As I was saying… there are a lot of pastoral care myths out there.  Here’s 2 more:

Myth 3: Pastoral Care is about ‘meeting people’s needs’.

This is a very popular myth, especially among people who have needs. The idea of having a pastor, who will provide pastoral care, which will meet my needs is very appealing.

This is particularly the case with perceived emotional needs. If I’m feeling hurt or lonely or angry and so on it’s an attractive idea that someone might come and talk with me and make me feel better.

This myth can also be popular among pastors or leaders who like to feel needed. Meeting people’s needs can be a gratifying emotional experience. You can feel special or needed and so on so this myth gains traction among pastors too.

Myth 4: Pastoral Care is different to Bible teaching.

This myth separates the two things. Bible teaching is something we do in the sermon or Bible study. Pastoral care is the talking and relating that happens elsewhere. During pastoral care the Bible goes back on the shelf and we focus on listening, sharing and talking.

This myth is reinforced when we give titles and job descriptions to pastors that make one out to be the teaching pastor and one out to be the pastoral care guy.

Next week, we’ll see what the Bible says about pastoral care and do a bit of mythbusting.

photo credit: Markusram

I love the TV show Mythbusters.  Apart from the juvenile thrill of watching guys put aerosol cans in campfires etc, I love the whole premise of finding myths and testing them.  I reckon one area where myths abound is ‘pastoral care’.  Sure, I can’t produce any explosions but I am keen to identify some common pastoral care myths.  In following posts I hope to bust a few of them with what the Bible really teaches about pastoral care.

Myth 1: Pastoral care is only for people who are struggling.

This myth assumes that ‘pastoral care’ (whatever that might be) is only for those people at church who are struggling with sin, suffering or something else.  Those who are doing OK can probably get by without it.  They’re like healthy people who don’t need a doctor.

Myth 2: Pastoral care is about counseling.

I found this on Wikipedia:  ‘Pastoral care is the ministry of care and counseling provided by pastors, chaplains and other religious leaders to members of their church…’

This is a common myth, and it’s reinforced in our minds by the language of ‘pastoral counseling’ and ‘pastoral ministry’.  It makes out pastoral care to be about doing lots of sitting, listening, problem solving - possibly with some technique or method over a long period of time.

That’s it for now, two more myths next time.  But I ask you to think about what harm can a myth do if it’s not tested by Scripture?

Hi ladies there is less than a week left to register for Women of Truth 2010. What a huge privilege to meet with other women of all different ages from across the Hunter area to sit under the Word of God and sing His praises together. Registrations close Monday 24th May.

There are two easy ways to register…

Go to www.womenoftruth.info/ and either register online with a credit card or download the brochure and send with a checque or money order to Women Of Truth PO Box 212 Charlestown NSW 2290.

Why not register today? It would be great to see you there…

It’s Saturday morning and I’m sitting in a café in Nelson Bay while my wife is at work doing a weekend shift.

Now don’t pity me too much. The sun is shining, the coffee is ok, the banana bread is excellent, and there’s a cool breeze coming off the water (I’m about 10 metres from the waters edge).

I dropped Sarah off at work about 2 hours ago, and I’ve spent most of the morning reading the book of Joshua over breakfast.

When I finished it I had this great sense of peace, but also tension.

Reaching the end of Joshua was like finishing the first chapter of the Old Testament.

God had made great promises to Abraham in Genesis 12 that he would give him his own land, make him into a great nation, bless him, and bless or curse the nations depending on how they acted towards Abraham.

Despite the dodgy-ness of Abraham’s kids, the sinful grumbling and rebellion of Israel, and the occasional epic failure of it’s leaders (see Aaron and the golden calf episode in Exodus 32 “No really Moses, I just threw the gold in the fire and this calf just walked out!” I mean seriously…), God has powerfully fulfilled all his promises.

Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.  (Joshua 21:43-45)

Reading that and looking at the sun shining on the bay I felt I could really identify with Israel. They had peace and rest. God was faithful and trustworthy. God had blessed them enormously.

But I also felt tension. Tension because I don’t expect Israel will be enjoying this land for long. In fact, I’m practically certain they won’t. All through Deuteronomy and Joshua, Moses and Joshua again and again tell the Israelites they are unable to serve God and tell them the terrible consequences for turning away from him to serve false gods.

One of the last things Joshua says to Israel is,

“You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” (Joshua 24:19-20)

The sinfulness of Israel means they won’t be able to enjoy the blessing of God in the land he has given them.

And as I was thinking about that and enjoying the view, it made me so thankful for Jesus. Because as beautiful as this day is, I know God’s new creation will be more beautiful and wonderful still. And there is no way that I could have any certainty of living there without my sin forgiven and washed away by Jesus death.

It’s been a great morning! Great to enjoy a beautiful day, but even better because this is just the tiniest glimpse into the beauty of God’s new creation! Thank you Jesus! Please come soon!

photo credit: that sugars guy

Here are 10 reasons the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen has given as to why the ethics classes are not a good idea.

Scripture v’s Ethics #3 is coming…stay tuned!!!

How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Whoever wrote Psalm 119 knew how to fall grow in love for God. Two repeated truths are:

God’s word, laws, precepts, decrees or commands are wonderful
²⁴ Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.
¹¹¹ Your statutes are the joy of my heart.
¹²⁹ Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.
¹⁶⁷ I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.

God alone can teach us to love Him
¹⁸ Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.
²⁷ Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.
³³ Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.
³⁵ Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.
¹³³ Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me

It’s worth taking the time to read the whole Psalm and look at all the reasons the writer loves God. Then make it your prayer and your song.

photo credit: ( Torsten )

Hey Unichurchers,

Check this out…

YouTube page:  100m relay world record

Passing the Baton is a training course to get you started reading the Bible with another person. If you’ve ever benefited form 1 to 1 Bible reading, why not get trained to start meeting with someone else? Passing the Baton is good for first-timers and a great refresher for old-timers. I hope to see you there!

Here’s the skinny

Sunday 11th and 18th April

1-3pm

17 Turana Parade North Lambton

Register with Josh: 0431747370

p_reddy_03@hotmail.com

This is the routine we’re settling in to. I arrive at Richard’s place, he offers me a hot drink (I generally decline – cold water is more my thing) and we chat about life and ministry for a bit. Sam Budden then arrives and joins us, the three of us open up to Amos and we get stuck in.

I thought it would be weird reading the Bible with two other guys, but it’s not. It’s hardly any different. We’re relaxed, we enjoy each other’s company, and there are always a few good laughs.

We generally start off trying to remember what we read about last week, what we’ve learnt so far and what we know about the context of Amos. Then we read the next chunk of scripture and try and figure out what it’s saying together.

Here are some gold questions that help us get into the passage:

• What is the structure of this passage?
• What questions do you have about this passage?
• What is this verse saying? What else is it saying? What else is it saying? (no seriously, just keep asking)
• How does this verse relate to the verses either side?
• What do we learn about God/people?
• How do we see these ideas in the New Testament?
• How does this affect us?

Here’s some things I learnt last week.

Amos is preaching to Israel while they are experiencing peace and prosperity. But they have turned away from the true worship of God, their religion is false and hollow, their judgment is imminent and this is their last chance to repent (5:1-27).

The nation even looks forward to the Day of the Lord, not realizing that this is a day of darkness and destruction (5:15). They think they’re fine, but this judgment is inescapable “It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear”… their exile is just around the corner.

What a warning to us when everything is going well. I need to make sure I’m right with God if I’m going to sing “Bring on the Day” or “We belong to the day”. I can’t fake it with God and I can’t be complacent about judgment! Thanks Jesus for rescuing me from the coming wrath!

photo credit: ground.zero

About 35 men from HBC went away to weekend 3 of Katoomba Mens Convention (March 5-6).  The topic was ‘Men of Service- Love Relationships and Family.  Basically it was fantastic!

John Dickson spoke from Philippians and showed how an understanding of the first readers’ original context makes it clear the gospel demanded a lot from them. 

Gary Millar from Ireland preached on Song of Songs.  He’s a brave man and didn’t shirk away from anything!  We learnt heaps about how to read the book so it made sense.  There was also lots of great challenges to think about sex rightly and relate in a godly way to our wives (for those who have them).

I would certainly recommend for men to buy the talks (especially Gary’s) from the kcc website.  To wives - it would make a great gift!

The fellowship on the bus, at McDonalds and at the Youth Hostel was also a highlight.  I’m looking forward to next year - hope you are too.

Is there a ‘Mens Ministry’ at HBC?  Why have there been less events than in previous years?

As the Maturity Pastor I thought I’d take a moment to answer these questions.

Yes, there is a Men’s Ministry at HBC.  The staff, elders and growth group leaders are committed to seeing men at HBC grow in their knowledge of God, love for others and active Christian service.

How do we hope this will happen?  Well, primarily through relevant biblical preaching and Bible study at Growth Groups during the week.  This is why I see that a large part of my (and our) ministry to men is to encourage them to come to church and to join a Growth Group.  I hope to train enough leaders so that every man at church can get to a group of some kind.  Within groups (whether men’s groups or otherwise) I hope the men will pray together, hang out together, and grow together.

But what about events?  It’s true that special events for men can help with Christian growth and fellowship.  There have been a few less events lately.  This is partly because the calendar has been quickly filled with other really important stuff and frankly, myself and many of the senior guys have been flat out!  This year, the events in the calendar are Katoomba Mens Convention (March 5-6), Hunter Mens Convention (Sept 4) and a Wednesday evening event on August 4th about ‘How to read the Bible with your wife’.  I’m hoping to produce some blogs on this soon.

Would you like to do more with Men’s Ministry?  Why not agree with the men in your group to read a book like ‘the Disciplines of a Godly Man’ by Kent Hughes.  Or ask a staff member or older man to come and speak with the men in your group about an aspect of Christian manhood.  Or go camping together!

The city of Newcastle needs thousands of godly men to share the gospel and live the gospel- I’d love for HBC to play a role in this.

photo credit: One lucky guy