Back from Tasmania...for 3 days
The first of three trips this month to Tasmania went very well. Carolyn and I departed Melbourne on the ferry called the Spirit of Tasmania. We took Carolyn’s car to leave there for transportation this month. The ferry docks in Devonport and then we drove into Kingston, a small community outside of Hobart (am I challenging your geographical knowledge of Tasmania yet?). We arrived on a Friday and on Saturday began a seminar for City Light Church consisting of us as the speakers from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday we did two family services, morning and evening. Monday morning we did a combined chapel for the Christian School belonging to the church.
We had a few days break before going on to our next camp located in Orford, Tasmania. This camp was very interesting. The type of camp we were originally asked to do changed three times in the space of two weeks. It reminded me of one of the sessions I taught in the Kingston Saturday seminar. I mentioned the importance of flexibility in missions. Well for that matter, flexibility in any ministry.
The example I used was that of a worship team leader that was taking a team into India. At customs the officers challenged him bringing in an electric keyboard. He programmed this keyboard for over many weeks to play all the orchestral instruments and scores of the music the worship team would need for their part in a Christian Festival. His protests fell on deaf ears and the officials said he could collect the keyboard upon his departure. As he watched them carry off his state-of-the-art keyboard, it was as if he could see Jesus himself leaving with it. The other team members tried to console him. “Perhaps the Indian worship leaders will have an electric keyboard for you to use” they encouraged.
When the missions team connected with the Indian team, a keyboard was available for loan. His first practice on the battered keyboard confirmed his worst fears. One key wouldn’t work. “This is impossible,” he moaned. “I cannot play on this. We will just play a worship cd and lipsink on the platform.”
Now the other members of the worship team were in shock. They’d put in hours of practice, worked all year, sacrificed of their finances and time with their families to be a part of this mission outreach. “We did not work and sweat and sacrifice to travel thousands of miles to LIPSINK our worship to God!” they cried out.
Now an average keyboard has 88 keys, yet the fact that this worship leader still had 87 keys to play meant nothing to him. So many times it is like that with us. Something goes wrong, the schedule changes, or things get added in that we didn’t expect. All we can see is the negative. We become blind to what can be done. We fail to focus on looking for ways we can “make it happen!” We keep tapping the one key that isn’t working.
In the end our camp went well; changes, challenges and all. God is always ready to make up the difference and does if we will trust Him. This afternoon we flew back to Melbourne for a three day World Impact Missions Conference working with CityLife Church. We will be training on ballooning, and clowning for outreach teams to do street ministry at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in March. Then it’s off to Tasmania Saturday night to start again on Sunday morning in a community called Georgetown.
I promise more interesting mobile phone photos, and send out a big thank you to Doug for keeping my blog up to date while we are in the wilds of Tassie!
We had a few days break before going on to our next camp located in Orford, Tasmania. This camp was very interesting. The type of camp we were originally asked to do changed three times in the space of two weeks. It reminded me of one of the sessions I taught in the Kingston Saturday seminar. I mentioned the importance of flexibility in missions. Well for that matter, flexibility in any ministry.
The example I used was that of a worship team leader that was taking a team into India. At customs the officers challenged him bringing in an electric keyboard. He programmed this keyboard for over many weeks to play all the orchestral instruments and scores of the music the worship team would need for their part in a Christian Festival. His protests fell on deaf ears and the officials said he could collect the keyboard upon his departure. As he watched them carry off his state-of-the-art keyboard, it was as if he could see Jesus himself leaving with it. The other team members tried to console him. “Perhaps the Indian worship leaders will have an electric keyboard for you to use” they encouraged.
When the missions team connected with the Indian team, a keyboard was available for loan. His first practice on the battered keyboard confirmed his worst fears. One key wouldn’t work. “This is impossible,” he moaned. “I cannot play on this. We will just play a worship cd and lipsink on the platform.”
Now the other members of the worship team were in shock. They’d put in hours of practice, worked all year, sacrificed of their finances and time with their families to be a part of this mission outreach. “We did not work and sweat and sacrifice to travel thousands of miles to LIPSINK our worship to God!” they cried out.
Now an average keyboard has 88 keys, yet the fact that this worship leader still had 87 keys to play meant nothing to him. So many times it is like that with us. Something goes wrong, the schedule changes, or things get added in that we didn’t expect. All we can see is the negative. We become blind to what can be done. We fail to focus on looking for ways we can “make it happen!” We keep tapping the one key that isn’t working.
In the end our camp went well; changes, challenges and all. God is always ready to make up the difference and does if we will trust Him. This afternoon we flew back to Melbourne for a three day World Impact Missions Conference working with CityLife Church. We will be training on ballooning, and clowning for outreach teams to do street ministry at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in March. Then it’s off to Tasmania Saturday night to start again on Sunday morning in a community called Georgetown.
I promise more interesting mobile phone photos, and send out a big thank you to Doug for keeping my blog up to date while we are in the wilds of Tassie!
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