Two Marathon Sundays

Last Sunday I spoke at four services at two different churches across Sydney. That's a record for me! There was the 9:30am service at Hawkesbury Valley Baptist Church, back to HVBC for the 3:30pm service, then over to Parramatta Baptist Church to preach at the 5pm and 7pm services! Strangely, I felt each message was easier to present than the one before.. by 7pm I was just getting into my groove ; )

For those who have asked where I'm speaking next:

Sunday July 11 at 9:30am. Northwest Baptist (meets at Quakers Hill High School).
Sunday July 11 at 5:30pm. small boat big sea (Manly).
Sunday July 18 at 10am. Seaforth Baptist.
Sunday July 18 at 6pm. Dural Baptist.
Plus some mid-week meetings at Allambie Heights & Gordon. (Email me for more info if you're interested.)

But before all this....this weekend I've got a literal marathon to run up at the Gold Coast. I'm freakn out nervous. This is tougher and much more time consuming than preaching a sermon... but I'm going to try to run fun.

The World We Want To See

The theme for Voices For Justice 2010 was The World We Want To See. From Day 1 of the gathering (Saturday, June 19) there was one photo that came to mind that sums up the world I want to see. It's a photo Gretchen took in Poipet just a couple of months ago in April. As we gathered to learn, worship, reflect and prepare for the events in parliament house, I printed several copies of this photo to give to the Senators we were scheduled to meet with on Tuesday.

On Monday I was also asked to share something at the final event for at Voices For Justice on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm. In the Theatre inside parliament house, participants and a scattering of politicians met to envision a world where the poor have a fair go at providing a decent life for themselves and their families. Inspired by Gretchen's photo, this is the text I read:

I want to see kids play

I want to see kids in Cambodia play soccer

seven-a-side on a half-sized field

kicking an old soccer ball

barefoot

I want to see these kids

well-fed and well-nourished

having eaten rice and fish and egg and spinach

all in the same meal

I want to see kids play

so they don't have to work

pulling handcarts, making bricks

or chasing a couple of cows for fifteen cents a day.

I want to see them work at finishing primary school

with public school teachers

willing to raise their voices

over the June monsoons that thunder on tin-roof classrooms

because they're committed to equip students

with the dangerous gift of literacy.

I want to see kids play strong.

Kick, run, pass and shoot for the goal.

Not sit on the sidelines

weak and wasting from malaria, Aids and TB.

I want to see kids play

in a safe place with a safe coach who knows their names:

Srey Leak, Srey Mom (how ya doin?)

Aya, Lyna (my star goalie... sup?)

I want to see kids play

in a safe place where they're free to chase

the ball when it goes out.

Because there are no landmines to harm their little limbs.

In the world I want to see

there's no war... or years of bad harvest

that force families to free to the next city

in search of something better.

In the world I want to see

kids sign up for a team in their home town

and play out the full twelve-week season.

In the world we want to see:

healthy, safe, well-fed, kids-in-school

play.

The Micah Call

This is a moment in history of unique potential, when the stated intentions of world leaders echo something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor, and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.

We commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together for the holistic transformation of our communities, to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and to walk humbly with God.
We call on international and national decision-makers of both rich and poor nations, to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute global poverty by2015.

We call on Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor, and to work with others to hold our national and global leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world.

(Sounds awesome right?! Take two minutes to sign the call yourself!)

A voice for justice

In the midst of this HUGE week in Australian politics, I have been walking the corridors of parliament as part of the Micah Challenge Voices For Justice gathering.

On Monday and Tuesday, I was one of 320 people to meet with over 140 MPs and Senators to ask them to keep their promise to help halve global poverty by 2015 (in line with the Millennium Development Goals). It was an honour to sit face to face with some of our national leaders as concerned students, parents, workers, retirees... and speak from our hearts on behalf of the poor. Our lobby groups kept MP staff members busy as they guided us through security checkpoints, yet were but a small representation of the 112 000 Christians across Australia who have signed the Micah Declaration.

Here's the deal: the government has already committed to increasing their overseas aid budget to 0.5% of our National Income by 2015. This isn't enough. We need to increase this amount to O.7% of our National Income if we're going to halve the number of people living in absolute poverty. There are 8.8 million children under five who die each year of preventable causes like diarrhea. We need to let our compassion translate into action. We need to believe that change is possible and that each of us can be a part of bringing positive change in our world.

For the last five years, my personal and project needs have been supported by generous Australians who give sacrificially through their churches or as individuals. It's a national shame that our government aid budget does not reflect Australian generosity. (We currently rate 16th out of the 22 richest countries in the percentage of our aid giving.)

If you weren't at Voices For Justice but want to be a part of halving global poverty, signing the Micah Call on the Micah Challenge website is a great first step in speaking out! It will probably take less time than it has to read this post. (Go to www.micahchallenge.org.au) THANKS! : )




(Photo: Micah Challenge)

Postcard from Sydney

I'm in Sydney this month. I've worn a ski jacket at home in the middle of the day and uggies to bed at night. Brrr....

On the upside, life isn't hectic... I do some work in my 'free time'. I have plenty of time to run. Yesterday was a great run around the Northern Beaches. Today I went out at 11am but I still felt cold. (Oh to be unfrozen!) Will try do a hill workout this afternoon and will wear another layer to beat the chill.

Post-run I had my usual coffee & blueberry muffin. Love the muffin concept: it is the perfect excuse to eat cake for breakfast....

Ok, better go. Will write again soon. Just wanted to say Gday.