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Children’s and Families Pastor shares how H2S has helped their ministry
Tammy Preston

Children’s and Families Pastor shares how H2S has helped their ministry

Tim Walter, Children’s and Family Pastor at Epping Church of Christ shares what is happening in his faith community  

I just wanted to update you on the Here 2 Stay principles that we are exploring at Epping Church of Christ. 3 weeks ago during the usual family value segment (kids spot) we utilised this time to talk about the issues facing the Australian Church and the haemorrhaging of young people that the Church experiences each year. The language was simple and easy to understand as all ages where in the service at this time.

 

The information session hit home with many in the service as their own children are statistics in that they have left the church themselves. The 10 pillars where listed and very briefly explained as where the personal journey hand outs where individuals could map there own development through the pillars. As the session was short (10 minutes) we needed to place this into a context so it was not overwhelming. This worked well as we had a Baptism that took place a week earlier, I was able to place the pillars over the baptism in which it almost ticked each box.

 

After the service there where a large number of conversations with parents and families all affirming the need for this strategy. At this point we are using it as a filter to see what gaps may show up within the generations that we are ministering to.

 

Here 2 stay is so important, and is an amazing gift to be able to find our weak points but it also helps us plan and think of ways to ensure our young people thrive in our Church community as we disciple them.

We would love to hear your stories.....

What do Spring rolls and Playdough have in common?
Tammy Preston

What do Spring rolls and Playdough have in common?

I wonder how you eat spring rolls? I have always loved spring rolls, but I had never tasted spring rolls like in Hanoi, Vietnam, until this year. I think I have been spoiled for life now

I wonder how you eat spring rolls? I have always loved spring rolls, but I had never tasted spring rolls like in Hanoi, Vietnam, until this year. I think I have been spoiled for life now. They are quite a delicacy in Hanoi and nothing compares to them anywhere. I also learned alot about how they eat them. That was very inspiring.

In Vietnam culture, the spring roll is something that is shared with the community, it is something they do together, using the same dips for everyone. Where in Australia, we have a rule of NO double dipping, in Vietnam, it is an essential part of eating them to share the same dips and to dip together.

The spring rolls “dips” are also very symbolic of the experience of doing it together. The dip is a mixture of lemon (sour) , garlic ( smelly) , capsicum, chilli (hot) , Pepper (spicy), fish sauce (sugar) , water that joins it all together.

The ingredients of the dips represent all types of tastes and combinations, coming together and being blended to make something special. This is a symbol of community. There are all kinds of people who should make up community and it is the variety that makes it TRUE community. What a beautiful example of what community should look like. We all get to be together at the banquet sharing it together. It reminds me of the great banquet Jesus talked about where all were invited and welcomed to share together. The sad thing is that, just as in the parable, there were many who wouldn’t come. So it is with our culture, which has become so obsessed with having our own dips and making sure that we are separate so as to not share germs, and allowing everyone to have control of their own combinations and eat what they want to eat and not have to share.

I often do this excursive with all ages, where I give them a piece of play dough and everyone has a different colour. I begin by asking them to design something with their play dough and create something that represents them. Many enjoy this process but the next step is hard for them. Even though this is only a piece of play dough, it is amazing how attached they get.

I ask them to share their creation with other people in the room and as they do they must share a piece of play dough, which means they give a piece away and gain a piece. As they continue to swap with people over and over again, they end up with different colours in their hands. It always amazes me how the majority of people keep all the colours separate even when I am constantly asking them to massage the colours together as they go.

When they sit down I ask them again to massage the colours all together in order to make a new colour. Many just can’t do it. They have either been conditioned to NOT mix the colours or they don’t like the fact that their creations has been destroyed and it is no longer the same as when they started.

Again this practical exercise reminds us that to be TRUE community means that in the sharing process, what we end up is not the same as what we started with. Some people love this, but more than often our “isolated”, “controlling”, “self-focused”, “comfortable” culture means that we really struggle with this exercise.

Sounds harsh I know, but there is no other explanation for this behaviour. If this is so hard in an exercise with play dough, imagine the sacrifice it takes for people to live in TRUE community. Like the spring roll experience, life is meant to be shared and done together.

And through the combining and sharing we are all transformed to become something different..

How about you … are you okay to SHARE your sauce dips and double dip your spring rolls? Can you MIX your play dough colours … or does the thought of that make you cringe?

The bigger question is … is life in your faith community truly shared and mixed together, and if not what are you missing out on?

The bigger question is ... is life in your faith community truly shared and mixed together, and if not what are you missing out on?

How very “un-Churched”
Tammy Preston

How very “un-Churched”

When the facts are clear that Australians are decreasingly NOT going to Church any more, and many churches are ageing and decreasing rapidly, surely we need to be asking, as I am sure McDonalds did many years ago, how can we attract a wider clientele and meet the needs of the community, so more people will come, taste and see that the Lord is good?

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McDonalds the restaurant has fascinated me over the last decade as I have watched the incredible changes it has made to connect with its audience and meet needs in the community. McDonalds in Australia has changed completely in the past 10 years.

I would never have imagined walking into a McDonalds, looking around and seeing mainly adults enjoying a cup of coffee and sweet snack, reading a paper on soft chairs.

I would never have imagined seeing other people being served at their table, a self-created burger on a lovely wooden board with French fries in a cute stainless steel basket.

I would have never imagined that if I was trying to eat something that was low in calories, I could go to McDonalds and have a grilled chicken salad and it would be reasonably healthy.

I would never imagined seeing a sign saying “Maccas” instead of McDonalds.

I would never have imagined that McDonalds would have an add campaign like “How Very un-McDonalds”. To even admit that, let alone make it their new catch phrase, was intriguing for me.

McDonalds has changed so much that now it is a place where not only you can take your kids for a cheap meal and a play in the playground, but the whole family can come and there is something for everyone. In effect, it has extended its clientele to just about every age group. This is very clever in business terms and I dare say in terms of profit as well, but ultimately it means more and more people, and different types of people are coming through the door.

I have to be honest. I would very rarely choose to eat at McDonalds over other options, unless I am on a long road-trip and have no other options (now there’s another blog) but I went into a McDonalds the other day, because quite frankly I was intrigued with the new advertising and the ability to create your own burger. McDonalds still has the Big Mac and happy meal, the original menu has not changed and neither has the heart of McDonalds changed and yet … it has become “very un-McDonalds”. I was surprised to see very few children and mostly adults in there at the time.

I may be crucified in saying this, but I couldn’t help think that the church has a lot to learn from McDonalds. When the facts are clear that Australians are decreasingly NOT going to Church any more, and many churches are ageing and decreasing rapidly, surely we need to be asking, as I am sure McDonalds did many years ago, how can we attract a wider clientele and meet the needs of the community, so more people will come, taste and see that the Lord is good? The church’s mission and heart has not changed over the years, but what if our new catch phrase was “How very un-churched”?

What would that look like? What would need to change in the church, for young people to walk in and meet Jesus? What would need to change for a struggling, broken family to walk in and meet Jesus? What would need to change for someone who has all they need and can provide for themselves and their household, but still feel that they need to belong to something bigger than themselves, who long to serve and make a difference in life? What would need to change for someone who had preconceived ideas of what Church is like, for them to be open to coming into the house of God again or maybe for the very first time?

For like me just recently, I just HAD to go in and check out what was “very un-Mcdonalds” about McDonalds NOW, and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. I just HAD to order my own ‘Create your own burger’ and it was a good experience. What would the Church need to do to create an environment that was “very unchurched” so that many more people would be open to walking toward Jesus’s love and not stay away because of their preconceived ideas, valid or not, about the “church”?

It was very enlightening to chat to a McDonalds employee, who when asked about the new “create your own burger” promotion, crinkled her nose and said “oh, everyone hates it at work because it is too much hassle”. I can understand that feeling when the process has been a certain way for so long, to make such a change is a hassle. It is why “change” rarely happens. The thing is if the Church doesn’t change there are many that simply won’t exist as they are now for very long.

Jesus calls us to change, to reach out, to open doors, to do what ever it takes that they might be saved. Surely this is our calling, our mission, our quest, as leaders of the Christian faith, to do whatever it takes to break down the walls, the assumptions, the negativity that stops people from meeting Jesus firsthand, to taste and see that the Lord, (God’s love) is good. I long to see people who have not been into a Church in long time, if ever, walk into a church environment and say “wow, how very un-churched”. To me this means walls and assumptions and negativity are beginning to break down. This is when people can be more open to His saving grace, love and forgiveness which has never changed, but has often been lost in translation, packaging or the communication of the church today.

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If you asked these questions in your church/faith community...what would need to change?