QB Youth are hosting a OneDay Conference coming up on Saturday the 13^th July.  A great group of speakers have been lined up including Mark Sayers, Sarah Deutscher, Dan Lian and JD from Hillsong United.  It is designed for all youth, young adult and worship leaders to come along. Cost is $15 per person.  On-line bookings are available.  Click here for full details and registration!

QB Weekend Convention speakers Allan Meyer and Keith Jobberns messages are available here: 

Allan Meyer Session 1

Allan Meyer Session 2

Allan Meyer Session 3

Allan Meyer Session 4

Allan Meyer Session 5

Keith Jobberns Session 1

Keith Jobberns Session 2

Keith Jobberns Session 3 – Edit (1)

Keith Jobberns Session 4

 
Videos now available!
Thanksgiving & Recognition Service, Friday 5 April (Speaker: Allan Meyer)

QB – Recognition Service 2013 from Trent Rouillon on Vimeo.

Queensland Baptists State of the Union Address, Friday 5 April (Rev Dr David Loder)

Paul could confidently assert: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ (Philippians 4:13 NKJV). How did he attain such a standard?

 Surprisingly, it was through weakness.

On one occasion, he was transported to the third heaven in a vision, or in some other manner (2 Corinthians12:1-4). Then, to keep him from becoming proud, God allowed Satan to afflict Paul with ‘a thorn in the flesh’ (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). It’s impossible to say exactly what this was. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul reminds them that it was because of an illness that he first preached the gospel to them (Galatians 4:13). It may, therefore, have been a sickness of some kind.

What we can be certain of is that it was deeply humbling; it crushed Paul and drove him to pray earnestly for its removal (2 Corinthians 12:8). Surprisingly, the Lord refused to grant his request –but it was a qualified refusal: ‘My grace is sufficient for you,’ God replied, ‘for my power is made perfect is weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Though Paul did not get the response he sought, he received an answer that provided much more. The Lord promised abundant infusions of his grace to strengthen Paul in all his undertakings. The ‘sufficiency’ here referred to is not merely a bare adequacy; but an overflowing provision, beyond all he could have hoped for. Paul was assured that, though of himself he was unable to bear his affliction and undertake his work, with his Almighty Lord to constantly strengthen and enable him, he could not possibly fail. God’s grace would uphold him, no matter how difficult his trouble, and his affliction would be a source of good to him and others because his hardship would be the means through which Christ’s strength would be displayed.

The sense of the Greek words Paul used when he wrote, ‘He said to me,’ is that the Lord said something to him in the past which has present implications. The idea is that the Lord spoke these words to him fourteen years ago but their truth and consoling power were always with him. The words were intended not only to cheer him when they were spoken, but to comfort him in all future trials.

Furthermore, though the words of 2 Corinthians 12:9 were spoken to Paul, they were recorded for us. It’s remarkable how these words have gripped the minds of believers down through the ages. Many disheartened and troubled Christians have found peace and joy in resting their hopes on the truth of this verse. And its promise remains as vibrant and powerful to troubled souls today as it was to Paul, nineteen hundred years ago.

We can take the word ‘you’ in the promise, ‘my grace is sufficient for you,’ as directed to you and me personally, as though God spoke it to each of us alone. There are no restrictions placed on God’s grace in the text: that means that it is sufficient for every time and place, sufficient to keep and protect you, sufficient to strengthen you, sufficient to comfort you, sufficient to make trouble beneficial to you and to deliver you from countless troubles, and sufficient to bring you home to heaven.

Paul’s response to this promise was: ‘That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10). Here he lays down a great paradox of the Christian faith: ‘When I am weak, then I am strong.’ Of course, in the world this is untrue. The person who is weak is weak. But it becomes a profound truth when we are dealing with an infinite God for whom nothing is impossible.

In the midst of his trials Paul was struck with a deep sense of his insufficiency and weakness. Yet these very trials sent him to Christ and made him depend on His strength. As a result, when he felt the weakest, Paul became stronger than ever. The same is true for all Christians. When we despair of our own strength, and lean our hopes utterly on the Lord, we draw forth supernatural strength from him. He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). We receive his strength in proportion to our level of dependence upon him.

Many who have laboured most in the work of God’s kingdom have been weak and sickly. Bernard of Clairveaux was weak; how he found the time and energy for his many labours is difficult to understand. John Calvin endured poor health; he died at the age of fifty-three after struggling daily with painful illnesses. Richard Baxter’s life was little more than one prolonged sickness. David Brainerd continued to labour with great success for the conversion of the Indians in North America, despite the fact that he was dying of tuberculosis. So those of you who experience poor health should not lose heart. God has done great things through others like you, and he can do the same through you.

Paradoxically, it is the very suffering we dread that so often makes us what we would not otherwise be. By prayer and faith in the face of affliction and illness, we can obtain more fitness for our life’s work than we would have had if we lacked the troubles, or were completely well. It appears that, if we act in our own power, there is little room in our lives for the Spirit’s activity, but if we lack all strength, then there is scope for Christ’s power to enter our lives and make us strong— despite our weakness. So, it can be a far greater thing to have our prayer for deliverance from suffering denied and receive God’s grace and power, than to have the prayer answered, the suffering removed, and miss out on that extra measure of grace, power and presence of God in our lives. At least, that will be our judgment in eternity.

Jim Greenbury

jimncath@tpg.com.au

The Inspire Summit is a conference for Church Planters and their team of key leaders: for those who are in the middle of doing it and those who are still in the planning and discernment stage.
Two conference streams will be offered: for those who are planting ‘Complex’ churches along more traditional models, and for those planting ‘Simple’ churches that are more organically based.

MTQ is offering subsidies to help you attend. Come as a team! Go to MTQ for more information.

One plus one doesn’t always equal two! I’ve done the sums and I can see a great flaw in this mathematical equation that we’ve been taught from the moment we started to learn our 1-2-3s.

Here is my evidence. I am one person—one human being, currently living on this planet inhabited by seven billion others. I have only one brain, one heart and one soul. I have only one life to live and after my one-and only life, I will only have one physical death. After I die my one death, I will only get one chance to kneel before the Creator of heaven and earth, receive my once-in-eternity judgement, and give account of my life.

Now, here is where ‘one plus one equals two’ fails. Almost 11 years ago I had another birth, that of a spiritual kind, when I was born into a new family and received new life. From the moment I became a daughter to a King, my advocate Jesus Christ has been my ‘plus one’. He is with me when I sit up and rise. He is with me on my path and when I lie down. He is behind me and before me. If I were to go to heaven, he would be there; if I were to descend to Sheol, he would be there. Not even the uttermost parts of the sea would keep him from being my ‘plus one’ (Psalm 139). He is my constant companion.

So, you’re thinking … me, plus Jesus Christ, equals two, doesn’t it? For those of you who have any biblical understanding, you’re probably thinking right now … no, of course it doesn’t, because Jesus Christ is part of the Trinity, so me, plus Jesus Christ, would be four—right? Well, without getting into a theological debate which isn’t my intention, I’m not talking about that mathematical equation either.

You see, in my mathematical deduction, me, plus Jesus Christ, equals infinity! I can’t see it adding up any other way! There is nothing logical and sequential when you begin to understand the person who is Jesus. His purposes for my life are nothing that I can plan, calculate and organise. I can’t simply do the sums and tick the boxes to have him rule my life; nor would I want to! His ways are higher than mine and his plans are greater than mine!

I think we can fall into the trap of thinking that if we do our one bible study a day, if we go to church once a week, if we do our one ministry, then our spiritual life will balance with our secular life. There lies the danger. We are limiting the infinite with a number. Imagine what it would be like to live a life where, instead of trying to balance the numbers, we live seeking to be multiplied, to be greater than the sum of us. Imagine knowing that for all intents and purposes, the maths don’t add up in our earthly brains, yet somehow we are being fulfilled, somehow the provision is always there, somehow the impossible becomes possible. Jesus can do that you know! He can and he wants to … with me …with you.

So, I dare you to test my hypothesis— if you add Jesus as your ‘plus one’, you will no longer equal two; your life will equal infinity.

Brooke Jackson is wife, mum, and ‘soldier’ in the battle for cultural change for young women and girls across the world through City Women Toowoomba and Bella Magazine. She can boast only in the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ … and that cross-stitch she half finished.

www.sheis.net.au

I was intrigued with a short comment by Philip Yancey I read recently about the irony of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes being side by side. That started me thinking. While both books largely encapsulate the Wisdom of Solomon (hence their juxtaposition), they each have a very different slant on life.

The message of Proverbs

Proverbs is full of wise advice on living successfully. It presumes an ordered world in which wise actions will produce significant benefits and careless, lazy, immoral ways will end up in disaster. While God is not absent, his main contribution is setting up a just world that rewards those who live his way.

However, we need to be careful not to turn general principles into personal promises. For example, the wise saying, to ‘train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it’ (Proverbs 22:6), does not guarantee that your well-discipled child will inevitably become a Christian. Rather, it is a general principle that if you put the hard work in as a parent when your children are young, you are likely to see good results as they get older.

Proverbs is full of hope that good will triumph on this earth—that if you trust God, work hard, live justly, and remain humble, you will be richly blessed and your life will go well.

I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of evidence of the ‘Proverbs principle’ at work. Live morally, lovingly and generously and your relationships will be stronger. Work hard and you will be

more prosperous. Listen to wise advice and you will make better decisions. In other words, live wisely and you will have a better life.

And this is what we do. We pray and see God moving in response. We invest in our children and see them grow into godly adults. We give generously and see God supply all

our needs. We say sorry and see our relationships strengthen. We even push for our society to live morally because we know that everyone will be better off. Solomon’s ‘Proverbs principle’ works. If you don’t believe this, try it.

The message of Ecclesiastes

But the trouble is … it doesn’t always work. The principle is not watertight. We know wonderful, godly parents whose children are a million miles from God. We see people who have lived lovingly and healthily struck down with cancer. We have friends, who are very hard workers, struggling to make ends meet. Our world is not as fair as Proverbs makes out.

If this can be seen in Australia, it is even clearer in the two-thirds world, where good, godly people struggle with incomprehensible, unjust pain. Some work incredibly hard only to see their children starve to death. Some serve God with all their hearts only to suffer horrific persecution. Life is not always fair on earth. Right living doesn’t always pay off ‘under the sun’. It often does, but not always.

This is where Ecclesiastes kicks in, with the Preacher (Solomon) outlining a darker perspective on life ‘under the sun’. For the Preacher, life, in many ways, feels unfair. Oh, you can work hard and live wisely (Solomon certainly tried this), but in the end, he observes, you’ll probably see little for all your effort. Nothing much really changes.

For Solomon, death is the great leveller. All you may have achieved is passed on to others, and you are soon forgotten. There’s nothing really to show from your sacrificial life.

Before we too quickly relegate these observations to a cynical, secular philosopher, we need to admit that there are elements of the ‘Ecclesiastes principle’ that we all experience. Life can be hard and disappointing, despite our wisdom and effort and prayer. In particular, old age with its growing limitations and frustrations can prove to be a huge challenge, especially in a culture that worships youth. Most of us, at some stage, wonder with the Preacher, what has been achieved from all our effort?

I am hugely tempted to jump in immediately and say that our life is not ‘under the sun’ but ‘under the Son,’ and that it doesn’t really matter what happens to us here because we will be with God forever. While this is completely true (and must be remembered), I think that a rapid retreat to ‘everything is fine because God is with us’ can demean the injustice and frustration that many in our world are experiencing, and undermine part of the message of Ecclesiastes that tells things as they are. We often don’t want to listen to the lament.

Life ‘under the sun’ can be dreadfully unfair if we’re honest. Many things don’t work out nearly as well as we had hoped, despite all our effort. Many prayers seem to go unanswered. Sometimes pain and suffering grab the most unlikely people. ‘Life is not fair’ is the Ecclesiastes principle.

Living well ‘under the sun/Son’

So how do we live in a world that oscillates between the security and hope of Proverbs and the injustice and frustration of Ecclesiastes?

Proverbs calls us to invest in the future. Make the sacrifices and do the right thing now, because eventually you will reap your reward. This reward may be ‘under the sun’ (as Proverbs suggests) or ‘under the Son’ (as the New Testament promises), but it really is guaranteed. Proverbs says don’t slacken off when things get tough. Don’t give up. Every effort is worthwhile. You really can make a significant difference. Your godly living will eventually pay off. It really will. Hold on to that hope!

On the other hand, Ecclesiastes calls us to also appreciate today (2:24, 3:12). Tomorrow may actually be worse, despite all our effort, but it’s no use worrying about that today. As Jesus said, ‘Each day has enough trouble of its own’ (Matthew. 6:34). Life gets frustrating at times. But God’s hand is on today and in the middle of the pleasure and pain, you can see touches of his generosity if you really look. Don’t ignore the difficulties. Lament well. But make sure that you find and enjoy God’s grace today. Seize the day!

According to Solomon’s wisdom, we live best when we hold on to this tension between enjoying today and sacrificing for tomorrow.

John Sweetman

Principal,

Malyon College

john.sweetman@malyon.edu.au

In a world made accessible by technology and affordable air travel, the Mission Field is no longer a one-way journey or even a large commitment, but accessible to almost everyone.  Enter the “Short-term Mission Trip”.  Once the very idea of “short-term mission” would have been an anathema, as “cross-cultural mission” required a whole of life commitment.  Now the amount spent on quick visits and projects from the West to the developing world has reached billions annually.   

Potential Dangers of Short-term trips

The opening up of borders has not been an entirely positive experience for everyone, including the poor and those unreached with the gospel.* Critics of the proliferation of short-term trips point to the following dangers:

-          Money spent on short-term trips can be taken directly from the support of longer term strategic work,

-          Practical projects may not be locally appropriate, given the mobility of a group or the necessary upkeep of the project,

-          Practical projects undertaken by unskilled young people may be taking jobs away from local people and further reinforce stereotype of helplessness or incapacity of the poor to take responsibility for their own futures,

-          Visitors with very little understanding of the local culture can cause offense, harming the cause of the gospel and damaging the credibility of long-term workers,

-          Visitors encountering poverty and drastically different cultures may not reconcile this with a good and just God, and leave with a damaged faith or a loathing of their home culture and church.

Potential Positives

Proponents of short-term trips argue that the potential positives are undeniable:

-          Christians can have their view of God broadened and affirmed as they see Him at work elsewhere,

-          Long-term workers can be encouraged and their work better understood and supported,

-          Christians may be inspired to: give generously, pray diligently, share the gospel at home and go into long-term cross-cultural work themselves.

Global Xposure

So what should we do?  Give up because of the complexity? Have a prayer meeting and hope for the best?  At Global Interaction, we developed a program called “Global Xposure”.  This program acknowledges and mitigates the dangers, while trying to achieve all the potential positives.  We know that a group of visitors on a two week trip won’t change the world, but perhaps, with reliance on God, their world will be impacted for the better.

Our Xposure program has some uniqueness that we’ve found make a great difference.  These experiences are:

-          Resourced by Global Interaction’s training materials, cross-cultural staff, Australian staff, insurance and good processes,

-          Undertaken by church teams, in the context of 8 months preparation and debrief time,

-          Led by pastors and leaders who have already untaken the Global Xposure program themselves,

-          Taken with a priority of learning and discerning what God is doing among those visited and in the hearts of the visitors themselves.

Lifting Capacity

In 2013, the year when Queensland Baptists seek to “Extend God’s Kingdom”, Global Interaction wants to increase our state’s capacity to lead Global Xposures.  To this end, Global Interaction, in partnership with QB Youth with the endorsement of the QB Board will undertake a Pastoral Leaders’ Global Xposure.  This Xposure experience will equip all of the participants to run Xposure programs of the highest possible quality. 

The Xposure will be to the Thailand team, with travel in late September, early October 2013.  Pastoral Leaders, especially those who work with young adults, can submit an expression of interest to Karen Haynes (khaynes@gloabalinteraction.org.au or M 0433 550 960) by January 2013.  Applications and Interviews will be conducted in February 2013. 

*Further resource: When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert.

Karen Haynes

Young Adults Consultant

Global Interaction

khaynes@globalinteraction.org.au

These days, I seem to get asked to speak a lot on maintaining your passion for Christ and finishing well. I can’t understand why they ask me when I’m only midway through the journey! It must have something to do with my bald head, greying hair and, hopefully, a little of my passion. These requests certainly are motivated by concerns that many Christians are not finishing well. I think that finishing well has a lot to do with healthy theology. It’s difficult to stay long-term in Christian service without a good understanding of God and how he works. Here are a few of the thoughts that I have been sharing—healthy theologies that I believe are important for longevity in Christian service.

 1. A healthy theology of grace

I have written much about this. Grace means that although we deserve nothing, Jesus died and rose so that we can be right with God. If we don’t deeply grasp this, in the end, sin and

weakness are going to be too great an obstacle. We finish up either overwhelmed with guilt and inadequacy, or we try to hide and ignore our weakness. We are all incredibly weak, broken and defective (1 Timothy 1:15-16). But a healthy theology of grace means that we keep confessing, believing and obeying. We serve through God’s grace (it’s got nothing to do with our ability or goodness), while recognising how flawed we are, but enjoying and revelling in his grace.

2. A healthy theology of suffering

Suffering for Christians is normal and purposeful (Hebrews 12:7-11). Every Christian suffers. Every effective Christian grows through suffering. This is Christ’s way. We share his sufferings (Philippians 3:10). It seldom appears that other people suffer as much as we do. But they mostly do, and many suffer a lot more. This is God’s calling. If we view suffering as wrong or unfair or dreadful, we’ll never last in Christian service. The Bible makes this clear, and I’m sure as you look back, you can see good in your life that has come out of pain. Suffering is your lot, and it’s good for you. And no, to be honest, I don’t like this either.

3. A healthy theology of purpose

Some theologies emphasise that God is in control; we can do anything we like within his revealed will (in Scripture), and that is okay with God. There’s an element of truth in this. I

don’t believe that there is any ‘perfect’ will of God for me. But such theology tends to emasculate our theology of purpose, as though God doesn’t really care what we do. There is plenty of biblical evidence that God does call, guide and lead. Oh, he gives us plenty of choice, but we’re not free agents. We have jobs, ministries, callings that God has asked us to fulfil. This gives purpose to serving God in our work, church and community. I’m serving at the College because this is what God has told me to do. And I don’t dare pull out until God gives permission. My service is significant because I know it’s what God wills.

4. A healthy theology of reward

Paul, the champion of grace, keeps emphasising the idea of a reward for faithful service (e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15). Whether this is more responsibility (Luke 19:17), or the joy of

seeing the fruit of our labour (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20), or the pleasure of being able to offer to God our lifetime of service, I’m not sure. But the fact remains that everything we do for God will be remembered and rewarded. What you are doing for God does matter. It does make a difference. It won’t be forgotten. We serve and lead out of our love for God and people, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be rewarded for our faithfulness. This reward seems to be particularly for those who see less fruit on earth (Matthew 20:1-16). Hold on to this theology. Paul saw it as an important reason for finishing well (1 Corinthians 9:27).

5. A healthy theology of community

We were never meant to do it alone. God didn’t, and doesn’t. He was always Trinity. We weren’t designed to serve God by ourselves. This is God’s way. He intentionally put us in a body (1 Corinthians 12). When Jesus was preparing leadership for his new church, he didn’t look for a superstar, he built a team. Jesus didn’t send his disciples out to minister by themselves. They always had at least one buddy. There is no place for the Lone Ranger in Christian service. Lone Rangers are too vulnerable, too unwise, too weak, too exposed, too alone. Every Christian needs a real community (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

6. A healthy theology of seasons

The disillusioned writer of Ecclesiastes talked about seasons (3:1-8). I think that he was being pessimistic about good times not lasting, but his point remains: life comes in seasons and so does serving God. Successful seasons eventually become disappointing, and depressing seasons eventually turn to joy. We live in a world that has lost sight of the cycle of seasons. It believes that things should just keep getting better and easier. They won’t. This is not God’s way. Jesus clearly experienced the change of season (Matthew 16:21), and so will you. There is a lot outside of our control in church, and in life, and we have to live with the blessing and frustration of that. There will be great times and tough times. It’s inevitable until Jesus returns.

7. A healthy theology of thankfulness

I was preaching recently on Ephesians 5:18—Paul’s challenge to be filled with the Spirit. In this passage, Paul doesn’t say that the results of being filled with the Spirit are power, or holiness, or knowledge of truth (although these are mentioned in other Scripture). According to Paul, the Spirit’s filling results in heart music and thankfulness (5:19-20). Thankfulness forms the centre of Spirit-filled living. In biblical times, every day the Jews would remember what God had done for them. We know they struggled immensely, but their lives were framed by thanks. If we don’t stop to thank God and celebrate, eventually we lose sight of what God has done and what he is doing. Thankfulness not only blesses God, but it blesses our heart, reorients our thinking and grows our faith and expectation. This is what God intends through the presence of his Spirit in us. Well, there’s a start on maintaining your passion—pretty straightforward really. It’s just believing and practising God’s truth. I would like to say this is easy, but of course, it’s a big challenge at times. Thank goodness God loves us so deeply and treats us with such grace.

 John Sweetman

Principal, Malyon College

John.sweetman@malyon.edu.au

QB Conference 2013 will be held at QCCC Mapleton, in the week immediately after Easter (the dates are 2 – 7 April).  The conference, which has been designed with families in mind, is comprised of:

Pastors & Spouses Retreat (2-4 April) with guest speaker Keith Jobberns, National Ministries Director – Australian Baptist Ministries
QB Leadership Day (Friday 5 April)
QB Weekend Convention (from Friday night 5 April to Sunday 7 April) with guest speaker Allan Meyer of Careforce Lifekeys

More information about the speakers and program is set out in the Full Conference brochure and the Weekend Convention brochure which includes a short registration form. For detailed information, check out the latest update of the Conference program.  To register, please fill out and fax or mail the registration form .