Author: newlifenarrabri

Hillsong Becomes a Denomination

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From Vision Christian Radio:

Hillsong Becomes a Denomination

Thursday, September 20th, 2018

Hillsong

Hillsong has become its own denomination this week, withdrawing from the Australian Christian Churches group.

The church, which began as Hills Christian Life Centre in 1983, led by Brian and Bobbie Houston, grew and planted into 123 locations across the world.

It was formed within and has remained under the governance of the ACC until yesterday.

Brian Houston says the move, which has been under consideration for two years, is not based on division, but on growth.

He says Hillsong no longer see themselves as an Australian Church with a global footprint, but rather a Global church with an Australian base.

Hillsong’s global HQ is now in the United States.

Brian Houston says two thirds of the people attending Hillsong Church each weekend live in countries beyond Australia.

He says “it has become clear to us that we need to be able to credential our own pastors and restructure our church in a way that enables us to give due diligence to governance, risk, church health, safe church and many other policies that are crucial to the future progress of Hillsong globally.”

Read the full article here

Reflection on Mark 9:30-37

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servant-leadership.jpg

Scripture
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

Observation
Jesus and His close disciples go to a secret place so that He can spend some time teaching the,. They come to Capernaum, and He asks them what they were arguing about along the way. They do not want to admit that they were arguing about who was the greatest.

Jesus tells them that anyone who wants to be first must be last, the servant of all. He then takes a child and says that whoever welcomes a child in His name welcomes Him.

Application
The world often equates leadership with power- whether military, political, financial or positional power. Whoever can get to the top gets to write the rules and exercise power for their own ends.

In God’s kingdom, the power equation is reversed. We lead by serving, go higher by becoming lower, exercise authority by being the least.

This doesn’t make sense in the world, which is used to selfish leadership.

In a community in which the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love one another, the world’s rules must be reversed.

The world says, “Look after Number 1.” But God says, “Serve everyone else and trust me to provide what you need,”

Leadership comes when we serve others. Influence comes in helping people. It is not something we seek, for what we seek is to serve. In serving the opportunity may come to lead.

I used to joke that I spent three years at theological college to learn how to vacuum and wash dishes. The qualification for being a pastor, or any other christian leader, is not a college degree but a heart that serves in whatever way is necessary.

Prayer
Lord please help me to seek nothing more than to use my abilities to serve you and your people. Amen

Revisiting Wikipedia: Experts, Education & Evaluating Evidence

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An excellent article on minds.com about the limitations and downfalls of wikipedia

 

Revisiting Wikipedia: Experts, Education & Evaluating Evidence

HAKSAYNGAUG 14, 2018, 8:03:11 AM
 

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Wikipedia was to me something like a direct knowledge pipeline. Without the intermediary of lectures, grades, or commutes (not to mention social interaction), a simple keyword search could offer an evening of discovery. 

When Wikipedia wasn’t particularly well-known, the (relatively) early adapters who made use of it suddenly became ultra-erudite flâneurs of the Interwebs (at least in their own minds), scholars of the finest grade among plebeian peers. I first experienced this in the late 2000s, though I’m pretty sure there are many of you who experienced these “powers” earlier.

Whereas “normal students” might have to visit the library for some information, Wikipedia gave resourceful students super powers in the ‘Language Arts,’ ‘Social Studies,’ or wherever else synthesizing coherent (enough) positions was demanded [1]. 

Even when the graders caught on to the fact that many students weren’t practicing research methods, but were just lazily repeating views they found on Wikipedia, cleverness found a way out:

It’s easy! Just because we aren’t allowed to cite Wikipedia doesn’t mean we can’t use Wikipedia’s citations! 

Scroll… scroll.. scroll..

Ahhh. I see! There we go, finding five ‘academic sources’ wasn’t so hard at all. Didn’t even have to go to the library. ^_^

 

 

Finding sources for school papers 

Fast-forward to the Obama years. Going through school, Millennials, both Wiki-reading and not, had by-in-large failed to acquire skills in evaluating reason in arguments and the sources of evidence.

The growth of the Internet put in front of us the temptation for limitless knowledge. Without a cost? I, for one, donated to Wikipedia a couple of times in gratitude for the convenience and eye-opening infos it had allowed me to access.

Alas, I now realize the cost for relying heavily on Wikipedia was not just a matter of shekels. Many of us had already “paid” for Wikipedia our ability to criticially filter.  Trusting the smarties to sort out what was good and true, we relied on Wikipedia…

 

Read the rest of the article here

Reflection on Proverbs 31:10-31

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proverbs-31.jpeg

Scripture

Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last,

but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

Observation

The book of Proverbs ends with a poem celebrating the ideal wife. A virtuous and capable wife is more precious than rubies.

The ideal wife is hard working, successful in business and able to order her household. She spins thread, makes clothes and always speaks wisely. She is truly a person of talent and integrity.

Application

While many women aspire to the title of “Proverbs 31 Woman,” and many men aspire to catch one, this is clearly an idealised version of an upper class woman in a very different setting to our own.

There are several qualities that women and men should still aim for in God’s grace.

1. To be virtuous. This is about doing what is good and godly as a reflex action. We no longer need to ask “What would Jesus do?” because following the way of Jesus has become automatic. In most situations we don’t need to pray because God’s way is evident to the one who has spent years seeking His will.

2. Work hard. Like being virtuous, this is not a popular ethic in our culture. We waste so much time being entertained, preferring to watch TV rather than study God’s word, for example.

3. Sacrificial love for our family. Because we are brought up to exalt selfishness, it can be difficult to walk in the way of sacrificial self-giving.

4. Wisdom in all things. Wisdom is knowing how to make life work effectively for ourselves and the people who look up to us.

These qualities do not come easily to any of us. They are grown in us as we seek to follow the Lord each day.

Prayer

Lord, may I become like the Proverbs 31 woman. Develop these qualities in me, I pray. Amen.