Update and Prayer Points

Wow!! It really has been ages since my last post and I feel there is so much I should be updating!

After Mission, we had 3 weeks' break from college. It's always worth reminding people that college breaks are not really holidays. Invariably, we have assignments and essays that are due during our breaks and there is always reading to catch up on. This means that I sometimes find it difficult to schedule proper time off where I actually give myself permission NOT to do any work - because there is always something I could be doing!

These holidays, I had the privilege of housesitting for the lovely Jane at Concord for the whole of the break. It gave me the freedom to spread out while I wrote my Old Testament exegetical paper, room to walk away from the table I was using, a lounge to sit on to relax, opportunity to eat breakfast in my pyjamas and the chance to leave my toiletries in the bathroom for 3 weeks!

It was exciting to be able to spend Good Friday down in the Illawarra. I caught up with old Shellharbour friends at church and over lunch before spending some time with my parents then with my god-daughter and her family. With not having made it back down to Wollongong since I left there just before the New Year, it was the longest time in my life that I've ever been away. Seems strange to be away for such extended periods now!

I also had the opportunity to get away for a couple of days up to the Hunter Valley with my sister. Her Christmas present to me last year was to take me up there for a couple of days over the Easter break. Despite a little bit of rain, we had a lovely time visiting some wineries, galleries and various shops.

Since returning to college, things have been pretty crazy! We had our Greek half-yearly a couple of weeks ago, a 3000-word Church History essay to hand in 2 days ago, another 3000-word Old Testament essay due 9th June, followed by another 3 exams. Doesn't exactly leave a great deal of time for other things!

In amongst all of that, I have been a big, allergic, sneezy, sinus-y, headache-y, coughing mess for the last two weeks (which was particularly fun during the Greek exam!). Trying to face all of the things on my plate while being in an allergic fog exacerbated by an inability to get a proper night's sleep, has made life more than a little difficult. Whilst the sinus and the headaches have eased up, the rest is still causing me some grief - something I'm now more than a bit tired of (as, I imagine, is the girl in the room next door!).

Please join me in praying for the following things.

Praise God:

• for the opportunity to remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of his Son, so that our relationship with him can be restored


• for time with family and friends over the college break


• for the blessing of opportunities to house-sit


• for the privilege of sitting under the amazing teaching that we have here at MTC

Pray:

• that my health will return quickly and that I'll be able to return to some normal sleeping patterns


• for the ability to focus on the work that I have to do and to be able to prioritise appropriately while remembering to ensure that I consider how God wants me to change my life as a result of what I'm learning and not neglecting relationships with those around me

Wonders of Mission

It is truly amazing, the opportunities that you can have to talk to somebody in the city about Jesus! There is a certain freedom with knowing that people sitting in the square are actually sitting on property owned by the cathedral - it kind of makes them fair game! And so many are curious about the cathedral and about the idea of church, so they're willing to engage in conversation if you approach them!

Last night's City Night Church was lots of fun. Lots of people were sitting out on the square before church so we were able to invite a number to join us for church - and some took up the invitation! It was great to chat with some who were checking out the cathedral services for the first time, as well as some who had been around for a while.

Lunchtime today saw a similar response. People came to check out the talks that we've organised for lunchtime throughout the week - not many people but there were some who were curious about what Chris had to say and it was great to talk with a woman who works in a local nearby office about what she believes and how that influences her life.

The other fascinating aspect to wandering around the square is spotting famous faces. Today's top 2 were Joe Hockey and Lyn Collingwood (go on, Google them if you're not sure who they are).

Mission begins....

So I've managed to grab some time on a computer in the cathedral offices and thought I'd give a quick update on the first few hours of the Moore College Mission week at St Andrew's Cathedral.

I was right in thinking that mission at the cathedral would be very different to last year's experience at Albury Bible Fellowship!

Church this morning was a very different experience to the relaxed informality of an independent evangelical service held in a church hall - and I didn't even go to the traditional service this week!! However, it brought back memories of attending traditional services in my teenage years, which was quite nostalgic. It was a surprising delight to see my friend Jodie and her friend Jill arrive at this morning's service, after having run away together for a girls' weekend in the city.

It was interesting to hear Phillip Jensen speak of the particular peculiarities of inner city ministry, especially that in a cathedral. The challenges that are faced are quite uniquely different to those in a regular suburban parish, yet provide exciting opportunities to share the gospel on a regular basis to people who visit.

Please pray for us as we continue to share the gospel this week, that we will be bold in taking up opportunities, sensitive to the needs of those we are talking to and faithful in the words we speak. Please also pray for me as I finalise the details of my talk for Thursday morning.

Mission and Prayer

Another quick update and a prayer request.

Next week, students and faculty of Moore College will be dispersing to various areas around the Sydney Diocese for a week of Mission. We will be working alongside local parishes, with the distinct intention of sharing the gospel with people and helping the parishes connect with their local communities.

I am part of a team that will be heading to St Andrew's Cathedral in the Sydney CBD. Some may recall that last year I was working alongside a small, independent, evangelical church in Albury - needless to say, I expect the two missions to be quite different!

However, the gospel remains the same and people's need to hear it does not change. Apart from time with regular members and visitors to the Cathedral, I will be involved with some kids' ministry and will be giving a talk to a group of women next Thursday morning.

Praise God for the opportunities that we have to proclaim him throughout mission weeks. Please pray that we will be faithful to the gospel, sensitive in conversation and deeds, gracious with each other as a team and that I, and others who are giving talks, will prepare well and bring glory to God as we deliver them.

Quick update

Apologies for not posting an update for so long.

We are now in Week 3 of Term 1 and we have certainly hit the ground running! I have a 2000-word Doctrine book review due on Tuesday, my first New Testament exegetical due the following Tuesday, college mission week 29th March - 5th April (I'm heading to St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney), all the normal readings and Greek exercises and vocab, heading up the Agape Committee PLUS I'm leading church for the first time at Panania this week, etc, etc.

Please pray with me that I will not be overwhelmed by the number of things to do, that I will be focused and disciplined in my work and that I will be seeking to bring glory to God in all that I do.

A couple of people have asked me recently how they can support me financially. The best way would be to contribute to my accommodation costs or Moore Books account. Details are as follows:

Cheques made out to Moore College, 1 King St, Newtown NSW 2042 with student # 10010313 can be sent.

Alternatively, the BPay biller code is 908327.
For accommodation, the reference # is 10010313634.
For Moore Books, the reference # is 10010313303.

By all means, feel free to contact me if you're unsure about all of this.

Now, I'm Really Finished!

Today has been a lovely way to finish the academic year. The whole college attended a farewell chapel service (where Michael Morrow's new CD was launched, by the way - see http://www.morrowmusic.com). We all then enjoyed a BBQ lunch on the lawn (and what a glorious day for it!) before a competition between faculty and students.

Then later in the afternoon, a group of first-year girls got together for a high tea celebration. This was such an encouraging time of fun and laughs, sharing with each other the highs and lows of the year and praying for each other. Some of those girls won't be returning next year, although some of them have husbands who will be continuing study. I pray that God will continue to sustain each one of them and that they will find new ways of enjoying and serving the One who sustains us.

Last One!!!

Yesterday afternoon, I completed my final exam for the year. 3 hours of Doctrine was an exhausting yet exhilirating way to finish.

I've really enjoyed Doctrine lectures this year. It has been great to think through my understanding and knowledge of God and this world.

I expect that next year's lectures will be much more challenging but, for now, here are the questions I wrote on yesterday afternoon. If you want to talk any of them through, let me know - more than happy to discuss them!

• How is it possible for human beings to 'know God'?


• 'The Trinity is an impractical doctrine of relative unimportance.' Discuss.


• '... of infinite power, wisdom and goodness.' Consider the meaning and implications of this description of God.


• Respond to the suggestion that 'penal substitution' is unjust.


• Why must Christian believers take seriously the bodily resurrection of Jesus?

So, what's next? Well, today we have our final chapel service for the year, lunch together as a college and a high tea for the first year girls this afternoon. I'll spend a few days in Shellharbour early next week before coming back to college for much of the holidays.

I'm looking forward to reading for the sake of enjoyment (even re-reading some of my textbooks, just because I can), enjoying time to watch some movies, doing some scrapbooking, catching up with people, attending a silly number of weddings, doing Christmas shopping and even cleaning up my room and getting into Greek summer assignments!

In the meantime, I will be preparing to finish up at Shellharbour City, starting at Panania in January, attending CMS Summer School and assisting at Next Generation (previously known as Katoomba Youth Leadership Conference). As much as I first thought the holidays would be difficult to fill, now I'm pleased there at least seems enough time to fit things in.

Well, off to prepare to face today and all its celebrations!

Mission Foundations Exam

Well, here's a first - I walked out of the exam smiling!

Mission Foundations is a subject that looked at the biblical theology of mission before looking specifically at how people have engaged in mission since biblical times. It has been a fascinating subject, one that I've felt I could sink my teeth into.

The questions I wrote on were:

• In what ways did Paul's conversion launch him on a path of world mission?
• What is the message of the book of Revelation for world mission?
• What relationship does action for social justice bear to proclamation of the gospel?

All that's left now is the 3-hour Doctrine exam tomorrow afternoon - it's a BIG ONE!!!! Wow, are we nearly done?

Philosophy exam

For better or worse, I have finished my Philosophy exam. I have to admit that I've really struggled with Philosophy - the ideas seem so enormous and, quite frankly, weird or even useless. So, although I've done some hard work on it (maybe not as consistently as I should have?), I went into the exam feeling as though I really wasn't sure about any of it. On top of that, I'd had my first bad night's sleep in the last couple of weeks (praise God that I've had such great sleep over the last few weeks) - I've been awake since 3.43am!!!

This exam was different to the others in that we had some idea of what the questions would be before we went in. In some ways, this seemed to increase the pressure of feeling like we'd really need to know what we're on about for this one. Additionally, I think everybody was a bit surprised that not all of the questions seemed to particularly resemble the ones we'd been told. At the very least, they tended to be narrower in scope, meaning you had to understand a particular part of the question you'd prepared for.

The questions I answered (or attempted to answer at least) were:

• How successful is Plato's ideal republic when it comes to formalising the relationship between the One and the Many?
• To what extent did Augustine's challenge to the skeptics enable him to make judgements about the Truth?
• How successful is Kant's categorical imperative when it comes to making moral decisions?

Whether it was the tiredness, the anxiety I was trying to keep under control about Philosophy, or that I still really don't get it, I left the exam about 15 minutes early because I had simply run out of things to say about Augustine and Kant. To my surprise, especially given I was in tears over Plato on Saturday night, I felt able to answer that question quite well.

Well, no time to dwell on it too much - still have 2 more exams in the next 3 days. Better get to it!

Church History exam

At least today's exam didn't seem as bad as the New Testament one. We needed to do 3 essays and there were 3 questions that I felt really comfortable with - couldn't hope for better really!

This year's Church History course focused on the early church, from the time of the apostles up to the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The lectures have actually been really interesting - I just wish I'd had more time to really absorb some of the detail

For those who may be interested, the questions I answered were:

• Evaluate the claim that Constantine's Christian faith was little more than a political expediency.
• What advances did the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed make?
• Discuss the legacy for the Christian church of Augustine of Hippo (355-430).

Now, to start looking at Philosophy - my real nemesis if there is one amongst my subjects. I don't get it!!! Please pray.

New Testament exam

Our New Testament exam was this afternoon and it felt much more difficult than the Old Testament exam on Monday.

Throughout the year, we have been studying Mark's gospel, Paul's letter to the Ephesians and Peter's first epistle.

Part of my problem in the exam was that I seemed to draw a mental blank on almost all of what I had learned about 1 Peter! I couldn't remember the structure I had memorised and, in a panic, seemed to then forget everything else about the book!!

Anyhow, see what you think of the questions I attempted:

• How does Mark's structure assist the telling of his story?
• 'Your faith has saved you.' What is the relationship between faith and salvation in Mark's Gospel?
• 'Four Gospels. One Jesus.' Explain the advantages and disadvantages for Gospels study, of having four Gospels.
• How does the Christology of 1 Peter serve to motivate readers towards doing good?
• In what ways does Christ change human relationships, according to Ephesians?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Now onto study for the Church History exam on Friday!

Free Money for New Lives

Check out the following sites on this joint initiative between Moore College, Anglicare and Women's Forum Australia. Please consider if you can help in any way.

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/sydneystories/free_money_to_free_the_unborn/

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/socialissues/080_free_money_for_new_lives/

http://www.freemoneyfornewlives.com.au/

One Year Down - Well, Almost!

It's hard to believe that I have already finished lectures for the year! Where has my first year at college gone? Although it still seems daunting to think of another 3 to go, if they all go this quickly, then it will fly by.

Presuming I pass all my exams (maybe that's a big presumption at the moment :-)), the year will be completely over in less than 3 weeks. In the meantime, however, I still have 6 more exams to face, with 24 essays to write in them! 24 essays!! That's still a lot of information I need to absorb during the next couple of weeks.

Please pray that I will be diligent in my studies, that I will be able to keep in perspective the fact that lots of others have done this before me and survived (and that my salvation and worth as a person do not depend on my results at college) and that all the students will be supportive of and gracious to each other during this stressful time.

Most of all, please pray that I will be excited by what I'm learning, that it will not be a merely academic exercise and that God will be working in my life as I learn and understand more about him.

PS for details of my exam timetable, see my post dated 23 September.

Community Living

One of my friends recently wrote a blog post on community living at College and it struck me how different everybody's experiences community living are.

So many variables have to be taken into consideration in order to gauge one's response to the idea of living in a college environment. Personality is a significant factor - an extrovert can enjoy sharing with a large number of others but be frustrated when others are busy and there seems to be nobody around. An introvert can struggle with being overwhelmed by people always being around and a lack of personal space.

For some of the girls I live with, moving to college has been the first time they've moved out of home. For them, college can be an experience of the freedom they have yearned while living at home as an adult. Some of them go back home on weekends to catch up with family, friends, washing, etc.

For others, moving to college has meant moving from interstate or from country NSW and all that is familiar is a long way away.

In some ways, I've been surprised by my own reaction to living at college. As an introvert who has lived alone for a number of years, I expected the adjustment to be significant. And it has been. However, not always in the ways that I imagined.

I had had more than 12 months to really adjust to the idea of moving to college, of moving away from friends and family, of living in one room. Of course the reality is always different to the idea but I think, overall, that I had prepared myself well mentally.

People have often asked me if I miss having my own kitchen and I have to say that I generally haven't. Although I don't mind cooking, I don't find it relaxing the way some seem to and I really only enjoy it when I feel I have time to enjoy it. Throwing something together for dinner after a long day at work was never my idea of fun. So having meals provided suits me fine. Having to go up the road for every meal and being told what time I'm to eat every meal is, however, sometimes a real drag. Having to engage in small talk over every meal is also sometimes just hard work.

What I have really missed is a loungeroom. I spend a lot of time in my room and, quite frankly, I get really tired of only having my desk or my bed to choose from. Somewhere to kick back and unwind is sorely missed.

I also get frustrated by the bathroom arrangement. I've lost count now of the number of guys who I've unexpectedly found in the corridor as I come back from the shower in a robe. Not usually my preference!

There are definitely advantages in living in community - the commute to college is a breeze and there are always people around when you need help of some sort.

However, please pray for me (and my housemates) as we deal with living together. Pray that I will be gracious and tolerant and that I will be always looking out for the needs of others.

Driscoll-mania - what did he have to say to Moore College?

My last post told the story of how I came to hear Mark Driscoll twice on Wednesday. This post will look at what he had to say first of all to Moore College.

The seminar he conducted on Wednesday afternoon at Moore College was probably the best-attended college event I have yet seen. I doubt there were many students or faculty who were willing to miss the opportunity to hear what Driscoll had to say about preaching to today's generation.

It was quickly clear that Driscoll had done his homework about Australia in general and Sydney in particular. He knew statistics about Sydney that some had never heard before. He seemed to have gleaned a good understanding of the pop-culture of Sydney, of what things were in fashion, especially amongst the younger generation, and of what was considered to be 'cool'.

Driscoll also had done his homework about Moore College and determined what it was that he felt we, as a college, needed to be told. And tell us, he did! He was quite complimentary of the attention that is given to remaining true to the Scriptures by the Sydney Diocese and of not allowing the gospel to be compromised. He said that we were known as 'the Bible guys'. However, Driscoll was quite forceful in telling us that we need to polish up our act in how we present the gospel to our community. He said that there were two groups - the boring Bible guys and the really cool heretics. He suggested that we need to be adding a third group to the mix - the pretty cool Bible guys. He then went on to talk about some of the ways we could do that.

He reminded us that proclamation of the gospel is about the telling of a timeless truth but that contextualisation is about telling it in a timely manner. In other words, be unflinching in the gospel message but flexible in our approach. However, contextualisation is not making the gospel relevant, it's showing the relevance of the gospel.

Driscoll also challenged us as students to be thinking about how we are sharing our lives with non-Christians. It's true that it is very easy to lead quite an insular life here at College, one where we have very little contact with anybody outside of our immediate community. It was certainly a challenge that is worth further consideration. How do I go about ensuring that I have opportunities to share the gospel if I have no contact with non-Christians?

Driscoll also gave the guys a particularly hard time, bluntly telling the young guys that they, especially, need to step up, grow up and take responsibility for their lives, their marriages and families and for their churches. My understanding is that encouraging young guys to step up is a particular hobby horse of Driscoll's and he did not settle for less on this occasion. He also argued that a man is going to have little idea of how to head up a church if he has not headed up a family.

Although the single women were told to keep serving Jesus and be prepared to change what this looks like when they marry (a generally good principle), there was no recognition at all of the fact that relationships are not always as straightforward as this, and not everybody who wishes to marry will have this opportunity. The obvious (and right) response is to keep serving Jesus. However, as somebody who did himself marry as a young man, it seemed to me that Driscoll had little understanding of just how hard it can sometimes be as a single person in a world of couples and families.

All in all, I would say that it was worthwhile hearing what Driscoll had to say. Despite not agreeing with all that he said, there was certainly stuff in there that we as Sydney Anglican Moore College students needed to hear.