The qb, the voice of Queensland Baptists

The voice of Queensland Baptists April 2010

Haiti needs fresh water About Nigel Wright Godly Living

Print post approved ISSN: 11323-7829 The Queensland Baptist - first published in 1890.

This series Vol 8 Issue 2.

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Refill our Emergency Relief Fund so we can respond quickly to future disasters.

REUTERS/Jorge Silva courtesy of www.alertnet.org

REUTERS/Jorge Silva courtesy of www.alertnet.org

Emergency Aid Needed

Give to the Haiti Reconstruction Appeal to rebuild and recover safe water sources for those affected by the recent earthquake.

To make a donation call Baptist World Aid Australia on 1300 789 991 or visit www.shareanopportunity.org More information about the Haiti Reconstruction Appeal and project is available on our website.

Left: Emergency aid is distributed following Cyclone Aila in Bangladesh, May 2009. Centre: A Haitian woman prays as she attends an open air service next to the ruins of a cathedral in Port-au-Prince January 17, 2010. Right: Residents walk at an open camp area where they are staying after a major earthquake, January 14, 2010.

2214_ERAd_QLD.indd 1

9/3/10 12:28:09 PM

Current interest rates and terms effective 01 April 2010

Term Deposits 6 months 12 months 24 months 36 months

Emergency Relief

5.80% 6.00% 6.25% 6.50%

Contents

05 06 08 10 14 16 38 40 41 44 46 47 13 19 21 23 30 29 32

22 33 35 37 42

In this issue Comment: David Loder Comment: Alan Grieve Speaking out: John Sweetman Around the regions Baptisms Milestones Reviews Persecution brief Called home Fun zone Quotable quotes Classifieds QB ministries Creative ideas welcomed! (QCCC) Making an impact (QB Kids) A Typical Day at High School (QB Youth) A worthwhile investment (QB Women) Recording our history (QB Archives) QB partners Haiti needs fresh water (BWA) Introducing ‘Calling Charlie’ (Global Interaction) Feature Articles Bibbulum Track About Nigel Wright Godly living ‘All one’ says it all!

Encountering God

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17

11

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42 Our cover: The carefully balanced rocks remind us that it’s so important to balance our lives. We need to take care of our physical health with good food, exercise and enough sleep. We need to keep stress at a manageable level. We need to spend quality time with loved ones and friends. And most importantly, we need to nurture our spiritual lives; to live as followers of Jesus.

‘As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen

by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter:2:4,5).

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03

News, views and issues

From the Editor Baptist World Alliance (BWA) President, David Coffey, has known our guest speaker for Convention 2010 for more than 30 years. His comments (About Nigel Wright) give us an insight into Nigel the person, rather than Nigel, Principal of Spurgeon’s College, London. I am sure you will enjoy reading about him. With Convention just a few weeks away, there’s a growing sense of excitement in the QB office and the kind, welcoming folks at Reedy Creek are gearing up for a great celebration of God’s goodness. We trust that you will join us – you are sure to be blessed! Information and registration details appear again in this issue.

As Alan Grieve’s time as President draws to a close, he comments on his experiences (Reflections) and encourages each of us to seek a personal encounter with God. More than that, he reminds us that as we seek to ‘share the wonderful truths of the Gospel’, others, too, will encounter God. Baptist World Aid Australia (BWAA) workers are in Haiti, helping to bring fresh, clean water so desperately needed by the people following the devastating earthquake that struck in January (Haiti needs fresh water).

BWAA does not usually fund the work of organisations in the Caribbean as they have no established partnerships there. However, as the scale of the disaster became clear, they decided to enter into a new partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, who was working in Haiti even before the earthquake struck. Like BWAA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a member of the Baptist World Alliance.

Leanne Rogers recently returned from a mission trip to the Thai/Burma border (Around the regions). Her experience has changed her life and awakened a deep passion within her to be used by God to help alleviate the suffering of these oppressed people – in her words, ‘… I have let God know that I don’t just want to be aware; I want to be used!’

Please enjoy reading this issue of The qb.

Robynne Milne

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ISSN: 11323-7829

Comment: David Loder

THANK YOU LORD! ‘Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks’ (Luke 17:15-16).

I have a vague recollection when, as a boy, I visited an isolation hospital for patients with tuberculosis and leprosy.

It’s a tough life being separated from the rest of society by an illness over which you have no control.

Four individuals or groups figure in the ‘God encounter’ recorded in Luke 17. Jesus was there. It appears a crowd was also present. There were nine healed lepers who, for whatever reason, failed to return to give thanks and then there was this one foreigner – a Samaritan – who came back and caused a commotion as he praised God. Any number of reasons may be given for the failure of the nine: excitement overtaking their gratitude, thoughtlessness in offering thanks, busyness of the new-found life or perhaps just a sense of inadequacy about returning to the Healer.

One did return! There is a great possibility that rather than viewing himself as a whole person, he saw himself as a leper, now healed. Humility always responds in gratitude for a changed life – what was, to what is.

An encounter with God does just that!

We do well to reflect on that healed leper who returned and gave thanks. We, too, have been exiled by our sinfulness.

Jesus the Healer has dealt with that – if we have sought his forgiveness – and now we enjoy the company of the High God and his family, not because of our self-achieved wholeness, but because we are sinners saved by grace.

Humbling!

Ministry Matters The Board continues its focus on ‘Encountering God’. Each Board meeting commences with a time of reflection and sharing on recent ‘God encounters’. We recently spent a half day in retreat, reflecting on this important topic. I have also

commenced meetings to share this topic with groups of pastors in various areas. In four meetings over sixty pastors and some spouses have gathered for these sessions. Your prayer for these meetings is valued.

Our Convention is looming! Information has been released for this great event to be held at our Reedy Creek Church on the Gold Coast. I am sure you will want to be there.

I trust that Easter, a holy time in our Christian calendar, was a time of thoughtful reflection for you and yours as you contemplated the Saviour who died and was raised again for our sakes.

Call to prayer We request that all our churches set aside a part of their Sunday service on 9 May to recognise our identity as part of Queensland Baptists and to spend a few minutes giving thanks to God for churches in their surrounding areas.

Further information regarding this has been sent to our pastors and churches.

David Loder, General Superintendent, Queensland Baptists gs@qb.com.au

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Comment: Alan Grieve

Reflections

This will be my ‘swan song’ article as President of Queensland Baptists. As I soon come to the conclusion of my term as President, it is appropriate that I use this page to express, on behalf of Ros and myself, sincere appreciation for your very warm acceptance of us in this role.

It has been a wonderful joy and privilege to serve our family of Queensland Baptists in this capacity.

To those with whom we’ve had the opportunity to share fellowship, thank you for welcoming us into your lives; brief as our encounters may have been.

This final comment provides a wonderful opportunity for me to reflect on, and respond to, some of our experiences as we have moved around our church family. Generally speaking, we have witnessed a denomination actively involved in making Jesus known and wanting to help believers grow to maturity in Christ Jesus. We have come across some very creative endeavours by some churches to help people have significant encounters with God. We have seen a church use horsemanship as a way to introduce people to Jesus. Another church effectively reaches out to the surfing culture; yet another is small yet effective in touching the lives of people with special needs.

There is a church that is successful in introducing people to Jesus through child care centres; several churches are helping multicultural groups learn our language and culture and in doing so, introduce people to Jesus.

All of these and other ideas, remind me of the mysterious ways in which people can encounter God. Some churches are contemporary in their worship styles; some are traditional.

Some use modern translations of the Bible while a few remain with the King James Version and suits and ties still have a place in some fellowships, especially with our immigrant congregations. So much variety and creativity is evident as churches express their desire to help people engage in a meaningful encounter with God. It is true that we saw a few churches where wonderful opportunities have passed them by and they are content to stay as they are. They are not grasping those challenges 06

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which would enable them to help people in their communities to encounter God. The Gospels clearly show us that Jesus embarked upon a very diverse style of ministry. Sometimes he ministered in synagogues, sometimes in homes. Often he spoke to people in open fields.

He ministered to a diverse range people including very learned theologians, destitute slaves, mentally unstable individuals, social outcasts, high flying business people and ordinary men, women and children. In doing so, he has set us an example to follow. When he said in Matthew 9:37, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few’, he spoke a truth as relevant today as it was in his days of earthly ministry. In every town we visited during our travels throughout our wonderful State, we found people who had never had an encounter with God. Sadly, I suspect many of these folk have not had an encounter with God because the truth of the Gospel has not been explained to them. Indeed, the harvest is plentiful. We must remain vigilant in prayer asking the Lord of the harvest to send out workers and just as importantly, we must hear the words of the Lord who said, ‘Go into all the world and make disciples’ (Matthew 28:19). How shall they hear if someone does not tell them?

There is nothing more spiritually satisfying than to have a personal encounter with God and there is nothing more exciting than to see others encounter God as we share the wonderful truths of the Gospel with them.

Thanks for the honour of travelling this part of our life’s journey with you over the past nine months and thanks especially for giving us an insight into what God is doing in and through our family of churches.

May he complete the great work he has begun in you.

Blessings, Alan & Ros Grieve M: 0412 070 252 (Alan) E: alang@shbc.org.au

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07

Speaking out

God wins!

Joan Sweetman was called home on Sunday, 21 February 2010. Her son, John, has kindly given permission for the thoughts he expressed at his mother’s memorial service to be published in this issue. Our prayers are with Joan’s husband, Jack and the whole family.

Last Monday, a day after we said goodbye to Mum, I was reading an article in the Weekend Australian by the atheist Philip Adams. In this article he told two stories about rocks. The first was about a huge rock (sitting over an idyllic, secret waterhole on his property) that had eventually been cracked by a large fig tree whose roots grew around it. The rock tumbled into the water, virtually destroying the beautiful waterhole. The second was about an enormous rock that had broken free from a road cutting and tumbled onto the road, just a few minutes before he drove by. Sadly, a family in a 4WD towing a caravan did not see the rock in the dusk and ploughed into it destroying their car, their caravan, and probably their lives as well.

Adams drew the following conclusion: ‘Two random events involving two rocks. In one the force was gravity, in the other the tenacity of a tree. Neither story has a meaning, let alone a moral. But both have messages about time. It always wins.’

He’s right, you know. Time wins. Nothing can stop its march. Mum was a vibrant, capable, spiritual, beautiful wife, Mum, friend, mentor. But time won

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‘Two random events involving two rocks. In one the force was gravity, in the other the tenacity of a tree.’

with Mum. It wore away at her.

Mum was great at hospitality and many people benefitted. She was a good cook. As children there were many fellowship teas at our church. Well, we’d head straight for Mum’s meals.

We knew that they would be delicious.

Mum loved to serve. Even after I left home, Mum would come out bush and cook and clean for me and my domestically-challenged housemates.

But as time wore on, the lady that had so capably entertained and looked after others throughout a lifetime struggled to remember how to cook her favourite meals. Nothing had changed about her heart and desires and grace, but we knew time was winning with Mum. On Sunday morning, time finished its work. It took Mum’s life. Her time was up. Philip Adams is right in a way.

Time always wins. You just can’t stop its march. It always wins. It will win for every person. For some of us the work of time is more apparent than for others. But time will win for us all. You just can’t stop it; you can’t beat it. Oh, we can ignore, pretend, avoid, but we can’t stop it. One day soon it will be my funeral and yours too. Adams says time always wins. It’s going to win with you. I’m sorry, but it will.

Within a few minutes of reading Philip Adams’ article on Monday morning, I was reading another story about a massive rock. This time it was in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament.

The emperor of Babylon (the world power of the day) had a bad dream

and Daniel, a wonderful Jewish man of God, was explaining its meaning.

In his dream, the emperor saw a great statue made of four parts completely demolished by a colossal boulder.

Daniel explained that the parts of the statue represented the present empire and the three powerful empires of the world to come. These empires would eventually be smashed and completely destroyed by a huge boulder that would grow to become a mighty mountain and would fill the earth.

But the rock was not Father Time; it was actually God himself. Daniel said that it was God who would eventually put an end to every empire. That it was God who controlled time. That it was God who would finally rule everything himself. That, in fact - GOD WINS. None of us are going to win. The rock is inevitably coming. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, no matter what we accumulate, no matter how much fun we have, no matter how good we are (and they don’t come better than Mum). The key question is: ultimately is it TIME or GOD that wins? Is Philip Adams or Daniel right? This is a crucial question. Our destiny rides on the answer.

Mum was absolutely sure of the answer to that question. She was an old hand at death. In middle age she confronted the fact that she may not live to an old age herself. She sat with at least ten family and friends as they passed away. She had no fear of death. She knew that time

’

Speaking out

‘

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

didn’t ultimately win. That death was actually God’s release. You see, Mum had an incredible trust in, and love for, Jesus. I learned about trusting Jesus from Mum - both through her life and her words. I remember many hours of standing in the kitchen as Mum worked and I watched (nothing much has changed), talking with her about her love for Jesus. I was spiritually formed by those times. Thank you Mum. In the last few years Mum spoke often of going to be with her Jesus. She loved dad deeply, she loved her family, she loved people, but she loved Jesus even more. She knew that her abilities and contributions were fading and she became more restless for the strongest rock of her life, God her Father. As you can imagine, Dad didn’t like Mum talking about leaving, but you couldn’t stop her. For Mum there was no fear, only an incredible hope of being with the Lord forever.

On Sunday morning (how appropriate for Mum), she was released by God to go home. For us in the hospital it looked like time had won, as Mum’s body finally gave up its exhausting, earthly struggle. But it was GOD who won. Mum actually fell asleep to waken in her Lord’s presence.

‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?’

(1 Cor. 15:54-55) John Sweetman Principal, Malyon College

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Around the regions On the Thai/ Burma border

There are a large number of Karen refugees in the Stafford Heights Baptist (Brisbane northside), congregation.

Late last year, a church team including three refugees travelled to the Thai/ Burma border to offer hope and encouragement through concerts, kids programs and preaching the Gospel.

Team member Leanne Rogers writes: ‘When you go on your first mission trip it’s often an ‘awareness trip’, one that opens your eyes to what you are actually involved in. However, it did more than heighten awareness for me – it sealed a growing conviction and passion within me to be used by God in the lives of these beautiful people. We are his body, his hands and feet, and as Christians in the western world, we are more than able to help bring change.

So I have let God know that I don’t just want to be aware; I want to be used!

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‘We heard about the Burmese Army’s campaign of brutality. We were told about women and children being trafficked for sexual purposes and slave labour. We were shown how the people are contained and trapped by the many checkpoints we went through to get to their villages. We saw the hopelessness of refugee life where people are fearful about what might happen next. I was challenged and humbled by what I saw and heard. I fell in love with the people and the places and found myself missing them when I returned to Brisbane.

‘We can learn a great deal about the things that matter from people who are poor – things like faith, hope and love; the qualities Jesus kept talking about. These poor people who know Jesus are wonderful ambassadors for that which is valuable in God’s Kingdom. The people I met taught me many things: humility, dignity, worship, faith, hope, joy, generosity and contentment. Often we go to poorer countries to give, because we think they are worse off than us, only to discover our own poverty of soul and spirit.

‘I noticed how faith thrives when you have very little. I saw people with nothing, materially speaking, who had

a deep and intense love for God and a great measure of faith in his provision.

This taught me a lesson that I continue to struggle with – that our wealth and material security are the biggest hindrances to our faith because we have no physical need for God. ‘I kept a diary. On my last day, I wrote, “I have learnt so much…about myself especially! I have a lot of thinking and praying to do. There are so many ideas I want to work through; how to raise awareness for these people and how to raise funds to help them”.

Around the regions

Stephanie (left) and Brittany

(LtoR) Martin, Ray & Luke

Something for the girls

‘Thank you to everyone at church for your prayers, encouragement and gifts. Thank you also to the team (Rick, Allen, Clinton, Helen, Kaw Hser Paw, Ku Gay Htoo and Ku Gay Moo (Jonathan))

Baptist Church. Stephanie was home for a short break in between completing her Discipleship Training School (DTS) at the Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base in Townsville and preparing to head off as a full-time volunteer with YWAM in Australia. Inspired by her example and having assisted the YWAM team with the Auslife program in local high-schools, Brittany has plans to complete a DTS in Hawaii.

Looking to do something new and different the girls decided to hold a High Tea and Clothes Swap. To maximize the event’s fundraising return, generous church members including the girls’ parents, volunteered to cook and serve.

for the love, laughter, tears and hugs.

God is good! I acknowledge that he was our strength. He protected us and now he is working in our lives to use our experiences for his glory.’

Stephanie is currently involved in a promotional tour of the Mercy Ship MV Pacific Link on the southern coast of Australia. When her 10 week tour is over she will return to Townsville YWAM base as a staff member. Stephanie has a passion for youth in the 14-18 year old group.

Something for the girls

Stephanie Waghorn (19) and Brittany May (17) were delighted with the success of their High Tea and Clothes Swap held recently at the Gladstone

Brittany is in the process of organising her visit to Kona in Hawaii. She sees this as a calling from God to build her foundations before commencing her Creative Industries studies next year.

Reaching kids on their own turf

The Fraser Coast church is involved in an exciting ministry to youth at the local skate park each Saturday afternoon. We spoke to Senior Pastor, Steven Sauvageot

QB: How did the idea for the skate ministry come up?

Stephen: A couple in our church had the idea of a ‘soup kitchen’ ministry.

They had observed such a ministry in action in Maryborough and were keen to start an outreach ministry for youth on the street here in Hervey Bay. QB: Is there an issue around kids not having enough to do in your area?

Stephen: It would seem that this is the case. While the kids are enjoying the skate park facility, this is in many cases an escape from home.

QB: How many kids get involved?

Stephen: We rarely see less than 20, and sometimes as many as 45 come along on a Saturday afternoon.

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Around the regions

QB Commencement Service

QB: Who is on the team?

Stephen: Tim Roan, Hannah Roan, Danielle Roan, Bob Wilson, Richard and Faye Hadfield are regulars.

Occasionally others will volunteer as well.

QB: What does the ministry look like?

Stephen: The team takes a BBQ trailer to the local skate park every Saturday afternoon with the aim to show kindness to the young people.

We want to engage with them with a view to presenting the Gospel. Some of the team will focus on serving sausages and drinks while some are busy speaking to the kids. This is very much a ‘bridge building’ exercise, but we have seen significant inroads made with the regulars.

QB: How has the local council responded?

Stephen: The Council provides free access to the park and a key that gives us entry to the limited access area.

The Youth Liaison Officer, Sue Lawler, promotes the ministry through Council publications. The Council also involves our team in special events. Recently, Council ran a program for the young people for a whole day. This involved a competition in a variety of events including skateboarding, cycling, etc with prizes provided by local business and food supplied by our team of volunteers. We served in excess of 200 young people at this event.

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QB: Can you tell us a personal story about a young person who has been positively impacted?

Stephen: A young fellow named William (not his real name) displayed very aggressive behavior toward the volunteers. He challenged one of them, saying, ‘You guys are just a bunch of hypocrites and you have this hopeless belief in some old book’. He went on to say in a sneering way, ‘If you could convince me to see some sense in what you say, I could possibly believe’.

The volunteer shared a gospel tract, at which point William threw it back and became abusive. The following week, William kept away. In subsequent weeks, the team continued to show kindness to William. Now he is a big help in organising special activities at the skate park in conjunction with our team. Sue Lawler later chose William to make a special presentation of a gift showing appreciation to the Skate Park Ministry volunteers.

QB: What’s the dream for the future of this ministry?

Stephen: To continue to engage with young people by offering hospitality and kindness with a view to leading them to faith in Christ.

QB Commencement Service

Staff and students at the QB Gaythorne Centre met together for a Commencement Service in February where David Loder presented the QB Board’s vision for Queensland Baptists in 2010.

On the move Pastor Russell Matthew has resigned from Rosalie and accepted a call to Windsor Rd Rev John Mills has concluded at Margate and retired Pastor Richard Fay has resigned from Rochedale Rev Stan Fetting has resigned from South Pine and taken up a role with Crossover Pastor Jamie Maclean has concluded at Yandina Rev Dave Tidey has accepted a part-time call to Yandina Rev Rhys McFadden has accepted a call to Cannon Hill Rev Stewart Beveridge has concluded at Caboolture and accepted a call to Ashgrove Pastor Josh Williamson has accepted a part-time call to Banyo to undertake a church plant Rev Peter Van Donge had concluded at Gympie and retired Pastor Stuart Russell has accepted a call to Rivers (Lawnton)

QCCC

Creative ideas welcomed!

Over the past two decades Christian camping has gone through something of a watershed experience. Rising compliance costs in an increasingly litigious society and higher customer expectations have drawn the curtain on the rustic, occasionally used facility.

The camp sites that have survived this rapid and total makeover of the camping industry are the ones that have invested into their facilities for the long term.

The good news for Baptists in Queensland is that the Baptist camping arm, Queensland Conference and Camping Centres (QCCC) has stayed at the forefront of industry trends with three state of the art facilities in South East Queensland that are highly sought after.

Each year QCCC hosts more than 35,000 people at its Brookfield (Brisbane), Mapleton and Tamborine Mountain sites.

QCCC’s clientele is drawn from a wide range of people of all ages including schools, church and community groups, other Christian organisations, music camps, art camps, ministry retreats, sports camps and more.

QCCC’s practice of hospitality provides access and opportunities to influence many lives. The majority of our guests are primary school students. For many children, QCCC staff members are ‘the only Jesus some will ever meet and the only Book of Life some will ever read’.

this because there are endless possibilities for QCCC to have a profound impact for the Kingdom of God. We intend to build on what we already have in committed staff, breathtaking locations, excellent facilities and our extensive networking and interaction with other schools, community groups and Christian organisations.

An opportunity for committed Christians to study with us to receive their qualifications in outdoor education is already being developed at Mapleton. We’re putting this emphasis on training new staff because we will need people to work in our exciting new offsite expedition program.

As part of our process of developing a ministry plan, I’m keen to enter into dialogue with the wider Baptist community on how the asset that is QCCC can empower and support the ministries of our churches, community engagement and people. I am sure that there are latent desires and creative ideas out there for us to consider, and accommodate where we can.

To help get the conversation started I’ve set up a specific email address for your thoughts, comments, ideas and requests at qcccthinktank@gmail.com. As the name suggests, this is an opportunity for people to contribute to thinking and planning for QCCC’s future direction.

I look forward to hearing your ideas.

In my role as Director, I have been given a very specific charter from the Queensland Baptist Board to concentrate on the further development of QCCC’s ministry and mission. I’m excited about

Andrew Grant Director of QCCC www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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GOD? We thank God for all those who followed Jesus through the waters of baptism recently.

City North: Rinnah Fry Dan Holmes Kim Hubbard Coolum Beach: Bert Mobbs Kay Mobbs Gateway: Marco Ahlrichs Jessica Elsmore Maddison Salisbury Melody Stewart Hannah White Kate Wood Greenslopes: June Campbell Stafford Heights: Brian Gough Tobias Wade

Baptism by immersion pictures the connecting of the believer with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Hi! My name is Kelsie Wynn and I am 16 years of age. I would like to share my testimony with you and I want to say to all of the pastors’ kids out there that I know it’s hard and tough at times but just remember, with God on our side nothing is impossible. I would also like to encourage you to stay firm in your faith and close to God through all situations and circumstances.

I have grown up in a Christian family and my dad is the pastor of the Mulgrave Community Baptist Church in Far North Queensland. So, as a kid I always went to Church, Sunday School, Kids Club, Girls Brigade, holiday church programs and Youth Group. It always just seemed to be another thing I had to attend. Life seemed to be running smoothly and great until I got the news we were moving to Cairns. I have done my fair share of moves and I’m about to make a bigger As a supporter of Australian faith organisations and the community one to Melbourne soon. Moving from Dalby, for nearly 50 years, we are proud to offer an outstanding range of flexible insurance products for individuals, families and businesses as a kid, I saw it as an adventure and it – all wrapped up with a social conscience. wasn’t too far away from family and friends.

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Baptisms

Are you living for

like a loner because no one would hang out with me at school because I took my Bible and was known as the Christian girl.

When I started high school there was this group of girls who welcomed me to hang out with them and I thought they were great. I thought I would be able to share God with them but instead I was bullied and told off if I said anything.

Life was bad and getting worse. I remember coming home and crying time after time. I would even cry myself to sleep. I realised that if I didn’t want to be the victim I had to become the bully, just like them. So I did. I fell away from God and mixed with the wrong group.

God was all around me but I didn’t want anything to do with him anymore. I did a lot of things I regret today; I watched things, I said things and I acted in ways I shouldn’t have. The worst part is that I wasn’t just paying out on my friends but I brought it home and treated my family like dirt too, and I’m sorry about that.

All this time there was a voice inside my head saying, ‘Kelsie you don’t want to do that, is it the right thing?’ and then I would hear another voice saying, ‘Do it, who cares? Everyone else is doing it’. It was like a constant fight going on. But, being me, I ignored the voice telling me to do right and followed the other voice instead. I had been to a lot of Christian concerts and heard a lot of people talk during this time but I just didn’t want to listen. I thought I was in the right and they didn’t know what they were talking about.

It wasn’t until one night that my dad took my two sisters and me to a Reggie Dabs

concert. He told this story about how this one girl felt like there was no hope in life, like there was no way out. She had to be like everyone else and it was too much for her too handle but then she found Jesus and life became great. As I was siting in my seat I felt a pulling on my heart, I remember my throat became dry, I could no longer think or move and the voices were happening again, getting louder and louder. It was when Reggie Dabs asked, ‘Does anyone want to become a Christian tonight or recommit his or her life?’ that I zoned back into reality. He kept asking and asking and the pulling became stronger, but the sad part was that I didn’t move or go up the front. I just sat in my chair… frozen.

When we got home, after everyone went to bed I went to see dad. He was sitting on the lounge, reading the paper and I asked him if I could talk to him about what had happened that night. When I sat down, the tears began to roll. I told him everything that I’d done and how bad I felt. This was a very hard thing to do because I didn’t want my dad to know what I had been doing because, one, he raised me better and two, he is the pastor.

We talked and cried for two hours that night but I gave my life to God once again.

I remember talking about how much God loves us that he sent his Son to die on the cross for my sins so that I can live with him in heaven for eternity. I think that is truly amazing because I don’t deserve that love from God and I still find it hard to believe sometimes. He is always there for us, even when we don’t want him and he never leaves us which is truly amazing to me. Since that day I have been living

Baptisms

Baptisms

my life for God and getting more involved in church events, such as Impact (Kids Club), Sunday school and what ever else I can do. I have a lot of people I want to thank, but it comes down to all the church families we have been a part of, my closest friends and my family.

Even though this move has hurt me, I have become a stronger Christian through it.

Being a Christian is still a struggle; I have no idea what lies ahead in Melbourne but I know that great things will come from it. I can feel it in my bones. I also know that if we put our trust and faith in God, anything is possible.

On 1 November 2009, I was baptised and made a stand for God. So from that day and for all the rest of my days I am going to make a stand for God by going out into his creation and sharing his word. So I would love to encourage you in any way possible to make a stand for God as well.

I would like to leave you with one question that always makes me think twice about my actions. Are you living for God or are you living for yourself?

Last Christmas, Kelsie Wynn’s family moved from Mulgrave Community Baptist Church (Edmonton, North Qld) to Melbourne where her dad, Gary is now the Senior Pastor at Mitcham Baptist Church (MBC). In a recent update, Garry wrote, ‘Kelsie is now involved in the new youth ministry at MBC and has met a number of older girls who are great mentors in the faith. She is enjoying connecting with girls her own age and sharing Jesus. We are adapting to life in Melbourne and value your prayers’.

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Milestones New worship complex for Dalby On 9 May, we are being encouraged to pray and give thanks to God for our churches around Queensland. For one church community on the Darling Downs, the whole weekend will be a special celebration of praise and thanks as they gather to celebrate the provision of their new worship complex.

Their story is unique and their experiences fully bear the handprint of God. The local community watched with great interest as this country fellowship embarked on a journey that has: • taken them through the process of selling a long held property close to the centre of town • moved them into a transition period where almost all of their ministries operated in and from an old grain storage shed • finally witnessed the development of their new worship complex.

The journey will be fully explored and celebrated at the official opening of the new Dalby Baptist Church on Saturday 8 May 2010. Coinciding with the 60th year of the church’s presence in the town, Sunday 9 May will be a time of further celebration of God’s abundant goodness and mercy to his people as they meet to commemorate their history and rejoice in the achievement of this wonderful milestone.

Everyone is welcome to join the folk at Dalby for what promises to be an exciting weekend of fun, good memories and fellowship. Be sure to mark your calendars so that you don’t miss out!

Needs Volunteers!

1. Needed: People good with words!

To keep ahead of an expanding ministry of training, Rod Bullpitt from CALAM Training is looking for voluntary assistance from schoolteachers or similar who are good with and enjoy ‘wordsmithing’. In an environment that requires rigour in the finessing of question banks, CALAM Training (the TAFE-level ministry college for Queensland Baptists) needs assistance urgently. Do you know someone who could help?

2. Needed: People with high-level skills in MS ACCESS to redesign student database.

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For further details, phone the Church Office 4662 3717 or email dbybapt@bigpond.com.

CONTACT Rod Bullpitt admin@calam.edu.au Mob 0408 732 087

Milestones

Beenleigh Opens New Worship Centre On Saturday 6 March, a capacity crowd filled the new 400 seat worship centre as Rev Stephen Ball, Regional Consultant for Queensland Baptists, officially opened the new Beenleigh Baptist Worship Centre and led the congregation in a prayer of dedication. Last minute preparations included laying 800 square metres of turf in the rain, early in the morning on opening day!

Special guest Cr Pam Parker, Mayor of Logan, spoke of the church’s vision when, 35 years ago, the property was purchased to build a facility that would serve as a temporary worship centre until a new sanctuary could be built. Therefore, the official

as a reminder that the church is built on the foundation of God’s word - both the Living Word and the Written Word.

About the celebration weekend, Pastor Ken Conwell said, ‘What we see here today is the result of a lot of people who, under God, have given of their time, their expertise and their finances over the past five years. We praise God for his faithfulness and provision over that time and for the relatively smooth progress of the building’s construction over the past six months. God is good and our desire as the people of God is always to build for His glory.’

opening celebrations marked the realisation of a vision that had its beginnings in a previous generation and served as a testimony to the foresightedness of dedicated people who purchased a property that would be large enough to meet their needs well into the future.

The celebrations continued on Sunday morning when Rev Dr David Loder spoke at a combined Opening/Anniversary and encouraged the church family to be careful not to focus on outward appearances but to press on in their service for the Lord, always using the building for God’s glory.

Notable features in the new building include a beautiful mahogany pulpit crafted by one of the church members and a capsule buried in the foundation below the pulpit containing favourite bible verses of church members. This capsule serves

DALBY BAPTIST CHURCH OFFICIAL OPENING

L to R: Ken Conwell looks on as Stephen Ball speaks

Saturday 8 May 2010 1.30pm – Official Opening Followed by afternoon tea Sunday 9 May 2010 60th Anniversary Celebrations 10am - Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication and special BBQ lunch

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Champions Change the World 2010 Brisbane KidsGames June 27- July 2 When you think of champions you don’t often think of kids. But kids dream about being champions.

KidsGames helps kids to realize their dreams – now!

The 4th Brisbane KidsGames is on again this year. Since the first event in 2003 more than 7000 children have experienced the excitement of being part of KidsGames. Many of those previously involved are already planning to be at KidsGames 2010! “KidsGames enabled our church to run a great kids holiday program adaptable to our local needs but part of a larger citywide and global event. We’re looking forward to 2010!” enthused Libby Stanley from Logan Uniting Church.

A STRATEGY NOT A PROGRAM

KidsGames is a strategy that many churches are using to connect with their local communities by running a holiday program at their venue with their team.

KidsGames uses sports and games as a tool for attracting children to local programs where they can discover the message of hope found in the Gospel through a Bible based curriculum.

Already doing this? Consider incorporating the KidsGames strategy into your planning.

Want to begin a holiday program? Take advantage of the resources, training, promotion and networking available through the KidsGames strategy to run your own program or a combined event with other churches in your area. Alternatively, incorporate the KidsGames strategy into your weekly Kids Club program. That’s how flexible KidsGames can be!

PARTICIPATION NOT PERFECTION

“The emphasis for all KidsGames activities is on ‘participation’ not ‘perfection’. Every child is a winner so all participants receive their own Gold medal!” comments Terry Williams, Operations Manager. He also highlighted the fact that KidsGames is not just a local kids’ program, but a worldwide iniative to draw local churches together to reach out to children. The real strength of KidsGames is that no one owns it – it is owned by everyone. It is an innovative, challenging movement, spreading rapidly around the world and is reaching children and families with the gospel in more than 150 countries.Visit www.kidsgames.com for more information.

CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

Three action-packed regional Opening ceremonies are planned for Sunday June 27th 2010, when KidsGames participants and their families will join in the fun with 18

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hundreds of other children. This kicks off a week of craft, music, sport, games, drama and small group times in either half or full day programs. Each venue will finish the week with a Closing Ceremony on Friday 2nd July.

The children will have the opportunity to show off their sporting singing and drama skills and will be presented with their KidsGames 2010 Gold medals. This Friday closing event has always been a significant part of the week long program providing the opportunity for great connections with the children’s families. Ruth Peckman from Birkdale Baptist Church agrees, ‘The family night BBQ and presentation was great fun. The parents were impressed and appreciative of the week’s program. Kids introduced their parents to their new friends and leaders.”

It is also an excellent opportunity to build community rapport. “KidsGames has been a very real blessing to our church – leaders have been trained, the local churches have worked together and relationships have expanded with local council and community.” comments Heather Hall from Logan Wesleyan Methodist church.

LIVING OUTSIDE BRISBANE?

KidsGames 2010 is also happening in Gladstone (Winter) and Toowoomba (Spring) as Christians work together for the children and families of their communities. An Information and Registration Pack for Brisbane KidsGames is available for download from the website www.brisbanekidsgames.org.au or ring the Infoline on 3112 6491 for more information about any of the KidsGames events in the state. Church Registrations close Thursday 1st April.

World Cup fever will be at a high in 2010 as the Quarter Finals are played out in Capetown during KidsGames week. This fever will be harnessed by KidsGames teams to use sports and games as a tool for introducing children and families to the Good News about Jesus. Are you ready to change the world?

QB kids

and their families

Making an IMPACT A problem churches often face is the high percentage of children who stop attending church when they reach high school. The main reason for this is that they have no emotional connection with the church.

They feel they are not wanted and have nothing to contribute. Churches are doing a great disservice to this generation if they expect them to sit still and be quiet so that adults can enjoy the service. Young people are an important part of today’s church.

What we do with them, and for them, today will make them into the church leaders of tomorrow.

Young people have so much to offer. Encourage them to use their God-given gifts just as we encourage adults. At my church we struggle to have enough leaders in our various children’s ministries. In recent years we’ve seen young people, too old for primary school ministries, who want to return as helpers. This has led me to develop a Junior Leadership Training Program called IMPACT – impacting kids to impact the church and beyond. After searching the net and not finding much, I realised that I had a lot of work to do. The information that I did find was great and I have put it into IMPACT but adapted it to suit our situation at Ipswich Baptist Church (IBC). I also contacted our local councillor who gave us a grant to conduct IMPACT as she could see its benefits. After many hours typing, editing, praying and seeking feedback from others, I was finally able to start IMPACT in 2009.

gaining parental permission. They commit to the program and children’s ministry at IBC for 12 months. Over those 12 months, we meet once a month to work through the four components of the program: Leadership/ministry development, biblical component, developmental understanding of children and an action plan.

During the program, young people put into practice what they are learning through our various children’s ministries and they are assessed on their progress. At the end of the program, they can continue with children’s ministry as a Junior/ Assistant Leader if they wish. If not, that’s okay.

They have spent the past year learning valuable leadership skills and gaining knowledge to use at school, in the community and, hopefully, in other areas of the church.

A young person has to apply to be part of IMPACT. This includes completing a questionnaire and

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QB kids

Another aspect of the training is attendance at the Junior Training Academy at IGNITE. The junior leaders from 2009 attended IGNITE in March this year and had a great time, not only learning new skills but also cementing what they had learned through IMPACT. We need to be active in keeping kids in our churches. It starts with seeing each child who walks through the door as Jesus sees him or her. On Sundays, when you are saying hello to the adults, don’t ignore the kids. Welcome them too and tell them how glad you are that they are there. Engage your young people in ministry so that they can use their God given gifts. The scripture I use for IMPACT is 1 Timothy 4:12 ‘Don’t let anyone put you down because you are young. Teach believers with your life, by word, by conduct, by love, by faith, by integrity.’ Today children make up 30% of our population but they are 100% our future.

June Lambourne QB KIDS TEAM

27 June - 2 July KidsGames DALBY Week long holiday program in the Dalby area.

Enquiries: Bruce Eckersley, Email bruce.dbybapt@bigpond.com Ph 4662 3717

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September

27 June - 2 July KidsGames BRISBANE (Caboolture to Ipswich to Beenleigh) Run your own holiday program in your community during the first week of the school holidays.

Resources, training and more provided free of charge. www.brisbanekidsgames.org.au

October

Pictured top to bottom: June Lambourne, Karen Johns, Ruth Peckman, Julie Terry, Faith Giovas and Jo Stotschek 20

June / July

June / July

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! 19-24 September KidsGames TOOWOOMBA Week long holiday program in the Toowoomba area.

Enquiries: Janet Conroy, Email djconroy@ozemail.com.au Ph 0407 698 369

16 October IGNITE NQ TOWNSVILLE Following on from the success of last years launch event the conference is happening again. Keynote addresses, workshops, EXPO and more.

Contact Maria Moriconi www.ignitenq.org.au Email info@ignitenq.org.au Ph 0403 573 865

QB youth

We asked a Christian young person to reflect on an average day at High School.

Here are her thoughts…

I like school; I’ll admit it. We study Chemistry, Maths, English – we laugh, and talk, and listen, and learn to learn and think about the world around us.

My alarm went off at 5.30am this morning. Out of bed, shower, breakfast and off to school by 7.00am (yes, I’m slow to get ready!). Just another morning.

The day ends with Modern History – a comparative study of religion brings about a wonderful variety of conversations. We’re looking at Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Mormonism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, and other belief systems – the material for political, ethical, moral and social debates is endless. My classmates all know I’m a Christian, and apparently freely admitting this makes me an instant expert on every single aspect of ‘my’ religion. (The fact that the word “religion” frustrates me endlessly is, of course, irrelevant.) We talk faith vs physical ‘fact’, religion vs relationship, creation vs evolution. I pray constantly for the words to say to convey things I still don’t fully understand myself. Of course this vibrant discussion is mingled with the comments from the guy who feels it’s his personal responsibility to insult and jab at any and every mention of a God (or the French - he isn’t picky).

With it, however, comes the usual tension – I didn’t have time to read my Bible, I prayed in rushed, fitful bursts and realised I’d forgotten some homework which, of course, takes higher priority (umm…not sure what to do with that one). My rushed morning leaves me with a sense of unease.

By the time class starts at 8.00am I’ve finished the homework, had coffee with my teacher, and tried in vain to comfort and discover what is wrong (this time) with the friend who arrived in tears. This is not unusual – I’m surrounded by custody fights, sibling fights, fights with parents, fights with other friends, workload stress, teacher stress. When I stop to look at it, the depth of pain amongst my peers is heartbreaking. It is also so well hidden most of the time.

My struggle is in what to say. They ask me for advice, for comfort, and my automatic response is to tell them to pray – of little comfort to those without faith through the good times, let alone the bad. I’m left feeling helpless, and then the bell rings for class, for lunch, for something else that claims our time and attention. I know my God hears my fears and prayers; I only wish my friends did too! Sometimes I wonder why everyone looks to me. It isn’t like my life is perfect. I have my own pain. It guess it’s because they think I’ve ‘got it together’. Maybe it’s because they know I’m a Christian and they think I’ve got some kind of inside track on God, and what’s happening in this world.

A Typical Day at High School

Class ends in the middle of an inconclusive debate that may or may not be completed next lesson and we rush to leave, say hello and goodbye, arrange to talk some more, or study, or share answers. I head to the car, to home, to my part-time job, back home again. Eat, drink, complete homework, read my bible (finally) and try to sleep – before getting up to face whatever tomorrow brings.

Consider how you might support the young people in your church through your encouragement in various ways and your prayers, as they seek to live out their faith at High School.

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Bibbulmun Track

The way forward >>> A year ago, Alan Alexander from Kenmore Baptist Church in Brisbane attempted to walk the famous Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia but he became very ill and had to abandon his walk on Day 14. Feeling fit and motivated to try again, Alan now plans to walk almost 1,000 kilometres in 46 days (21 April – 5 June), following the picturesque coastline between Albany and Kalamunda. By completing this amazing course, Alan aims to raise $100,000 for the work of The Leprosy Mission (TLM) in Nepal.

This time, Alan will be supported by eight people who will meet him at points along the way and his wife will accompany him for part of the journey to help keep him motivated. The fundraising walk is a great challenge for Alan (74) who has two false hips and his wife, Elwyn (71) who has overcome spinal operations, both of them achieving rehabilitation through exercise.

‘We have found that major surgery need not sentence you to a sedentary life. On the contrary, it can be a great motivator to regain an active life. That is what TLM is doing in Nepal, rehabilitating people, and that is what inspires me,’ Alan said.

‘It is not just about curing a disease. It’s about staying with the people; seeing them through; getting them back into village life. TLM is working to rehabilitate people and give them

new hope for their futures and that is why I want to support this outstanding project.’

Alan and Elwyn became inspired to fundraise for TLM after seeing, first-hand, the plight of people affected by leprosy in Nepal. They met patients at a TLM hospital in Kathmandu before climbing Gokyo Mountain near the Himalayas in 2008.

TLM’s Chief Executive Officer Graham Peck said, ‘I admire Alan’s passion for helping TLM’s work. He believes in enabling people affected by leprosy in Nepal to live with dignity and independence and he believes in empowering people in Australia to participate in this work. This project will work to address the causes of leprosy such as poverty, poor diet and hygiene and provide reconstructive surgery and rehabilitation to people disabled by the disease.’

TLM aims to raise $1.5 million to fund a fiveyear medical aid project supporting women affected by leprosy and other disabilities in Nepal.

For more information about the Bibbulmun Track walk, contact Alan on 07 33740044 or alanel@powerup.com.au.

TLM inquiries: 03 9890 0577.

QB Youth Connect

gathering Youth Pastors and Leaders

19 April 2010, 10am - 4pm Queensland Baptists Centre 53 Prospect Rd, Gaythorne.

Register online: www.qb.com.au/youth/events/ Spend a day hearing from a well informed thinker on youth culture, sharing resources, encouraging each other and just hanging out. It will be time well spent.

Featuring Michael Knight from Peer Power | Lunch provided | Cost is just $15 22

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QB women

‘...It is his desire for us to be living our lives in the fullness of him (Eph 3:19).’

A worthwhile investment When one of my daughters was first learning to read she would became frustrated by how slowly she read out loud. She found reading silently much faster because when she read out loud she stumbled over the occasional word and sometimes needed help with pronunciation.

you choose to isolate yourself or have meaningful relationships with other believers?

We had a long heart to heart under the doona one day and together we decided we’d spend a bit of time each day practising reading out loud.

By working little by little every day, practising and perfecting, I knew she’d be reading better and better in a few short weeks.

QBW will offer an opportunity to invest in your relationship with God at two great events in August.

Her hard work paid off and now she is a fantastic reader.

Our relationship with Jesus can be ‘just fine’ but imagine what it can be like when we are willing to go deeper with him.

She is... camp, 6-8 August at Mapleton is for women who love a relaxed weekend away with their girlfriends in a beautiful mountain retreat.

She is... conference, 21 August at the Main Auditorium at the Qld Baptist Centre is for those busy women who have lots going on but who still long for a strong dose of the word of God. Both events will feature awesome times of worship, inspired teaching from Elissa Macpherson and plenty of opportunities to be spoilt by the QBW team.

Register for She is... today!

Sue Peters State Director, Queensland Baptist Women For more information about women’s ministry in Qld please contact Sue on 0438 28 76 38 or sue@qbwm.org

As her mother, I knew that her reading ability wasn’t a big problem – she was reading just fine for a girl her age. But I did know that if she didn’t improve, her confidence would go down and as a result her desire to keep learning would also diminish. It was time for both of us to actively invest in her ability to read.

I know that my relationship with God can also be ‘just fine’ at times. I’m one of his children and my eternity is assured. But the choice to go deeper with God is an active one. It is his desire for us to be living our lives in the fullness of him (Eph 3:19).

What steps are you taking to invest in your relationship with God today?

Will you choose to turn off the TV and turn to his word? Will you choose to sleep in on a Sunday morning or sit under great teachers at church? Will www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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QB women

More about special guest speaker: Elissa Macpherson

Elissa Macpherson has been a Christian for more than 30 years. She has been actively involved in youth ministry, women’s ministry, music worship ministry and preaching.

Elissa writes feature articles for Enhance and Australian Christian Woman magazine.

Elissa has been married to an amazing man for 21 years and has three gorgeous children. She lives on a vineyard in rural Queensland, three hours from the nearest major city.

She has lived with drought, crop destroying frost, bushfire and dodging kangaroos driving to church.

Elissa’s Life Purpose: To seek, absorb, reflect, teach the beauty of God. Her personal vision: To see women be romanced by the beauty of God. To lead masses of women through scripture (truth), interacting with the Holy Spirit, to a revelation of their splendorous beauty, masterful design and measureless value. For the power of this revelation to release them to be fully alive.

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Her Belief Statement: Jesus is the one true God. I believe he died for our sins on the cross. I believe he is resurrected. I believe, through grace, I am in relationship with him.

I believe God is beautiful. I believe because woman is made in the image of God, woman is beautiful.

I believe God seeks to not only rescue and restore woman but to also beautify.

I believe a beautiful life is the manifestation of worship into the everyday, and active adoration overflowing into divine purpose.

I believe a woman becomes beautiful when she has a deep assurance she is loved and adored by God and by his truth she is free.

My kingdom position is in the battalion on mission to reclaim and restore in double portion the beauty of woman which was stolen, destroyed and disfigured by evil.

Encountering God

The Holy Spirit ...

God on the inside

Queensland Baptists’

CONVENTION 10-15 May 2010 Incorporating...

• Pastors’ & Spouses’ Conference 2010 • MTQ Workshops • Global Interaction Dinner • Multicultural Concert • Queensland Baptists’ Business Day • MTQ Dinner • Ordination Service • Saturday Seminars • neoLeader Conference QCCC Tambourine

Reedy Creek Baptist Church

Keswick Road, North Tamborine

10 Gemvale Road Reedy Creek (Gold Coast)

Something for everyone! around OUR CHURCHES

SUNDAY 9 May - Day of prayer and thanksgiving at TAMBORINE CONVENTION CENTRE MONDAY 10 May – THURSDAY 13 May PASTORS’ & SPOUSES’ CONFERENCE (Speaker: Rev Nigel Wright)

Tuesday & Wednesday 2.30pm - MTQ WORKSHOPS

at REEDY CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH THURSDAY 13 MAY - SATURDAY 15 MAY Thursday

Friday

Saturday

5.30pm - Global Interaction Dinner 7.30pm - Multicultural Concert (Speaker: Rev Nigel Wright) 7.30am - Prayer Breakfast (Speaker: Rev Nigel Wright) 9.30am - Business Day (Registration 9.00am) 5.30pm - MTQ Dinner 7.30pm - Ordination Service (Speaker: Rev Nigel Wright) 8.45am - Saturday Seminars 1.00pm – 8.30pm neoLeader Conference www.neoleader.org (Speaker: Mark Sayers)

Saturday seminars - 15 May Seminar A: ‘Encountering God in a praying church’ Phil Greenbury is the Senior Pastor at Maroochy Baptist Church www.maroochybaptist.org on the Sunshine Coast. He has a passion for the gospel, God’s Word and for seeing people released into service. He also has a passion to see God move in revival. During his years in ministry, Phil has known times when God has moved powerfully. He has served as a church planter with MTQ and during his ministries at Tieri and Mareeba, God blessed the church with revival. Now as senior pastor of a large church, he has been focussing on growing and discipling people spiritually so that they can encounter God every day. Phil and his leadership team are experiencing a refreshing movement of prayer within church life and an increased expectation that God will work in the church and wider community. Phil will share from these experiences and others as well as discussing some ideas which will help your church develop in prayer ministry.

Seminar B: ‘Encountering God through music and worship’ Tim Lovell is the pastor of The Goodlife Community Church in Buderim, Queensland. He has been involved in pastoral leadership and worship ministry for the past 20 years. Tim is passionate about exploring the meaning of both the Biblical and cultural expressions of praise and worship in the church. In this context, Tim believes that there is a need to explore and establish our foundations from the scriptures and explore our traditions and our cultural boundaries. Drawing on his years of worship

ministry and pastoral experience, he will endeavour to encourage and challenge participants to a deeper understanding and practice of praise. Tim is also a singer/songwriter who has both mentored and raised up many people in the ministry of praise and worship and he has also released and still mentors artists in the global music community.

Seminar C: ‘Encountering God in our community’ For the past six years, Paul Wetzig has worked in the Mater Hospital’s Pastoral Care Department where he seeks to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families and conducts staff education and training. With his wife Sharon, Paul has also been involved in organising and conducting the Queensland Servant Leadership Forum on Faith and Values (The Forum). The Forum works with leaders aged 18-26 from all religious and social backgrounds to explore the importance of having some sort of faith and values underpinning their leadership, rather than simply skills and talents. During this time Paul and Sharon have also been experimenting with missional church models, under the name Enigma Community, with all of the joys and challenges that such projects bring. Paul passionately believes that the capacity to love and to listen can transform the world.

Seminars D & H: ‘Young adults and spirituality’ (two sessions) Mark Sayers is an author and speaker who specialises in interpreting popular culture from a Christian viewpoint. He is the founder of Über www. uberlife.com.au a ministry that specialises in issues

Comment...

Our Convention theme, ‘Encountering God’, emphasises our desperate need to know God in the highest, deepest and fullest way. Only as we seek His face are we able to be true followers of Jesus and only as we seek to allow the Holy Spirit free reign in our hearts and lives are we able to become more like Him. Our seeking must be consistent, regular and fervent and it makes sense to take every opportunity for learning and discovery. Convention provides just such an opportunity. I encourage you to attend so that together we can gain fresh and wonderful insights into the work of the Holy Spirit in us, in the world and as Triune God. Rev Dr David Loder

Pictured clockwise from top left: Rev Dr David Loder, Dr Nigel Wright, Rev Dr Rich Peterson

Dr Nigel Wright delivers deep biblical truths with warmth and passion. As a theologian, Nigel has contributed significantly to the recovery of the Anabaptist tradition, to thinking about the church and its relationship to the state, to reflection on the theology of charismatic renewal and to the renewal of evangelicalism. He describes his current field as ‘theology and ministry’. He is a well-published author, and his most recent book, God on the Inside: The Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture (2006) is the focus of his Convention presentations.

As Senior Pastor of Reedy Creek Baptist Church it is my distinct honour and privilege to welcome all of you to the Gold Coast this May for the Queensland Baptists’ Convention. We are truly excited about sharing our hospitality, facilities and beautiful surroundings with you as we continue to partner together in the work of the Gospel. I am personally looking forward to being with all of you as we seek God’s favour, encourage one another in the faith, and work together for the expansion of God’s kingdom. For His glory and the good of others, Rev Dr Rich Peterson

of youth and young adult discipleship. Mark is also the leader of the Red East church in Melbourne, an innovative Christian community specifically reaching the young adult demographic. He is a highly sought after speaker, trainer, consultant and thinker in the areas of popular culture and faith. He provides unique, provocative and prophetic insight into pertinent issues affecting Christians today. Mark is the author of ‘The Trouble with Paris: Following Jesus in a World of Plastic Promises’. His latest book is ‘The Vertical Self: How Biblical Faith Can Help Us Discover Who We Are in An Age of Self Obsession’. Mark lives in Melbourne with his wife Trudi and daughter Grace.

Seminar E: ‘Helping children encounter God’ As one of the pastors at Bridgeman Baptist, Trish Lane oversees the areas of Christian Growth and Discipleship, and Children’s ministry. Her experience as a primary school teacher prior to commencing her full-time ministry role has certainly established a great love for children and a desire to see them connect with God from a young age. ‘Helping children encounter

God’ is an interactive workshop for those keen to elevate program-based children’s ministry to a level that encourages children to explore prayer and active discipleship in their early years.

Seminar F: ‘Encountering God through the Arts’ Stephen Horne is an artist and teacher who has worked in Victoria, PNG and Queensland in education and Christian mission. Stephen produces work for solo exhibitions and also exhibits regularly with ‘Visionaries’, a group of Christian artists.

He uses art as a means of expression and worship in church services and in other aspects of Christian ministry and he conducts workshops and seminars on the place of the visual arts in Christian life and ministry. Stephen’s seminar will pose the question, “Are we still suspicious of the visual arts?” In this interesting and informative session Stephen will outline what is being done and what can be done with visual arts in the life of the church.

Stephen plans to include an opportunity for some hands-on artistic expression in his seminar.

Seminar G: ‘Men encountering God’ Michael Knight is vitally concerned about the spiritual wellbeing of Australian boys and men. He has co-authored a book on masculinity with Peter Janetzki, titled ‘Being a Bloke’, the essence of authentic healthy masculinity (due for release June 2010) and has conducted significant research into the issue. Michael has been involved in full time Christian faith ministry since 1984. His current ministry, ‘Peer Power’, www.peerpower.com.au runs seminars on Life Skills/character education for secondary students. Michael has a BA in Religious Studies and Youth Work, having left school at the end of Yr10 on the advice of his Principal who said, “Don’t come back”. His ongoing theological training is an intentional, integrity/character based, non-formal discipleship. He, his wife Ida and three teenagers are actively involved at Ashgrove Baptist Church. Michael’s motto is, “Why tiptoe through life to arrive at death safely?”

or mail to QB Convention 2010, PO Box 6166, Mitchelton Qld 4053 or fax 07 3354 5605.

REGISTER ONLINE AT www.qb.com.au

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  

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6.30pm 

     

       

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           

 

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 

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 

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 

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 

   

 

 

 

  

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          

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 

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Over the past few months, the scenes of destruction, loss, suffering and grief emerging from the devastated city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti have shocked the world.

As the weeks go by, the extent of the damage from the January 12 earthquake is only just being realised. Up to 300,000 people have lost their lives and 1.5 million people are now homeless, making this one of the most destructive disasters in modern times.

use and maintain these systems and to use filtering techniques, so that more of the available water is useful for household purposes.

In partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), a US-based aid organisation with staff on the ground in Haiti before the disaster, Baptist World Aid Australia is helping fund a three year safe water initiative which is part of a wider rehabilitation plan.

Please pray for those affected, that God will provide strength and comfort as well as all the essentials to those who have lost everything.

Donations can help BWAA provide fresh water for communities in Haiti. Visit www.shareanopportunity. org or phone Baptist World Aid Australia on 1300 789 991.

Access to water is essential to all other rehabilitation efforts, so it is crucial that new and restored water sources are built. This water project involves developing rainwater harvesting techniques, natural springs and drilling wells. It also teaches communities how to

Earthquake in Chile A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit regions of Chile on February 27.

Despite the strength of the earthquake, many lives were saved because of the strict building codes in place and the earthquake and tsunami training given to all citizens from childhood. The number of people killed has been revised to 497.

The damage to roads, homes and businesses is extensive, but Chile is a well developed nation with the capacity and resources to respond to the needs of its people. The government is not calling for large amounts of international aid at this time.

Please pray for those affected by this disaster—for peace and calm despite difficult circumstances and for good communication between communities, aid groups and local governments, so that the needs of those most affected can be met.

CBF provides medical help during the initial response to the earthquake.

BWAA

Haiti needs fresh water

QB archives

PHOTO Rosalie Deacons 1934. Mr Allen – front row, second from left

Recording our history Church Officer for 50 years – a record?

An intriguing puzzle

Did you know Tom Norman ALLEN of Rosalie Baptist Church?

Collecting data about Queensland Baptists is very interesting and satisfying, and occasionally there are intriguing puzzles to solve. So far, the most difficult involves the Edward Street Baptist Church and the Fortescue Street Church. Basically, what we knew about these churches was summarised in the Jubilee history of Queensland Baptists (1905) as follows:

Tom Norman Allen (known as ‘Norman’ or ‘Uncle Norman’) was Secretary/Treasurer of Rosalie Baptist Church from 1912 when the church was constituted until 1939 and then Treasurer from 1940 to 1962 – a total of fifty years service. He died in 1963. His wife, Charlotte (nee Purnell) whom he married in 1923, died in 1979. Mr Allen was a foundation member at Rosalie and also a foundation deacon. In July 1940, he was afforded the honour of being appointed as Life deacon.

It is understood he lived in Prince Street, Paddington and that he was an accountant and Company Secretary. At one stage, he worked with a Brisbane bakery and may also have been a flour merchant at North Quay in the 1920s. He is said to have been a strong supporter of Leper Missions.

Mr Allen’s fifty years’ service appears to be a record for Church Secretaries and/or Treasurers, at least among the Brisbane northside churches. We are aware of Mr H H Dean’s 44 years as Taringa’s Treasurer and also Mr Les Beasley’s 33 years service as Banyo’s Secretary. However, if you are aware of other long-serving church officers we would be interested in hearing from you.

This information has been discovered as part of the work of Baptist Heritage Queensland (BHQ) in collating details of local church documents and historical records. If you know anything of Mr and Mrs Allen, please contact Bill Hughes.

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1886 - Nundah

The completeness of our Jubilee history demands a brief reference to a church which was formed in Brisbane in 1864, and met in a building erected in Edward Street. It was the outcome of a serious misunderstanding in the Wharf Street Church; it had a considerable membership, and for the two years of its existence was ministered to by Mr E Hooker. Ultimately its members were drafted into other churches, chiefly Petrie Terrace and Fortescue Street, and the land was resumed by the Railways Department for the Central Extension.

There are now no records for either Edward Street or Fortescue Street churches. Recently, however, research has uncovered new material, mainly due to better access to information about

QB archives

1864 – Edward Street Church

Mr E Hooker

the time in which the churches existed, eg through digitisation of newspapers. Also, in the 1990s, two histories written by men who were involved in these churches were found and published by Baptist Heritage Queensland (BHQ). Other sources of information included Anglican Archives, the Railway Historical Society, the State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Temperance League.

A more complete story of the Edward Street church (Brisbane’s third Baptist Church) has now emerged and will be published in the April 2010 issue of The Queensland Baptist Forum. It was formed in 1865 (not 1864 as stated in the Jubilee history). Its first building was opened in 1866 then sold in 1868, after which the church congregation continued to meet in a variety of leased premises and small chapels. In 1876, the congregation built new premises in Fortescue Street and prospered until they closed down in 1889 when the City Tabernacle opened nearby. The Fortescue St building was moved to Nundah and still exists, although not in Baptist ownership.

other churches including South Brisbane.

There are other questions which we would like to answer. Some of the answers are probably to be found in the Wharf Street (City Tabernacle) Minutes but due to the ‘serious misunderstanding’ mentioned at the beginning of this article, the Minutes for the crucial period are missing!

For further information on the Edward Street and Fortescue St churches and the current project collecting data about Queensland Baptist Churches, contact Bill Hughes on 07-3256-8897 or by email on roslynbill@bigpond.com. For general information about the Baptist Church Archives Qld, or if you would like to assist with this important work contact archives@qb.com.au Bill Hughes

A photograph of the Edward Street building, designed by the famous Baptist architect Richard Gailey, was recently discovered. Built on land leased from the Temperance League at the corner of Ann and Edward Street, where the present Mincom building is situated (formerly the site of the Canberra Hotel), the building was demolished in late 1887 or early 1888 when the railway line was built from Roma Street to Bowen Hills via new stations at Central and the Valley. In its day, the Edward Street church was strong and it had a wide network of outstations around outer Brisbane. However, its full potential was never realised and its members dispersed to Petrie Terrace.

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Global Interaction

Introducing ‘Calling Charlie’ ‘Jesus’ cry is for you to break the mould of lukewarm faith, to break down the fences and to follow him out into the wild. It will mean rising above the noise and conflicting messages being screamed by the media and often your friends. It will stretch and excite you at the same time; it will take you to places you would have never otherwise gone. It will open your eyes to injustice and to the seemingly hopeless pain of others. Most of all, it will inspire you to share the truth with those who don’t know it, because you will no longer be able to contain it.’ (excerpt from ‘Calling Charlie’) ‘Calling Charlie’ is an interactive DVD and study guide resource that takes a practical and innovative look at what it means to embrace the heart of God for the world. It tackles four of the big issues facing young adult Christians in this generation: Calling, Justice, Mission and Culture, emphasising the need to listen to God, hear his call on our lives and take it seriously – wherever that may take us, whatever that may be.

While ‘Calling Charlie’ is created for young adult Christians, it is applicable to everyone. It is a four part series, designed to be used in home groups, church services, camps or as stand-alone sessions.

The interactive DVD includes various video clips and allows time for three or four pauses for discussion questions that are provided in an accompanying study guide. The guide also includes extra questions, resources, prayers and further links.

Young adult pastors and leaders who are searching for an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking resource that will confront cultural norms, challenge the status quo, push the boundaries and provide some real ‘meat’ for young adult discipleship: Calling Charlie is for you.

Calling Charlie was created because Global Interaction recognises that calling, justice, mission and culture are the hot topics that young adult Christians are faced with as they explore what it means to be authentic followers of Jesus. So, we tackle them head on. We ask the tough questions, we provide a reflection of current Christian culture and we ponder the implications.

‘Calling Charlie’ is created by our Baptist cross-cultural mission agency, Global Interaction and Room 3, the cutting edge media team. Crossover is pleased to be a funding partner of ‘Calling Charlie’, as we fulfil our mandate to provide Baptist churches with quality, Australian-made resources. We encourage all young adult pastors and leaders to use it widely.

To see a preview and purchase your copy online visit www.callingcharlie.com.au

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Meet Haylee Global Interaction welcomes Haylee Freudigmann to the role of National Young Adults’ Consultant.

Haylee’s role is part of Global Interaction’s commitment to mobilise and encourage churches to disciple young adults in their involvement in mission. With a desire to see more people commit to long-term crosscultural service, Global Interaction recognises that it is important to engage with the young adults of Australia. They will be the crosscultural workers of the future!

Originally a Townsville girl, Haylee has been actively involved in connecting with youth and young adults for a number of years and has a passion for seeing young people reach their full potential through Christ. Since 2006, Haylee has served alongside the amazing staff and congregation of Reedy Creek Baptist Church on the Gold Coast as Youth Worker/ Youth Pastor. She originally trained and worked as a Drama and History high school teacher before taking a year out and trying her hand as a radio announcer at 107.3 Life Fm. In her role as Youth Pastor she has been a youth coach with Queensland Baptists and has organised and led short-term mission trips to Tennant Creek and Charleville. Haylee was the MC at last year’s National Youth Ministry Conference and has had the privilege of speaking at a number of churches and conferences. She is currently completing her Master of Arts in Christian Leadership through the Australian College of Ministry and has completed a Graduate Diploma in Counselling.

Haylee’s husband Gary is a high school teacher who is hoping to head back to university for further study when they move to Victoria. They feel that God has been leading them into something new and they have been seeking his direction for some time. They are excited about this new adventure to which God has called them and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

This month they move to Melbourne where Haylee will commence in the Global Interaction National Office. She will lead the team of Young Adults Consultants, one in each state, as they connect with young adults and inspire them to grow in passion for cross-cultural mission.

Convention 2010

About: Nigel Wright David Coffey, (BWA President) chats about Nigel Wright, special guest speaker at QB Convention 2010 (10 – 15 May).

QB: David, you have known Nigel for more than 30 years. Can you recall your impressions the first time you met him?

QB: Can you reflect on that more significant calling?

DC: A considerable calling has emerged during the past 25 years!

Take, for example, Nigel the Principal of Spurgeon’s College, a pastortheologian who knows his students and cares for the fruitfulness of their future ministries. Students trust him because of his commitment to equip them for effective ministry as missionary pastors; they love him because he is an exemplar of passionate commitment to life-long learning for ministers of the Gospel.

DC: We first met as pastors through the Mainstream network in Britain which was founded in 1979. My memory of his early contributions to the burgeoning movement of ‘Baptists for life and growth’ was the warmth of his northern personality and his incisive style of rigorous theological questioning of the traditional understanding of Baptist identity.

QB: Tell us about Mainstream.

DC: Nigel loved ‘making waves’ because he believed this was the legitimate role of a reform movement serious about making a radical contribution to the future of British Baptists, if indeed there was to be a future for Baptists.

This was the period when deep concern was expressed publicly about the spiritual and numerical decline of the denomination. The despondency surrounding the future of the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) was part of the impulse behind the founding of Mainstream, and Nigel was in the forefront of the younger pastors who were questioning whether the BUGB was worth remaining in as a spiritually credible movement.

QB: What else did you discover about Nigel?

DC: It was the first time I had encountered a radical Baptist theologian with evangelical, charismatic, restorationist and Anabaptist leanings who was also a paid up member of the Labour Party and wrote the occasional feature article for the left wing newspaper, The Guardian.

I had a personal glimpse into Nigel’s erstwhile political ambitions when, following a Mainstream gathering in the 1980s, late at night and standing in the shadow of Big Ben, Nigel said wistfully that he would have loved to have served as a Labour Member of Parliament but he recognised clearly that God had placed a more significant calling on his life.

QB: Nigel has served as President of the BUGB, hasn’t he?

DC: Yes he has - and he self-confessedly enjoyed his presidential year more than he could have expected, and in the course of the year revealed through his weekly columns in the Baptist Times a journalistic flair for pithy and humorous observations of Baptists at large. Those who have observed Nigel the internationalist know how he moves at ease in the multi-cultural world of global gatherings. Through his chairmanship of the Baptist World Alliance Ethics Commission he has learned the boundaries which mark the diverse cultures and traditions within the membership of the Alliance, but he is unafraid to test, sensitively, those boundaries in order to move people to a broader understanding of complex issues.

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Convention 2010 QB: Nigel is obviously an effective leader.

DC: Nigel the leader is a fascinating character study. For all his pastoral skills, his proven track record as a team player and his spirit of joyful confidence in the Gospel, his default position for working with organisational life is probably benevolent dictator mixed with pessimism (his own self-description). He can be impatient with the procrastinations of the committee process and fears the institution will lose the plot on the long road to making a decision. But, by a miracle of patience and faith, Nigel proved he can work with the frustrating processes of the institution when he chaired the influential group which formulated the Relating and Resourcing Report which emerged out of the 1996 BUGB Denominational Consultation. This report on the renewal of association life popularised the theological vision that Nigel proposed in his 1991 book Challenge to Change and gave structural reality to the ‘big idea’ for Baptists, namely how the local church relates organically in Christ to the parts of the body which are nearest and where unity is most likely to be forged.

QB: Would you describe Nigel as a caring person?

DC: Whenever Nigel has been out of the College due to ill health or sabbatical leave, it is the common consent among Spurgeon’s College tutors and other staff that Nigel’s absence leaves a large space which cannot be filled. There are those who can deputise for him

Providing Christ like care for grieving families Personalised care & support Pre-paid Funeral Planning

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so that his duties are covered adequately, but however competent the deputy, no one can replace Nigel the presence. In 2008 I observed this outstanding personal quality when Nigel returned to the College on the first day after his sabbatical. As we made our way to the College chapel for the service, he gathered people in as we walked the corridors; he greeted everyone by name; he made an enquiry of a student about a pastoral concern; there were some humorous asides; everyone was made to feel welcome. It is this huge capacity to exercise the hospitality of the heart and the home that is the mark of this man accompanied so ably by his loving wife Judy.

QB: Although he is obviously a very busy man, tell us about Nigel’s hobbies.

DC: I like what is written about Nigel’s hobbies on the Spurgeon’s College website, www.spurgeons.ac.uk. ‘For relaxation, Nigel enjoys walking in town and country, reads as much as he can and given the chance is happy “just to mooch about”.’

QB: So much more could be said.

DC: I am proud to call Nigel my encouraging friend who has created so many openings for me to exercise my own gifts. He is a theologian of the first order who has provided substantial depth to the ongoing debates on what it means to be a Baptist, and by his own pilgrimage has moved the debate from the open-ended question, ‘Is this a denomination worth staying in?’ to the more positive invitation: ‘This is a Baptist Union worth joining!’

He is a reliable mentor as a Christian disciple because he acknowledges there are many miles yet to travel on the road of spiritual formation.

QB: Thanks, David. We look forward to meeting Nigel in Queensland.

Keith Applegate

Godly living

Persistence Required As the New Covenant was about to open, a great darkness enshrouded the holy land, like the darkness that precedes the dawn. Herod had become the first king of Judea since the Babylonian captivity. However, he was not a descendent of David but had been appointed by the Roman Senate, rendering the country a Roman province. Herod’s reign was characterised by intrigue, violence and murder and culminated in the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18).

The Sadducees governed as statesmen. Their chief concern was the external well-being of the country, so they were patriotic but usually not deeply religious. The Pharisees and scribes were the clergy of the day. They devoted themselves to the exposition and interpretation of Scripture, and developed rules to regulate all aspects of daily life. However, their stress was on external actions so they became religious formalists. Failing to practise inwardly the heart of their religion, they were debased in character and guilty of duplicity. In addition to these, irreligious people and prostitutes were prominent in the land. Enslaved by the Romans, ruled by an evil king and ungodly religious leaders and filled with wickedness, the nation had sunk very low.

It might appear that godliness had been virtually eradicated from the land. Yet the inspired records make it clear that there were some like Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna and the shepherds www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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Godly living

It is easier to live godly lives when many others about us are doing the same, but it takes courage, resolve and great strength of character to stand virtually alone against the prevailing tendencies.

from Bethlehem who kept the fire of true piety burning. These people appear to have been particularly godly. For example, A. B. Davidson (The Call of God, 1902 p234) makes the point that the hymns or songs of Mary and Zechariah ‘rise high above mere human compositions. There is a consciousness in them of the nearness of God, an expectancy, a feeling that they stand on the eve of some great manifestation from heaven’.

And so it proved. As the story unfolds in Luke’s gospel, the angel Gabriel was sent to the Temple in Jerusalem. There he announced to Zechariah, an elderly priest, that his wife Elizabeth was to conceive and bear a son who would be the forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:5-20).

Now we know that John was to be one of the greatest of human beings (Matthew 11:11; Luke 1:15), so it was fitting that the parents chosen to nurture him would be godly people. Luke declares that Zechariah and Elizabeth ‘were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord’ (Luke 1:6). Of course, this doesn’t mean that they were sinless. They were both morally upright in the sense that there was nothing particularly blameworthy about their lives and they couldn’t be charged with any open sin. Furthermore, the declaration means that they lived by faith, they strove to regulate their conduct by the rules given in the Scripture and they sought to please God in all they did.

Luke’s testimony to their character is all the more impressive in the light of their particular circumstances. They were under two pressures that rendered godly living more difficult. In the first place, God had blessed the people around them with children, but as far as this couple knew, he had rejected their prayers for a child.

Yet they did not complain constantly about their lot or become bitter and resentful towards God. Instead, they humbly submitted to his will, maintained their devotion to him and persisted in well doing.

In the second place, they lived in a climate of pervading darkness, when the light of true godliness had almost been extinguished from the land. Peer pressure is immense. It is easier to live godly

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lives when many others about us are doing the same, but it takes courage, resolve and great strength of character to stand virtually alone against the prevailing tendencies. That they lived devout lives despite apparently having their prayers for a child rejected and despite the intense pressure to conform to the surrounding wickedness is a shining testimony to their character.

The commendation accorded to Zechariah and Elizabeth for their godly living indicates our first priority. It is not what others think of us that should be uppermost to us; nor should we continually strive for human commendation. What really matters is how we stand in God’s sight. Everything depends on this. As Miller observes, ‘We are in reality just what we are “before God” – nothing less, nothing more’ (Miller quoted in Willcock, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke, 1980, p20).

Others may sing our praises, but if God views us with disfavour; all is lost. This was the Pharisees’ problem. They were righteous in their own eyes, and in the sight of other Jews, but despicable in God’s eyes – to their everlasting loss.

It is easy to be upright in our own eyes, or in the eyes of others, but it is a demanding thing to be devout in the sight of God. He sees all that we say and do in secret; he knows all we think, and it is impossible for him to be mistaken. Even though it is no facile thing to be godly in God’s sight, it is of overriding importance that we exert ourselves to achieve God’s approval in all that we do, that we ‘seek first his kingdom and his righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33).

It is true that if, throughout our lives, we constantly seek heaven’s approbation – and regard this as our primary objective - others may misunderstand our motives and think little of us. Yet, if we patiently persist - and ultimately succeed in our endeavour, as Zechariah Elizabeth did - what greater attainment is possible or desirable?

Jim Greenbury jimncath@tpg.com.au

Worship

‘All one’ says it all!

I’m glad that the article, ‘Men and the Church: Do they really mix?’ was published in The qb (Christmas 2009). It has given us the opportunity to think, to be challenged and for dialogue to occur. It’s good and healthy.

There’s no doubt that it’s difficult to provide a forum for worship that suits everyone. It’s not just a gender issue.

Personality types play a huge part in how we worship, and how we respond to the worship of others. Everyone perceives and filters their experiences in ways that are unique. In this case, Brian has every right to state things as he sees them. Some will agree; some won’t.

When we address these or other issues though, it’s important that we don’t lapse into stereotyping or making blanket judgments about groups, whether gender based, socio-economic or ethnic.

I speak for the many women who are tired of the stereotypes and who long for action and adventure. Let me make some points: 1. Not all females want pretty furnishings and frilly table cloths. I have been in many cathedrals and church buildings throughout the world and I am happy to say that the ones that I connect with are the ones with lots of dark timber, high archways, Spartan seating, perhaps a big bronze eagle decorating the pulpit and a crypt with the bodies of knights, lords and ladies laid to rest. That’s my personal taste.

2. It isn’t only men who cringe and shudder at songs with sappy lyrics and lines such as ‘Jesus, lover of my soul’ and ‘more intimate than lovers’. I simply don’t sing them. This has more to do with my personality type than my gender.

3. For thousands of years, people have been breaking the stereotypical moulds that society has placed upon then. When I read accounts of women like Deborah (Judges 4,5), I see a woman who was a leader of Israel, a person who settled the disputes of men and who went to war. Compare her to Gideon (Judges 6,7) who was indecisive, hiding, fearful and feeling

ing d n a t s t The ou t we are ha t h t u r t esus J n i ’ e ‘all on ll for me! ta says i helpless. And then there is Jael who whacked a tent peg into a guy’s head and put him out of action, Miriam who was the first woman to be called a prophet and Esther who saved a nation and created a festival (Purim) for all Israelites to keep. None of these women fits the weak, emotional stereotypical persona that is the ‘fairer sex’. It’s not a matter of gender. God has used committed men and women throughout the ages and he’ll continue to do so.

4. I want to WORSHIP God when I go to church. I want to be awestruck by his magnificence and his presence. I want to be convicted of my sin before communion so that I partake in a worthy manner. I want to walk closely with God and honour him with my life. This is a personal, non-gender response to a loving Father God. Here’s another thought. When we read in the Old Testament about the design of the tabernacle and the temple and what the priests wore, perhaps we begin to see that ‘feminine’ furnishings can be a reflection of God’s extravagant artistry and desire for beauty in his place of worship.

Paul said: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus’(Galatians 3:28). The outstanding truth that we are ‘all one’ in Jesus says it all for me!

Karen Barlow www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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Reviews

BOOKS . DVDS . MUSIC BOOK: Her Mother’s Hope

By Francine Rivers

BOOK: How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth (3rd Edition)

By Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart

WORD’s Price: $19.95 As a writer, Francine Rivers appeals to both men and women. This is the first book in a new two part series entitled Her Mother’s Hope. She takes us on a journey from Germany via England to Canada, and then California.

Set at the beginning of World War Two, the story follows the incredible journey of two women; one whose passionate resolve to raise her family, to stand tough, and be resilient comes at a price; the other, her daughter, who faces the trials and tribulations of starting her own family. Tragedy forces mother and daughter to face their problems and the distance that had grown between them.

From the author of the Mark of the Lion series, The Last Sin Eater, and And The Shofar Blew, comes the next “must have” to add to your library.

Coffee anyone?

Buy 1 Coffee Get 1 Free

at Cafe’ Word

Visit the Word Superstore

before 31 May 2010

to redeem this voucher and check out the wide range of books, music and resources available.

442-444 Enoggera Road, Alderley

WORD’s Price: $19.95 This is the third edition of a widely acclaimed text designed to aid in developing a comprehensive and thorough interpretation and understanding of the Bible. In this book that has proven popular across the spectrum - from those in ministry to people who study the Bible in their spare time – Fee and Stuart provide a resource that covers topics ranging from Bible translations to the different genres of biblical writing.

The book is not a ‘light read’. One of the changes made for the third addition was the re-writing of some sections of the book to improve its ‘readability’. The book has been used around the world to help turn potential readers of the Bible into actual readers of the Bible, and puzzled readers into more confident readers of God’s Word. With over half a million copies sold, this is certainly one book that is worth having on your bookshelf.

BOOK: The Me I Want To Be By John Ortberg WORD’s Price: $19.95 ‘Your deepest longing should be to be alive with God, to become the person God made you to be, and to be used to help God’s world flourish.’

This quote is taken from the closing paragraphs of John Ortberg’s new book The Me I Want to Be and is an accurate summation of the book’s contents. Anyone who has read the author’s previous works (God is Closer Than You Think, When the Game is Over It All Goes Back in the Box) will be aware of the passion the author has for ‘spiritual formation’ – helping people to become more like Jesus. This is the basis for this book.

John takes you on a journey,helping you to see that God’s vision for your life is not just for you to be saved by grace, but also that you might learn to live by grace. This helps you to live a flourishing life with the Spirit flowing through you. While the author doesn’t profess to have all the answers, you are certainly left with plenty of food for thought. The Me I want to Be is Impacting, thoughtful and easy to read, and is certain to be an instant hit with readers.

Thanks to Word Bookstore – Alderley Manager, Iain Costello for these book reviews.

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A family ministry based on music is proving hugely effective for churches across Australia, with 10,000 families now taking part each week. mainly music is a music-and-movement session run by local churches for preschoolers and their parents or caregivers. More than 300 groups have started up in Australia in the last four years alone. Director Jo Hood says one of the reasons churches find the concept so effective is that it is based on building relationships.

‘It’s about doing life with people,’ she says. ‘It’s about getting to know them, and being there for them when they go through a crisis, being there for the highs and lows of life, whether or not they end up coming to faith.’ But stories are flooding into the Melbourne-based mainly music office every week of families doing exactly that. ‘Every week we hear stories of people coming to faith, or taking another step on the journey,’ Jo said.

The mainly music concept is based around a half-hour session where parents or caregivers participate with their children in action songs and rhymes, followed by a time where the parents can chat over a hot drink and something to eat while the children play.

DVD: The Cross – The Arthur Blessitt Story

Reviews

RESOURCE: Families finding faith through mainly music

1 man; 315 nations; 38,102 miles; 40 years For centuries, our world has faced raging wars, religious conflict, extreme poverty and disease. For the past four decades, one man has defied these odds to bring a message of hope to millions in the most challenging way possible.

This feature length documentary is the story of Arthur Blessitt who has carried a twelve-foot wooden cross on a pilgrimage around the world. Arthur has touched our hearts with the genuine nature of his mission. In a world where highly respected dignitaries and officials struggle with international relations every day, one man on a humble mission was able to cross political, social, cultural and language barriers successfully.

‘A remarkable story of survival, perseverance and unquenchable spiritual passion’ (Justin Chang, Variety).

DVD now available through all Christian retail outlets.

Email qb@qb.com.au with “Arthur Blessitt” in the subject line. Your message could be chosen to receive a free copy.

Jo says the global economic situation has seen the outreach flourish. ‘Churches are able to provide the community with something that is both fun and cheap. And people flock to it.

We supply resources and a structure to lean on; we’re there for the growth of the local church. We also help to keep the focus on mission, something many church playgroups lose over time.’

For more information please contact: Jo Hood, mainly music director tel. + (61) 400 56 00 58 or + (61) 3 9720 3310

www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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Persecution brief

Please Pray NIGERIA: MEDIA DISTORTIONS OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN MASSACRES IN JOS The world has been horrified by the bloodshed in Jos, the capital of Nigeria’s Plateau State, as reported by the international media during the last six weeks. It appears, however, that deliberate manipulation and deception at a local level have meant that international reporting has been inaccurate, and has created the false impression that Christians were the aggressors and Muslims the victims when the reality is the opposite. So Christians have become double victims, suffering not only violence but also unjust blame.

Two incidents of large-scale violence have recently occurred, first in the city of Jos and then in three mainly Christian villages to the south of Jos. In the latter incident men from the Muslim Fulani tribe, armed with swords and machetes, arrived at the villages in the early hours of the morning. The residents of Zot, Dogo Nahauwa and Rastat were woken by the sound of gunshots and ran terrified into the streets, where the attackers were waiting for them. A horrendous massacre followed. Local police say 109 people were killed, but other sources suggest this figure could be much higher, perhaps up to 500.

Some media sources have reported that this atrocity was in retaliation for an attack by Christians on Muslims in Jos in January, where up to 300 people died. It is clear, however, that this earlier violence was started by Muslims who attacked a church. Christian leaders in Nigeria acknowledge that some Christians retaliated and do not condone their actions, but there is no evidence to suggest that their response was on the size or scale reported in the media. There are conflicting reports about how many of the dead in January were Christians and how many Muslims. Baroness Caroline Cox notes that ‘In the violent attacks, not only in Plateau state but also in neighbouring Bauchi and other northern states, a consistent pattern has emerged ... the Muslim militants take corpses to mosques, where they are photographed and released to the media, creating the impression that these are Muslim victims’.

In January a church leader in Jos expressed his belief that Muslims had carried false reports about the conflict to the international

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media in order to discredit the Church. Confirmation of this view may be found in a video report produced by the Aljazeera news channel in co-operation with a powerful Nigerian Muslim organisation called Jama’atu Nasril Islam and later posted on YouTube via various Muslim websites. Not only does this video suggest that the January violence was simply a massacre of Muslims by Christians; it also appears to use footage from other contexts altogether, spliced in to give bogus support to its story.

It is in this context that the violence on 7 March has been reported as ‘retaliation’ by Muslims against Christians, but this has been denied by the governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, who said that it cannot plausibly be seen as a reprisal for the earlier outbreak. He has also criticised another Aljazeera report on the January violence, saying, ‘Some people moved Aljazeera there and then covered dead bodies and started labelling them. When you cover dead bodies and start labelling them, who knows who you are covering?’

An eyewitness account from 7 March describes how ‘attackers were shooting to herd fleeing villagers toward another group of attackers carrying machetes ... The attackers asked people, “Who are you?” in Fulani, a language used mostly by Muslims, and killed those who did not answer back in Fulani.’ By Sunday afternoon bodies were lining the dusty streets. Many of the victims were among the most defenceless – elderly people, women and children, including a four-day-old baby. All the churches in Dogo Nahawa were burned down and many homes were torched. The next day Christians wailed in the street and sang hymns as a truck carried dozens of bodies to a mass grave. Hundreds of Christians have fled their homes, fearing further attacks. Significantly, Ben Kwashi, the Anglican Archbishop of Jos, has called the attacks ‘systematic and quite well organised’, indicating that they were pre-planned.

Incidents of large-scale anti-Christian violence have occurred periodically over many years in Nigeria’s Middle Belt (where Christians and Muslims are roughly equal in number) and sometimes in the Muslim-majority North, but recently these have become more frequent and severe, with major outbreaks in Jos (November 2008), Bauchi State (February 2009), Borno State (July 2009) and Jigawa State (February 2010), in addition to those described above. Source: Barnabas Fund

Called home Our prayers are with the families and friends of these saints of God, recently called home.

Doug Cran

(11.11.1936 – 18.01.2010) A heartfelt message from Doug Cran was included in the order of service for his funeral at Kawana Baptist Church. In part, Doug wrote: ‘I have been blessed with a good life, and for that I want to thank God who gave it to me, both physically and spiritually.

On 12 July 1948 in the Silkstone Baptist Sunday School Hall, Rev Frank McInnes explained to me what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross. That day God won my heart!

I could do nothing less than lovingly respond to his great love for me by committing myself and my future to him as Supreme Authority for life and eternity. Since that time…I have been repeatedly amazed and overawed by what God has done in me and through me. Many times this has been in spite of me and my little faith!

I urge you to do the same as I have done, and I guarantee that you will be able to say what I am saying now. He will never fail you or let you down. You will experience life with a capital “L”; life in its abundant fulfilment that does not end at the grave but goes on to greater glory beyond. So give praise, thanksgiving and worship to God for who he is and what he has done.’

Norm Weston

(25.12.1928 - 29.01.2010) Norm Weston came to know Christ at a Currumbin camp and was baptised a few years later at Greenslopes Baptist Church. He applied to become a Student Pastor with Queensland Baptists in 1953 at the age of 24 in what was to be the beginning of a ministry that would last some 57 years. In his application for the ministry he responded to the question, ‘Why do you believe that you are called to the work of Christian Ministry?’ by saying, ‘I feel a pressing need to preach the gospel, in these last days’.

His ministry as a Baptist pastor continued until he officially retired in 1989. In later years Norm also served in a number of interim ministries and as Pastoral Care Pastor at the City Tabernacle. In his tribute to Norm, QB Regional Consultant, Stephen Ball said, ‘He was a much loved pastor; he really loved his people and they knew it’.

From 1974-79 Norm served the denomination as the Director of the Department of Youth and Christian Education.

He was the Area Superintendent for Brisbane South from 1992-95 and Brisbane City from 1997-2001. Norm served as the president of Queensland Baptists from 1990-1992 and he was a visiting lecturer at our Baptist College.

Norm Weston was a pastor with a strong pastor’s heart and he was an educator who sought to share what he had learned in as many ways as he could. He was an encourager and he was an enthusiast and all through his life he was energetic in God’s service.

Joan Sweetman

(14.10.1927 - 21.02.2010) Joan Sweetman started attending the newly formed Ashgrove Baptist Church Sunday School at age seven where she met Edie Wright who was her Sunday School teacher and later became her closest friend, great spiritual prayer partner and fellow worker in the cause of Christ. Joan also met Jack at Ashgrove and they were baptised together at the age of 18, engaged at 21 and married a year later. Three children were born to Joan and Jack: John, Jenny and Peter. They attest that their mother was deeply influential in all of them placing their faith and trust in Christ. Her most powerful spiritual ministry however was that of prayer; many were blessed because of her close connection with our heavenly Father.

John Sweetman’s thoughts shared with attendees at Joan’s Memorial Service are included in this issue.

The qb APRIL 10

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Encountering God

The Power of Three

Encountering God in the Word

Is there a theme more valuable or needed than that chosen for this year for Queensland Baptist followers of Jesus? The possibility of experiencing life transforming encounters with the living God is too important for any of us to ignore. In his exceptional generosity God has given us three amazing gifts to make this encounter a real and dynamic experience.

One of these is, of course,

His Spirit; the one who makes it possible to face the future with courage, to experience the joy and freedom of being His children, to be made over into the likeness of Christ, bearing his fruit and gifts for effective service, and to experience answers to prayer.

The prospect and blessing of encountering God would not be possible without the power Jesus unleashed for us in the Spirit. And on the basis of Jesus’ promise we rightly assume that this will be our experience as we put our lives in the Spirit’s hands. It is encouraging to see the work of the 42

The qb APRIL 10 www.qb.com.au

person of the Spirit being a major focus for our Convention.

But there is a second vital gift which we are easily in danger of diminishing. That is the liberating and transforming gift of his Word. It was Jesus who said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. And you will know the truth and the truth will liberate you’ (John 8:31-32).

Encountering God Has it not become terrifyingly clear again and again…that we are no longer obedient to the Bible? We are more fond of our own thoughts than of the thoughts of the Bible. We no longer read the Bible seriously, we no longer read it against ourselves, but for ourselves.

The truth we mustn’t miss is that these two gifts do not give their benefit in isolation. The dynamic of each to liberate and transform depends on the effective power of the other. Without the Spirit, the Word will have no power to change us. Without regular prayerful engagement with God’s Word, the Spirit is robbed of his instrument to change us. Our opportunity is to cooperate with both so that our lives increasingly reflect that of Jesus, and others get to see and marvel at his character coming to life in us.

There is a third gift which will immeasurably enrich our experience in the Word of God and its power to transform, not only ourselves but also our communities. That is to engage with it in our faith community. We value greatly the supportive friendships and caring ministry in the local church community. We are encouraged not to neglect meeting together, but instead to build each other up.

Central to this must be active engagement with the Word of God as a core feature of community life.

In my work with Scripture Union I hear many stories of the transforming power of the Word of God in the hands of the Spirit of God. In my discussions with pastors and others, I am discerning a new awareness of a famine of the Word of God. Jesus’ followers are realising that they have been worsted for neglecting the Word altogether or just relying on the weekly ‘meal’ we receive in church.

James made a similar point. ‘If you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it’ (James 1:25).

In 1932 Dietrich Bonhoeffer made a statement that is worth reflecting on.

Scripture Union has a long tradition of helping the followers of Jesus to encounter God through his Word. Later this year, SU around Australia will launch the exciting E100 Challenge, www. e100challenge.com.au for churches to help their people share the experience of journeying through the Bible together.

Lloyd Carter National Director, Scripture Union Australia www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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LIKE A CHALLENGE? WELCOME TO THE FUN ZONE! COMPLETE THESE TO WIN PRIZES!

Sudoku Challenge Sudoku puzzle provided by www.sudokuoftheday.com visit them and get a new Sudoku every day!

Sudoku rules: Each row, column and block must contain one of the numbers from 1 to 9. No number may appear more than once in any row, column or block. When you’ve filled the entire grid, the puzzle is solved.

Sukodu solutions to: QB Magazine, PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Qld 4053 Two correct entries will be chosen to receive a $30 Word bookstore voucher. Don’t forget to include your full name and contact details.

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Find-a-Word For kids aged 5 - 15. Every entry receives a prize! Send completed entries to The qb, PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Q 4053 God’s Word tells us to be kind to each other, and to treat other people as we would like to be treated. (Matt 7:12) Friend Help Kind Compassion Happy Effort Tender Polite Smiling Sorry

Name: Address:

Quiz In Col 3:12 we are encouraged to ‘clothe ourselves’ that is, to show in our lives…

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Comfort Understand Share Try Laugh Willing Quick Respect Nice Gentle

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Creative Captions Win a Word Bookstores Gift Voucher Submit your creative caption for the photo shown below via email: qb@qb.com.au or post to PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Q 4053 Last issue

“Let’s set the balance straight, guys!’

Congratulations to Marion Lean.

Artists’ Corner Try drawing your own picture and colouring it with pencils or crayons.

Try drawing a picture that shows how you can be kind to others.

For kids aged 5-15. Every entry receives a prize! Send your drawing to The qb, PO Box 6166 Mitchelton Q 4053. Don’t forget to include your name and address.

Well done, Riley Kruck (age 11) for your drawing of your favourite place to talk to Jesus.

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What is difficult is getting up and taking action.’ (Al Butt) Thanks to Graham Preston

‘The earnestness of prayer returns when we pray for people as though we were in their situation.’

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by Rodney Stortz) Thanks to Bruce and Murielle Taylor ‘A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, but he prays because his soul is hungry for God.” (Leonard Ravenhill) Thanks to Magda Blessing

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Accommodation - AROUND THE STATE CALOUNDRA: Seafarer Chase luxury 2 b/r holiday apartments on the Sunshine Coast. Ocean views, heated pool, BBQ, security parking, close to beaches, shops, cinema and bowling club. Contact Marianne/Martin Burton Phone/Fax 5491 7155.

CALOUNDRA GOLDEN BEACH: Highset three bedroom holiday home. Weekends or weekly. Pets OK. Close to beach. Phone 0402 077 822 or liz_paul@hotmail.com.

CALOUNDRA KINGS BEACH: Holiday unit, modern, pool, 100m from Kings Beach. From $360 pw. Phone Ray 0427 990 161.

COOLUM: 3 brm beach unit, new facilities, ocean views $250 w/e, $470 week *excludes holiday periods. Phone 0411 222 787, email rickn@activeforkliftservice.com.au.

MALENY: Self catering fsc cottage, sleeps 4. Quiet. Walk to town. Phone 5462 2645 or email thecoles@uq.net.au.

NOOSA: By river, cafes, 5 mins from Hastings Street. 2 bed townhouse, mod FSC R/C, A/C, widescreen TV 3ht pools, spa, tennis from $595 pw Phone Jan a/h 3263 8750.

FOR HIRE Large Auditorium FOR HIRE: Seats 290.

Qld Baptists Centre at Gaythorne.

Phone Helen 07 3354 5600 for more information or visit www.qb.com.au – venue hire.

INTEGRITY TRAVEL Make your travel/holiday bookings with Integrity Travel and assist missions.

Join escorted tours in 2010 and 2011 to Europe, South Africa, Oberammergau (2010) and the Antartic.

Phone Norman 07 3863 1007 or visit www.integritytravel.com.au

EVENTS Outback Tour: Looking for an opportunity to experience outback Queensland in a safe and friendly environment?

Want to learn more about what God is doing in Australia’s most isolated churches? Like to do something a bit more adventurous with your caravan? In September, “YOTO5” could be for you. A tag-along camping tour run by experienced Christian volunteers will explore south-west Queensland, enjoying the scenic highlights and meeting the people who live, work and minister in this remote country.

Connections provided from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. For a “YOTO5 Prospectus” with full details of the trip and a booking form, email yototours@hotmail.com or phone Phillip on 07 3354 5618 or Brian on 03 9589 6604.

Wanted: Christian writers! Omega Christian Writers Association www.omegawriters.com is holding their bimonthly meeting at 2pm on 6 June at the annexe of Old Bishopsbourne, St Francis’ College, Milton. Stephen Harrison will speak on writing for the youth of today. He is Director of Youth, Children’s and Family Ministries, Anglican Diocese - Ministry Education Commission, http://ministryeducation.org.au www.qb.com.au The qb APRIL 10

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