I trust them

Last week we had three days of training with new football coaches, referees and volunteers. Most of them had been chosen by their coaches to come and are 13-17 years old. It was inspiring to see their enthusiasm as they came to be equipped not just to play football, but to serve and lead.


Some of the guys who came are Christians and they are encouraged to share faith with others in their teams. With hundreds of youth participating in our programs, someone asked me over the weekend if I was worried that maybe these young guys would teach things that are wrong or incorrect? I replied, "No problem. They teach what they know about Jesus out of love and that's okay by me."


My friend asked again, "So you're not worried if they teach something that is wrong?" Nope! I trust them. I trust their hearts. I trust that the Holy Spirit is able to lead them and the football players who are seeking the truth. I trust that as leaders and players understand the Scriptures they will learn more. I trust that as they're integrated into communities of faith they will grow.


These new coaches are young. They're raw. They will make some mistakes. And that is all okay by me. 

Scott's team

This is a shout out and thank you to Scott, Brendan, Emily, Jess, Lisa and Lucy who spent a week in Poipet at the start of this month.


Cate's summary of your team is of a group who, 'came ready and willing to serve and soak up every experience'.


Thank you for being flexible (e.g putting together lessons for beginners 10 minutes before the class started!) Thanks for giving generously of your time- teaching additional English classes in the evenings, being involved in the kids' program. joining the impromptu volleyball game and hanging out with students, teachers and other volunteers.


Your team worked well together. You cared for, encouraged and supported each other.


We give you an A for awesome team Scott! Thanks heaps!

friendship and other gifts!

Over the past few weeks we have had a number of visitors. It's been fun to catch up with old friends, meet new people and to receive the gifts that they have shared with us. Damon's team, for example, arrived for a short one-day visit bringing:


Laptop computers (2)
Rice (2 bags)
Volleyball nets (3)
Volleyballs (3)
Soccer balls (3)
Gloves for soccer (7 pairs)
Medals for soccer (54)
Medals for volleyball (46)
Trophy for ping pong (1)
Soccer uniforms (29)
Exercise books (100)
Pencils (10 dozen)
Coloured pencils (20 dozen)
Erasers (2 boxes)
Markers (7)
Photocopy paper (1 box)
Cash ($500)


= Wow! :)

snacks and laughter

The administrators at the Drug Detention Centre ask us to bring rice when we visit. The detainees prefer snacks- cakes, fruit, drinks etc. Today we brought a 50kg sack of rice and snacks to share and supplies for a bunch of food-related games. 


There wasn't enough time for the 'talk about your feelings' part of the program this morning. But maybe silly, messy games are a kind of therapy in themselves...

water, flour, drink, fun!

running races & blindfolded food tasting

the defense rests

Last week a visiting group listened as I presented about one of our project activities; helping people to repair their own houses.


I love this activity. We give a small amount of money to help some of the poorest & most vulnerable families to repair their house so they have a 'simple, decent place to live'. (To borrow a phrase from Habitat For Humanity.) Our approach is to visit multiple times before, during and after the houses are repaired. We talk with the families about their other felt needs. For example, if their house is falling apart but they tell us, 'Our greatest need is that we don't have anything to eat today', we'll put our agenda for a corrugated iron roof aside and buy them a 50kg sack of rice. 


During the presentation, one of the visitors asked, 'How many of the families so far have become Christians through this activity?' I said, 'None that I know of.'


I was pretty direct in my reply, explaining that one or two of the families we helped were Christians before and they are still Christians. The majority were Buddhists before we built their house and are now Buddhists who live in a single- room house with four walls, a roof and a floor. (Praise God, I reckon!)


The visitor asked again, 'So where is the Christian witness in this program?' I tried to explain our priority to work with churches, NGOs and schools in coorperative partnerships. We are motivated by Christ, we tell people we are a Christian organisation, we talk about our understanding that these resources are gifts of love from God and we leave it up to people to respond. We proclaim our faith and we are happy to serve people of other faiths too. 


The next day at our staff meeting, one of our team mates talked about a family who had recently received financial help to repair their house. She said that the woman was filled with joy and gladly accepted our help. The recipient explained that she had been a member of a church some years ago but had stopped attending. When a Christian NGO noticed her hardship and reached out to her, she responded by going back to church. Now she wants to know God, to understand the bible and for her children to know Jesus too.


Before her room was fixed, her family couldn't sleep properly. Last week the renovations were not yet complete, but it was great to see that one of the kids was enjoying a nap when one of our staff stopped by to chat last week. As it says in Psalm 4, 'At the day's end I'm ready for sound sleep,
For you, God, have put my life back together.'


Maybe the Buddhist can know God. Maybe the poor don't have to be lonely. Perhaps God is at work and I don't hear all the stories of transformation. And maybe I don't have to feel interrogated if people ask whether or not we are a good Christian witness.

(Sleeping kid in the bottom right corner!)

Leaders as Listeners

I read a review of 'Music as Alchemy: Journeys with Great Conductors and Their Orchestras.' It made me think about the role of a leader as Chief Listener. 


To highlight a few sections in the review:


In 'Fantasia', Walk Disney's 1940 film of musically inspired animations, each piece begins and ends in the same way, with the silhouetted figure of Leapold Stokowski, a British conductor who died in 1977. He stands alone against a dark red background while the mysterious movement of his hands conjure the music in and out of being. 'Fantasia' was hugely popular, and made a notable contribution to cultivating a wider appreciation of classical music. But it also unwittingly peddled the still pervasive that conductors are, in effect, magicians- sorcerers who single-handedly extract waves of finely variegated sound out of thin air.


Perhaps the role of a conductor is a fitting description for leaders who often work in a directive style, giving specific instructions and listening for immediate feedback. 


...The book's strength is in its mix of stories and perspectives, which ably convey the murky process by which orchestras build a bond of mutual trust.


..[Mr Claudio Abbado] is special, the musicians explain, not merely because of his clarity of vision, authoritative analysis or the mysterious energy of his gestures, but rather because of the way he listens. He appears to live the music, inviting them to live it with them.


In what ways can leaders 'live the music'? What would it mean for a Christian leader to 'live the music' and invite others to live it with them? What sounds can we listen for when God's people are living in purpose & harmony?


Players need to believe conductors understand what they are doing, and that their individual efforts make a difference. Conductors, in turn, need to trust their orchestras to do everything possible to make the music happen in the moment. ...the currency of this trust is listening... Hand gestures... are construed less as specific direction than as signs of a kind of ultra-responsive listening, a listening which feeds back into how the players hear each other.


How might rehearsal sessions prepare an orchestra and a conductor to 'make the music happen' in the moment? How can other teams rehearse, train or practice together to be confident that when their big gig comes, they are ready?


Finally, can you think of any specific examples where a leader has demonstrated 'ultra-responsive' listening? Are there any ways you can be a better listener in your spheres of service and leadership? 

Gold Coast Marathon July 1