Measures of need

Last week the Grendel family were responsible for our local bread delivery and he wrote an insightful post based on his observations from that evening.

The essence of it was that despite the booming WA economy, the demand for free bread seems to have increased and the desperation of people coming to get it has also escalated.

This week it was our turn to pick up and distribute. We arrived at 6.45pm to a crowd of around 30 people – apparently half the size of last week when the Grendel’s were on. Several came to ‘help’ us unload – some to help – others to get first grab. The teenage kids were there ready to pounce on the sweets and the adults were hovering more politely but still eager to get their share. As hands grabbed for bags it was case of the strongest getting what they wanted first.

After being called back from the pile Danelle heard one young boy tell his mates ‘F*ck the adults’ and dove in to help himself. I’m glad I didn’t hear it because I feel grumpy today and I probably would have grabbed him by the collar and thrown him out.

It was a little disturbing to see people jostling and bumping to get a bit more than the person next to them. I’m sure some of it is because they are doing it tough, but there also seems to be a ‘stuff you’ attitude among some (which ironically is possibly why they are doing it tough…)

Within 5 minutes the sizable pile of bread was gone and we were back in the car and driving home…

I wonder how long it will be before there is some real conflict down there as people chase down the premium bread and the more robust push the less able to the back of the queue.

I always think its a shame if you have to ‘bring order’ to adults, but I can see a real possibility that we may need to get people to queue up and recieve a certain amount to ensure everyone gets a fair go and no one gets hurt.

Playing for Nothing?

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Someone has their head up their dark bits…

The back page of the West Australian today reports that Peter Bell of the Freo Dockers is now ‘playing for nothing’. He is receiving a mere $2000.00/game… Wish I could have made a cool $2K a game back in the basketball days.

To be fair to Bell, he has taken a huge pay cut and it seems is playing for the Dockers more out of loyalty and love for the club as it goes thru a difficult time. Hats off to him for not doing a runner when the money dried up.

But to describe this as ‘playing for nothing’ means somebody needs a reality check.

Given the average wage of a full time worker in WA is around $1300.00 (skewed upwards by some very high mining wages) he is actually on a pretty good wicket.free lives of the saints the credo download

My Theological Worldview

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free interview with the vampire the vampire chronicles What’s your theological worldview?
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You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God’s grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

93%

Emergent/Postmodern

71%

Neo orthodox

64%

Reformed Evangelical

43%

Roman Catholic

39%

Fundamentalist

32%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

32%

Classical Liberal

25%

Modern Liberal

14%

Now I just need to work out what the heck they mean by all those catgeories…

I am happy to accept that I am totally depraved, but I might mean it in a more vernacular sense 🙂

On a more serious note, the doctrine of total depravity really does need some clarification as to your average punter it really doesn’t add up. Very few people I know are totally depraved (according to the common usage of those words), but – if I understand it right – total depravity refers to the idea that every part of our being is tainted by sin then that is different.

There is much goodness in the world from saint and sinner alike. Perhaps that is common grace. Perhaps it is the imago dei shining thru.

From Ben

Ignore?

Don’t you love how facebook sends all these requests which you can either ‘accept’ or ‘ignore’.

Perhaps its just me, but I hate ignoring people. And you do so much of it on Facebook!

I’d much prefer to ‘decline’ your invitation to join the ‘people who drink green tea left handed while riding bare-back’ group. That would feel much kinder.

In the meantime I shall have to ignore you…

FWIW, I haven’t really got into Facebook. I can see its merits, but its constant requests leave me weary!

SUWA blog

Amongst the various hats I wear I am an employee of Scripture Union WA.

They have kindly adopted Forge WA and oversee us administratively and financially and because of that link when I wear my ‘Forge WA Director’ hat, I am actually working for them rather than for Forge… Its been a great relationship and I have been impressed with SU from every angle.

Recently Pete Barney started an SU blog black book free and asked if I would offer some thoughts on mission and evangelism, so I have a couple of posts over there that you probably won’t read over here.

One is entitled ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ and the other ‘The Gap’. Both look at some of what I have been learning as a western missionary, but I’m sending you there rather than posting them here so that we can get traffic heading that way!

So go check it out.

Westlake Writes

My good mate and partner in crime, Geoff Westlake has started a blog where he will be offering some insights of his own.

Geoff is a co-founder of Forge here in WA and leads the Cheers community development network in Banksia Grove. His blog is here and his personal website is here.

Check it out. He will have some inspiring, provocative and valuable stuff to say.

Disabled Unwelcome

Mark reflects on the place of the disabled in our culture.

Here’s a snippet:

“Our culture commits this sin of ommision all the time when it comes to the disabled, of course in our politically correct culture we watch our language and terms. But every fashion mag, every music video, every piece of advertising stock photography that makes up the media wall paper of our every waking hour, shows taunt, toned, beautiful, and well functioning bodies. It is the absence of the disabled from our media world, that speaks with a horrible and deafening silence, and that betrays our true values.”

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