Monthly Archives: September 2007

You’re Invited to a Quiet Day

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If life has become all too full and way too busy, here is an opportunity to unplug from the rat-race in order to still your heart and purposefully engage with God and others.

On Saturday, 20th October, 2007, you’re invited to a Quiet Day .. a day structured for prayer, worship, reading, Christian meditation and fellowship.

Initially, we’ll be meeting in "The Stables"; a beautiful room at the Edmund Rice Retreat and Conference Centre, better known as "Winbourne", which is set on 250 acres in the Mulgoa Valley and was once the home of a notable Australian colonial family.

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"The Stables" is one of the original colonial buildings on the property.

Winbourne’s address is 1315 Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa, NSW, and is about 15 kilometres from Penrith and 10 kilometres from the M4 Motorway. The entrance to Winbourne is directly across the road from the Settlers Restaurant.

So, what does a Quiet day look like?

 

10.00  Arrival with tea and coffee

10.30  Introduction to those gathered with plans for the day

10.45  Morning Prayer, followed by a short talk, leading into silence

11.00  Quiet

12.00  Midday Prayer

12.15  BBQ Lunch with Communion prior

13.30  Guided Meditation with music leading into silence

14.00  Quiet

15.30  Simple instruction on and time for Lectio Divina (Prayerful Reading)

16.00  Sharing session with tea and coffee

16.20  (Early) Evening Prayer

16.45  Pack up and depart for home

 

You will need to bring your Bible, perhaps your journal and any devotional books you might want to use during the quiet time. There will also be ample room for creativity, so if you would like to bring a musical instrument for your personal use or perhaps art materials, please feel free. There is also a labyrinth on site that will be made available to us across the whole day.

Tea and coffee will be provided across the day, but you’ll need to bring some meat and whatever else you like for a BBQ lunch.

There is a small cost of $10 per person for the day and you will need to register your intention to come by Thursday 11th October as I need to give final numbers to Winbourne. So, in summary …

 

WHAT:        Quiet Day

WHEN:        Saturday, 20th October, 2007 from 10am – 4.45pm

WHERE:      Winbourne, 1315 Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa, NSW

COST:         $10.00 per person

 

CLICK HERE to e-mail your intention to attend.

Come ready for times of rich fellowship, communal prayer and prolonged silence designed to facilitate a profound encounter with God and perhaps even your own heart.

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What’s the Deal with the Wind Farm?

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The last week of quietness has been deeply beneficial. As I’ve been quiet, it’s become clear that I need to share something with you. I present the following for your consideration …

Almost two years ago, after I resigned my position in leadership of our church at the time, I began seeking God for a new experience of church. Something with more depth, more life, more liberty, more connection to the ancient nature of our Christian faith rather than the shallowness of what has become the norm for most Pentecostal environments. I was looking to God for something more authentic, more substantial, with a sense of richness and heritage that could be coupled with the joyous truths I had come to know over my years of growing in the Spirit and in things prophetic.

During that time of earnest seeking, God showed me a vision of a group of tall wind turbines standing near one another on a windy hill .. just like the image you see above.

Visions are rarely blatant statements. They are metaphors; images and language designed to illustrate and point us to an underlying truth. Metaphors are the regular diet of the prophetic. They are the language of God.

Upon seeing this vision of a group of tall wind turbines standing near one another on a windy hill, I asked the Lord what I was looking at and heard Him tell me that He was looking for groups of people who were deeply and firmly rooted in the foundations of the ancient nature of the Christian faith, making them immovable, unshakable against the storms of life and the whims of fancy. People able to stand tall in the things they believe and practice.

However, He made it clear that being immovable and unshakable does not mean inflexible. For, like the head of a wind turbine, God was looking for these same people to be able to discern the direction and be willing to turn their faces into the wind of the Spirit, converting the power of that Godly breeze into something usable and sustainable on the earth for the good of all people.

This may sound high-falootin’, but it isn’t really. Not if you stop and think about it.

Put simply, I believe God is looking to build communities of people who can take the best of the ancient wisdom and practices of our spiritual forefathers and learn to combine it with the insights and somewhat restored (yet still spasmodic) manifestations of the early church, to create a depth and substance of Christian spirituality and community experience, that so many are longing for in our day.

With all that in mind, tomorrow I’ll tell you about an "experiential experiment" we intend embarking on as early next month, designed to begin testing the waters of this vision.

Stay tuned …..

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Time to Be Quiet

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After a 14 hour battle with my computer that ended at 1am this (Thursday) morning following corruption to my anti-virus/anti-malware software caused by a spurious Microsoft Automatic Update, I spent some time in prayer before going to bed. During prayer, I read these words from Thomas à Kempis ..

No man appears in safety before the public eye unless he first relishes obscurity. No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent.

What powerful statements, both of which I’ve learned the hard way. But it was the second statement that spoke to me while in prayer. So, after a few weeks where there has been much to say, it’s now time to be quiet for a little while. In about a week I’ll share something exciting with you, but until then .. silence.

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9/11 .. a Made-for-Radio Special

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Today, on this the sixth annversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I offer this made-for-radio special which I produced for this tragedy’s first anniversary.

It first aired on Sydney’s FM103.2 at 8.47am on Wednesday, September 11, 2002 and it literally stopped the audience in their tracks. It has since aired on the Vision Radio Network in nearly 250 communities across every state and territory of Australia.

My prayer is that it will not only move you to remember .. but also to pray .. that an event of this magnitude, perpetrated on innocent people, would never happen again, but also that the United States of America might earnestly consider her actions since in the light of the Christianity they profess to embrace.

You can choose to stream this 35 minute made-for-radio special using the player below or you can download it as a tool for evangelism or for use in your church or small group meeting.

Likewise, if you are a radio programmer, you are free to use this production on-air. All I ask is that you let me know you’re using it.

Lest We Forget …..

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Jesus Wept .. at the Site of the OKC Bombing

 

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Subscribe to the Wind Farm Podcast on iTunes

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9/11 .. a made-for-radio special [ 25:27 | 64.71 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (761)

A Word About the Up-Coming Federal Election

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ImageOn Wednesday 22nd August, 2007, my good friend Robert Holmes of Storm Harvest and I, had a telephone conversation in which we discussed Australia’s up-coming Federal Election. Together, we shared our insights about what we perceive will be the likely outcomes of the election. That conversation was recorded in the Green Tree Ministries studio and is presented below for your input, discernment and prayer.

It is interesting to note that since this conversation was recorded, Prime Minister John Howard has come under significant pressure from a number of quarters, to stand down and hand over leadership of the Liberal Party and the Prime Ministership to his deputy, Peter Costello.

At the same time, Kevin Rudd appears to have won significant favour with the Chinese Prime Minister because of his ability to hold what seemed to be an engaging series of conversations in fluent Mandarin.

A part of what motivated our discussion was our concern over Pastor Danny Nallliah of Catch the Fire Ministries having sent out the e-mail below to an extensive mailing list of Christian supporters. As you prepare to read it, allow me to preface it by saying that if Danny’s predictive prophecy to both John Howard and Peter Costello is correct, then, in the light of the pressure being brought to bear on John Howard to stand down, it will only be an extremely short-term fulfillment.

Please be clear that neither Robert or

Into Great Silence .. My Review

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ImageI apologise this personal review of Into Great Silence has taken longer to get to than expected.

My wife has injured her knee and has been on crutches for over two weeks plus both my daughters have been struggling with the flu .. all at the same time. This has elevated me from simply being the bread-winner, to being Chief Cook and Bottle Washer with a special appointment as the head of Dad’s Taxi Service too!

Having said that, I wanted to wait until I had a three hour window of time in which I could sit down and view the movie without interruption; the way it was intended. With all that’s just been mentioned, creating that window took three weeks from the day I received the DVD from Amazon UK .. but it was well worth the wait.

Oddly, I was a little nervous about watching a film that has been so highly praised in every review I could find on the Net. Frankly, I didn’t want to be disappointed. Secondly, I was nervous about watching a film that ran nearly three hours in duration without a word of narration or a note of musical score to "fill the gaps". I was likewise a little nervous about how watching the film might affect me overall. I know that may be an odd statement, but there is such a sense of awe when approaching this film; at least for those, like myself, who are coming to understand and appreciate the value of silence, solitude, rhythm and intentional prayer in everyday life.

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