that we don't feel that we know enough about the Bible to talk about it. A solution (perhaps a tad obvious) to this would be to learn the Bible - know about something before talking about it. On top of learning, putting what we learn into practice.

## When someone goes through a hard time or is suffering, words may not be all that helpful even if true or valid. Acts of comfort (e.g. a hug, just being there for the person suffering) may in those circumstances be more appropriate/helpful than words. Should we be suffering, our solace would be in Christ & we should know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

Session 5 (How to say what we say)

## The Bible tells us how we rebuke others - do it gently & lovingly. By rebuking in a loving way, the other person would be more inclined to appreciate what we have to say. Also, bear each other's burdens.

## Our motivation for rebuking others should be love. In rebuking, we should bear in mind that we are all sinners.

## There are 5 ways to speak wisely & well:
(1) Base your advise on the gospel. Speak words of grace. Avoid legalism. Avoid anything that suggests that we have to do things to please God.
(2) Be specific. God is the boss of this world. Be observant & learn. Look, see, understand the world we live in, then tie it with knowledge of God.
(3) Be humble. Ultimately, only God knows where wisdom is to be found.
(4) Deal with important issues. Talk about stuff in light of God's kingdom.
(5) Know what not to say. No slander, foolish jokes etc. Listen well. Have "other-person" centeredness.

Session 6 (The place of prayer)

## God is powerful & only through Him are all things possible. So, our prayers should reflect this. Our prayers should acknowledge that only God causes growth, that things are possible because of Him. We should feel privileged that God would even consider us to be a part of His process.

## When it comes to encouraging others, the things we should pray for include: thanking God for the people; wisdom & understanding of God's will; prayer for strength; giving thanks that the gospel is bearing fruit in the lives of people; pray that the gospel will continue to bear fruit.

## When we pray for others, we should focus the prayers on the person & their growth in God, rather than focussing the prayers on their problems.

General (can't remember which session these points came from)

## We believers have had the privilege of hearing God’s word & be encouraged by it. So, we in turn should speak God’s word to others. God chooses to use us as His medium to spread the gospel – we help spread the gospel by telling the gospel to others, so it is possible for our words to change the lives of others. But we are not to just tell the gospel, we should also live the gospel.

## The way we speak & what we speak can be encouraging to others, more so if what we say is based on the Word of God.

At the end of session 6 (the last session, the big, concluding application to question to the "Six Steps to Encouragement" series was posed.
The question is: What specific action will I take in response to the course?

I joked with my small group (Winston, Suzanne, Ray Fong, Mario) that I learnt nothing from the series, & that I know less than I did when I begin the series. Of course, it's completely untrue.
I've learnt quite a few things, & I found the studies & videos to be concise, & not too difficult to follow.

I did promise my small group that I will blog on my reflection on "Six Steps to Encouragement", specifically talking on that application question. Well, I guess some things I can do in response to the series are:

--> Get in touch (via email) with my Malaysian non-Christian friend who is based in North America (he should still be there). I previously did broach the subject of Christianity to this friend, as I found out that he visited my church in Malaysia at least once since I moved to Australia. He's told me that he's not a Christian. Being based in North America, he may have already been exposed to the gospel or come in touch with Christians over there, & he may have visited some churches. My hope is that if he's already done this, I will be able to encourage him to attend the church regularly.

--> Look for opportunities to fit the gospel into my conversation with non-Christian friends.

--> Ask God for wisdom in knowing what to say when presenting the gospel to non-believers, & also for wisdom to be able to stick firmly to the truth of the gospel regardless of the style or method that I use to communicating the gospel.

--> Be more edifying in my conversations with friends. The words I speak should build & encourage others. This is not necessarily always the case, as some of my friends may attest!

So, that's my 2 cents with the "Six Steps to Encouragement" series. Hopefully, I can put the above action points into practice. Please pray for me; pray that I will reflect on the above, be inspired by the gospel, be spurred to grow, & be an encouragement to my friends & others people I meet. That is, encouragement because of who God is & what He has done through His Own Son. Must remember that!