red blog

Story of a Song

2012-03-14T23:25:00.003+11:00

Emily Minto is one of the worship leaders at Redhill Church and has also led worshipat Soul Survivor NSW/ACT conferences and events as well as in churches aroundthe world. We asked Emily how she came to write the song Trust in You.

Trust in You

Speak to me

Let Your voice still my soul

Spirit, lead me

Into the quiet of Your heart

You lead me beside the quiet waters

You take me to a place of beauty

You silence every fear inside me

You guide the way for me to follow

I lift my eyes to see that You are all I need

In Your great love, I will not lack a thing

I lift my eyes to see that You are in control

With all my heart, I will trust in You

Your wisdom lights the way for me

You work all things for good

You love me, God, so perfectly

I will trust in You

What is this song about?

This song isa reminder to my soul to lift up my eyes and remember the unfailing love andgoodness of God, His power and the fact that He holds my world in His hands. Heis so worthy of my trust and has always proved Himself faithful.

How did you come to write it?

This songwas written at a time when our family were going through some things thatreally required us to remember God’s faithfulness and provision . The songbegan when I was listening to a song based on Psalm 23, Shepherd by Rita Springer. I started singing at the piano, praying outwords about needing to hear God’s voice and to know His quietness deep within.I then started reflecting on Psalm 23 and singing the line ‘You lead me besidethe quiet water’.

Did you write the song all in one go?

The verse,pre-chorus and chorus were written in one hit, with a few interruptions tendingto my gorgeous son! The rest came when I was showing it to my husband, Vaughan,that evening.

What sort of changes did you makeduring the songwriting process?

Vaughan gaveme great feedback on some lyrics that came across as a bit irrelevant, forexample, changing a lyric from ‘green pastures’ to ‘a place of beauty’. Vaughanalso encouraged me to think about variations to the melody. I also showed thesong to a wonderful songwriting friend at Redhill, Mirjam Soderberg, who gave mean idea for changing the melody in the pre-chorus to make it a bit more interesting.

There were acouple of lines in the song that I was not happy with initially, including thelast lines of the chorus and bridge. I felt they needed to capture what thetheme of the song was, so I spent some time thinking about what I was reallytrying to say to God. I decided it was simply that I trusted in Him. Hence, thoselines now reflect that: ‘I will trust in You’.

What do you find challenging aboutsongwriting?

For me,crafting the song is the most difficult part of the writing process. A lot ofmy songs come in one hit, so if I write an incomplete song I find it tricky toknow how to work on it and add to it. This is where the ideas of others areinvaluable.

Emily recording for Soul Survivor NSW/ACT

What‘s one important lesson you’velearnt in your years of songwriting?

I havelearnt that the best songs are written directly from the heart; an honestexpression that says to God ‘I will worship You in the place I am at right now,in the thick of these things I’m going through’. Whether it’s a time when everything’sgoing great, or a time when it feels like all the balls you’re juggling comecrashing down around you, God remains the same and is worthy of our worship. Inthose difficult times, it is so crucial to choose to worship and sing about whoGod is and His promises over your life. Everyone can identify with struggles inone way or another, and I really think people like to sing worship songs thatare genuine in this way.

Do you have any advice for othersongwriters?

I have foundthat it is brilliant to get the input of people you trust when writing a song.When you get stuck on something, it’s so helpful to hear someone else’sperspective and ideas. Find people who will give honest feedback and be willingto make themselves vulnerable in sharing ideas.

When writingsongs for others to sing in worship, I suggest having a simple (but not boring!)melody line that people can sing out, particularly in the chorus. I suggest incorporating‘ups’ and ‘downs’ in the dynamics and melody of a song to keep it interesting.

And again, writingsongs must begin in a place of worship and be a genuine, heartfelt response to God and who He is.

Get input from others! Above: Musos spur each other on at a Redhill Songwriting Day.

A few songwriters who have inspired Emily lately...

Brian and Jenn Johnson

Rita Springer

Dave Fitzgerald

Chris McClarney

Are you a songwriter or worship leader? You may find these resources helpful:

The Songwriter's Cafe

Worship Central

Women in Worship Network

Slavery and Trafficking: A Social Justice 'Fad'?

2012-03-08T22:16:00.001+11:00

We all like to think we’re unique andspecial individuals (which we are), pursuing our unique passions and dreams(which we should), bucking the trend of what’s popular in favour of going afterwhat God has in store for us (which is great). But sometimes what’s popular isalso what’s good. And when a worthy bandwagon rolls by, sometimes the bestoption is to jump on it!

Such is the case with the recent flurry ofinterest in human trafficking and slavery. It’s a cause that’s drawing a fairamount of publicity lately, including within our Christian subculture. OnTwitter, anti-trafficking themes are trending now, including #27million, #humantrafficking,#Kony2012, #stopchildtrafficking and more. Prominent Christians, includingworship leaders, pastors, writers, bloggers, magazine editors, lobbyists,charity workers and ‘regular people’ like us (!), are tweeting, blogging,facebooking, talking, singing and creating to draw attention to this issue.

Celebrities are well onto it too.

Of course this issue isn’t new, and neitheris public awareness of it. Thanks to the power of literature and Hollywood, the trans-atlantic slavetrade has long been a well known and (and well criticised) part of ourhuman history, with particular focus on the life of slaves and theirdescendants in the United States. In recent years, aid and advocacy groups likeWorldVision, Not For Sale, InvisibleChildren, A21 and others havepumped out the message that slavery didn’t end when the trans-atlantic slaveships were decommissioned. Human trafficking and slavery exists today. It mightlook a little different to the slave trade of William Wilberforce’sday, but it is still a grim reality. The most commonly quoted estimateis that there are up to 27 million modern day slaves, which is greater than thetotal number of slaves trafficked during all the years of the trans-atlanticslave trade (which is estimated to be somewhere around 11 million).

This issue has come to prominence for goodreason.

Rather than re-hash information that’s alreadyout there, or create a new campaign or slogan with a cool graphic, we thoughtwe’d instead highlight a few of the existing resources that can help you engagewith this issue – from learning to speaking out to taking action. There areplenty more; these are just a few that we’ve found helpful.

72 Days For Freedom

This website, hosted by Passion, actsas a bit of a hub for human trafficking and slavery info and resources. Theyalso provide daily prayer points.

WorldVision Australia

World Vision Australia run a couple ofcampaigns specifically addressing human trafficking and slavery: Don’tTrade Lives is mostly about advocacy and awareness for human traffickingand slavery. ChildRescue supports trafficked, exploited or abused children who are unable tobe sponsored through the ‘normal’ child sponsorship program due to little or nocommunity support or fixed address.

The A21Campaign

The A21 Campaign have a variety ofinitiatives that both prevent human trafficking and also help those who havebeen affected by it, including a safe house for rescued victims and otherpractical solutions in Eastern Europe.

Not For Sale

Keren-Suzanne Nicholson bloggedabout these guys not long ago. Among their activities is the ‘Academy’ which educates people ontrafficking and forced labour and how they can effectively investigate and takeaction on these issues.

InvisibleChildren

This organisation promotes awareness ofissues through film and other media – check out their site for informative andinspiring stories, particularly in relation to children in Central Africa.Their latest campaign, Kony 2012, has gone seriously viral.

The CNN Freedom Project

This blog, hosted by news website CNN,features regular articles ranging from facts and figures to stories of hope.

For teachers…

The New York Times published a samplelesson plan to help educate young people about modern day slavery.

… and of course you may know some othergreat resources yourself.

Human trafficking and slavery are not justa social justice ‘fad’. This surge of interest in the issue is a genuineopportunity to learn, pray, think, talk and act. It may mean spending some timegrappling with this information to figure out what it all means. It may meanyou feel compelled to give of your finances or time. It may mean you are challenged tore-think the way you shop or how you invest. Yep, engaging with this issue mayinvolve some sacrifice.

Will we rethink the products we buy?

But what a great opportunity this is, totry and live out that breed of ‘pure andgenuine religion’ that James talks about: ‘looking after the orphans and widows in their distress, and refusingto let the world corrupt you’. (James 1:27).

Keep learning. Keep questioning. Keep seeking wisdom from the only One who can truly set anyone free.

Your Story

2012-02-29T23:36:00.005+11:00

The Gospel Coalition published a blog post this weekcalled Tell Your Story, Tell It Well, which lookedat the importance of ‘story’ both in our own lives and in our mission as achurch. Read it, if you can. Especially if you’re a preacher, writer,performer, artist, teacher, or anyone who wants to share their faith withothers!

Some of us at Redhill were reminded of the importanceof story this week at one of our small groups. Over the last year or so we’vebeen taking turns to share our personal life stories with the group. We shareabout our childhood, our family, how we came to know Jesus, what He’s done inour lives and the bumps and challenges along the way. The other night it wasClaire’s turn. We won’t share her story here (it’s hers to share!) but what wewill say is that it had a powerful effect on those that were listening. It’snot just that Claire was a super storyteller (though she is very good at it),but there’s just something about hearing someone’s story that can warm yourheart, challenge your thinking or touch your soul in a way no ‘theoretical’sermon can.

We love stories and most of us can’t get enough ofthem! As the Gospel Coalition blog points out, it’s why we are increasinglyhooked on Facebook and Twitter. We want to see what’s going on in the lives ofpeople around us. The stories of others help remind us that we’re all in thismessy life together. The blog goes on to muse on our inbuilt attraction tostory:

From the dawn of time,we've passed on stories from generation to generation, whether aroundcampfires, over the dinner table, or in the town square---stories of exploits,of origins, of great sorrow and great rejoicing. It's important to note what wedon't do over dinner or in the square: tell each other bullet-pointed lists ofbald facts and statements of value, to be regurgitated later on the exam. Why?Because we're story-telling creatures. We can't help it. And the stories wetell each other, the ones that form our traditions, are powerful transmittersof the values and ethos of our communities. They help us understand ourselves.

Stories aren’t just for our own personal growth andcomfort. The art of story plays a central role in our mission as a church. AtRedhill we like to remind ourselves regularly that we are ‘partners in thegospel’. We are a bunch of people with a shared responsibility to take thisgospel – the good news of Jesus – to a world that needs to hear it but doesn’tnecessarily know that yet!

The Bible is a funny thing. A big book that’sactually a collection of smaller books – some easy to read, some difficult,some comforting, some challenging, some riveting, some grindingly nitty-gritty.But this Book holds within its pages a grand story that we as Christians use todefine who God is and who we are. Asthe Gospel Coalition blog puts it: ‘Christianity has always been astory-telling enterprise. Our Book makes the audacious claim to be The Book, theone that tells The Story: creation, fall, redemption, restoration’.

And get this – yourstory is now part of that grand story too! God didn’t cease to exist once thelast chapter of Revelation rolled off the printing press. He is still very muchat work today, still the central character in a grand story that for us isstill unfolding.

So what is your story?

West Wing Wisdom

2012-02-22T23:40:00.000+11:00

by Jillian Reay-Smith

In the midstof the recent ‘secretive’ leadership coups in Australian politics and thesudden resignation of our Foreign Minister, it’s nice to take a short breakfrom real-life political drama and reflect on something a bit more idealistic,just for fun. Yes, it’s time to pontificate about the television experiencethat is the West Wing.

There’s justsomething wonderful about the West Wing.

(And if youhaven’t seen it yet, be warned: there are spoilers if you read on)

It’s notexactly new: we’re talking about a show that aired in the late nineties andearly noughties. A show where in the early seasons the mobile phones wereclunky black plastic flip-outs with tiny screens. A show that inserted anad-hoc special in the middle of its third season as a response to 9/11. A showthat preceded, and in fact foretold, the election of a non-white US Presidentwho appointed a former opponent as Secretary of State.

But itspopularity hasn’t yet waned. For many Gen X and Y it’s still on the list ofmust-have DVD collections. I myself only discovered it after it had finishedairing on television. I first saw it during a (prescribed) drug-induced hazefollowing a wisdom teeth removal operation. Even through the blurriness ofheavy pain-killers I knew I’d found something special. It ticked the boxes inmy film-and-television-appraisal checklist: it was well written, beautifullymade, and the subject matter was interesting. I discovered I wasn’t alone in myenthusiasm. I would encounter friends and acquaintances that loved it to, andour discovery of mutual West Wing appreciation would be an excited moment ofartistic kinship. Perhaps we should consider a secret sign, like three fingerssolemnly raised in a “W”. It was only inevitable that eventually one suchfellow West Wing appreciator, Sharon, would invite me along to a littleget-together we now call the “West Wing Appreciation Group” (WWAG), where wechat about life, eat, watch some WW episodes and – this is the nerdy bit –discuss them.

The West Wing has won 27 Emmy Awards - pretty good huh?

There are alot of things I love about the show. I could rattle on about the compositionand camera work, or the way they incorporate music, or the way they develop most of their characters slowly beyondtwo dimensions. But I won’t do that here. Instead I thought I’d share just a fewlittle things that West Wing has taught me, or at least reinforced for me. Wecan call it West Wing Wisdom. You could probably add some of your own.

West WingWisdom 1: Everything comes at a price.

It’s fair tosay that the characters on the West Wing are achieving great things. Theynegotiate their way out of dangerous situations. They snatch little victoriesagainst injustice and discrimination. They take on the responsibility toreassure the nation when things are tough. And even though you may not alwaysagree with their worldview on certain issues, you can see that they’regenuinely trying to help shape legislation that will make people’s livesbetter. I am often momentarily jealous of their dynamic working environment,their adrenalin-filled days and the way they can see the fruit of their hardwork in such a significant, public way. But this comes at a price.

None ofthem, with the exception of the President, are in what you’d call a functioningrelationship (and you could argue that even the President’s marriage is not amodel one). When some of them do grab the rare opportunity for a ‘date’, it’smore often than not interrupted or delayed by yet another urgent work deadline.Of the senior aides, only one has children – Toby – and his twins were bornonly after his marriage to the twins’ mother had failed. Throughout the serieswe see examples of these brilliant, powerful people failing to master the artof human relationships. They are investing so much in their work that theirminds and schedules are too crowded to properly deal with family, friends andpotential romantic partners.

The DeputyChief of Staff, Josh, talks frankly about this in Season 3, Episode 10. He istrying to explain to Amy, a lobbyist who he ‘like-likes’, why he is incapableof asking her out like a normal person. Says Josh: ‘I studied a lot in school. I studied hard in high schooland at Harvard and in law school. My IQ doesn't break the bank and I wanted todo this so I studied all the time. And I missed something, or it's like Iskipped a year, 'cause I never learned what you do after you think you likesomebody - what you do next’.

Josh explains his relationship illiteracy with Amy

Similarly, inSeason 7, Episode 21, Press Secretary CJ is contemplating life after the WhiteHouse. She cannot seem to grasp that if she wants her long-awaited relationshipwith journalist Danny to work, she needs to include him in her decision-making.She admits to Danny that she doesn’t know how to navigate this relationship. ‘Imissed the window.I... missed the window to figure out... how to do this’ she says. The President’s family is not immune todysfunction either. Though his children are now grown, there are hints thattheir daughters felt the absence of their high-achieving parents while theywere growing up (see the President’s conversation with his eldest daughter Lizin Season 5, Episode 9).

Press Secretary CJ and journalist Danny: an unrequited chemistry

So what’sthe answer? Should these bright, successful, good-looking political hot-shotsimmediately throw down their blue folders, hand in their security passes andfocus instead on being husband/wife/father/mother of the year?

Notnecessarily. We all have different callings and different seasons in our lives,so it’s not for us to judge whether or not someone’s career choices are rightor wrong. We need people around who are willing to put in long hours so thatour societies as a whole can function better. We need surgeons working throughthe night, journalists travelling to remote or risky locations, police takingon dangerous criminals at risk to their own lives, and even politicians puttingin long hours to push through legislation, intervene in humanitarian crises andnegotiate with foreign governments to ensure peace and stability.

But there isa price.

For everyday spent travelling the world, that’s one less day to spend at home with lovedones. Working at a manic pace to complete a project at work means that you’llhave a bit less emotional and physical energy left for other things. Buryingyour head in your textbooks every night means you won’t be socialising as much.Taking a job that you love and feel passionate about may mean taking a smallersalary. If you’re following what you believe God is calling you to do, thenthese sacrifices will no doubt be worth it. But it’s important to understandthat the sacrifices are real. Whether you’re working at the White House or not:everything comes at a price. And let’s not forget, even God isn’t immune. Inpursuing what He is passionate about, He had to pay a price too.

West WingWisdom 2: We are all uniquely gifted and can do amazing things when we worktogether.

I love thefact that the characters on the West Wing are, for the most part, not incompetition with one another. They all have their roles and seem to be able toexpress genuine happiness when others succeed in theirs. Of course this is afictional show. The overly-idealistic portrayal of politics and its operativeshas been noted by critics, such as Salon’s Heather Havrilesky wholamented ‘What rock did these morally pure creatures crawl out from under and,more important, how do you go from innocent millipede to White House stafferwithout becoming soiled or disillusioned by the dirty realities of politicsalong the way?’ (full article here).

Butdespite its obvious fiction, we can still learn from it. Idealistic iscalled idealistic for a reason: it’s how we’d love things to be. Thecollegiate nature of the fictional West Wing staff gives us a tantalizing glimpseof what could be achieved when people know how they fit in a team, and areencouraged by each other to do the best they can.

One big happy family (well, sort of)

Of course,there are instances where the staff annoy one another. They sometimes disagreewith each other’s decisions. Josh and Toby even get the fists out at one stage.But for the most part, there is a great sense of teamwork in how they go abouttheir business. Not only teamwork, but a real respect for each other’s talents.

Leo, theChief of Staff, had a long career as a successful businessman and high-rankingpolitician, and had it not been for a history of substance abuse he would havebeen a potential presidential candidate himself. Rather than wallow inself-pity, he sees the potential in Jed Bartlet and throws his energy intoseeing him succeed. When Sam has to unexpectedly take on Josh’s job descriptionfor a day in Season 4, he muses that he now realises Josh is smarter than heis. When Leo falls ill and the President needs to appoint a new Chief of Staff,the promotion of one staff member over the others is handled with surprisinggrace.

President Jed Bartlet and his Chief of Staff, Leo

We realhuman beings are not products of Aaron Sorkin’s (or NBC’s) idealisticimagination. In real life you’d be hard-pressed to find a workplace where therewas as little bitching and backstabbing as there is within the core staff ofthe fictional West Wing. But imagine if we could throw ourselves into not onlydoing our best but in actively helping other people succeed too!

This isrelevant not only for our workplaces but for our church communities as well.Are we actively celebrating and encouraging each other in our respective gifts?Are we visibly championing not only the up-front gifts but thebehind-the-scenes gifts as well? Are we genuinely able to be happy forothers when they grow in the same gifts that we’re trying to grow in ourselves?Do we genuinely believe that there is plenty of room in the body ofChrist for all of us and our unique strengths, passions and interests?

If we cantruly understand our uniqueness and value in the eyes of God, how much easierwill it be to live free from jealousy or unnecessary competitiveness? If wetruly appreciated how we fit into the body of Christ, and how others fit aswell, imagine how much more we could achieve – and enjoy it so much more in theprocess!

West WingWisdom 3: We get lost when we try to push an agenda while forgetting our values

In Season 4,Episode 1, the President’s re-election campaign is in full swing. On thecampaign trail, Josh and Toby speak with Cathy, a local farmer’s daughter,about the economies of farming and how government policies are affectinglivelihoods in her community. While Cathy tries to communicate the humanreality of the situation, Josh and Toby keep re-focusing the conversation back tothe politics – namely, to the President’s re-election campaign. For the rest ofthe day, the two men argue with each other about campaign strategy, untilJosh’s assistant Donna loses patience and reprimands them for their inhumanity:‘...and in that whole time, nobody mentioned [the election campaign] but you.’Not long after, a teenage campaign volunteer offers them advice in a similarvein: ‘People will think you’re a lot cooler if you stop trying to tell themall the time’.

Josh and Toby discuss agricultural policy with farmer's daughter Cathy

In theirdesperation to see the President re-elected, Josh and Toby had forgotten thevery values that caused them to work for him in the first place. Instead ofbeing genuinely concerned about the struggles of the farming community and howthey could make things better, they chose to pontificate about electionstrategy.

Does this sound familiar? Is this what some of us have done in ourown lives? Perhaps we’ve been so set on developing strategies to ‘communicatethe gospel’ that we’ve shifted some of our focus off the message itself andonto the delivery of the message. Or perhaps we’re becoming so obsessedwith facilitating ‘amazing worship’ that we’ve shifted some of our passion offthe object of our worship and onto the expression of worship.

Hey worship leaders: check out this handy flowchart for your next church service! Stick it on your whiteboard and stare at it.

DuringSeason Seven, Leo, now the former Chief of Staff, is brought in to help adviseon the President’s agenda for his last few months in office. While the teamalready have a message calendar, Leo sees that something is missing. Hechallenges the staff to drop the drop the ‘strategic’ and politically safe planand instead dare to consider what the really important things are. What do theyreally want to do with their last few months in office? The safe, tested agendais thrown out the window in favour of a more radical to-do list that betterreflects their beliefs, values and passions.

Setting anagenda is great. And there is much to be said for making a plan and sticking toit. This kind of commitment is a rare commodity in today’s flip-floppingculture. But if we realise that our agenda has gone askew, are we willing towipe clean the whiteboard (or click delete on the smart board) and take amoment to recapture the values that made us who we are in the first place? Inthe book of Revelation in the Bible there are a bunch of letters written tovarious churches to both encourage and challenge them. One is to the church inEphesus. The letter starts by praising the church for some of the good thingsthey’re doing. But then it goes on:   ’YetI hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Considerhow far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you donot repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.’ (Rev 2:4-5).

Just as theWest Wing staffers could get sidetracked by strategy, so too can we besidetracked by programs and methods. Will we repent, like the church in Ephesuswas asked to do?

For whatit’s worth, after being scolded by Donna about their lack of compassion inSeason 4, Josh and Toby do show some repentance. They take a step back fromtheir electioneering and end up taking the time to speak to a man who isstruggling to pay for his daughter’s college tuition. Inspired by thisconversation, and with a new attitude in place, they set about formulating taxchanges that will make education more affordable. They remembered why they weredoing their jobs in the first place.

So there youhave it – three of my examples of West Wing Wisdom. Yeah, it’s fiction. Yeah, itmay be idealistic and unrealistic. But what a production!

So my fellowWest Wing appreciators out there… what has WW taught you?

A gutsy kind of love

2012-02-15T21:53:00.001+11:00

With Valentines Day come andgone, are you beaming with thankfulness for your loved ones? Grimacing at thethought that you are alone? Cringing at the memory of ghastly pink and redswirly motifs? Or just indifferent to the whole thing?

This week a fair chunk ofthe world celebrated a certain kind of ‘love’, or at least romance. There areblogs and tweets abounding this week on the ‘love’ theme. As an example,worship leader and academic Vicky Beeching shared some thoughts about V Day asa single gal here, and Relevant Magazine explains why Jesus isn’t yourValentine here.

Most of you reading thisare probably well and truly sold on the idea that real love goes way beyond thefluffy and the sentimental. Sometimes it even bypasses the fluffy altogether!It’s easy to scoff at Valentine’s Day and roll our eyes at couples exchangingheart-shaped novelties. But rather than cynically waving good-riddance to theValentine’s hoo-ha for another year, why not take this opportunity to celebrateexamples of real, gutsy, committed love? And not just the intimate romantickind of love either (although this ‘eros’ love is certainly cool and has itsplace!). Here are some examples of expressions of real, gutsy, committed lovethat we’ve heard about lately. Can you think of more of your own?

Jon and Lisa Owen: making mission of their marriage, family and home.

Jon and Lisa Owen.
Photo courtesy Sydney Morning Herald

Jon and Lisa Owen of Sydney (above) are currently devoting their lives to helping people in need in the mostpractical way possible: by welcoming people into their home and helping themnavigate their way through addictions, crime and poverty. We mentioned them ina recent blog post and you can read more about what they do on the Urban Neighbours of Hope website.

Marcos and Monica: Devoted to the end.

From "Never Let Go" photo series.
Photo by Alejandro Kirchuk of Argentina

The photo above is part of a series called "Never Let Go" by Alejandro Kirchuk, who was one of the prize-winners of the World Press Photo Contest 2011. It shows Monicaand Marcos of Argentina, who have been married for 65 years. Marcos has beenlooking after Monica full-time since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s diseasein 2007. Although at times he grumbles about the time devoted to her care, Marcos did not see any other possibility. "Tell me where she is going to be better than here. I treat her like a princess, here she has everything." Alzheimer’s affects millions of people worldwide and you probably knowa similar couple who have had to adjust to new ways of relating to each otheras the disease takes hold. (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald here).

Missionheart: A church community defining themselves by Jesus' love.

Missionheart is a church in Canberra that has close links with thehomeless and the marginalised. A short while ago our Keren-Suzanne Nicholsoninterviewed one of their workers, James, about what they get up to. Here’s an excerpt:

Keren: Whatis the role of Missionheart in Canberra?

James: When Missionheart firststarted, we felt God telling us our purpose was ‘to be Jesus to the peopleof the city.’ More and more I am realising that everything we do has itspower and purpose in Jesus; we don't have any influence or resources outsidewhat Jesus has given us.

There are many things wetry to do to help people be restored to the place Jesus has for them. Theseinclude our community lunches three times a week, our 'Back To Basics' livingskills classes for both men and women, and hope groups (bible study groups)that meet during the week. In addition to these activities, we try and providementoring and personal support. This can include attending court with people orvisiting them in hospital, through to providing help with moving house orpassing on donated furniture. We support parents who have children in thefamily services system, often advocating on their behalf. We are currentlyrunning a men’s group, which is exploring 'Healing the Masculine Soul', andhave just started a playgroup for some of our youngest members Long term, I amworking to find ways to have a bus or large van that can transport our people.We would also love to be able to have a house for a community of men who are inneed of support and somewhere to live.

Whatare the backgrounds and circumstances surrounding the people you work with?

There is often a tragedyin the history of the people we come into contact with. Whether this is thedeath of a loved one, abuse or relationship breakdown, the effects are stillinfluencing their current circumstances. Substance abuse can become a method ofcoping with these tragedies, and can soon control the choices they make.

Social rules andetiquette can be different for this group of people. Money is often spent allat once, leading to a complicated system of borrowing and returning, and manyrelationships are strained or break because of a money problem. We are inregular contact with homeless people, both those who are sleeping out and thosewho are staying with 'friends'. Mental illness often contributes tohomelessness, and is influenced by substance abuse.

Often the people weattempt to love do not get nurtured anywhere else in their lives. Our Missionheartcommunity may be one of the only places these people are known, andtreated as equals. I often find people want simply to come and visit us inorder to be able to relax and feel safe. Some of our people spend a lot of timealone. Boredom and loneliness often contribute to poor choices.

James of Missionheart

Whatdo you think we, as the local church and community, can be doing to help peoplein these circumstances?

The greatest need I seeis time. I wish we had many more volunteers who were able to spend timebuilding relationships. Too many of our people are only presented withsolutions, not a way to get there or someone who will journey with them.Practical assistance is also important, such as swags for those sleeping out,and a place to be safe for those in danger.

Howcan people support Missionheart?

When you guys come along toour weekly gathering in the park, or another activity, it supports us regular Missionheart-ersto know we are not alone! Practical things like sleeping bags and mats aregreat; we've given them all away to those in need.

Please pray for ourpeople. The enemy spends a lot of time telling them life won't work, and God'slove is the thing we see changing circumstances and transforming lives. Ifanyone has time to spend building a relationship with our people, we can alwaysuse more Godly workers. And finally, if you are considering donating tocharity, please consider us!

Missionheart meetsSundays 11am at the south end of Glebe Park, Canberra.

Phone: (02)6230 6601

…or contact Redhill Church and we’ll put you in touch.

Supermarket Grace

2012-02-07T22:45:00.001+11:00

Do we really understand the true cost of forgiveness?

By Brent Smith

Brent (in brown) with friends in Wagga Wagga, circa 1979

I consider myself a country boy at heart. I grew up in a little town called Wagga Wagga, which in the local Aboriginal language means ‘many crows’. We had some property with cattle, sheep and a tractor. My dad also worked in the local abattoir just over the hill. I remember riding our bikes around the abattoir looking at all the cattle, sheep and pigs. Sometimes we’d ride out the back where they hung all the cow hides and sheep skins. The smell was horrible! As a country boy, I knew what the abattoir was about. It was where the animals went to be killed, checked for disease, and shipped out to the butcher.

I remember sometimes watching my dad hanging one of our sheep from a tree on our property. As it hung by its rear legs, dad would empty out all the smelly insides. It was fascinating watching him take this animal apart with his big sharp knives (which I thought were cool but could never play with!), and portion the pieces into bags for our freezer, and the freezers of our friends.

This may sound pretty gross to you! To be honest even I am not sure I could do this myself today. But the reality is that this is how many country people grew up. And if you’ve read much of the Old Testament, you’ll probably be familiar with these sorts of bloody tales.

There are parts of the Bible that are not G rated, or even PG! Our one year old daughter has a little kiddie bible. It’s pretty cute, but it’s missing some stuff. In her kiddie bible we don’t see blood. We don’t see animals being killed and chopped up and offered as sacrifice to God. Yet the shedding of blood was a regular feature in the life of God’s people.

Our daughter's Bible, amongst her lego

Why did God set this up? What’s with all the bloodshed? We don’t know exactly why God does things the way He does. But it seems that He has set it up so that sin does not go unpunished. Someone has to pay when sin occurs. He is a just God and He cannot let sin occur without consequence. But He is also loving and compassionate, and would rather see us reconciled to Him than wiped out. So the concept of sacrificing animals was introduced: to allow the sin to be acknowledged and for punishment to ensue, but at the same time offering sinners the opportunity to repent and start afresh.

The shedding of blood provided for the forgiveness of sin, but the people of the Old Testament weren’t ignorant of the cost of this forgiveness. By taking part in animal sacrifice, the people of Israel grew to understand the horror and offense of sin and the magnitude of what it would take to make it right. To atone for their sins, they had to stare at a living animal about to have its life extinguished, watch it have its throat cut, blood pour out and see its eyes slowly glaze over into death. Then they’d watch the priest take the animal away to make the sacrifice on their behalf. Some years later, God provides us with the ultimate sacrificial lamb who will atone for all our sins once and for all: His son, Jesus.

There was a BBC television show last year called Kill It, Cook It, Eat It. In this show, the presenter would take a small group of volunteers through the journey of their food from the paddock to the plate. The group would see the cows or chickens or pigs playing happily on free-range organic farms, and would have to choose one to be slaughtered. They would then witness the slaughtering process up close, and sometimes even take part themselves. They watched how the meat was divided up, checked for disease and packed for delivery. They then helped cook the meat before sitting down to eat it at the table.

BBC's Kill It, Cook It, Eat It

By taking part in this process, the participants took on a new appreciation for where their food comes from and how it is produced. I wonder how we would cope taking part in a similar exercise? Do we currently approach meat as if we believe it comes wrapped in plastic out of the supermarket fridge? How differently would we approach our food if we were actively aware of where it came from?

How about our approach to grace? Is our understanding of Jesus and His cross too sanitised? Do we treat grace as if it were plastic wrapped from the fridge at Coles?

The reality is that Jesus has given His life for you. With His blood, Jesus purchased you for God. Like the animals in the Old Testament were killed and offered as a sacrifice as an atonement for sins, so too was Jesus killed and offered as the ultimate sacrifice.

Our church name, Redhill, is a reference to the blood of Jesus. As I was thinking about what we would be called, the image came to mind of the cross of Jesus, and the bloodstained ground below. This blood is such a potent symbol of the lengths God took to forgive our sins. It’s what we remember every time we take communion. It’s what we sing about in countless worship songs. And it’s spattered a little on our logo. Not because we’re a bunch of emos revelling in blood and gore, but because Jesus’ blood is central to our faith and a symbol of something so beautiful. A perfect sacrifice.

“I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

(Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, see 1 Cor 2:1-5)

We might forget some things that we learn about in the Bible, but let us never forget the cross! It was on the cross, through the cross and by the cross that our Saviour performed His work of redemption and gathered us for eternity. The message of the cross is not meant to be taken lightly. Do we need to remind ourselves of the gravity of the cross, the blood and death of Jesus? How do you think this could change the way you live out your faith today? The volunteers in Kill It, Cook It, Eat It gained a whole new perspective on their food, because they understood that it cost an animal its life. If we were to keep the cross at the centre of our lives, would we not also gain a whole new perspective? Would we live out our faith in a whole new way if we were to fully understand that our atonement (our at-one-ment) with God cost Jesus His life?

Grace is an amazing gift, given freely for us. But though for us it is free, grace did not come cheaply in plastic wrap at the supermarket. It involved the bloodshed of the only One who could be a perfect sacrifice once and for all: Jesus, the Lamb of God. Fully divine, but also fully flesh and blood. And certainly not plastic-wrapped at Coles.

Dream Inertia

2012-01-28T13:12:00.002+11:00

by Jillian Reay-Smith

‘When you can’t think of anything to do – do something’.

Winnie the Pooh

Inertia is defined by Wikipedia as ‘the tendency of a body to maintain its state of rest or uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force.’ It’s what Aussies might call ‘doing bugger all’. The word inertia comes from the Latin word, iners, meaning idle, or lazy. From this we can extrapolate various subcategories of inertia that may plague us:

Culinary inertia: the tendency to cook the same menu week after week

Technological inertia: sticking with MySpace until the bitter end

Design inertia: continually lacing your documents with comic sans headings and clip-art bean people

Theological inertia: knowing the Sunday School bible stories and not much else

We could add to that dream inertia.

Remember clip-art bean people?!

Our ‘dreams’ are our aspirations to live out the life God has in store for us. Dreams are what we hope to do and long to see. If our dreams are truly from God then our dreams are what makes our purpose here on earth that little bit clearer. And God does not give us these dreams just to give us the warm and fuzzies (though sometimes we get this!), but to bring HIM glory. Our God-given dreams are not for our own sake, they're for His. So when we talk about 'your dreams' here, we're talking about these kind of dreams.

‘For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord.

‘Plans to prosper and not to harm you. Plans to give you

hope and a future’. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Dreams are always big, as they are about living the life God has crafted for us, and His plans are always going to be big and significant. Even if it sounds small or not terribly profound, if it is what God has set out for you to do, then this dream is the best way for you to spend your time at the moment. And let’s not forget that we’ll probably have several dreams to follow throughout our lifetime. Most of us have more than one thing on our would-love-to-do list, more than one passion or skill, more than one season or chapter.

So what is ‘dream inertia’?

Dream inertia is when we are stuck somewhere along the road that God is leading us on. Dream inertia could include adorning your walls with posters of amazing travel destinations but never taking steps to actually travel there. Or talking in bold tones to anyone who’ll listen about your dream of ‘going into the ministry’ without ever actually seeking any training or mentoring or work experience. Or lying awake at night dreaming of life as a famous muso without putting in some serious practice time. Those of us suffering from dream inertia can probably spout off dozens of things we’d like to do in the next five, ten, twenty years, but even as we speak them out we feel a slight angst or disappointment that we’re not there yet. Dream inertia can see us living a life of frustration while staring starry eyed at some distant unarticulated goal, rendering our everyday activities dull and irrelevant and setting our spirit in a constant state of ‘blurgh’.

I’m not suggesting that all our God-given dreams have to happen RIGHT NOW. Some dreams are a long time in the making. Some take years of patiently waiting and trusting that His timing is best. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re not talking about dreams that aren’t becoming reality because it’s not God’s appointed time yet. We’re talking about dreams that He has given us that He’d just LOVE to see us live out, but we’re not because we’re the ones blocking it. We’re failing to act out of laziness, false belief, or in many cases: fear.

‘For the Spirit God gives us does not make us timid,

but gives us power, love and self-discipline’. (2 Timothy 1:7)

How many of these statements have swirled around in your mind as you’ve dreamt about your future...

What if I try but can’t do it?

What if I lose everything I’ve worked hard for?

What if I don’t make any friends over there?

What if I run out of money?

We’ve probably all asked these questions and many more like them. If we were to answer them bluntly, could we dispel some of the ‘freak out’ factor that’s rendering us unable to move forward?

What if I try but can’t do it?

Yeah, it’s possible that you may not be able to do everything you’ve set out to do. But if God has placed a dream on your heart and wants you to do it, we can assume He will equip us with everything we need (for examples of how God has provided amazingly in the past, check out the stories of Abraham and Isaac,Ruth finding a husband and Jesus feeding heaps of people).

Also, God’s idea of success is quite often different from our own. You may not be able to do everything that’s on your initial to-do list, but the amazing thing about trusting God is that you can have peace about the fact that His plans are sovereign and that Histo-do list will be accomplished if we’re faithful in following Him.

What if I lost everything I’ve worked hard for?

This is a biggie. It could be that for you, chasing your dreams means sacrificing other things. It may mean selling the house that you saved up for years to buy. It may mean letting go of that job that you absolutely love. It may mean leaving a social circle that you’ve spent years investing in. It may mean missing your favourite nephew’s first birthday, or being overseas when your grandma dies, or giving up your long service leave entitlement that you’ve built up at work. Things that matter always cost something.

Kicking around in Paris.

To give an example - Brent (my husband) and I have been married for nearly eight years. Many couples of our age and life stage are buying houses but we’re nowhere near being able to do that yet! One of the main reasons is because a few years ago we took off overseas for three months. It was a time to refresh, explore some of the world, and seek confirmation and inspiration for our dream of planting a church. It was absolutely important that we did that. It was such a special time in our relationship and we have no regrets. But the reality is that we spent our savings on that trip – savings we probably would have otherwise put towards a house deposit. If we hadn’t taken that trip (and a couple of other overseas trips as well), we may have a house by now. Would we like to be able to buy a house? Yeah. It seems to be a wise financial decision to buy your own rather than rent forever. But would we swap our amazing travel experiences with some square meters of bricks and carpet and grass and a back deck? No way. We’re saving now and we’ll probably buy a house in the future. But we trust that God will give us the wisdom to know how and when. This is a relatively light example. I’m sure there are people who have had to sacrifice more than a house in order to follow the path they believe God is laying out for them.

How about you – would you swap your dream for the things you’re afraid of losing?

Let’s face it: houses and cars and other possessions will always come and go. Scared of losing that job? Did you really imagine that you’d be there forever anyway? It’s been suggested that the typical GenY-er willprobably change careers at least five times. And here’s a lesson that most people learn during their twenties – social circles change too. People move to different cities to study or work. People hook up with guys/girls outside the social circle. People change churches. The tight-knit group that spent every weekend together since you were teenagers is not likely to be still hanging out at Maccas after church in ten years’ time. Hopefully you’ll still maintain the significant relationships you’ve formed. But the ‘gang’ may not be at your beck-and-call the way it was when you were 19.

What if I don’t make any friends over there?

If your dream will take you to another town or country, it’s only natural to wonder whether you’ll find people who you can connect with. We’re meant to feel like this. We’re made in the image of a relational God and even the most introverted among us will desire a genuine connection with others. But let’s not allow this fear of loneliness to stop us chasing our dreams!

If you neglect to put yourself in places where there are potential friends around you, then okay – maybe you won’t make friends! But you can take steps to make sure you don’t miss out on relationships in a new and strange place. You can make an effort to learn the local language if it’s not English. You can join a church, if there is one, or look for another similar network. You can be deliberate in striking up conversations with people who you’ll be working with, studying with, sitting on the bus with. Sound scary? Yeah it can be! If you’re a shy person and this freaks you out, try talking about it with someone before you go. And again, if we trust God to give us everything we need, we can make sure that one of the things we ask God for is the courage to take the plunge into new friendships!

What if I run out of money?

Well, you might! Especially if you don't budget and keep buying large soy caramel lattes each morning. But you can work and be diligent with your saving and that will help an awful lot. You can cut down on non-essentials (you'll have to decide what they are!) and start getting creative with how you socialise, eat, exercise and be entertained.

If your dream involves a serious financial commitment (e.g. moving overseas for volunteer work), ask around your church for ideas on how to fundraise and set up long-term support mechanisms. We often call living without a predictable source of income 'living by faith'. If your dream is going to require this kind of 'living by faith', ask around at church for stories of people who have had to live this way, and how God has faithfully provided for them. Find someone who's done something similar and ask them how they did it.

Remember how God provides for us as we said earlier? We can trust Him with money too! Money issues can seem huge, but with prayer and God-given wisdom you can go for it and see what God does.

As we start to wade into the shallows of 2012, will we let dream inertia keep us where we are now? Or will we dare to step into the amazing things that God has in store for us this year?

Have you had to battle with dream inertia? What helped you to get moving again? How can we help each other stay motivated in living out the dreams God has given us?

And more interestingly... what are the dreams God has given you for 2012?

Knowing God... in the Neighbourhood

2012-01-20T19:05:00.002+11:00

At our weekly gatherings at the moment we're doing a three-week teaching series on 'Knowing God'.

Knowing God, and all that comes into and out of that, is what we're about. Yes, we want to talk about all sorts of 'topics' and enjoy the beauty of music and the power of prayer and the deliciousness of food and the satisfaction of meeting the needs of the community around us and so much more. But we don't do these things just for the heck of it - it's all part of us knowing God. And not just in an intellectual 'I can explain every word of the minor prophets' sort of way. Knowing God is more than that. It's building a relationship with Him. Drawing closer to Him. Exploring Him. Learning about Him. Hearing from Him. Dwelling in Him.

God is so awesome and beyond human understanding that it can seem an impossible task to know Him. But He so wants us to be in relationship with Him, and how can we be in relationship with someone we don't know? So He's given us ways to know Him. We can know Him through His Word, in His Son and by His Spirit. Brent will be speaking on these for the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, it's worth a thought - I wonder how God will choose to use us this year to help others know Him better? Will we do the Tebow and enthusiastically display bible references on our faces (or screen savers, bumper bars, FB statuses, tattoos)? Maybe not (or then again maybe!).

Tim Tebow and his signature biblical facepaint

We saw this story in the Sydney Morning Herald today about Jon and Lisa Owen, who have gone practical about sharing who God is with people who desperately need Him. They are part of the Urban Neighbours of Hope movement and Jon has spoken at Soul Survivor conference.

Jon and Lisa Owen (photo from smh.com.au)

The poor, the marginalised, the drug-addicted and the criminally convicted call the Owens friends. Many of them are regulars at the Owen family dinner table. Some of them even live in their home. Jon and Lisa are helping others to know God by displaying His qualities to them in their own home, day and night. Even the author of the article can see this, writing: It's a fair bet that if Jesus Christ were around today, he'd be doing what the Owens are doing in Mount Druitt.

As we can see in Jon and Lisa's story, knowing God may not lead only to an intellectual understanding (in fact, in most certainly will not lead to only that). Really knowing God could lead to sacrifice, hard decisions and a radical overhaul of our lifestyle. Are we ready for that?

If you're ready to jump in to an adventure of knowing God better in 2012, join us as we go deeper. Make some decisions that can help you know Him more - open your Bible more often (and really read it). Study Jesus' life and look for stories in the gospel that you aren't already familiar with. Ask God to teach you about who the Holy Spirit is, and how He's at work in your life and in the world around you.

Knowing God. It's a bit of a big deal. Are you up for it?

Refugee Realities

2012-01-10T22:41:00.000+11:00

The issue of refugees and asylum seekers seems to be an ongoing hot topic of conversation here in Australia. We don't have all the answers, but here is an example of how one person can make a positive impact in the lives of refugees who have made Australia home:

Caroline Clancy is aprimary school teacher whose role involves helping refugee children prepare toenter mainstream schools. She shared some of her experiences with us...

Caroline

I teach in an Introductory EnglishCentre (IEC). This is a centre for students who don't have a great enoughunderstanding of English to go to a mainstream school, including some who are refugees.

I've been a teacher for six years. During this time I've taught a lot of students for whomEnglish was a second (or third, or fourth) language. I came to realise just howmuch extra support these students and their families need, not just toparticipate academically, but to feel part of their new community.

I lovemaking connections with people from different cultural backgrounds, and helpingthem to feel at home. I also know that God calls us all, regardless of what ourcareer may be, ‘to act justly and to lovemercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8). Teaching some of the most vulnerable people in ourcommunity seemed an appropriate way to carry out God’s call for me.

'teaching some of the most vulnerable people in

our community seemed an appropriate way

to carry out God's call for me'.

‘Which river will the children be swimming in?’

We wondered why two of our Burmeserefugee students had not returned their permission note for swimming lessons.We explained to their anxious mother that her daughters would not have to swimin a muddy river, and we showed her pictures of the indoor swimming poolthe lessons would be held in.

Newly arrived refugees have a lot totake in and learn about Australian culture. There are many things about schooland our society that are bewildering. Refugee students and their parents haveoften experienced terrible trauma which affects their ability to learn. Thereare some good counselling and support organisations available for refugees, butthey also need people to support them each day. I hope that as a teacher, I ammerciful towards students who can sometimes be difficult to connect with, andthat I am loving towards those who have not experienced much love. Some daysare a real challenge!

'I hope that as a teacher, I am merciful

towards students who can sometimes be

difficult to connect with, and that I am

loving towards those who have

not experienced much love'

Christmas Island arrivals area

I think the most valuable gift thatthe Church could give refugees is friendship. A lot of people I meet just needa friend to help them connect with their new country. This might mean helpingsomeone to do their shopping, helping with English language skills or invitinga family over for a meal. For a lot of us, this would mean stepping out of ourcomfort zone and beyond our usual circle of friends. These are things we can doto show justice and mercy and humility. Regardless of whether we were born intoa privileged family in Canberra, or a refugee camp in Thailand, we were allcreated by God and are valuable to Him.

'I think the most valuable gift that the

Church could give refugees is friendship'

This is an edited excerpt from an article 'Refugee Realities' in Redhill's 2011 magazine Red:Yearbook 2011. Check out the full article here.

For more information about refugees and asylum seekers check out:
www.companionhouse.org.au
www.redcross.org.au

Why I Run...

2012-01-04T22:08:00.000+11:00

by Bethany McRae

Sometimes it’s nice to step back and remind myself why I run. Alot of people think it’s absolutely absurd to get up early in the morning toclock up kilometre after kilometre. But to me, running is a core part of mylife, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One of the things I love most about running is that I can do italone. Don’t get me wrong, I am a very social person and enjoy the company ofothers. But it’s during those few hours of solitude every couple of days that Iget to do some deep thinking, character building and dreaming. Contrary topopular belief, I find running completely relaxing. It’s a time where I can getaway from the chaos of my life and simply be.

I remember the first time that my legs stopped working fromrunning so far. Suddenly, being ‘tired’ didn’t mean anything, because theperspective shift is so dramatic once you reach that point of exhaustion. Butwhat used to be a struggle has now become routine, and these lessons inendurance have become core to all aspects of my life.

Beth at the City 2 Surf in Sydney

Bethany has been running since 2002, and in 2011 ran in the Sri Chimnoy half marathon in Canberra and the City 2 Surf in Sydney. Kinda crazy but definitely admirable.

Not For Sale

2012-01-03T22:27:00.000+11:00

Is slavery really still an issue today?

Keren-Suzanne

InJune 2011 Keren-Suzanne Nicholsonattended the Not For Sale Backyard Academy in Leichhardt, Sydney, where she exploredissues of human trafficking and forced labour. Keren shares some of whatshe’s learnt…

The problem...

Over 30 million people are enslaved in the worldtoday.¹ These people are often forced to work in unfair or unsafeconditions in order to produce products that fill our supermarket shelves andhomes. The grim reality is that we are surrounded by products that have beenproduced through the exploitation of the world’s most vulnerable.

Through the rise of capitalism and globalization,the world’s economy has become dependent upon low cost manufacturing. Large companiesmove their manufacturing overseas to evade labour and union laws. This allowsthem to minimize labour and production costs and they are therefore able tocharge significantly less for their products. In our western society we reapthe benefits through low cost consumerism. We are not paying for the true valueof our products. And these corporations rely on our ignorance to continue theirthriving trade.

The human cost...

Global poverty has left millions vulnerable totrafficking. Through the promise of an income, many are deceived and becometrapped in forced labour. ‘The supplyside of the equation is particularly bleak,’ says Senator Sam Brownback ofKansas. ‘Fifty million refugees anddisplaced persons exist worldwide today. This ready reservoir of the statelesspresents an opportunity rife for exploitation by human traffickers.’

What do we really know about the products we buy?

A significant portion of this labour force arechildren. It is estimated that over 200 million children worldwide are in someform of child labour.²Thesechildren include the cotton-picking workforce of Uzbekistan and cocoa farmersof the Ivory Coast. Uzbekistan is the world’s third largest exporter of cotton.The Uzbek government takes children out of school during the autumn to havethem pick cotton. This export supports the Uzbek economy, but the corruption ofthe government has allowed forced child labour, human right violations andsevere poverty amongst its citizens. In Africa, families send children to workbased on the promise of an income, and many of these children are then illegallytrafficked across national borders to harvest cocoa in the Ivory Coast. TheIvory Coast produces 42% of the worlds cocoa export, selling to Nestle amongstother chocolate companies.

What can we do?

There is no country in the world where slavery islegal. These companies depend upon our apathy in order to continue to useforced labour. With an international justice system that is failing to solvethis issue, the question remains: how can an individual here in Australia playa role in combating this global problem?

Our generation has the opportunity to be a partof a new abolitionist movement. Not ForSale is an organisation based out of San Francisco. Not For Sale has been working together with World Vision, theInternational Justice Mission, the U.S. Congress and our very own AustralianFederal Police amongst others to combat trafficking and slavery on a globalscale. Not For Sale has set up acampaign called Free 2 Work. The Free 2 Work website, along with itsiPhone and Android app, provides consumers with details regarding themanufacturing policies of major brands as a guide to ethical shopping.

Also check out the Australian Ethical Shopping Guide that clearlydefines Fair Trade and ethical products in our local supermarkets. By choosing productsand brands that have a high ethical rating, we are sending a message to thecorporations in the language they understand best: money.

When it comes to addressing trafficking andslavery, it is simply not enough to sit and hope that God will change thehearts of people. James chapter two compels us to demonstrate our faith throughour works. We have the ability to enable life and freedom for millions ofpeople around the world just through ethical shopping. Changing the way we shopis a small price to pay to change the life of so many.

References:

1 Batstone, David (2010), Not ForSale, Harper One, United States.

2 Report on Child Labour (2010), International Labour Organization, Geneva.

Redhill values active compassion.

Follow Keren-Suzanne's own blog at http://keren-suzanne.tumblr.com/

Welcome!

2012-01-03T21:56:00.000+11:00

Hi! We're Redhill Church. Welcome to our world.

Who are we? What are we about? Who are we for? What are we thinking/learning/dreaming about?

These are all good questions. But they say a picture is worth a thousand words. And now a #hashtag is worth a thousand pictures. And soon something else will be worth a thousand #hashtags. So where does that leave us? Floundering aimlessly around a blog apparently. But we will try and share some of who we are and what we're about through this blog, from the deep to the light-hearted and some in between.

Read a little, think a little, dream a little.

Cheers,
Redhill.

redhill.org.au