A Kiwi (New Zealander) I met in Thailand tried to prepare me before reaching this beautiful country by telling me that New Zealand is a very secular nation comparing to France or other European countries. I have to say that in the last month I've met more self-proclaimed atheists than all the other countries we've been to thus far... combined!
One of the proud, atheist Kiwi's I've met along our way referenced religion as a crutch - I've heard that before in the States. Yet I feel that my faith has helped me to throw away the crutches of achievement & independence, thus freeing me to not be defined by "worldly" success but by "eternal" success -- relationships,
interdependence, compassion, sacrifice, & service -- all for His glory. Reminds me of Ginny Owen's song "
Free". It's hard to describe to unbelievers because faith isn't tangible and God cannot be proved scientifically... otherwise it wouldn't be faith.
Pastor Wally Behan from St. John's Anglican Church in Christchurch (ChCh) spoke about how prosperity & comfort are some of the biggest dangers in forgetting God. He taught from Deuteronomy 8 where God warns Israel about forgetting to praise Him when things are going good in the Promise Land. You'd think it would be the opposite... but we're drawn to God during difficult times not when things are going good. Wally pointed out how New Zealand compares to Israel -- forgetting to praise & give thanks for God's blessings.
New Zealand & the US are part of the "developed world" so we share a lot in common. Our cultures are financially prosperous -- not every individual but the population as a whole. We're proud of our achievements, very independent, driven by financial success, so we push God out because we're doing well and we don't need Him.
We have begun our re-entry into the developed/western world. Interesting, but not coincidental, Hope & I are reading
Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. He inspires me to not accept the status quo of faith that many people get very comfortable within prosperous cultures. In reflection on what he has put his mother through with traveling to Iraq & watching him go to jail for challenging anti-homeless laws in Philly, he shares something his mother said, "I have come to see that we Christians are not called to safety, but we are promised that God will be with us when we are in danger, and there is no better place to be than in the hands of God." He goes on to point out, "Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort." (p. 227)
Along with the faith values of risk & trust, I'm learning first hand that my loyalty or nationality is not of this world. I belong a Father who is omniscient & to a family that crosses cultures. Shane captures this perspective well by saying, "Rebirth is about being adopted into a new family - without borders. With new eyes, we can see that our family is both local and global, including but transcending biology, tribe, or nationality, a renewed vision of the kin-dom of God with brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sudan and Burma, North Philly and Beverly Hills." (p. 200-201)
So what next. I don't know yet. But I do know that "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required..." Luke 12:48 (NASB) I pray for revelation, discernment, wisdom, & guidance... to be continued.
As for our time here in New Zealand, I've not been able to post an entry in too long (I apologize) so I have a lot to share with you about the extended family of faith we've connected with here.
First, in ChCh, we connected with Andy (an American with a passion for the Chinese community), Tim & Hannah Capon (the adult children of missionaries in Thailand--Lynley & Peter) as well as Des & Kath Thomson (Lynley Capon's sister & brother-in-law) were all our first hosts in New Zealand. (Kath helped us make connections with several incredible brothers & sisters in the south island.) Some other new & blessed friends include Anne Scott (a long-time friend & Taiwan colleague of the Alexander family from Montreat Pres.), Hailey (girlfriend of Bruce who lent us his car for our travel around the south island) & her mom (incredible servants heart with a powerful story),
Tim Perry (youth worker with 24/7 program at
Spreydon Baptist & avid outdoors man who took us rock climbing) as well as Duane Major & Charlotte Boyes, Justin & Heather, Joelle, Cush, Katie, Anna, Josiah, Sarah & Chris (among others) of
Student Life. We also had the wonderful opportunity of visiting/serving with these other members of the body: the
Rodem House International night, Annabel & the Spreydon Baptist After-school program, Mike Dodge (Director of Canterbury Youth Services & visionary/guru of youth work on the south island), and Laura, Kathy & Ian Viney of the Addington community (an intentional, community-living outreach). Finally, we attended Sunday services at
Grace Vineyard Church,
Chinese Church's Mosaic Service, Spreydon Baptist Community Church (link above),
St. John's Evangelical Anglican Church, and
Arise Church while in ChCh.
After ChCh, we began our journey around the south island with short "couchsurfing" stopovers with Ian in Akaroa & then Brent & Laura in Kaikoura before we headed up to stay with Brett & Ayelet in Nelson (nearly the northern-most city on the south island). While in Nelson, we connected with Brian & Laura Hurst parents of a Student Life friend as well as Wesley & Caroline of
City Church, whose lively "inaugural" service we attended that Sunday morning. That evening, we went to the
Annesbrook Communtiy Centre evening service before finally going to Brian Hurst's talk on the "history & geography of Israel" at Trinity Presbyterian Church.
We finished off the north end of the island with a couple nights "surfing" at Scott's place in Takaka and a day hike in Abel Tasman NP (picture). Finally heading down the west coast of the south island, we stayed with Charlotte's folks near Greymouth and met with Nikki who helped start
"the Shed" program through the Anglican church in order to meet the needs of youth in that community.
Very spontaneously, we stayed with a wonderful couple of faith in Queenstown, Wakatipu Community Church, Dorene & Stuart McKenzie. Once again, God opened a door at the very last minute to lead us into the small faith community of a very touristy yet incredibly beautiful part of His creation. We sat in Bruce's car in Wanaka last Saturday afternoon after a long, cold & wet night camping along side some new friends (Don, Alan & Lex) at Lake Paringa on the west coast. We were tired & hungry not knowing what we should do: camp in Wanaka or head to Queenstown to try to find somewhere cheap to crash? As we weighed the options & began to get more frustrated by the minute, a ministry contact (David McKenzie) called & offered his parents place for us. Praise God for His blessings!
While in Queenstown, we joined Dorene & Stuart's community of faith at ... Presbyterian Church for both the morning service & the informal discussion/potluck at the pastor's house that evening. We also visited the evening service at
Impact City Church where we met an outgoing couple (Sharon & Lee) and the vivacious pastor (Dean).
We're now in the Invercargill area visiting with numerous of youth workers including David McKenzie (who came to our rescue as we approached Queenstown) & his wife Fiona with Central Baptist, and Darren Frazer with The Salvation Army. I'll talk about that more next time.
Please continue to pray for us. We've learned to be very flexible with our travels/agendas which has become relatively easy for us, but our parents are coming to join us in the north island on March 26th for 3 weeks, and we understand that they won't be as accustomed to our sort of spontaneity. We are trying to solidify plans for them, but we're still not sure of most things. We're challenged by the lack of time online to research, but we're trying to trust & remain confident that it will all work out. God already knows He just hasn't told us all His plans yet.
I pray that you will have a blessed Easter!
A Kiwi (New Zealander) I met in Thailand tried to prepare me before reaching this beautiful country by telling me that New Zealand is a very secular nation comparing to France or other European countries. I have to say that in the last month I've met more self-proclaimed atheists than all the other countries we've been to thus far... combined!
One of the proud, atheist Kiwi's I've met along our way referenced religion as a crutch - I've heard that before in the States. Yet I feel that my faith has helped me to throw away the crutches of achievement & independence, thus freeing me to not be defined by "worldly" success but by "eternal" success -- relationships, interdependence, compassion, sacrifice, & service -- all for His glory. Reminds me of Ginny Owen's song "Free". It's hard to describe to unbelievers because faith isn't tangible and God cannot be proved scientifically... otherwise it wouldn't be faith.
Pastor Wally Behan from St. John's Anglican Church in Christchurch (ChCh) spoke about how prosperity & comfort are some of the biggest dangers in forgetting God. He taught from Deuteronomy 8 where God warns Israel about forgetting to praise Him when things are going good in the Promise Land. You'd think it would be the opposite... but we're drawn to God during difficult times not when things are going good. Wally pointed out how New Zealand compares to Israel -- forgetting to praise & give thanks for God's blessings.
New Zealand & the US are part of the "developed world" so we share a lot in common. Our cultures are financially prosperous -- not every individual but the population as a whole. We're proud of our achievements, very independent, driven by financial success, so we push God out because we're doing well and we don't need Him.
We have begun our re-entry into the developed/western world. Interesting, but not coincidental, Hope & I are reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. He inspires me to not accept the status quo of faith that many people get very comfortable within prosperous cultures. In reflection on what he has put his mother through with traveling to Iraq & watching him go to jail for challenging anti-homeless laws in Philly, he shares something his mother said, "I have come to see that we Christians are not called to safety, but we are promised that God will be with us when we are in danger, and there is no better place to be than in the hands of God." He goes on to point out, "Perhaps the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in safety and comfort." (p. 227)
Along with the faith values of risk & trust, I'm learning first hand that my loyalty or nationality is not of this world. I belong a Father who is omniscient & to a family that crosses cultures. Shane captures this perspective well by saying, "Rebirth is about being adopted into a new family - without borders. With new eyes, we can see that our family is both local and global, including but transcending biology, tribe, or nationality, a renewed vision of the kin-dom of God with brothers and sisters in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sudan and Burma, North Philly and Beverly Hills." (p. 200-201)
So what next. I don't know yet. But I do know that "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required..." Luke 12:48 (NASB) I pray for revelation, discernment, wisdom, & guidance... to be continued.
As for our time here in New Zealand, I've not been able to post an entry in too long (I apologize) so I have a lot to share with you about the extended family of faith we've connected with here.
First, in ChCh, we connected with Andy (an American with a passion for the Chinese community), Tim & Hannah Capon (the adult children of missionaries in Thailand--Lynley & Peter) as well as Des & Kath Thomson (Lynley Capon's sister & brother-in-law) were all our first hosts in New Zealand. (Kath helped us make connections with several incredible brothers & sisters in the south island.) Some other new & blessed friends include Anne Scott (a long-time friend & Taiwan colleague of the Alexander family from Montreat Pres.), Hailey (girlfriend of Bruce who lent us his car for our travel around the south island) & her mom (incredible servants heart with a powerful story), 
Tim Perry (youth worker with 24/7 program at Spreydon Baptist & avid outdoors man who took us rock climbing) as well as Duane Major & Charlotte Boyes, Justin & Heather, Joelle, Cush, Katie, Anna, Josiah, Sarah & Chris (among others) of Student Life. We also had the wonderful opportunity of visiting/serving with these other members of the body: the Rodem House International night, Annabel & the Spreydon Baptist After-school program, Mike Dodge (Director of Canterbury Youth Services & visionary/guru of youth work on the south island), and Laura, Kathy & Ian Viney of the Addington community (an intentional, community-living outreach). Finally, we attended Sunday services at Grace Vineyard Church, Chinese Church's Mosaic Service, Spreydon Baptist Community Church (link above), St. John's Evangelical Anglican Church, and Arise Church while in ChCh.
After ChCh, we began our journey around the south island with short "couchsurfing" stopovers with Ian in Akaroa & then Brent & Laura in Kaikoura before we headed up to stay with Brett & Ayelet in Nelson (nearly the northern-most city on the south island). While in Nelson, we connected with Brian & Laura Hurst parents of a Student Life friend as well as Wesley & Caroline of City Church, whose lively "inaugural" service we attended that Sunday morning. That evening, we went to the Annesbrook Communtiy Centre evening service before finally going to Brian Hurst's talk on the "history & geography of Israel" at Trinity Presbyterian Church.
We finished off the north end of the island with a couple nights "surfing" at Scott's place in Takaka and a day hike in Abel Tasman NP (picture). Finally heading down the west coast of the south island, we stayed with Charlotte's folks near Greymouth and met with Nikki who helped start "the Shed" program through the Anglican church in order to meet the needs of youth in that community.
Very spontaneously, we stayed with a wonderful couple of faith in Queenstown, Wakatipu Community Church, Dorene & Stuart McKenzie. Once again, God opened a door at the very last minute to lead us into the small faith community of a very touristy yet incredibly beautiful part of His creation. We sat in Bruce's car in Wanaka last Saturday afternoon after a long, cold & wet night camping along side some new friends (Don, Alan & Lex) at Lake Paringa on the west coast. We were tired & hungry not knowing what we should do: camp in Wanaka or head to Queenstown to try to find somewhere cheap to crash? As we weighed the options & began to get more frustrated by the minute, a ministry contact (David McKenzie) called & offered his parents place for us. Praise God for His blessings!
While in Queenstown, we joined Dorene & Stuart's community of faith at ... Presbyterian Church for both the morning service & the informal discussion/potluck at the pastor's house that evening. We also visited the evening service at Impact City Church where we met an outgoing couple (Sharon & Lee) and the vivacious pastor (Dean).
We're now in the Invercargill area visiting with numerous of youth workers including David McKenzie (who came to our rescue as we approached Queenstown) & his wife Fiona with Central Baptist, and Darren Frazer with The Salvation Army. I'll talk about that more next time.
Please continue to pray for us. We've learned to be very flexible with our travels/agendas which has become relatively easy for us, but our parents are coming to join us in the north island on March 26th for 3 weeks, and we understand that they won't be as accustomed to our sort of spontaneity. We are trying to solidify plans for them, but we're still not sure of most things. We're challenged by the lack of time online to research, but we're trying to trust & remain confident that it will all work out. God already knows He just hasn't told us all His plans yet.
I pray that you will have a blessed Easter!
