Dave's Rave

IS VERY GOOD..............................

Hey Gordo, Your observation is definitely true but...

2010-07-15T07:44:58.962+10:00

Hey Gordo,
Your observation is definitely true but I think that the amount of Bible fairly reflects the book though at this point. To be fair I have skipped over some of the references to Scripture they have in the book.

I will post a reflection at the end of part one (in a couple of chapters time) as to whether the principle is biblical or not. I think Thom Rainer, having read a little of him lately, would not want to be labelled a pragmatist (nor do I think he is) but I'm not heaps sold on some of the exegesis. That said, I still think the book has some REALLY useful insights.

Not a lot of Bible in this so far Dave!!

2010-07-14T22:17:46.708+10:00

Not a lot of Bible in this so far Dave!!

Our community would miss: 1. A thriving playgroup ...

2010-06-23T11:42:28.974+10:00

Our community would miss:
1. A thriving playgroup
2. Friendly ESL classes
3. 50% drop in SRE teachers
... oh crap - I think that's all

Thanks Rusty! Hope you had a good holiday! I will...

2010-06-23T11:19:05.820+10:00

Thanks Rusty!
Hope you had a good holiday!

I will post the second part of Dever's talk today at some point which was about the dangers, challenges and cautions in every member ministry thinking. And then tomorrow, his answer in how best to get multiplying of ministry.

nice new look dave. good reminder too as i lock b...

2010-06-23T11:06:06.493+10:00

nice new look dave.

good reminder too as i lock back in post holidays

Yeah, we definitely want to find out who we are an...

2010-06-21T22:37:54.819+10:00

Yeah, we definitely want to find out who we are and how we see others. And no, I wouldn't like to be a sea urchin or a hamster.

Apparently 'Gary' likes cheese especially ...

2010-06-14T08:17:52.850+10:00

Apparently 'Gary' likes cheese especially on his burgers. And mentioning Benji in the same sentence with Jamie Lyons is outrageous!!

Benji Marhshall > Jamie Lyons

2010-06-13T22:31:39.324+10:00

Benji Marhshall > Jamie Lyons

From anyone else it would be cheesy. But you don&#...

2010-06-13T20:42:38.553+10:00

From anyone else it would be cheesy. But you don't do cheese, Dave.

Hi Dave in regards to the catholic church there ar...

2010-06-11T13:45:01.008+10:00

Hi Dave
in regards to the catholic church there are some things that I don't necessarily agree with, things like: Abortion, contraception, sex before marriage etc. I believe that when you are brought up in a religion then it is up to you to make an educated decision on your belief structure and values.
I personally believe in the majority of the catholic teachings but not all, I think the same can be said for any religion really.
there are also things about my religion that I follow in a strict sense for example we were taught not to receive the sacrament unless you have been to confession, I haven't been to confession for a number of years and therefore when I go to church I don't go to communion. however some people would not agree with that stance and go anyway (my mother being one of them). that doesn't mean that they are wrong or I am wrong just a different view.
one thing I believe in that has been instilled in me is that of acceptance of others, in terms of religion I respect everyones right to have their own faith and belief structure even if I do not agree with the teachings of that faith, I still respect there decisions and don't try and force my opinions on them.
hope that expands a bit for you.
cheers

Hey Adam, Thanks for the comment mate. I think the...

2010-06-10T22:42:34.875+10:00

Hey Adam,
Thanks for the comment mate.
I think the question is more if the church disappeared. I guess another way of asking the question is would you know if your local church suddenly ceased to exist? Really got me thinking about whether Norwest Anglican has any impact in the community.
If I can quizz a bit further with your answer though when you say you bass 'a lot of your morals' upon the Catholic church - which ones don't you? And more importantly why some and not others?

if I was to disappear tomorrow then I believe that...

2010-06-10T16:25:40.599+10:00

if I was to disappear tomorrow then I believe that the people closest to me that I support and help and love would miss me the most. however if your questions is "if the church itself was to disappear" then I think that's a bigger question.
If a communities church was to disappear or for that matter if anyone's church was to disappear then I believe there would be a great loss felt. for someone to have a church or even a faith is a profound belief, even if they do not regularly attend that church or regularly pray.
I believe that to have faith is to believe in a higher purpose, being and provides us with a way to mould our lives, therefore if that was to simply disappear and there was no direction or information to follow and to inspire people the effect would be that people would feel a great sense of loss and fear, the feelings of loneliness would gradually create a great hole in that persons life.
If for example the catholic faith was to vanish or not exist anymore and all the teachings and references were no longer present then I would feel a bit lost, I mean I base a lot of my personal morals and ways of life on those teachings and beliefs so therefore without them my moral compass would be a little off.
I would survive however as I already have those morals and ways of life but I feel that those who need the constant reminder or reaffirmation of their belief system would be the most affected by such a loss.
Not sure if that answers your question but the theory of no longer have a church or faith in the world does get the mind wondering a bit.

Nice law, thanks Matt. Will to have to keep it mi...

2010-03-15T12:07:25.504+11:00

Nice law, thanks Matt.
Will to have to keep it mind to be tested as the girls get older!

Thanks for the compliment mate. Will have to wai...

2010-03-15T11:51:13.362+11:00

Thanks for the compliment mate.

Will have to wait and see if the title sticks or not?!

Dave - the younger they are, the more force they e...

2010-03-15T09:17:58.994+11:00

Dave - the younger they are, the more force they exhibit - this leads to the Young Person's Vomiting LAW:
Vomiting distance is inversely proportional to their age

I still maintain that you are the people's the...

2010-03-13T19:12:30.527+11:00

I still maintain that you are the people's theologian. In fact, you can adopt it as your official title.

Dave "The People's Theologian" Keun.

Hey Dave! Newcastle's plodding along well... c...

2010-03-07T06:56:19.593+11:00

Hey Dave! Newcastle's plodding along well... check out www.hunterbiblechurch.org ... we have our own "pastor's blog" :)

I agree that all those things are genuine "concerns", but why should we become Arminian when considering sermon applications? We think "Ohh.. if I mention something that a person might actually 'do' inresponse to this God and his saving work, they might not trust in Jesus anymore."
I just don't think that's trusting a sovereign God.

Certainly we need to take those concerns into consideration when we prepare our sermons. But in my experience of many MTC grads - like myself - they "pull-out" of preaching at this very point.

Maybe a better way to describe it is something Dave Cook suggests is the "potential application" where the preacher thinks; "What might this actually mean for some of my hearers? What actual steps might some of my flock need to take in response to this?"

So we need to be aware of the things "concrete application" can do... but that shouldn't hamstring us from offering it wisely and often.

Hey Dave, Thanks for reading mate. Hope all is goi...

2010-03-06T23:21:25.461+11:00

Hey Dave,
Thanks for reading mate. Hope all is going well up Newcastle way? (And if anyone is qualified to comment on Dave's Rave well then it is another Dave!)

I am all for application that is concrete, direct and shows how the gospel hits every area of life. But I also take the quote from the article which reminds me that the gospel comes first and therefore Jesus comes first. Phillip is unpacking Calvinist and Arminian theology into our preaching.

If the concrete application is heard louder than Jesus it is too easy for the application to end up in moralism or legalism.

I guess for your own context you need to decide whether people desire that concrete application out of a desire to please God or a subtle form of wanting to be good enough for heaven?

Also, is there a danger of becoming 'the guru' when we unpack it for them over and over? Or the danger of dependent sermon application (that is the only time someone understands or applies Scripture is when you do it for them)? Just some random thoughts - look forward to your comments.

yes... but a real problem is that by not giving cl...

2010-03-03T22:12:01.789+11:00

yes... but a real problem is that by not giving clearer definite applications, we fail to show people how the gospel can transforms their heart and actions. We can be so worried about those bad things that we simply "leave it up to them" to work it out in their own life.

That's a great quote from PJ!

2010-03-03T11:13:43.669+11:00

That's a great quote from PJ!

I can't believe I hadn't thought of briber...

2010-02-24T14:16:12.131+11:00

I can't believe I hadn't thought of bribery and spew in the same sentence before! But now that I have my life is transformed for the better...Thanks Russ

i know of one family that gives 50c for every vomi...

2010-02-23T18:46:37.439+11:00

i know of one family that gives 50c for every vomit in the bucket
and $1 for every vomit direct in the toilet
russ

Elizabeth, sounds like you are the same as the lad...

2010-02-17T16:04:12.063+11:00

Elizabeth, sounds like you are the same as the lady across the street who is a sympathetic vomittee and therefore deals with none of it. That is all upto the husband. But the flip side was he didn't change any nappies!!

I wouldn't know Dave, Michael always cleaned u...

2010-02-11T21:11:47.564+11:00

I wouldn't know Dave, Michael always cleaned up after the vomit monster visited our place, sorry:)
Elizabeth