sustain:if:able kiwi

quiz night

We had a quiz nite at church last nite. Teams of 5; 8 teams in total. We met for fish and chip tea, and then got into the “quiz” nite – trivia, famous faces, places, TV themes, music. It was a great nite, just being together, laughing, relaxing, building community.

Observations.
1. I had been vidoed that day by a Baptist crew and asked the question “Why is Opawa attracting young adults?” It was neat to look around and see so many young adults, and so many kids, probably over half who have joined in the last 6 months and think, “yes, this is a changing church.”

2. Great to turn up to something at Opawa that I had nothing to do with, in organising or planning. Our development pastor has a brief to “build community” and this was his gig.

3. Quiz nites are quite popular in NZ culture and I didn’t ever think I’d see a quiz nite at Opawa Baptist.

Oh, our team won!

Nor-west people festival
a pentecost celebration

thinking + music + movie + coffee + creative expression

10:30 am Saturday 14 May -10:30 am Sunday 15 May
[ [ 24 hours of prayer ] ]

Tuesday 17-Thursday 19 May: 7:30-8:45 pm +
[ [ Biblical teaching on God as Spirit + art and coffee options ] ]

Friday 20 May: from 7:30 pm
[ [ Café, Live music (Derek Lind) and (late) movie ] ]

Saturday 21 May – must book
Creative project. Cost: $10/ session (materials, lunch)
[ [ 9:30-1pm: Painting / metal work ] ]
[ [ 12-3 pm: Kite making / flying ] ]

Opawa Baptist Church, 285 Wilsons Road, Ph 379 7680
… ………………………………………….
Creative project: Either book by phone [379 7680] or return card to Opawa Baptist Church, cnr Hastings and Wilson, Opawa: On Saturday 21 May;
___________________________ (name) would like to attend: Painting/metal work, 9:30-1pm (incl lunch); Kite making and flying 12-3 pm (incl lunch)

– 14 were the number of Opawa people who enrolled to do a small group leaders training course
– 5 were the number of sofas brought, as part of making the church foyer more of an inviting place to hang

I should go away more often. Things happen when I leave and I like that.

moving from across the road

The youth pastor at Opawa resigned the week I arrived. It gave me heaps of extra work and stress in a really tough settling period. It also opened up some space to make some changes – to move to a team approach to leadership, to develop uniquely the evening service as Digestion: more interactive, tactile, participatory, to employ a person to empower existing leadership rather than a paid professional.

The result: These are notes from recent youth leadership meeting (I wasn’t there), attended by Mike, the regional Youth consultant.

Mike asked how our relationship with church is, realizing there definitely used to be a road in-between, very separate, “them” and “us” and completely different styles. We realized things have changed a lot and the church is more accepting of the youth … Mike couldn’t believe the change. Feels like we have been replanted in the church community, uprooted and taken to the other side of the road.

I find this fascinating, that my attempts to develop unique identities with multiple services seem to be make people feel more included.

espresso ver1

espresso – our potential cafe congregation – got a first trial last nite. The “guiding group” meet, in-house, to try the evening for ourselves. I mean, if it wasn’t going to sustain us spirituality, it was going to be hard work pursuing!

: Gathering ritual
: Discussion guidelines – be honest, be considerate.
: A discussion question introduced and discussed
: Closing ritual

We were nourished and energised and challenged. We made a few tweaks. We are going to offer espresso ver2, with a few more friends, and their evaluation, but still in-house, 10th May. Little steps, rather than big jumps, potentially allow a gradual evolution and a shared sense of community and ethos to develop.

barbequed fish and ministry as participation

The visual environment at church today involved a net, a dinghy and a barbque, which was lit and cooked upon as I preached. We fed fish to over 180 people at two services.

The shaping Biblical text was John 21:1-14. I was struck by verse 10; Jesus saying “bring some of your fish.” Jesus has fish and fire, yet still invites the disciples contribution. This is a hugely empowering model of ministry. Bring what you’ve got to Jesus. Church needs to invite participation. After the sermon I gave out a participation survey – Click to download file, which listed ways people could participate at Opawa. They could fill them out, drop them in the dinghy and then enjoy some fish, with a choice of squeezed lemon juice or tartare sauce.

Today, thanks to some barbequed fish, Opawa took a huge step from one-person band, to participatory community.

The other striking thing about the John 21 text is the way it deconstructs the Christian symbol of fish. For Peter to go fishing is to turn his back on Jesus mission in John 20 and to return to old habits and lifestyles. It’s a fishy text about failure. The Christian symbol of fish invites honesty and realism in discipleship and appreciation of God’s relentless grace.

origami worship

In John 20; post-Easter, Jesus, in the name of the Father, and for the sake of mission, breathes on the disciples to “Recieve the Spirit.” This links with Genesis 2:7, God breathes life into the human. Life, creativity, vitality, passion are breathed. The Resurrection hope is for Spirit infilled, enthused, creative, vital, life-giving, sent into our cities in the name of God.

On Sunday evening at Digestion, people were invited to reflect on these texts, by making origami balloons. Fold brightly coloured paper just right, and blow, and up pops a paper balloon. People were invited to place this onto a map of Christchurch, as their prayer for their lives to be creative, vital, Spirit-enthused in their homes and workplaces.

spirit festival

Derek Lind confirmed for
Living under nor’west arch Spirit festival
teaching + interactive creativity + music + coffee + film

Opawa Baptist, Pentecost week (May 17-21)

being a pastor at easter

Opawa as a church gives a lot of life away at Easter
a) we run the Easter Journey, an interactive art installation. It involves about 60 volunteers setting up, welcoming, offering hot cross buns and cups of tea. This year over 1,000 people walked the journey. It’s a very significant outward, mission event. (Some photos of previous years are here. Other photos are on the front cover of Dan Kimball’s, Emerging Worship).
b) we encourage our young people to attend Easter Camp and they do.
c) Opawa folk help behind the scenes at Easter Camp. Providing meals for 2,700 people is a huge task and the camp kitchens are full of Opawa people. It’s a gift of love and service for the people of God in their (youth) mission of God.
d) and then there is the simple fact that Easter in New Zealand is the last big holiday break before winter. So a lot of Opawa people who work really hard Monday-Friday, need the grace that is the encouragement of Sabbath rest, of taking a break to refresh and recharge.

So all in all, a lot of energy goes out of the church.

And it means that on Easter Sunday morning I, and the only 2 musicians still around, struggle to inject Risen, Christ life into our worship. And the 3 young adults, visiting for Easter Sunday, look around. And with our youth group away for Easter, it’s like “hmmm, not many people like me in this place.”

Part of the pastor in me wants to say, “folks, Easter is like the high point of the year. Stick around. Make it a priority.” The other part of the pastor in me wants to cheer and go, “wow, so much life given in mission.” Such are my Easter dilemnas.

flowering cross on sunday

laid on New Zealand stone,
made from local bedding plants,
surrounded by shell and paua,
laid in love on Friday
also surrounded by bulbs,
to be taken on Sunday as a commitment to Resurrection Life

the Friday of Easter week

On the Friday of Easter Week, in the easter egg the colour is black. We break a black (painted) piece of polystrene, to find inside a red heart. Easter Friday is the saddest day, a day of darkness.

We will gather around and wrap the cross. We will sprinkle our rose petals. We will express love for a heart of love, broken for us.

Note re atonement: I have really struggled to include the more cosmic and wholistic dimensions of the atonement at this point. God died for the whole world, for the integration of people and planet. A red heart speaks of God’s love for individuals. There are hints of relational connectedness, as Christ restored relationships on the saddest day, so we are offered hearts of love which include restored relationships. But the central metaphor remains individual, and I have struck a creative brick wall.

the thursday of easter week

On the Thursday of Easter week, in the Easter evangeegg, the colour is blue. Often we talk about having a blue day, a sad day.

Wrapped inside blue cellophane in the Easter evangeegg is a lolly, sweet on the outside, sour on the inside. On Thursday Jesus disciples said sweet things, but by nights end, their actions left a sour taste. Sucking the lolly becomes a reflection on what walking with Jesus means for us this Easter week.

Note re interactivity: By this stage in this Easter evangeegg, people have used taste, touch, smell, sight and sound. We are made whole people, in the image of God, and so an ideal is that worship is multi-sensory. When I first came across the alt.worship movement, I marvelled at their video loops. Over time, I have tried to use technology less, and everday tactile objects more. It takes less time, it beds God in a different part of everyday life and it often opens up more senses.

A few weeks ago their was a surprise at church. The service was “hi-jacked” and the congregation took time to celebrate my being at the church a year, and to express thanks for all the change. There was space for people to share and a common theme was people talking about how interactive tactile symbols – sheep, flowering the cross – had been vehicles of help and inspiration.

the wednesday of easter

On the Wednesday of Easter week, in the Easter evangeegg, the colour is purple. Purple is the colour of royalty and inside the Easter evangeegg, a purple coloured card is perfumed.

Today at our 7 pm service, we will reflect on perfume, the act of expensive love, as what was likely a family hierloom was poured onto Jesus head. This costly act of love invites us to reflect on how we are loving Jesus this week of Easter.

Note re colour: It was Olive Drane who helped me find colour in ministry. We sent her some of our Pentecost Spirit cards (for examples see here and for explanation of the missional context go here and read the side-bar, titled Practicalities at the bottom). Olive and John had a worshipping group who met at their place. They showed them the cards and one woman was stopped dead by the colour red used in one of the cards. Colour alone evoked powerful connections.

This week my 5 year old is navigating the Easter evangeegg by colour – today is …..

tuesday of easter week

On the Tuesday of Easter Week, in the postmodern evangeegg, the colour is brown. Why brown? Because during Easter week, Jesus announced that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it can not produce many seeds.

Today, at our 7 pm service, we break open a brown (painted) piece of polystrene. Inside is a seed, which we plant in the earth. And we reflect, as we walk with Jesus toward Easter … What needs to die in our lives this week? What needs to planted in our lives this week?

Note re environment: This is a very organic image. It reminds us that what Jesus did at Easter, the atonement, is more than Jesus dying for individual sin. Jesus journey connects us with our environment, with the cycles of birth and death. As we feel soil and seed tonight, we are earthing ourselves with God the Creator, and Jesus the Re-Creator, dying for planet as well as people.