Louise Rocked

Well I hope your Monday has been good and that you had a good weekend. We had a lovely picnic in the Domain with the boys on Friday night in the sunshine which was fun and then a great friend celebrated his fortieth on Saturday night which was awesome.

I hope my talk on death did not depress you too much on Sunday morning. But if you did not hear Louise Grant’s talk in the evening on singleness you missed a treat. It was actually relevant to all of us  as she spoke about insecurity and identity and following God. I would have a listen on line if I were you. Dave Atkinson’s talk the week before in the evening service was also wonderful.

I am really looking forward to the “Thank You To Our Troops” cinema night tonight in which we are thanking all of our volunteer team members who have made the church tick this year. You are all amazing! We are watching “Frist Grader” at Sylvia Park which looks great. Have a great week.

New Wine Leadership Retreat/ Well done Life Questions Team

Newt, Paul, Dino, Richard and I have been at a leadership retreat for the early part of this week. It was a fantastic couple of days with other church leaders from around New Zealand. I learnt masses: Newt has a lemon coloured suitcase, Richard’s mum is lovely, Paul snores and Dino packed more than all of us put together and dragged around with him the largest suitcase I have ever seen. What was in it Dino? Hair product? We also learnt masses from John and Annie Coles who are church leaders from the UK who have recently retired after 34 years of ministry.  They are fun and very godly people. We also made some great new friends with other leaders. Well done to New Wine and well done to Lydia Read who organized the whole thing.
Well done as well to all who invited friends to Life Questions last night. What a night! I can’t wait to see how the next few weeks go.
I am looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday when I am going to be speaking about death. Agony last week, death this week….thankfully this is the last one in the series☺

Life Questions, Glowbulous etc.

Don’t forget that Life Questions is starting next week with the banquet. This is the time to be thinking about who you can pull in to this great evening. I saw the team last night at our house at a training session that Bex was running and this is going to be awesome.

I am also absolutely delighted that Glow is a runner for this year again. How amazing! The final money came in at 5.20pm on the last deadline day. Maybe there is a lesson in here or certainly at least a question. Why is God never later or early? Anyway do put December 11th in your diaries now and get inviting all of your mates to come for the annual carol sing song by glow stick.
Also a big thanks and congratulations to the Glow team, not least James, Jo, Ren, Paul, Andy and Peter for your efforts. And a big thank you to all who have contributed.

I am looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday. I am speaking on the agony of life in the morning. Mmmmm it does not sound that tempting does it; but it is going to be great.

Not Long Now

Oh my gosh! I can’t believe that the RWC is nearly here. I am so excited. Go the AB’s!

Now, no one replied to my last post on defining the essence of the Kiwi. Thanks for nothing. Weetbix have however given me some inspiration. Our family has been endlessly munching through weetbix to get the World Cup All Black cards (We had a result this morning we finally got Dan Carter). This is what it said on the back of the box:

“The All Blacks are not just our heroes. They represent us a nation. They epitomize what it means to be a New Zealander. Taking on the world. Giving our all. Stopping for nothing. For no one. They take pride in wearing the black jersey. We take pride in getting behind them. Giving them the support they need to go above and beyond the call of duty. Because they are our team. They bring us together. They put us on the edge of our seats. They make us cheer. They make us cry. They make us who we are. They are New Zealanders. They are the All Blacks.”

Wow! I can feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. What do you make of this? Do you like this spiel?  Is anyone going to post anything? Mum?

By the way, I am starting a new and long series on life this Sunday morning. I hope it is going to be good. It is entitled "Precious People/ Beautiful Life" and I am going to think about what is to be human. What expectations we can have of life? What expectations we can have of God? I am hoping we are going to be in for lots of encouragement and surprises. We also have some Father's Day antics.

We’ll see what happens. Especially to the All Blacks!!!! May they win...

E Ihowa Atua

It has been an enormous week for Bex and I as we became Kiwis on Monday night! We felt very excited and honoured as we swore our oath of allegiance before Len Brown in the Town Hall and sang the National Anthem.  And so here's a question for you as we get going on our Kiwi adventure: What lies at the heart of being a Kiwi? Help us out. See you Sunday.

Amazing "Theology Matters"

As this series ends on the book of Genesis a big well done to Newt. Everyone has loved what you have done. Here are just a few of the rave reviews I have received:

“Thanks for part 1 of Genesis tonight. Matt and I really enjoyed it, lots of food for thought and things to think and talk about. It was so great to get so much historical context around Genesis and the ancient world. It definitely changes how you read the bible and even in just tonight I've seen much more in that chapter than I have before. Looking forward to the next 4 installments! Thanks for all the prep and hard work you've so obviously put into it.”

"I’m more than happy to rave about the theology course. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Matthew has both a breadth and depth of knowledge that is so impressive! I’ve learned the answers to questions that I’ve wondered about for years. This, along with the desserts and coffees, and the company of likeminded people, combines to ensure this is one of the highlights of my week! Thanks Matthew and St Paul’s!"

"After a few theology sessions with Newt I'd now go out of my way to make sure I'm in the same room to hear whatever he has to say. It's inspiring to listen to someone who has obviously studied the Bible a great deal and eloquently suggests meaning upon meaning whilst remaining completely approachable. He challenges us to examine the text for what it is trying to say, rather than what we'd like it to say, putting into historic context. In the process he opens our eyes to the possibility that somewhere, beyond the horizon of our understanding, God is bringing his creation into perfect order, and prompts us to consider our role in His great story."

“So loving the course.... I go home with little gems every time.  Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago to tell them 3 things I had learnt ... I could have talked for hours...”

“The theology session last night was fantastic, thank you!”

“I’m thoroughly enjoying the theology course.  I’ve learned the answers to questions that I’ve wondered about for years. This is one of the highlights of my week!”

“The theology course has challenged me to examine the text for what it is trying to say, rather than what we'd like it to say. In the process it has opened my eyes to the fact that beyond the horizon of our understanding, God is bringing his creation into perfect order."

“The theology course has made the Bible come alive to a non-intellectual like myself...when you understand the history, the Greek, Hebrew language and lifestyles...it starts to make sense”

Make sure you book on to the next one!

Farewell Sir Paul

What an amazing time of worship at our services on Sunday morning! The presence of the God was so evident it was wonderful.

I have been saddened by the death of Sir Paul Reeves. I have just got back from his funeral at the Cathedral  which was a very wonderful occasion as was his tangi yesterday up at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Paul was very kind to me when I first arrived in Auckland in 2004.  We had coffee a couple of times and he offered much needed support and wisdom at that time. He also took me on to the marae opposite the church as well as helping with our Easter services one year.

I don’t know about you but I am absolutely delighted that Chase Goodwin our new youth worker has started. Chase and Shinai (his wife) are great people and are going to considerably deepen our youth ministry here at St Paul’s. They are gifted, godly, fun and fresh! Watch this space.

Also don’t forget the Faith box session tonight with Ian and Mary Grant.  It is so brilliant having those guys inputting all of their experience and wisdom in to our families.

I am looking forward to seeing you this coming Sunday.