• Getting over our “little kingdoms!”

    NiallAugust 29, 2008

    I visited the VicRelief Foodbank yesterday to get inducted for the Dining Room. It was quite a humble experience, but it was something that came up in the induction that has bothered me.

    The foodbank has over 700 agencies listed as being able to access the food. It came up in conversation that there are quite a few churches and agencies getting food from just the Croydon and Mooroolbark and surrounds areas. It was suggested that perhaps a group of these agencies could combine to do a “shop”, saving time, fuel, money and the staff and resources of the food bank itself. The problem is, we aren’t aware of the other churches handing food and welfare, some meal services sure, but on the whole, none of the myriad of agencies and ministries in this area know each other, let alone work for the same causes, and with the same motivation.

    Even within the churches serving meals such as the Dining Room, there is fierce rivalry about days and spaces, money, food and people we serve in God’s name! This is sickening and disgraceful to say the very least.

    After some thought on this, I thougt I might do a “census” of the ministries and welfare services within the area. I did one earlier for the churches in the Mooroolbark area earlier out of curiousity and disgust to find almost 15 churches in the one suburb of Mooroolbark, yet not working together in an area rife with poverty, homelessness and other social justice issues. I’ll post the PDF later when back home (on the iPhone at the moment).

    It saddens me, and I am sure God, that we cannot work together in unity! Imagine the impact combined outpourings of love and resources could have on the community and imagine what impact that would have on the Kingdom! We, and I mean, those of us who profess to follow Jesus, have to get over ourselves and the need for our own little kingdoms! This means accepting others and getting over the man-made doctrines and crap we call denominations, to start outpouring the love we have been shown through Jesus!

    I’ll be praying about doing this census, but would appreciate your prayers and thoughts!

    Sorry for any spelling errors - using the Wordpress app on the iPhone!

    Addendum: PDF of Map of Mooroolbark Churches Heres the map I mention earlier about the known churches in the immediate area.

    Posted in Australia, Church, Jesus, Kingdom, Personal, Social Justice, church life, croydon, missional |
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    Old Books?

    NiallJune 25, 2008

    if you have any old books, of any nature, but particularly church based, I would love to have them! If you would consider donating them to me, I am planning on starting an online second-hand bookstore in teh very near future to support the ministry I am doing in Mooroolbark and Croydon here in Melbourne.

    Email me or use the contact form to let me know - and if you are an established author in the church/christian/emergent fields, I would love to talk to you about stocking your books on the site for sale here in Australia and New Zealand.

    Hope to hear from you!

    Posted in Australia, Fund raiser, Personal, book, croydon, missional |
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    Feast of the Refuse

    NiallJune 2, 2008

    I have been involved with some work with the homeless and poor as I have mentioned earlier… Recently I became aware that some of the aid agencies and churches in the outer Eastern Area here in Melbourne have been handing out food, including meat that is past it’s expiry date. Now this may be ok for some products and something that may have just expired, but what makes me angry is the fact that it is meat and other goods like canned fish that are being handed out with clearly expired labels!

    Not only is this revolting and dangerous to say the least considering that babies and children may be eating this meat etc, and that the organisations send a slip of paper with the hamper that recognises the food is out of date and that they hold no responsibility, but where do we get off deciding that just because they are getting welfare or aid they deserve anything of less quality than we would eat! I know many of these organisations and churches are on a shoe string but I would place a bet that the pastors or aid workers themselves would be laothe to touch some of the food that is handed out as welfare here.

    This sickens me and makes me weep for the church! So much for inviting them to feast in Luke 14:15!

    The aid organisations I am talking about - one was a church in Croydon and the other a para-church organisation - St Vincents De Paul! Come on people! We can sit in our million dollar buildings, with thoudands of dollars in AV equipment, take communion and sing songs to the words on the screen, yet feel it is ok to give someone who has less than us the crumbs, no not the crumbs, the waste from our excess consumption!

    Posted in Australia, Kingdom, Social Justice, church life, croydon, failure |
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