Back to Battle

I feel i was tricked into returning to the Cube a little but I'm OK with that. It is my mission field. It is however something that at first i was reluctant to do but now with the Task placed before me and a few days to ponder it I'm fired up for it. I have not attended Cube for some time as i am furious at so many of them and the shallow existence they live. People who put on one front for a Sunday evening and as soon as they walk out the door indulge in sleeping with whoever they want, binge drinking, drug use, alcohol abuse and other such self driven bull shit. Sunday nights they announce they are believers in Christ and Monday to Saturday they refuse to live it with no thought for who they are hurting. These same people get together ever week and claim to be a community of love and proceed to bully the younger ones, segregate, bitch and gossip and cause rifts through all the hard work so many have put into it. Well my first week back and i have been handed the sword. I was asked to speak on the issues with the group, the shallowness of it and hopefully get them to take this a little more seriously. Get ready guys i have no intention of holding back, I'm hurt and angry and was just handed an opportunity to tell you what i really think. None of you will like it but its what you need to hear. Sunday night I will unleash my fire upon them.

Wicked

Today I depart for Nelsons bay and had thought I would be Blogging about the up coming trip but I find myself distracted. Several weeks back I committed to buying a ticked to the Broadway musical known as Wicked.

The last time I sat in a live Musical performance that was not held by my high school was over twenty years ago. I distinctly remember as a small child not knowing what was happening, simply displaying behavior similiar to a small kitten, clapping and cheering and loud noises, gleeful songs and bright lights. As a result I had this misconception in my mind that I struggle to keep up with the story line of musicals. In hindsight this is mildly ridicules as keeping up with a Gilbert and Sullivan performance is hard at the best of times but when your five years old its dam near impossible.

I was pleasantly surprised as I sipped on a twelve dollar cocktail and ate my six dollar packet of M&M's that I not only was able to keep up with the story line of the Musical but that I really did enjoy it.

I enjoyed this for two reasons. The first was the number of people attending. My sister had organised this event through the church and had over forty people attend. A combined event with people from all aspects of the church community came together, People from Cube, Neon, Musical School and the church congregation. This was fantastic to see.

Secondly was the musical itself,without spoiling the plot or the sheer awesomeness of the show I will try and do it some small form of justice here on my blog.

Any form of entertainment is successful when you as the viewer are sucked in, your subconscious believes for a small period of time that you as the viewer are there experiencing what the characters are experiencing. I'm no professional in the arts but I feel this is done by by playing on your emotions and senses.
I believe that a musical is even harder then a film to get the audiance to that point of believing they are there experiencing it but this musical does it. You walk out of the theater and you find yourself shocked that people aren't breaking out in song or leaping around the room like idiots.

An amazing set that would have taken hundreds of man hours, costumes, hair and makeup that would cost a fortune, visual effects, life size dragons and surround sound all made this performance amazing, coupled with an amazing story line, brilliance comes in many forms but to think up a story line that surrounds a childhood classic as solid in history as the Wizard of Oz yet does not damage the classic story in any way is pure genius and I would highly recomend it to any one, even if your not a musical person, its well worth it.

A past trip recalled

Several Months back I travelled south with many members of my Church Community, I touched on this trip briefly with a few posts a while back but did not give the trip too much air time on the Blog. The trip was only a few short days but was fantastic for getting some of the tuff questions out and the nitty gritty for some of the cube members when it came to getting past the sugar coated side to Christian Faith and really got down to what its all about. In two short days I’m off on another trip and am hoping for more of the same in depth questions. Here is a shot you tube clip of the trip to Shoal Haven put together by my father.

Today was a new day

For the first time in my life i have fallen to my knees to beg to my God. I was never critical of anyone who prayed like that but i never felt comfortable about praying that way. I spent the past weekend at a Church camp which had all of our young adults group there. Up to twenty young people who have come to the Cube for some time now. A massive scandal ripped through the group this past week in a similar manner to what we see on our soapies these days. People upset, uncomfortable with other members of the cube and a whole heap of conflict. We went to camp ready for peoples lives to be changed, what we got were days of hard hard emotional work trying to help some of these people with their issues. Saturday night i had lost almost all hope of seeing any positive change in anyone's life over the weekend. I went to bed with the words of encouragement from Greg (a fellow Cube leader) "tomorrow is another day" was all he said to me.
It had been such a massive exercise to Get a friend of mine to camp. She was having troubles with her relationship ship with her boyfriend. she was planning on coming to camp, then not, then she was coming and so on. Looking back its so obvious that other forces had no intention of letting her get to camp. She had expressed some interest in Christianity and wanted to learn more, finally getting her to camp convinced me massive things would happen in her life at camp, it just had to be. But by Saturday night we only had a few hours remaining and i was loosing hope.

"Tomorrow is another day" well it had better be because the past one ended in pure shit. no other word described it.
Sunday was a new day. As if someone just clicked their fingers the next morning all of the problems of the day before were so distant. A serious and lengthy heart to heart with my friend led me to believe that if she has not already made a commitment to Jesus she is unbelievably close and told me she wishes to be baptised. It was a new day as she was the second Cube member to tell me that in one day. Camp did change lives but it happened in Gods time not in mine.

About to Rock this World

In just a few short hours i will jam more crap then humanly possible into the back of a Holden Astra (which is actually a European lemon known as an Opel) and head south for several hours untill we reach Shoalhaven. Were heading to Church camp more commonly known as Weekend away rather then camp. In years past this has become a retreat for people rather then days of theology and to its credit it has changed people lives in the past. This year I head down with the Cube leaders ramped up for some awesome stuff. hours of work has gone into the Cube group and getting them exited about the weekend away as well. I honestly believe that we will see some truly awesome things happen at camp but only time will tell.

A Grey World

I guess the last post needs a little extra explanation. My big drive with what I do and how I witness to the world is by being a person that is “well grounded”. That is to say I feel that the best approach to change someone’s life is to be a real person to them, be on the same page of them and avoid the attitude that because I am a Christian I no longer want to associate with you. This does mean that I live by a basic guide line that the world is not black and white. There are something’s in this world that most Christians would say are wrong that I will agree are wrong yet have no issues with getting involved in if it means I can get down with these people and relate to them on a personal level. It’s a very thin line to walk and I’m ok with it. I am not going to attempt to justify it because at the end of the day its between me and God and if you want to judge then judge away but whilst my methods are allowing people to explore and love Christ then I will make no changes.
As my birthday celebration was winding down at least five different people engaged in a drunken conversation with me and a few guys from the Cube on topics about God and such, including another loved one of mine praying for confirmation from God and receiving it. (I will share this with you in the next few days). So at the end of the day Christian folk can shoot their fiery darts at me all day long cause I don’t care I am here to make a difference and I am making a difference.

Satan, What a Bastard

Where to start with this post…. Who knows? I spent a good chunk of the weekend and early week feeling fairly ordinary. I battled hard on Sunday against the irrational thoughts of dread that came my way just before getting to The Cube. I then had a hard time early week questioning these travels and my efforts to get involved in them. I felt I had not done my campaign any form of justice and was just wasting everyone’s time. Was I just after an extended holiday? or was I genuine about traveling and helping people where ever I was? How serious was I about following God? And had he actually called me to do this or was I deluded and enjoying not working too much to see the truth?

I feel that I am back on track today and have learnt a few things from feeling crappy early this week. As I said yesterday I sorted out trip three even though this will be another personal trip to catch up with old friends.
This was followed by several hours working on the Cube website. To some that sounds like boring tedious work, which it can be however the website could well become a valuable tool in changing the lives of the young people who use it. Check it out Here
I walked away from the best part of four hours of work feeling like I had done something for the good of those who use it and that’s what my travels are all about. In addition the Cube is a group of people I love and I am desperately passionate about that mission.


I received a phone call this morning informing me I was one of one thousand people chosen to participate in the Make Poverty History campaign. I now have three weeks of training before the road trip and then a seven day road trip which lands me in Canberra where there will be a Summit in which I am to be involved. To be perfectly honest some of this is new to me and a little intimidating but well worth the risk.
The first thing that came to my mind when I got that phone call was “Shit how am I going to pay for this?” Typical of me and my stupid stresses I was selected as one of a hand full and I’m worried about $350. It is now apparent I need to work on this area of my life.


On top of that I am really struggling to trust that God will provide the income I need. Granted I am still working a few odd jobs here and there to cover rent but stress is something that has followed me my whole life and I wish I could rid myself of it. I have no reason not to believe God will not provide for me but its so hard for me not to stress it.

All in all I think I am defiantly on the right track God still has ultimate control and it does not matter if I dropped the ball because I was never holding it in the first place. No mater where I seem to drift off to God puts me back on path straight away.

Back home with the CUBE

On my travels I often find myself absent for the Sunday Night meeting of the CUBE. Tonight i did not miss it and i am grateful for that. I went to the Sunday night meet up in a poor mood due to stresses and a few small disputes through the week that happened to spring up on Sunday afternoon and required attention then and there. My spirits lifted instantly when I turned up and we had a fantastic night player Poker with the group. A slightly smaller group but it was a top night none the less. Its good to back in my Church after a few weeks of missing it. On top of this Sophie spent most of the night with the other girls in the group making friends and when she gets into the car she informs me that she enjoys the cube nights.

Amazing things.

In the build up to my departure from work and as I prepare to depart for my first trip, I have witnessed an assortment of awesome stuff just fall into place. I have not yet received my TAFE certificate saying I completed my studies almost three years ago. I required this for my Mechanics licence which is proof I am a mechanic. This is required for me to work as a mechanic interstate (if required). Well a TAFE teacher from years back who happens to be a Christian arrived at my wok two days before I left with the certificate and an invoice for it (a cheap bottle of Brandy). Items I felt I would need to buy such as Ipod (needed for lengthy train rides) and a camera to document where I go and what I see, have just arrived as friends within my church have donated or loaned them to me. In addition to this trip one destined for Bathurst on Tuesday had and still has no agenda however it does turn out that some members from the cube (a church group) have friends up there that can assist with helping me get in contact with locals who may be in need of me.
There are still a few bumps on the way, saying goodbye to my work colleagues was no easy task. These are a group of top blokes I have spent nine hours a day, five days a week for two years in very close quarters with, not the easiest of tasks to turn and leave. I am also careful on bailing out too quick as I have big commitments with The Cube and am currently slowly working with a few of my friends who have started asking questions and exploring my faith, I need to strike while the iron is hot with these guys.
Some awesome friends have got my back at home with my home group supporting me and family and friends volunteering time to help, contacts with their friends and family they have interstate and generally getting excited about what I’m doing. So in just a few days time I will be off and looking forward to seeing where my adventures take me.

The Cube

In my opening post I mention several things that will require additional explanations so I will kick off with the cube. The Cube is a young adults group set up by myself and a few other leaders within our church. The Cube focus is on engaging people we associate throughout the week and just hanging out with them. It’s not a bible study and its not a opportunity for a bunch of church goers to preach at new comers. It’s a small group of people aged between 18 and late 20’s and many people who attend do not have a church background or would not even call themselves a Christian. The group gather on a Sunday evening however the venue alternates weekly. With some meets finding us at the beach, coffee shops or even the local pub. It’s a baby in our world as it has only operated for a few months so far but so far it has had a great response from several people who have attended.
The drive behind this group and the concept come from several people.
Michael Henderson
Nick & Hannah Alexander
Greg and Sara Howle
Amy Junor
Photo is of many members from this group on a recent trip to South Australia.

It all begins here

Frenchs Forrest Baptist Church.
This is my church and it’s a raging battle field, squabbling, arguing and disagreements and the dramas that accompany the politics of any organisation. Take comfort in that, a church with no issues is not under attack from the devil and if the devil feels the church is not a threat to him then were doing something wrong. That aside it is my church and this is where my journey begins with the support of some amazing people.

I plan to fill the Blog with crap from my day to day life, which is there for anyone stupid enough to read it however i also want to use this blog to show many young people through our church and specifically through The Cube (a young adults group) what its like to live a life for Christ, that its an amazing journey, that its well worth the hardships but above all that you can be a Christian and still be a grounded level very real person as opposed to the Ned Flanders style Christians that turn so many people away from pursuing any sort of research into Christianity.