Kia ora e te whanau
How quickly the world changes. An attempted assassination attempt on a former US president, and within days the current president announces he won’t be seeking re-election. Why does it matter? It affects all of us. The result of the upcoming election will significantly affect either what does or doesn’t happen on the international stage – depending on who attains the White House. Both sides agree on one thing – this will be the most consequential election in our life time. While that may be a little overblown, it is clear that two very different visions of the future are before us.It’s likely that across the breadth of the church there will be a variety of views as to which future God most favours. I’ve long been struck by the little story in Joshua 5 where Joshua is spying out Jericho, and he’s confronted by a man with a drawn sword whom he asks “Are you for us or for our enemies?” The answer is unexpected, “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” He could as easily have said “Wrong question. The right question, my question might be ‘who’s side are you on?’”It’s easy to imagine that we have a corner on God, and that, of course, God is on our side. Mmmm, maybe. Maybe not.Personal and Leadership ResourcesJessica Stillman does it again1. How to Succeed as Late BloomerIt’s easy to imagine that life belongs to the young. We often fail to recognise that sure, we may be a little slower, we may not bounce as we once did, yet there are real graces in keeping on into older age. We don’t need to look back too far into history to see those like architect Frank Lloyd Wright who was still doing some of his most important work up to his death in 1959 at 91.The article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jessica-stillman/50-year-old-olympic-skateboarder-andy-macdonald-masterclass-succeed-late-bloomer.html 2. Sometimes the simplest way of understanding good leadership is recognising where leadership is falling down on the job.Why Leadership may not be workingMarcel Schwantes considers a series of failures in leaders that undermine both their credibility and effectiveness. The article can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/marcel-schwantes/8-signs-to-quickly-point-out-bad-leadership-skills.html 3. This one seems too good to be true, difficult to test, yet may just work.Need to Boost Your Brainpower Before a Mental Challenge? Neuroscience Says Do This for Just 10 MinutesOnce again Jessica Stillman comes up with something interesting. This could be the easiest thing in the world to do in preparation for tackling something difficult, yet seems counter-intuitive. Its short and can be read here: https://www.inc-aus.com/jessica-stillman/need-boost-brainpower-before-mental-challenge-neuroscience-do-this-just-10-minutes.html HomiliesTrevor Hoggard’s sermon surveys Eph 3:14-21, and John 6:1-21 to reflect on Christ’s sufficiency as reflected in the feeding of the 5000.Trevor’s offering can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSsaQt_tgwY My response to the Gospel text of Mark John 6 vs 1-21 is titled ‘God’s Abundance’. I ultimately reflect on how God’s willingness to provide is only limited by our willingness to share.It can be experienced here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yExChhQDNj8 Again, it will help broaden our reach if you ‘subscribe’ and ‘like’.Once again, use the videos as you will.As always, if you find you’d prefer not to receive this weekly newsletter, please let me know and your address will be removed.Ngā manaakitangaAndrew Doubleday
