Moving overseas to a new city and few ties has provided us with an amazing opportunity to find a church to call home for the next year. After being in country for three weeks (and visiting a few churches), Liz and I just started to have a conversation about what we are looking for. The list included some preferences and some non-negotiables. They were: a church that was contemporary style and had good teaching, a place where we could get to know people and people could get to know us, a good children's ministry for Philip and Katrise, not too far away, a place we would like to visit on our trips back to the US when we visit ministry partners, in fact a place where there might be people who would like to partner with us in ministry would be a real bonus.
A google search for churches in Littleton provided a bumper crop to choose from. Reading through website after website left me feeling a little like there was little difference between most of them. The statements of faith are fairly generic and many emphasise having an authentic community of people who want to worship Jesus. Most of the larger churches run multiple Sunday morning services, but no evening service (an evening "youth service" is often expected in Sydney).
Last weekend we visited a United Methodist Church with some family members. It was a very well presented building. We were warmly greeted at the door and well looked after by the Children's Ministry receptionist, who directed us to the right rooms for Katrise and Philip. The service featured the first verse of several well-known hymns, and some items - two were done with tymbralls (sp? - little bells) and another was a group of women singing. The auditorium was large - seating at least 500 - and we were at the second of three services for the morning. First time visitors were handed a welcome pack during the service that included a loaf of bannana bread. The senior minister is a woman and they were launching into a series on Paul's journeys as recorded in the book of Acts. Interestingly, she doubted that many of the NT books attributed to Paul were actually written by him. Later, she also scoffed at calling people outside of the church "lost" or "seekers" or "unchurched". She preferred a term from the recovery movement: "normals". (People in the church are "nuts" - never underestimating the spirit). After the service donuts and coffee were available (for a small donation).
This morning we visited a large "community church" (who shall remain nameless). We arrived about five minutes late. But it was a massive, very impressive building. When we entered the lobby there were very clear signs that directed us, as newcomers, where to sign in our kids and where to go. This was just the first sign to me that the church leaders had read (and were closely following) the church growth handbook. This time we arrived for the first service, unsure whether we would attend the worship service or visit an adult Sunday School class. Because we were late we decided just to sneak in the back of the service - after dropping Katrise off at her class and Philip off at his. We arrived in the service just in time to find everyone filling out a church survey (probably like "Reveal" from Willow Creek - it had questions like, "in the past year, have you built an ongoing relationship with a non-believer?" and "do you feel you have grown spiritually in the last year". At the end of this, the worship team led us through two songs - very well performed, but the volume seemed a little muted and, as I looked around, I could barely see anyone else singing along. The auditorium was about the same size as the church from the week before - seating about 500. The sermon was on the question, "Are you an admirer of Jesus, or a follower?". It came from the end of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 7:13-23 to be precise) - a section of the Bible they had been preaching through for nine months. The preacher (I think it was the senior pastor) referenced his sources well - a commentary on Matthew by Brunner, a story by Ortberg about Blondin, etc. His voice broke a couple of times when he talked about people rejecting Jesus. He finished with a challenge - and about 11 people stood to indicate decisions to truly follow Jesus. In the seat was a visitor's card and the reward for handing it in to the information/welcome desk was a $5 Starbucks voucher. At the end of the service I picked up Katrise and browsed the bookstore in the lobby while waiting for Liz to get Philip. Then we all went and handed over our 50c donation for a donut. We stood around eating it, sitting after a while, but no one seemed to notice us or even smile at us. As we were leaving we ran into a neighbour from the seminary - a friendly face! Still, our reflection after leaving was that they had all the elements but we didn't feel their heart.
At home in the carpark at the seminary we ran into another friend and they told us about a church they were visiting that night. It sounded intriguing, so we decided to join them. Called "Scum of the Earth" (http://www.scumoftheearth.net/) it was definitely a church with a difference. Located on the edge of downtown Denver, it is about 20 minutes drive from our apartment. Their (one) service is held at 6:30pm on Sunday nights. We pulled up on a side street and I wondered if it would be safe to leave our car! Walking up to the front of the building, we passed through a crowd of local smoking - who then followed us into the service. The building was packed! It had been an old church which had been totally gutted and used for who knows what over the last several decades. But the exposed timber rafters and soaring ceiling, gritty floor and four foot drop at the front one third of the church made it really different. There were some cushions cast about on the lower third, and a mix of nice "church chairs" (think movie theatre seats) and old hastily erected portable chairs lined up on the top two thirds. The music was raw, badly amplified, but everyone was singing lustily. After about three songs - with good meaty lyrics, but sung simply - the service broke for dinner for about 15 minutes. Everyone formed a queue and worked their way out to the back to pick up a plate of tortilla, beans, etc. Most finished the food in the main sanctuary (for want of a better term) as the service resumed. A lady pastor, Kim, spoke on the power of forgiveness. It was straight from Luke's gospel (Luke 7) and it followed from a sermon the previous week by a 70 year old guest speaker. After explaining the power of forgiveness in the text, she shared about getting divorced while being a student at Denver Seminary. The seminary had proceedures they were to follow, but actually walked with her through the process in a way that helped her tremendously and allowed her to be at her current place, living out God's calling. It was real, shocking (in some ways) and very powerful. The place was packed full of students (from the local college), locals with tattoos, etc. and it was awesome. We also ran into a visiting group from Campus Crusade. A summer project team of students and staff were working with troubled youth and came to visit the church together. Amazingly, the project director's wife was the sister of Liz's friends she worked with in Indianapolis. Philip and Katrise also did amazingly well to hold it together during the service as there was no child care (no other children about, really). We couldn't ask our kids to do it every week, but Liz and I really enjoyed the style of service and the atmosphere of being around college students again :) Oh, and I should mention that my NT professor Dr Craig Blomberg, attends the church and his wife is on the Church Council, so I am confident they are biblically sound :)
Anyway, my parents are in town next weekend, so I am not sure how much church shopping we will do. We have a couple of other potential churches to check out, but we need to settle somewhere soon.
Monday, 15 June 2009
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Nineteen Days in Denver
Whereas the Australian summer was characterised by fires, floods and earthquakes, the past two weeks here have been characterised by cold snaps, hail storms and tornadoes.
We have continued to settle in well. Philip has built a good friendship with Hayden. In fact, last night he joined a "coach pitch" baseball team with Hayden. This is a version of baseball where the coach pitches the ball to the kids, rather than have them hit off a tee or try to pitch to each other. Philip's natural athleticism shone through, of course, as he caught and threw the ball really well. His batting needs some work (since he played tee-ball over the Aussie summer).
He has really enjoyed riding his bike around the grounds of the seminary. He was complaining that the brake handle was too stiff, so I tried it and found out he has no rear brakes! I took it to the bike shop but, being the beginning of summer, they have 10 day turnaround to replace the brake lever. So, knowing Philip couldn't last two weeks without his bike, I booked it in (to take back in a week), but brought it home. Today Philip was still tearing around, even without proper brakes. (The front ones sort of work). He has been accumulating scrapes on his knees and feet, but they haven't stopped him.
Katrise has been working on riding her three wheeled scooter. Initially it was very much a "hop and a step", but her legs seem to have strengthened over the last three days and she really does now "scooter".
Liz's sister, Berit, went out of town for two days, so we minded our niece, Delaney, for two mornings while Dan was at work. Katrise was soooooo excited to have another girl to play with. They did dress up in princess fairy dresses, explored the river bank and brought home leaves and feathers to make a montage.
Philip has also been playing with two boys from Zimbabwe. TC is the older one and together they found a robin's nest with baby birds in it. Philip drew a picture of it in his homeschooling today.
We finally made it to church last weekend. The first weekend we were so jet lagged we slept through the morning. Last week we had the 'flu and couldn't all get ready in time. (Going as half a family to a new church is a bit daunting). So this week we visited the church that Liz's sisters (Berit & Victoria) attend. Next week we are going to begin to check out some other churches. We were going to go to "Waterstone", which is where Katrise is going to pre-school in September, but I just heard that Lee Strobel is speaking at Cherryhills Community Church this Sunday and we may change our plans.
Liz picked up a bike tonight and we are looking forward to going for a ride sometime over the next couple of days. The bike path beside the Platte River is absolutely gorgeous. It runs for about 8 miles, is smooth, wide and level. Not particularly taxing (and has a 15mph speed limit), which makes it all the more enjoyable.
It's been almost 10 years since Liz and I last lived here. There are some remarkable differences that I have noticed between last time and this time. Let me share some with you.
Technology has changed remarkably. When we last lived here, we had a laptop and we dialed into compuserve to send emails to our few friends who also had email. Phone calls were ridiculously expensive.
This time I have a new laptop I am using for study. Liz is using my old one (which used to be her old one). Each room in our apartment (except the bathrooms) has a network plug and so I can plug the laptop into the internet anywhere. (What is more, each of the study desks in the library also has a powerpoint and network plug). And the internet is noticeably faster here than in Sydney.
We bought an option on skype which, for $140 for the year, allows us to call a landline in any of 40 countries around the world for no charge. In the US, that also includes cell phones.
When I received an email this week from our landlord saying that there was a serious plumbing problem at our house, I just jumped on skype, called her and it was sorted out in minutes. I called mum and dad at my uncle's house in England.
We also bought phone numbers in Denver and in Sydney (for $40 each for the year), so that our family and friends can call us without using skype. This has saved us having to have a phone - we just have to have the computer on. (Skype takes voice mail messages if we don't answer).
Of course, there is facebook, this blog and email so that we can share stories, photos and even just our moods with people pretty easily.
The Internet has also allowed me to keep connected to my favourite Aussie sporting team - the Eels. I was able to watch the first State of Origin game and the last couple of Eels games. The distance between continents is shrinking!
We arrived just at the peak of the "garage [emphasis on the second syllable] sale" season here in Colorado. We picked up lots of useful things for the apartment - and a $10 bike for me! One cultural shock came from seeing two SUV's pull up in the driveway of the garage sale and 10 hispanic people jump out, descend on the stuff for sale, pick and pull at it, argue or discuss it in Spanish, approach the seller (who was a bit overwhelmed), make a deal, load up and pull out - around the corner to the next garage sale to do it all again! Liz heard that some people come up from Mexico just for garage sale season in Colorado, and we wouldn't be surprised if that is what we saw! Garage sales here also run on Friday and Saturday - an interesting quirk from Sydney's usual Saturday and Sunday sales.
One interesting thing about our apartment is that it is on the front side of the apartment complex at the seminary. It is close to the main road (Santa Fe) and on the other side of the road is a train line. Every half hour or so, long train loads of coal go rumbling by. We've been getting used to the noise (and can now sleep through the midnight train and the 6am train), but it affects our TV reception. We had been hoping to avoid paying for cable TV while here, but every time a train goes by the reception drops out - often in the middle of an important news story or piece of dialogue or sport.
I've spent hours in the library each day this week. My Hebrew intensive class begins next Monday. So I scheduled a NT Greek exam for this Friday morning. I thought I had better sit the Greek exam before my brain goes to mush trying to study Hebrew! So, I have been reviewing all of last year's Greek so that it is fresh. I am up to speed on 1st and 2nd declension nouns, participles and liquid verbs. If I don't pass the test, I won't be able to do the New Testament subject in the Fall semester that I need. Areas covered by the exam are:
1. All vocabulary words that occur fifty or more times in the Greek N.T.
2. Conjugation of regular verbs in all three persons, singular and plural
3. Ability to parse all verb forms, regular and irregular
4. Explanation of the uses and meaning of verb tenses and moods (except the optative but
including participles and infinitives) and explanation of the various functions of each
5. Ability to decline first and second declension nouns and adjectives
6. Ability to parse third declension noun and adjective forms
7. Identification of various classes of pronouns and their uses
8. Meaning of such details as augments, reduplication, contract verbs, deponent verbs,
articles, etc.
9. Ability to translate the Gospel of John or 1 John–Greek to English.
When a friend heard that I was studying Hebrew this summer he said "Aahh, summer suicide Hebrew" - very encouraging! Then when I bought the textbook from the Seminary bookshop yesterday, the student serving me said, "Oh. Well, good luck." Maybe it will be pretty intense!
With that in mind, I have been also working at getting ahead in one of the other courses I am doing this summer: "Foundations of Teaching and Learning ", with it's textbook "Introduction to Christian Education" by Michael J. Anthony. I thought the course would be mostly about adult Sunday School classes - something that I haven't seen in Sydney. But the course is broader than that. It includes children's classes, small groups, Sunday teaching and any other form of discipleship and training that the church seeks to use to help people grow in their knowledge of and practice of their faith.
The first paper was a two page historical sketch of a person of major influence on Christian Education. My classmates chose John Calvin, Thomas Aquinas and Fredrick Douglass. I chose Henrietta Mears because of her influence on Billy Graham and Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade). It was very interesting reading a couple of biographies about her and learning more about the time and culture in which she lived. Her influence, through her adult Sunday school, conferences and Sunday School curriculum was profound and international.
We also have to read an additional 1,000 pages from books other than the prescribed textbook. From the potential reading list, I have chosen:
Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Gregory, John Milton. The Seven Laws of Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1956.
Hendricks, Howard. Teaching to Change Lives. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1987.
LeFever, Marlene. Learning Styles. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishing, 1995.
Wilkinson, Bruce H. The Seven Laws of the Learner. Sisters: Multnomah Press, 1992.
I've been really looking forward to my parent's arriving on Friday week. They are visiting for 9 days. We miss them already (they've been travelling for about two months), so I don't know how we'll go being away from them for a year! We're looking forward to showing them around where we are living.
Anyway, that's probably too much now for anyone to have read. If you do get this far, drop me an email and let me know - send me the codeword: train :) Thanks.
We have continued to settle in well. Philip has built a good friendship with Hayden. In fact, last night he joined a "coach pitch" baseball team with Hayden. This is a version of baseball where the coach pitches the ball to the kids, rather than have them hit off a tee or try to pitch to each other. Philip's natural athleticism shone through, of course, as he caught and threw the ball really well. His batting needs some work (since he played tee-ball over the Aussie summer).
He has really enjoyed riding his bike around the grounds of the seminary. He was complaining that the brake handle was too stiff, so I tried it and found out he has no rear brakes! I took it to the bike shop but, being the beginning of summer, they have 10 day turnaround to replace the brake lever. So, knowing Philip couldn't last two weeks without his bike, I booked it in (to take back in a week), but brought it home. Today Philip was still tearing around, even without proper brakes. (The front ones sort of work). He has been accumulating scrapes on his knees and feet, but they haven't stopped him.
Katrise has been working on riding her three wheeled scooter. Initially it was very much a "hop and a step", but her legs seem to have strengthened over the last three days and she really does now "scooter".
Liz's sister, Berit, went out of town for two days, so we minded our niece, Delaney, for two mornings while Dan was at work. Katrise was soooooo excited to have another girl to play with. They did dress up in princess fairy dresses, explored the river bank and brought home leaves and feathers to make a montage.
Philip has also been playing with two boys from Zimbabwe. TC is the older one and together they found a robin's nest with baby birds in it. Philip drew a picture of it in his homeschooling today.
We finally made it to church last weekend. The first weekend we were so jet lagged we slept through the morning. Last week we had the 'flu and couldn't all get ready in time. (Going as half a family to a new church is a bit daunting). So this week we visited the church that Liz's sisters (Berit & Victoria) attend. Next week we are going to begin to check out some other churches. We were going to go to "Waterstone", which is where Katrise is going to pre-school in September, but I just heard that Lee Strobel is speaking at Cherryhills Community Church this Sunday and we may change our plans.
Liz picked up a bike tonight and we are looking forward to going for a ride sometime over the next couple of days. The bike path beside the Platte River is absolutely gorgeous. It runs for about 8 miles, is smooth, wide and level. Not particularly taxing (and has a 15mph speed limit), which makes it all the more enjoyable.
It's been almost 10 years since Liz and I last lived here. There are some remarkable differences that I have noticed between last time and this time. Let me share some with you.
Technology has changed remarkably. When we last lived here, we had a laptop and we dialed into compuserve to send emails to our few friends who also had email. Phone calls were ridiculously expensive.
This time I have a new laptop I am using for study. Liz is using my old one (which used to be her old one). Each room in our apartment (except the bathrooms) has a network plug and so I can plug the laptop into the internet anywhere. (What is more, each of the study desks in the library also has a powerpoint and network plug). And the internet is noticeably faster here than in Sydney.
We bought an option on skype which, for $140 for the year, allows us to call a landline in any of 40 countries around the world for no charge. In the US, that also includes cell phones.
When I received an email this week from our landlord saying that there was a serious plumbing problem at our house, I just jumped on skype, called her and it was sorted out in minutes. I called mum and dad at my uncle's house in England.
We also bought phone numbers in Denver and in Sydney (for $40 each for the year), so that our family and friends can call us without using skype. This has saved us having to have a phone - we just have to have the computer on. (Skype takes voice mail messages if we don't answer).
Of course, there is facebook, this blog and email so that we can share stories, photos and even just our moods with people pretty easily.
The Internet has also allowed me to keep connected to my favourite Aussie sporting team - the Eels. I was able to watch the first State of Origin game and the last couple of Eels games. The distance between continents is shrinking!
We arrived just at the peak of the "garage [emphasis on the second syllable] sale" season here in Colorado. We picked up lots of useful things for the apartment - and a $10 bike for me! One cultural shock came from seeing two SUV's pull up in the driveway of the garage sale and 10 hispanic people jump out, descend on the stuff for sale, pick and pull at it, argue or discuss it in Spanish, approach the seller (who was a bit overwhelmed), make a deal, load up and pull out - around the corner to the next garage sale to do it all again! Liz heard that some people come up from Mexico just for garage sale season in Colorado, and we wouldn't be surprised if that is what we saw! Garage sales here also run on Friday and Saturday - an interesting quirk from Sydney's usual Saturday and Sunday sales.
One interesting thing about our apartment is that it is on the front side of the apartment complex at the seminary. It is close to the main road (Santa Fe) and on the other side of the road is a train line. Every half hour or so, long train loads of coal go rumbling by. We've been getting used to the noise (and can now sleep through the midnight train and the 6am train), but it affects our TV reception. We had been hoping to avoid paying for cable TV while here, but every time a train goes by the reception drops out - often in the middle of an important news story or piece of dialogue or sport.
I've spent hours in the library each day this week. My Hebrew intensive class begins next Monday. So I scheduled a NT Greek exam for this Friday morning. I thought I had better sit the Greek exam before my brain goes to mush trying to study Hebrew! So, I have been reviewing all of last year's Greek so that it is fresh. I am up to speed on 1st and 2nd declension nouns, participles and liquid verbs. If I don't pass the test, I won't be able to do the New Testament subject in the Fall semester that I need. Areas covered by the exam are:
1. All vocabulary words that occur fifty or more times in the Greek N.T.
2. Conjugation of regular verbs in all three persons, singular and plural
3. Ability to parse all verb forms, regular and irregular
4. Explanation of the uses and meaning of verb tenses and moods (except the optative but
including participles and infinitives) and explanation of the various functions of each
5. Ability to decline first and second declension nouns and adjectives
6. Ability to parse third declension noun and adjective forms
7. Identification of various classes of pronouns and their uses
8. Meaning of such details as augments, reduplication, contract verbs, deponent verbs,
articles, etc.
9. Ability to translate the Gospel of John or 1 John–Greek to English.
When a friend heard that I was studying Hebrew this summer he said "Aahh, summer suicide Hebrew" - very encouraging! Then when I bought the textbook from the Seminary bookshop yesterday, the student serving me said, "Oh. Well, good luck." Maybe it will be pretty intense!
With that in mind, I have been also working at getting ahead in one of the other courses I am doing this summer: "Foundations of Teaching and Learning ", with it's textbook "Introduction to Christian Education" by Michael J. Anthony. I thought the course would be mostly about adult Sunday School classes - something that I haven't seen in Sydney. But the course is broader than that. It includes children's classes, small groups, Sunday teaching and any other form of discipleship and training that the church seeks to use to help people grow in their knowledge of and practice of their faith.
The first paper was a two page historical sketch of a person of major influence on Christian Education. My classmates chose John Calvin, Thomas Aquinas and Fredrick Douglass. I chose Henrietta Mears because of her influence on Billy Graham and Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade). It was very interesting reading a couple of biographies about her and learning more about the time and culture in which she lived. Her influence, through her adult Sunday school, conferences and Sunday School curriculum was profound and international.
We also have to read an additional 1,000 pages from books other than the prescribed textbook. From the potential reading list, I have chosen:
Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books, 1993.
Gregory, John Milton. The Seven Laws of Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1956.
Hendricks, Howard. Teaching to Change Lives. Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1987.
LeFever, Marlene. Learning Styles. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook Publishing, 1995.
Wilkinson, Bruce H. The Seven Laws of the Learner. Sisters: Multnomah Press, 1992.
I've been really looking forward to my parent's arriving on Friday week. They are visiting for 9 days. We miss them already (they've been travelling for about two months), so I don't know how we'll go being away from them for a year! We're looking forward to showing them around where we are living.
Anyway, that's probably too much now for anyone to have read. If you do get this far, drop me an email and let me know - send me the codeword: train :) Thanks.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Sex & Professional Footballers
A few weeks ago the "group sex" incident involving Matthew Johns was headline news. That was only the peak of a much larger story that had been brewing for a while, and continues to bubble along. I saw a headline on the weekend that one woman in Melbourne claims to have slept with between 150 and 200 AFL players.
The discussion seems to have formed into two arguments. The first is that Rugby League players (and other professional sports persons) do not respect women, and such aberrant sexual behaviour is evidence of that. The defense from the players is that these women are consenting adults and, in many cases, initiate the sexual encounter.
Now, as a Christian, I am convinced that any sex outside of a marriage relationship demeans both parties (consenting or otherwise) and is offensive to God. But leaving aside what some might say is a high standard, let's look at this issue from a secular perspective.
The fundamental principle that these professional footballers need to get into their heads is that they are in privileged positions. They have celebrity and money that sets them apart from other guys their age. I've been in the pub and night club scene enough to know that most guys don't have women throwing themselves at them. If these guys do, it should be a clue that they have something that most guys don't. Because of their positions as players, they have power.
Now, power positions are not uncommon in our society. And there are fairly well established ethics for dealing with them. An academic is banned by their university ethics from sleeping with a student (even if they are a "consenting adult"). A company would look very seriously at an executive who had a "one-night stand" with an employee.
The unequal power relationships that exist in the university and in the company have a fairly limited scope. The unequal power relationships that exist for people with public profile extend much further. In the case of footballers, it extends to women they meet in the night club.
Does this mean that footballers, etc. are doomed to an eternal life of singleness or chastity? Again, the illustrations from above are informative. A relationship which communicates respect to the lower-powered person is one which takes into account their best interests. A footballer can "date" a girl he meets in a nightclub, but he needs to ensure that she is an equal party in the relationship. Using his power position for his own pleasure is abuse. That means no sex on (at least) the first date. Get to know the woman first! Abusing women for your own sexual pleasure is not a manly thing to do.
What about these women who act like the sexual predator? The ones who take the initiative with footballer and only have one thing on their mind? The short answer is that they are psychologically damaged. No normal, healthy person does that. I am not surprised that the NZ woman seemed willing at the time of the Matthew John's incident but then went on to attempt suicide in the future. These sort of women are looking to fill deep psychological needs in disturbing and damaging ways. Any real man who encountered a woman like that would seek to protect her from herself, rather than take advantage of her brokeness.
And at the end of the day, that is the main point. Anyone in a position of power has the choice whether to abuse it or use it for the good of others. Footballers need to realise that they can act to protect women or abuse them. Of course, true protection comes when sex is used to express that unique love that a husband has for his wife.
The discussion seems to have formed into two arguments. The first is that Rugby League players (and other professional sports persons) do not respect women, and such aberrant sexual behaviour is evidence of that. The defense from the players is that these women are consenting adults and, in many cases, initiate the sexual encounter.
Now, as a Christian, I am convinced that any sex outside of a marriage relationship demeans both parties (consenting or otherwise) and is offensive to God. But leaving aside what some might say is a high standard, let's look at this issue from a secular perspective.
The fundamental principle that these professional footballers need to get into their heads is that they are in privileged positions. They have celebrity and money that sets them apart from other guys their age. I've been in the pub and night club scene enough to know that most guys don't have women throwing themselves at them. If these guys do, it should be a clue that they have something that most guys don't. Because of their positions as players, they have power.
Now, power positions are not uncommon in our society. And there are fairly well established ethics for dealing with them. An academic is banned by their university ethics from sleeping with a student (even if they are a "consenting adult"). A company would look very seriously at an executive who had a "one-night stand" with an employee.
The unequal power relationships that exist in the university and in the company have a fairly limited scope. The unequal power relationships that exist for people with public profile extend much further. In the case of footballers, it extends to women they meet in the night club.
Does this mean that footballers, etc. are doomed to an eternal life of singleness or chastity? Again, the illustrations from above are informative. A relationship which communicates respect to the lower-powered person is one which takes into account their best interests. A footballer can "date" a girl he meets in a nightclub, but he needs to ensure that she is an equal party in the relationship. Using his power position for his own pleasure is abuse. That means no sex on (at least) the first date. Get to know the woman first! Abusing women for your own sexual pleasure is not a manly thing to do.
What about these women who act like the sexual predator? The ones who take the initiative with footballer and only have one thing on their mind? The short answer is that they are psychologically damaged. No normal, healthy person does that. I am not surprised that the NZ woman seemed willing at the time of the Matthew John's incident but then went on to attempt suicide in the future. These sort of women are looking to fill deep psychological needs in disturbing and damaging ways. Any real man who encountered a woman like that would seek to protect her from herself, rather than take advantage of her brokeness.
And at the end of the day, that is the main point. Anyone in a position of power has the choice whether to abuse it or use it for the good of others. Footballers need to realise that they can act to protect women or abuse them. Of course, true protection comes when sex is used to express that unique love that a husband has for his wife.
Friday, 29 May 2009
Settling In and Study
It's now been a week since we left Sydney. Last night was the first time we have had a whole night's sleep. Liz and I were over jetlag in two days, but Philip and Katrise struggled with the changes. Philip cried for two hours each of our first two nights in our apartment. But that is getting ahead of the story.
We spent our first weekend in a hotel suite while we sorted out renting the apartment on campus, furnishing it, etc. Our first night in the apartment was Tuesday night. It felt good to be able to sleep in our "own" beds.
Philip was feeling incredibly homesick. He was missing all his friends (esp. Sam, Oliver, Lachlan, Mitchell, Amish and Benny). Emails from several of them helped. But what really helped was finding a new friend.
Yesterday, Philip spent several hours playing (fighting?!?) with the other 7 year old boy who lives on campus. Hayden is a great kid and Philip has been looking to play with him today as well. [Legos is their thing at the moment]. Hayden's been off campus a bit because, being the beginning of the summer break, he has been camping, visiting his grand parents, etc.
Philip has also been excited to have a large campus to ride his scooter around. Every stairwell on campus is filled with kids' bikes and scooters. This could be the beginning of a long, fun summer. We're borrowing bikes for Philip and Katrise.
Every week there is a bread delivery to campus. The local supermarket sends left-over bread and students are able to supplement their grocery shopping with free bread. We had our first experience of this today, while Liz was out shopping. So Katrise and I tried to decide what was worth taking. American bread is very different from Australian bread - much sweeter usually. I found some loaves of King Sooper's brand that only had 2g of sugar. Of course, Katrise wanted to take a packet of cupcakes (decorated for high school graduation, since that has just happened this week). I picked up a pack of donuts (to try out, but they were pretty stale) and some bagels. It's a good thing that bread freezes! Apparently, there are produce deliveries as well.
Now to mention some study...
One of the classes I am taking this summer is EM501: Introduction to Christian Education. This is a topic that I haven't really encountered in this form before. The immediate thing that sprung to my mind was adult Sunday School classes - something popular in certain segments of the American church, but unknown in any Sydney churches I am familiar with. I'm finding out that much of what they have in mind would fit with the adult Sunday School model, but is much broader than that.
Our textbook is "Introduction to Christian Education" by Michael J. Anthony. It defines Christian Education as "the process by which those who have experienced a personal spiritual rebirth in their relationship with God partner with the indwelling Holy Spirit to grow in the image of Christ." The beginning of the course surveyed the history of Christian Education. It began with the Didache (Christian instruction for new adult converts during the first centuries of Christianity) and continued through the ages until the present scene, with its mix of local church, parachurch and internet media forums. It then went onto to consider Biblical references to education in the OT and the NT. These included references in Deuteronomy to the instruction of children within the family context, the teaching of the community in Nehemiah and the words of Jesus in the Great Commission to teach disciples in all nations all that he had commanded them.
Several chapters of the text addressed the issue of development - especially in children and adolescents - with insights from psychology, etc. The models developed by Erik Erikson, David Levinson, Jean Piaget, William Perry and Albert Bandura were surveyed. Moral development, presented by Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan were reviewed and reflected on. Finally, the thoughts on faith development by James W. Fowler were considered.
Despite the weighty topic and the heavy duty research referred to, the text is only an introduction, so it has been a fairly easy read. It has been interesting to reflect on the ways in which I have learnt more about my faith. I remember a fairly structured Sunday School program, but I don't remember much of the theological content. In my last year of high school I spent a year in a small group where our teacher taught three teenage boys the book of Revelation (from a dispensational perspective). Student Life provided a comprehensive program of education and training - both for students and new missionaries. Once I finished high school, my local church(es) have been lacking in any formal, organised instruction. I attended a "Regional Bible Study" taught by John North for several years. That was the closest thing to an adult education program I have seen in Sydney.
My first assignment for class is to write brief biography of an influential figure in the history of Christian Education. Suggested figures were: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Jon Amos Comenius, Thomas Aquinas, E.L. Thorndike, Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, William Rainey Harper, George Albert Coe, Pestalozzi, Johann Herbart, Friedrich Froebel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Robert Raikes, Horace Bushnell, and Henrietta Mears.
I chose Henrietta Mears because I had heard about her but didn't know much about her. I knew she ran the Sunday School at Hollywood Presbyterian in the 1950's which was attended by Billy Graham, Dawson Trotman and Bill Bright. Anyone who influenced guys like that should be worth learning about!
As for other study news, I have to sit an exam to attain advance standing for Greek (since I studied it in Sydney). I'm hoping to schedule it before I begin to fill my head with Hebrew in two weeks.
We spent our first weekend in a hotel suite while we sorted out renting the apartment on campus, furnishing it, etc. Our first night in the apartment was Tuesday night. It felt good to be able to sleep in our "own" beds.
Philip was feeling incredibly homesick. He was missing all his friends (esp. Sam, Oliver, Lachlan, Mitchell, Amish and Benny). Emails from several of them helped. But what really helped was finding a new friend.
Yesterday, Philip spent several hours playing (fighting?!?) with the other 7 year old boy who lives on campus. Hayden is a great kid and Philip has been looking to play with him today as well. [Legos is their thing at the moment]. Hayden's been off campus a bit because, being the beginning of the summer break, he has been camping, visiting his grand parents, etc.
Philip has also been excited to have a large campus to ride his scooter around. Every stairwell on campus is filled with kids' bikes and scooters. This could be the beginning of a long, fun summer. We're borrowing bikes for Philip and Katrise.
Every week there is a bread delivery to campus. The local supermarket sends left-over bread and students are able to supplement their grocery shopping with free bread. We had our first experience of this today, while Liz was out shopping. So Katrise and I tried to decide what was worth taking. American bread is very different from Australian bread - much sweeter usually. I found some loaves of King Sooper's brand that only had 2g of sugar. Of course, Katrise wanted to take a packet of cupcakes (decorated for high school graduation, since that has just happened this week). I picked up a pack of donuts (to try out, but they were pretty stale) and some bagels. It's a good thing that bread freezes! Apparently, there are produce deliveries as well.
Now to mention some study...
One of the classes I am taking this summer is EM501: Introduction to Christian Education. This is a topic that I haven't really encountered in this form before. The immediate thing that sprung to my mind was adult Sunday School classes - something popular in certain segments of the American church, but unknown in any Sydney churches I am familiar with. I'm finding out that much of what they have in mind would fit with the adult Sunday School model, but is much broader than that.
Our textbook is "Introduction to Christian Education" by Michael J. Anthony. It defines Christian Education as "the process by which those who have experienced a personal spiritual rebirth in their relationship with God partner with the indwelling Holy Spirit to grow in the image of Christ." The beginning of the course surveyed the history of Christian Education. It began with the Didache (Christian instruction for new adult converts during the first centuries of Christianity) and continued through the ages until the present scene, with its mix of local church, parachurch and internet media forums. It then went onto to consider Biblical references to education in the OT and the NT. These included references in Deuteronomy to the instruction of children within the family context, the teaching of the community in Nehemiah and the words of Jesus in the Great Commission to teach disciples in all nations all that he had commanded them.
Several chapters of the text addressed the issue of development - especially in children and adolescents - with insights from psychology, etc. The models developed by Erik Erikson, David Levinson, Jean Piaget, William Perry and Albert Bandura were surveyed. Moral development, presented by Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan were reviewed and reflected on. Finally, the thoughts on faith development by James W. Fowler were considered.
Despite the weighty topic and the heavy duty research referred to, the text is only an introduction, so it has been a fairly easy read. It has been interesting to reflect on the ways in which I have learnt more about my faith. I remember a fairly structured Sunday School program, but I don't remember much of the theological content. In my last year of high school I spent a year in a small group where our teacher taught three teenage boys the book of Revelation (from a dispensational perspective). Student Life provided a comprehensive program of education and training - both for students and new missionaries. Once I finished high school, my local church(es) have been lacking in any formal, organised instruction. I attended a "Regional Bible Study" taught by John North for several years. That was the closest thing to an adult education program I have seen in Sydney.
My first assignment for class is to write brief biography of an influential figure in the history of Christian Education. Suggested figures were: Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Jon Amos Comenius, Thomas Aquinas, E.L. Thorndike, Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, William Rainey Harper, George Albert Coe, Pestalozzi, Johann Herbart, Friedrich Froebel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Robert Raikes, Horace Bushnell, and Henrietta Mears.
I chose Henrietta Mears because I had heard about her but didn't know much about her. I knew she ran the Sunday School at Hollywood Presbyterian in the 1950's which was attended by Billy Graham, Dawson Trotman and Bill Bright. Anyone who influenced guys like that should be worth learning about!
As for other study news, I have to sit an exam to attain advance standing for Greek (since I studied it in Sydney). I'm hoping to schedule it before I begin to fill my head with Hebrew in two weeks.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Two Days in America
I thought I might write a blog about our trip to the US. It's purpose is more for sharing with those who might be interested in what we are up to than any great insight.
Obviously, it's not the first time we've made the trip. In fact, during the 34+ hours of travel, we worked out that this is Philip's 5th trip to the US. He came once when we first adopted him, to meet Liz's dad. Then we had a trip to catch up with ministry partners that following Christmas. Then he came with us to Liz's dad's funeral. Then we came 18 months ago (with Katrise) to catch up with ministry partners.
We booked an airport shuttle to the airport. We left at 8:30am on Thursday morning with 8 big pieces of check-in luggage and 7 carry-on (including the mandolin Liz had been given just before we left). Not bad when it comes to moving for 15 months! Our driver - a Syrian guy - took every backstreet imaginable (better than my dad!). But we arrived at the airport safely and in plenty of time.
QANTAS were really pleasant to deal with at checkin. (This was our first time flying QANTAS internationally - Liz had been a United Frequent Flyer previously). We were there early and the checkin counters were open (unlike previous experience with United). They didn't complain about our luggage. And the line was short.
Once we got through security, we let Philip play his Nintendo DS. The lady at the shop told me that, if we turned the brightness right down and the volume off, it's battery should last 20 hours. We were about to test that!
As usual, with kids, we were seated right down the back of the plane. We were glad to see the back of seat video screens. But Katrise' and mine weren't working. (Four requests during the flight to fix them failed). In fact, my overhead light and attendant call button weren't working. The whole armrest control was stuffed. Oh well, so much for inflight movies! Philip and Katrise swapped seats for a while. Philip played his DS, Katrise danced to Taylor Swift. I dozed. I also watched some movies on the screen of the guy in front. There was a good selection: Mall Cop (looked like a funny send up of Die Hard), Frost/Nixon, Yes Man and Gran Turino. All my sort of movies. Oh well.
We landed in LA at 9:30am. We'd been told to leave 6 hours for processing of Green Cards. Philip, Katrise and I had been granted Green Cards. It allowed us to be more flexible while over here - and it is the first step to them being granted citizenship. Fortunately, the processing only took 20 minutes! (Although the refugee family behind us were obviously going to take much longer).
Our flight didn't leave until 6pm - so we had 8 hours to kill in LAX. I noticed our luggage was incorrectly tagged by QANTAS in Sydney, so we loaded it all up on two trolleys and pushed it for 20 minutes along the sidewalk from Terminal 3 to Terminal 7 to check it in correctly at the United counter. Our trip from LA to Denver was using the last of our United Frequent Flyer miles. Check in went smoothly (again), but they couldn't get us on an earlier flight. They were all booked solid.
As we sat in the terminal, we found that solidly booked flights were the norm on this Memorial Day weekend. It seemed like everyone was wait-listed for their flight. On our little plane to Las Vegas, there were 50 people waitlisted (and 31 eventually got on)!
What! Las Vegas? Yes, when Liz booked the tickets all the direct flights from LA to Denver had been booked already. So we flew via Vegas. Fortunately, it was the same plane being used on both legs, so we simply got off at Vegas (did a bathroom run) and then got back on, one row in front of where we had been for the first leg. The kids did really well on the whole trip - Katrise dozed regularly and Philip's brain turned to mush with the DS.
So we landed in Denver at 10:30pm. We caught the undergroud train from the terminal to the baggage claim. All our luggage arrived too. Amazing! By about 11:30pm we were set to leave. Berit (Liz's sister) had come to pick us up in a friend's Expedition (huge car!) All our luggage fit in the boot. We arrived at the hotel by about 1am, moved luggage in, etc. and crashed into bed by about 2am.
At 7am the hotel room's clock radio alarm went off! Philip sat bolt upright, reached for the TV remote and said (as he does at home), "It's 7 o'clock, can I watch TV?". I persuaded him to rest for another hour. We got up at 8am.
Berit had bought us some breakfast supplies (Life cereal was good). But we need to do a bit of shopping to get us through the next couple of days. A visit to Super Target was in order :) We also visited the bank (to make sure our bank account here was all functioning correctly, get a debit card, and set up internet banking). After Liz napped back in our hotel room (and the kids played quietly), we then met our realtor, inspected the apartment at Denver Seminary and signed the lease.
A weird thing happened as we arrived at the apartment. There was an altercation between our realtor and one of the other residents. It was quite unsettling.
Afterwards, we wandered around the seminary grounds for a while and met some really lovely people who were all happy to be living on campus - and that made us feel better about our decision. The key thing for us about living on campus was that it meant we didn't need to get two cars (I can walk to class while Liz takes the kids to school) and so many of the services are available right there - esp. internet.
Anyway, a short visit to Dave & Victoria's (Liz's sister) allowed us to see our cousins Ransom and Anthony (the one graduating from high school today). Twelve years ago Anthony made us all laugh in our wedding video as he said "my name is Anthony" in a squeaky voice. Now he is finished high school!
We had pizza for dinner with Dan & Berit & Delaney. Katrise had been battling a fever all day and was pretty listless. But she enjoyed two pieces of toast with butter on it.
We got home and the kids were asleep by 9pm. But then they woke again at midnight. And didn't sleep until about 2am. So, even though Liz has left for the graduation, I am letting them sleep this morning as long as they like...
Type more soon.
Obviously, it's not the first time we've made the trip. In fact, during the 34+ hours of travel, we worked out that this is Philip's 5th trip to the US. He came once when we first adopted him, to meet Liz's dad. Then we had a trip to catch up with ministry partners that following Christmas. Then he came with us to Liz's dad's funeral. Then we came 18 months ago (with Katrise) to catch up with ministry partners.
We booked an airport shuttle to the airport. We left at 8:30am on Thursday morning with 8 big pieces of check-in luggage and 7 carry-on (including the mandolin Liz had been given just before we left). Not bad when it comes to moving for 15 months! Our driver - a Syrian guy - took every backstreet imaginable (better than my dad!). But we arrived at the airport safely and in plenty of time.
QANTAS were really pleasant to deal with at checkin. (This was our first time flying QANTAS internationally - Liz had been a United Frequent Flyer previously). We were there early and the checkin counters were open (unlike previous experience with United). They didn't complain about our luggage. And the line was short.
Once we got through security, we let Philip play his Nintendo DS. The lady at the shop told me that, if we turned the brightness right down and the volume off, it's battery should last 20 hours. We were about to test that!
As usual, with kids, we were seated right down the back of the plane. We were glad to see the back of seat video screens. But Katrise' and mine weren't working. (Four requests during the flight to fix them failed). In fact, my overhead light and attendant call button weren't working. The whole armrest control was stuffed. Oh well, so much for inflight movies! Philip and Katrise swapped seats for a while. Philip played his DS, Katrise danced to Taylor Swift. I dozed. I also watched some movies on the screen of the guy in front. There was a good selection: Mall Cop (looked like a funny send up of Die Hard), Frost/Nixon, Yes Man and Gran Turino. All my sort of movies. Oh well.
We landed in LA at 9:30am. We'd been told to leave 6 hours for processing of Green Cards. Philip, Katrise and I had been granted Green Cards. It allowed us to be more flexible while over here - and it is the first step to them being granted citizenship. Fortunately, the processing only took 20 minutes! (Although the refugee family behind us were obviously going to take much longer).
Our flight didn't leave until 6pm - so we had 8 hours to kill in LAX. I noticed our luggage was incorrectly tagged by QANTAS in Sydney, so we loaded it all up on two trolleys and pushed it for 20 minutes along the sidewalk from Terminal 3 to Terminal 7 to check it in correctly at the United counter. Our trip from LA to Denver was using the last of our United Frequent Flyer miles. Check in went smoothly (again), but they couldn't get us on an earlier flight. They were all booked solid.
As we sat in the terminal, we found that solidly booked flights were the norm on this Memorial Day weekend. It seemed like everyone was wait-listed for their flight. On our little plane to Las Vegas, there were 50 people waitlisted (and 31 eventually got on)!
What! Las Vegas? Yes, when Liz booked the tickets all the direct flights from LA to Denver had been booked already. So we flew via Vegas. Fortunately, it was the same plane being used on both legs, so we simply got off at Vegas (did a bathroom run) and then got back on, one row in front of where we had been for the first leg. The kids did really well on the whole trip - Katrise dozed regularly and Philip's brain turned to mush with the DS.
So we landed in Denver at 10:30pm. We caught the undergroud train from the terminal to the baggage claim. All our luggage arrived too. Amazing! By about 11:30pm we were set to leave. Berit (Liz's sister) had come to pick us up in a friend's Expedition (huge car!) All our luggage fit in the boot. We arrived at the hotel by about 1am, moved luggage in, etc. and crashed into bed by about 2am.
At 7am the hotel room's clock radio alarm went off! Philip sat bolt upright, reached for the TV remote and said (as he does at home), "It's 7 o'clock, can I watch TV?". I persuaded him to rest for another hour. We got up at 8am.
Berit had bought us some breakfast supplies (Life cereal was good). But we need to do a bit of shopping to get us through the next couple of days. A visit to Super Target was in order :) We also visited the bank (to make sure our bank account here was all functioning correctly, get a debit card, and set up internet banking). After Liz napped back in our hotel room (and the kids played quietly), we then met our realtor, inspected the apartment at Denver Seminary and signed the lease.
A weird thing happened as we arrived at the apartment. There was an altercation between our realtor and one of the other residents. It was quite unsettling.
Afterwards, we wandered around the seminary grounds for a while and met some really lovely people who were all happy to be living on campus - and that made us feel better about our decision. The key thing for us about living on campus was that it meant we didn't need to get two cars (I can walk to class while Liz takes the kids to school) and so many of the services are available right there - esp. internet.
Anyway, a short visit to Dave & Victoria's (Liz's sister) allowed us to see our cousins Ransom and Anthony (the one graduating from high school today). Twelve years ago Anthony made us all laugh in our wedding video as he said "my name is Anthony" in a squeaky voice. Now he is finished high school!
We had pizza for dinner with Dan & Berit & Delaney. Katrise had been battling a fever all day and was pretty listless. But she enjoyed two pieces of toast with butter on it.
We got home and the kids were asleep by 9pm. But then they woke again at midnight. And didn't sleep until about 2am. So, even though Liz has left for the graduation, I am letting them sleep this morning as long as they like...
Type more soon.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Endorsements from 2004
As I was cleaning out my office (in preparation for our move) I found an old pamphlet I'd compiled to give to potential ministry partners in 2004 - five years after taking on the team leader role at Macquarie. Although some of the people have now moved on, I thought I would post it here rather than just trash it. I had to collect more references this week to apply for a scholarship at Denver Seminary.
''Geoff & Liz Folland have an exciting vision to reach students for Christ in the tertiary campus world. I have had the privilege of seeing Geoff & Liz up close with their work on campus with Student Life and the impact it has been having over a number of the years that they have been involved, I have met the students that have come to Christ and seen the development of leaders that Geoff & Liz have disciples and . As committed active members of our church I have also seen the passion and love for the local church that Geoff & Liz have, as well as evidencing their integrity and character. For these reasons it really is a ''no brainer'' for me to warmly endorse them as Godly, faithful and fruitful labourers who are making a difference in the all important world of tertiary universities and colleges where future leaders and society shapers are in formation."
Steve Roggero
(former) Senior Pastor
Community Life Church – Cherrybrook
- Steve is now the senior pastor of a Baptist church in Melbourne
''Geoff and Liz Folland have made a serious commitment to the ministry of Student Life. Their obedience to Biblical principles is evident in their desire to serve God in this ministry. Characterised by a life of service, Geoff and Liz are strong encouragers for University students to follow Christ. They relate well to young adults and have clearly defined goals and strategies for serving and training those who will exercise leadership in the future."
Peter Kirkegard
(former) Chairman of the Elders
West Pennant Hills Community Church
- Peter just retired as pastor at WPHCC
"Geoff and Liz have led the Macquarie University Student Life movement for five years now. I have had a phone call with Geoff almost every week for five years and interacted personally with them regularly. Both are capable leaders and this is evidenced in the growth of the ministry at Macquarie. It is particularly reflected in the love and commitment within the staff team and excitement and vision of the leadership students. They desire to love God with all their heart and represent Jesus to the best of their ability in their leadership roles. I am tremendously excited to be working alongside them and trust that the best is yet to come at Macquarie and that their influence will extend to other parts of the country."
Allan Gibson
(former) Australian National Ministry Leader
Student Life
- Allan now lives in Orlando, serving as deputy team leader for the Global Campus Team
"Geoff Folland has what it takes for a ministry with university students: straight priorities, dogged persistence, daring courage and a solid confidence in the power of the gospel."
Dr Brian Rosner
Senior Lecturer
Moore Theological College
''Geoff is one of those rare individuals who has given his life to pursuing a single cause - sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with every student at Macquarie University. He is a gifted missional leader and organiser. Through our Baptist university chaplain Morling College is pleased to work in partnership with Geoff in growing a vital evangelical student ministry at Macquarie and beyond.''
Rev Dr Ross Clifford
Principal, Morling College
''It's been my privilege and pleasure to partner with Geoff and the Student Life team in evangelistic ministry at Macquarie University. I would happily work with them again because they take evangelism seriously and work hard to create an environment for the clear communication of the Gospel. Geoff and Liz are a joy to work with. I value their partnership, their encouragement and their deep love for Christian
Michael Frost
Founding Director, CEGM;
Vice Principal, Morling College
"I have known Geoff Folland for about ten years. In that time he has become a good friend and has earned my respect for his fruitful leadership of the growing ministry team at Macquarie University, and also for his heart for leading students to Christ. He is God's man in the right place to have maximum spiritual impact with his life.''
John North
Bible Teacher/Evangelist,
Ambassadors for Christ International
"I have enjoyed and appreciated partnership with Geoff Folland over the past few years, during my time as an interim chaplain at Macquarie University, as a member of the pastoral team of a local church and as an occasional speaker at Student Life. It has been my delight to see the lives of young people touched with the Good News of Jesus through the ministry of Geoff, Liz and Student Life at Macquarie. I have seen the commitment, discipleship, leadership and evangelism skills of a number of Student Life members grow through the ministry of Geoff and his teams and in association with the passion and skill of the team leadership. I look to God to continue the wonderful work done through the faithful ministry of Geoff and Liz Folland and their team."
Revd Dr John Mark Capper
Anglican Minister and Theologian
Head of Theology Department
Tabor College
"As a lecturer of gospel workers and bible teachers I look for two attributes. The first and foremost requirement of gospel ministry is a person of character and integrity. The second is evidence of obvious gospel gifting for the service the person is seeking to do. I have known Geoff for a few years now. Geoff's godly character and humility stood out to me from our first encounters. I have also observed gifting in two areas.
The first being the Student Life group under his care is growing and the Christians are maturing in Christ. The burden of this group is to introduce others to a right relationship with Jesus. The second is Geoff's ability to handle the word of God with care and skill that is an obvious God given gift. His bible teaching, preaching and the godly character that governs these skills means that Geoff is the right person for the job of Gospel proclamation and Christian nurture with Student Life. I wholeheartedly recommend your financial and prayerful support of Geoff and the ministries he is involved in."
Rev Shawn Potts
Lecturer, Morling College,
Evangelist, Gospel Communications
"It is with much joy that I write a personal ministry recommendation for Geoff Folland. Geoff is one of those rare characters in Christian ministry that combines extraordinary people skills with vision, dynamism and passion. A gifted evangelist; an inspiring leader; an affective mentor and a humble spirit make Geoff a very effective Christian leader.
Supporting a faith missionary like Geoff really requires no faith at all - as you can see his worth to student ministry and the kingdom of God."
Richard Quadrio
Pastor, Macquarie Chapel
''Geoff and Liz are leaders, They have an unshakable sense of God's mission purpose and draw others to effectively join with them in reaching and discipling University students. The exceptional fruit of their ministry is the multiplication of changed lives; students reaching their peers.''
Mr. Bill Hodgson
National Director
Campus Crusade for Christ, Australia
"Geoff and Liz utilise their gifts in a most strategic ministry, having captured the vision of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the next generation of leaders. What impresses me most about them is their whole-hearted commitment to the task as reflected in their willingness to do not just the enjoyable parts of ministry but also the hard work behind the scenes which usually goes unnoticed.''
Dr Philip Kern
Lecturer, Moore Theological College
''Geoff & Liz Folland have an exciting vision to reach students for Christ in the tertiary campus world. I have had the privilege of seeing Geoff & Liz up close with their work on campus with Student Life and the impact it has been having over a number of the years that they have been involved, I have met the students that have come to Christ and seen the development of leaders that Geoff & Liz have disciples and . As committed active members of our church I have also seen the passion and love for the local church that Geoff & Liz have, as well as evidencing their integrity and character. For these reasons it really is a ''no brainer'' for me to warmly endorse them as Godly, faithful and fruitful labourers who are making a difference in the all important world of tertiary universities and colleges where future leaders and society shapers are in formation."
Steve Roggero
(former) Senior Pastor
Community Life Church – Cherrybrook
- Steve is now the senior pastor of a Baptist church in Melbourne
''Geoff and Liz Folland have made a serious commitment to the ministry of Student Life. Their obedience to Biblical principles is evident in their desire to serve God in this ministry. Characterised by a life of service, Geoff and Liz are strong encouragers for University students to follow Christ. They relate well to young adults and have clearly defined goals and strategies for serving and training those who will exercise leadership in the future."
Peter Kirkegard
(former) Chairman of the Elders
West Pennant Hills Community Church
- Peter just retired as pastor at WPHCC
"Geoff and Liz have led the Macquarie University Student Life movement for five years now. I have had a phone call with Geoff almost every week for five years and interacted personally with them regularly. Both are capable leaders and this is evidenced in the growth of the ministry at Macquarie. It is particularly reflected in the love and commitment within the staff team and excitement and vision of the leadership students. They desire to love God with all their heart and represent Jesus to the best of their ability in their leadership roles. I am tremendously excited to be working alongside them and trust that the best is yet to come at Macquarie and that their influence will extend to other parts of the country."
Allan Gibson
(former) Australian National Ministry Leader
Student Life
- Allan now lives in Orlando, serving as deputy team leader for the Global Campus Team
"Geoff Folland has what it takes for a ministry with university students: straight priorities, dogged persistence, daring courage and a solid confidence in the power of the gospel."
Dr Brian Rosner
Senior Lecturer
Moore Theological College
''Geoff is one of those rare individuals who has given his life to pursuing a single cause - sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with every student at Macquarie University. He is a gifted missional leader and organiser. Through our Baptist university chaplain Morling College is pleased to work in partnership with Geoff in growing a vital evangelical student ministry at Macquarie and beyond.''
Rev Dr Ross Clifford
Principal, Morling College
''It's been my privilege and pleasure to partner with Geoff and the Student Life team in evangelistic ministry at Macquarie University. I would happily work with them again because they take evangelism seriously and work hard to create an environment for the clear communication of the Gospel. Geoff and Liz are a joy to work with. I value their partnership, their encouragement and their deep love for Christian
Michael Frost
Founding Director, CEGM;
Vice Principal, Morling College
"I have known Geoff Folland for about ten years. In that time he has become a good friend and has earned my respect for his fruitful leadership of the growing ministry team at Macquarie University, and also for his heart for leading students to Christ. He is God's man in the right place to have maximum spiritual impact with his life.''
John North
Bible Teacher/Evangelist,
Ambassadors for Christ International
"I have enjoyed and appreciated partnership with Geoff Folland over the past few years, during my time as an interim chaplain at Macquarie University, as a member of the pastoral team of a local church and as an occasional speaker at Student Life. It has been my delight to see the lives of young people touched with the Good News of Jesus through the ministry of Geoff, Liz and Student Life at Macquarie. I have seen the commitment, discipleship, leadership and evangelism skills of a number of Student Life members grow through the ministry of Geoff and his teams and in association with the passion and skill of the team leadership. I look to God to continue the wonderful work done through the faithful ministry of Geoff and Liz Folland and their team."
Revd Dr John Mark Capper
Anglican Minister and Theologian
Head of Theology Department
Tabor College
"As a lecturer of gospel workers and bible teachers I look for two attributes. The first and foremost requirement of gospel ministry is a person of character and integrity. The second is evidence of obvious gospel gifting for the service the person is seeking to do. I have known Geoff for a few years now. Geoff's godly character and humility stood out to me from our first encounters. I have also observed gifting in two areas.
The first being the Student Life group under his care is growing and the Christians are maturing in Christ. The burden of this group is to introduce others to a right relationship with Jesus. The second is Geoff's ability to handle the word of God with care and skill that is an obvious God given gift. His bible teaching, preaching and the godly character that governs these skills means that Geoff is the right person for the job of Gospel proclamation and Christian nurture with Student Life. I wholeheartedly recommend your financial and prayerful support of Geoff and the ministries he is involved in."
Rev Shawn Potts
Lecturer, Morling College,
Evangelist, Gospel Communications
"It is with much joy that I write a personal ministry recommendation for Geoff Folland. Geoff is one of those rare characters in Christian ministry that combines extraordinary people skills with vision, dynamism and passion. A gifted evangelist; an inspiring leader; an affective mentor and a humble spirit make Geoff a very effective Christian leader.
Supporting a faith missionary like Geoff really requires no faith at all - as you can see his worth to student ministry and the kingdom of God."
Richard Quadrio
Pastor, Macquarie Chapel
''Geoff and Liz are leaders, They have an unshakable sense of God's mission purpose and draw others to effectively join with them in reaching and discipling University students. The exceptional fruit of their ministry is the multiplication of changed lives; students reaching their peers.''
Mr. Bill Hodgson
National Director
Campus Crusade for Christ, Australia
"Geoff and Liz utilise their gifts in a most strategic ministry, having captured the vision of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the next generation of leaders. What impresses me most about them is their whole-hearted commitment to the task as reflected in their willingness to do not just the enjoyable parts of ministry but also the hard work behind the scenes which usually goes unnoticed.''
Dr Philip Kern
Lecturer, Moore Theological College
Friday, 13 March 2009
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
There is a lot of information to process when it comes to what Liz and I are doing over the next 14 months and so, although I have sought to communicate it regularly and in various ways, it seems we keep being asked the same questions over and over again. That's ok. Here are my definitive answers to those regular questions:
1) Where are you going?
Liz and I are moving our family to Littleton, Colorado. We will be living at (hopefully) Denver Seminary. This is very close to where Liz grew up. She has three siblings still in Denver - each about 10 minutes drive from the Seminary.
2) a) What will you be doing?
I will be studying full-time to complete his Master of Divinity. I began studying part-time toward this degree in 2003. I have been taking one or two subjects per semester for the past couple of years. Last year I studied Greek and one other subject while leading the ministry at Macquarie Uni, leading the NSW region of Student Life and being on the National Leadership team. It was a little crazy. I am going to complete the degree.
b) Why Denver Seminary?
Most of my study so far has been through Morling Baptist Theological College, on the corner of Macquarie Uni. It was convenient and all the classes I took were of a high standard (except one). But I serve alongside all different churches in Sydney. And the ecclesiastical politics of Sydney is toxic. To study at one of the various Bible Colleges in Sydney would result in people who preferred another college to be suspicous of me. So, I decided to flee to the US to complete my degree.
When I suggested studying in the US, I had a couple of different seminaries in mind as possible options. But Liz asked that we study close to her family. Denver Seminary is a good, solid evangelical seminary. It has excellent faculty and a good program. We agreed that it would be a good fit for my study needs and her family needs.
3) When do you leave?
Our plane tickets are booked: we leave 21st May.
4) Will you be back?
YES!! Completing my degree will require studying this summer (June-August), the full school year, and then next summer (June-August) as well. We anticipate returning to Australia at the end of August 2010.
5) Is this just the first step out of Student Life and into church ministry?
No! We live in the midst of two tensions.
On the one hand, some people think that no one should do full-time ministry without formal theological qualifications. Liz has been serving with CCC since 1985, and I have been since 1995. The training we have received has largely been in-house training. So those people think we aren't qualified!
On the other hand, some people think that we just need to be called to the ministry and, as practitioners, we need no further qualification. I agree with that to some degree, but I believe that training and equipping of those serving in ministry is important. At this stage of our ministry, we felt that it was good stewardship of our abilities and experience and future ministry opportunities to pursue this study.
Now, the M.Div is a qualification equivalent to (or exceeding that of) many church pastors. I have received regular offers of pastoral ministry positions over recent years. For various reasons, I don't believe that this sort of pastoral ministry is what God has called me to.
If I was to define my call in a sentence, I would say that it is: "to lead missional communities in Sydney/NSW". This is slightly different to my role in Student Life, and that is ok.
6) What will you do when you return?
The current plan is for Liz and I to return to the NSW regional coordinating role that I assumed only a year or so ago. There is still plenty of opportunity for expansion and development of the ministry. Our goal is to have "a ministry for every campus, the gospel for each student". We are still a long way from realising that goal.
7) Who is covering your roles while you are away?
That is still being confirmed. Unlike a commercial operation, we cannot just employ a replacement. Someone is going to have to sacrifice some of what they are currently doing to provide the pastoral care, strategic direction, etc. for the existing ministry. Most of the expansion components of the role will be put on hold.
8) Where will you live?
As I said above, we hope to live on campus at Denver Seminary. This will mean we only need one car. Philip will go to Liz's old elementary school. Katrise will have a couple of days in pre-school. I can just walk to the library to study :)
9) How much will this cost?
A lot!
We are trusting that God will provide a tenant for our house in Sydney so that we can cover the mortgage here with the rent.
Assuming that the exchange rate doesn't drop dramatically, we hope to cover our living expenses over there in line with our budget in Sydney.
Extra expenses we have or will incur are:
+ Airfares: God provided an amazing deal for the trip to the US; A$2,800 for the whole family! We will delay booking flights home until later in the year.
+ Visas: Applying for visas for the US has proven very costly: A$1,800, plus A$600 for medical tests and A$175 for a police check.
+ Car: We will need to buy a reliable car when we arrive in the US. We are budgetting about US$5,000 for this. My parents have offered to look after our car here in Australia.
+ Computer: My laptop currently only works when it is on a cooling stand with a desk fan blowing directly onto it. It's hard-drive is too small for the Bible software I will use at Seminary. It is over three years old. I am budgetting A$2,000 for a replacement.
+ Textbooks: The seminary advises that US$800p.a. is the usual cost of varioustext books.
+ Tuition: Taking a full-load means that the cost of tuition is about US$415 per credit hour - and I need about 50 hours to complete the degree.
So, our budget for special needs is over A$40,000. We are trusting God to provide it before we leave. Please join us in praying that he will :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
