Fresh Hope - FH Stories Magazine Autumn 2021

THE MAKING OF AN EVANGELIST

AUTUMN 2021

FRESH HOPE STORIES.

CONTENTS 4 | Olga Ling: The making of an evangelist 6 | Gospel Gloves packs a punch with Lismore kids 8 | Regional Connect – Northern NSW 10 | Leading with grace – Raewyn Williams 12 | Frontier gathers momentum 14 | Fresh Hope News 18 | Book reviews 20 | Life to the full at The Tops 21 | Prison inmate’s life transformed 22 | Uncertainty and Change – Theological Education Today 23 | Fresh Hope Care – May Ashwood award 24 | Our first missionary to India 26 | Obituary – Bill Harrison

Photo: Santiago Duarte

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Editor: Anne Simpson (Communications Team leader) Designer: Glenn Newton Sub-editor: Dean Simpson Cover image: Tom Fewchuk Contributors: Emily Ferguson, Naomi Giles, Gil Corr, Nathan Marshall, Julia Gilchrist, Dennis Nutt

WELCOME THIS NETWORK, FAMILY AND MOVEMENT OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST HAS SUCH A RICH HISTORY IN EVANGELISM, PARTNERSHIP AND ROBUST PIONEERS. THIS IS GOD’S GIFT TO US. In response to His gifts, men and women have given their all – stirred by a desire for unity in the essentials of faith in Christ Jesus, liberty in the non-essentials and secondary things, and in all things … all things, love. Love is the origin story, the current driver for all of life, and what remains when all else passes.

This movement also has a rich present in these very same gifts. God has not retracted them. As you engage with the stories in this magazine, may you be encouraged, affirmed, challenged and give thanks and glory to God for His unending love, faithfulness and goodness towards us.

These are your brothers and sisters, serving the same King, with the same heart, seeking to faithfully obey and follow Him in His activity in the world. In the ups and downs. Wins and losses. Griefs and joys.

May this movement remain rich in these given gifts until the Giver returns.

May we continue to spur one another on, and all the more as we see The Day approaching.

Shalom, Daz Farrell Executive Ministry Director, Fresh Hope Network

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OLGA LING: THE MAKING OF AN EVANGELIST IT’S HER SMILE THAT HITS YOU FIRST. OLGA LING BEAMS AS SHE WAVES ME OVER TO THE COVID-SAFE QUEUE OUT THE FRONT OF HER FAVOURITE LOCAL CAFÉ. ONCE INSIDE, SHE PROCEEDS TO ORDER US A SMALL FEAST OF BREAKFAST MAINS AND DESSERT, AND IT’S IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS THAT WE ARE NOT JUST HERE FOR AN INTERVIEW. WE ARE SHARING LIFE TOGETHER. AS WE SETTLE INTO OUR MEAL, I LEARN WHY. The buoyant personality that courses through the petite frame of this Sydney-based international evangelist and Fresh Hope pastor is fuelled by a fire that has been stoked over 50 years.

At the age of five, Olga “fell in love with Jesus” through attending church at 6am every day at her Catholic boarding school in her home country of Indonesia. This became twice a day at the age of 12, and by the time she moved to Australia at 29, she had become a woman with a strong Catholic faith, deeply devoted to God and willing to be obedient to Him. “My sister had already moved to Australia, and after I came to Australia I lived with her,” she tells me. “Her husband’s brother Gary lived with them too, and after two or three months here we married. It was like the Bible said – I have a good plan for you, a good future!”

“ And I cried and I wept and I knew that God called me.

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BY EMILY FERGUSON Almost 20 years later, in April 2000, Olga learned again how true that was. “I had to have a hysterectomy because I had a large tumour and during the operation I had a cardiac arrest for 10 minutes. The doctor said to my husband, ‘When the oxygen doesn’t go to the brain for three minutes, there’s going to be brain damage.’

“But I woke up in the ICU and my brain is working!”

Her whole body is now engaged in recounting the moment that changed her life forever. “And two days later I had a dream. I had a vision of a coffin in front of me on the wall. I said, ‘Lord, what is this one?’ In my spirit he said, ‘It’s supposed to be you in there, but by the grace of the Lord I give you another chance to live. Go into the world and preach the Gospel.’ I said, ‘Me?!’ He said, ‘Yes.’ And then I woke up.

“And then the Lord said, ‘Open your Bible to Ezekiel 36:26-27.’ It said, ‘I will give you a new heart.’ And he said, ‘I’m going to take your heart of stone and I will give you a heart of obedience to me.’

“And I cried and I wept and I knew that God called me.

And he said, ‘Open your Bible again to Matthew 10:8.’

And it said heal the sick and raise the dead. He said, ‘You already got that from me and now your job is to raise the people, heal, and cast out the devil.’”

This life-changing call to preach the Gospel sent Olga to Bible college where she discovered her gift for preaching. Shortly after, she and one of the elders from the church where she served as a worship leader, Joseph Tee, stepped out in faith to found Harvest Indonesian Church.

As we make our way through breakfast dessert (pancakes), I learned that it wasn’t for another seven years that Olga’s first overseas opportunity to preach the Gospel to the world opened up – at a birthday party for a Christian friend! “I went to Jakarta and my friend wanted to see me. They said, ‘Olga, I heard you are a pastor! It’s my husband’s birthday party and I already invited 200 people – can you come and preach?’ When I preached, I brought an altar call and they all wept! They all came to Jesus in only one night. The very next day they asked for another rally – and so many more people came – about 500 the next day. And they made an appointment for

me to come the next year again, to send me from village to village.

“Ten churches invited me, and I was doing a rally every night. My picture was on a billboard and there was even a rally in the market on the street. They closed the street and people would go to the roof, or to a tree to hear me preach! I said, ‘Lord, it looks like Zacchaeus!’”

“ I had a vision of a coffin in front of me on the wall. I said, ‘Lord, what is this one?’ In my spirit he said, ‘It’s supposed to be you in there, but by the grace of the Lord I give you another chance to live. Go into the world and preach the Gospel.

From there, opportunities opened up through friends and word of mouth for Olga to preach the Gospel to Indonesians living in far-reaching places such as Holland and Athens and in the US at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Hampshire and New Jersey.

And while she has been unable to travel since the COVID-19 outbreak, the preaching opportunities have continued online. Last year, she also volunteered to wrap Christmas presents with the Cancer Council as a way of connecting with more people – and unsurprisingly she always had the longest queue.

“For me, in my heart, every day when I wake up, I say, ‘Jesus, one more soul for you. I’m 68 this year and in my old age I’m going to bring so many people to come to you.’ That’s my goal. I don’t have any other motivation.

I don’t care about the reward – I just say, ‘Thank you Jesus!’ I’m so honoured God chose me.”

Photos: Tom Fewchuk

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GOSPEL GLOVES LAUNCHING A BOXING MINISTRY FOR DISADVANTAGED LOCAL KIDS IN THE LISMORE CHURCH OF CHRIST BUILDING IS NOT WHAT HAYLEY BROWN EXPECTED WHEN SHE TOOK TIME OFF WORK TO HAVE HER THIRD CHILD IN 2019.

“After [my son] was born I took the first year off, and I just prayed, ‘Okay, I’ve got no money but I’ve got time.’

And God just kept saying to me, ‘Gospel Gloves. Gospel Gloves.’”

In March, the Gospel Gloves gym officially opened, with sponsors and other local leaders attending.

“I live in a housing commission area where there’s lots of struggling families, lots of substance abuse and lots of neglected kids who are always getting in trouble,” says Hayley. “So I rang a friend of mine and said, ‘I’m going to go down to the park to train kids on Friday afternoons – we’ll do some boxing. Gospel Gloves is what it’s called.”

Hayley’s friend connected her with Raymond, a Christian who came to faith in jail where he met many of the kids’ dads, and he was keen to be involved.

At Raymond’s suggestion that they find a permanent home for Gospel Gloves, Hayley approached Ian Phillips, who she knew from Lismore Church of Christ, with a request to use the building, which is situated right in the middle of two big groups of housing commission. It turned out to be the perfect location.

“Hayley explained her idea to me, and the fact that she was already doing some training with mainly Indigenous kids in a park nearby. The idea made my heart sing,” remembers Ian, a former minister at the church and now a chaplain at The Winsome and Lismore Soup Kitchen and Community Pastor at Lismore’s CentreChurch.

Delayed by the COVID restrictions, Gospel Gloves finally started operating out of the building last November.

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BY EMILY FERGUSON God provided the $10,000 needed to purchase a boxing ring through two sponsorships of $5000 from a local blueberry farm (Mountain Blue Farm) and Northern Co-operative Meat Company. Other businesses such as Bunnings and a community organisation called ‘Rekindle the Spirit’ provided further equipment for the gym’s set-up.

“

We just hope it’s somewhere safe for them to go and that we can at least get one kid off the street and feel they’re not trapped in the world they’re in – that they know they are loved and valued and not forgotten.

Now, 15 to 20 kids aged five to 15 show up for training every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, which always concludes with a prayer.

“We just hope it’s somewhere safe for them to go and that we can at least get one kid off the street and feel they’re not trapped in the world they’re in – that they know they are loved and valued and not forgotten,” Hayley said.

“Eventually, I wanted it to be somewhere as a refuge for kids, so even if we were there an hour before and we had a computer there and they could come and have some afternoon tea and do their homework in a safe place that would be lovely. We’d love it to be a drop-in for the kids because it’s in a perfect location and we have heaps of needy kids up there.”

Lismore Church of Christ (also known as Northern Rivers) commenced in 1884 and held its last Sunday service in Goonellabah in 2018.

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REGIONAL CONNECT A group of 17 pastors and elders gathered from around Northern NSW for the inaugural Regional Connect retreat in February.

The 24-hour retreat offered a time of encouragement and connection.

Hosted by Mark and Vicki Keogh and members of the Mission & Ministry team, leaders travelled from Port Macquarie, Forster-Tuncurry and Coffs Harbour in the north, to Maitland and the Central Coast in the south. It is hoped that more regional events will be held in the future.

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Photos: Tom Fewchuk

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LEADING WITH GRACE AFTER 27 YEARS OF WORKING IN THE LEGAL AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIELDS, RAEWYN WILLIAMS HAS JUST STEPPED OUT OF THE WORKFORCE FOR A SEASON OF REFORMATION. THIS COINCIDES WITH THE RECENT COMPLETION OF HER TERM AS THE PRESIDENT OF FRESH HOPE CONFERENCE EXECUTIVE, MEANING THERE’S NOW SPACE FOR REFLECTION ON THE JOYS AND COST OF LEADING. “I found myself being a leader without realising it. It was really just the currents of my career that took me there,” says Raewyn. “I have never been one to have a career plan. Through time there’s a natural flow and momentum in your career.”

Around 10 years ago, Raewyn noticed opportunities arising and she found the first taste of leadership exciting.

“I wanted to influence, to have a voice in the big-picture issues, to create a culture and environment and bring people on a journey. There’s something in me that’s very drawn to leadership,” she says.

As an emerging female leader in her industry, it wasn’t an easy path, with the ratio of female to male leaders one of the lowest in any industry in Australia, and the pay gap the widest.

“It’s very normal for me to be the only woman in the room. It was a very lonely journey, in part because I didn’t have female role models, mentors or bosses and I had to largely work it out for myself,” she says.

But Raewyn also warns against allowing the gender issue to have sway in a person’s growth as a leader.

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BY NAOMI GILES “You can get caught up thinking it’s harder for you as a leader because you are a female, but that’s really not a good use of your time and energy,” she says. “Just continue to challenge yourself and grow, find your own identity as a leader and build confidence in that.”

She encourages other female leaders to put their focus not on gender, but on God’s plans for their life.

“Just focus on the calling and the commissioning to lead, and how God is calling you to lead. He put you in this body, with this gender and these skills – so note it and move on,” she says.

As a movement, Raewyn believes Fresh Hope has an opportunity to continue to open the doors for women to shine in serving God where he has placed them.

“The best we can do for women as a movement is to allow them to honour their calling to God. You should not feel constrained in honouring your calling just because you are female. Just serve God in the way you are called to serve, wherever that is, how visible or invisible that is. It’s all visible to God,” she says.

As she developed as a leader, Raewyn learnt that knowing herself and drawing on her strengths created a team environment where other people’s strengths could also shine.

“I am a consensus builder, but not a person that seeks consensus at all costs. I like to draw in all the views, and put a framework around it and land a decision based on a good set of facts and discussion,” she explains. “I do like hearing diverse views, I encourage creativity and leftfield thinking as a leader, but I have also learnt there are times when you have to be more directional.”

Leadership is a growing art, and Raewyn shares one of her more recent learnings has been around how to take the emotional temperature of a room when seeking to collaborate.

“As a leader, you need to draw out where people are coming from – some from the head, some from the heart, all with their backgrounds, fears and concerns,” she says.

And she also encourages leaders to receive all advice with grace.

“I am really grateful for the advice I rejected, too; it all helped shape me as a leader. Even bad advice helps me stop and think and assess where I am, and what I can learn from this person.”

For those stepping into leadership for the first time, Raewyn points to the development of character as the most critical aspect.

“Leadership is not about being right and having all the

answers; it’s actually about authenticity and courage,” she says. “There’s too much focus on skills in leadership.

Skills can be learnt; they follow on from character.”

Raewyn encourages all emerging leaders to be comfortable in their own leadership skin and to build from their strengths.

“The great challenge is to find your own leadership style.

There can be two very different leaders who are both effective in their own way,” she says. “Just be the best leader you can be for yourself and for God.”

Photo: Tom Fewchuk

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PIONEERS OF THE FRONTIER THERE ARE MOMENTS OF SHEER GRACE; GIFTS THAT ARE GIVEN AND RECEIVED WITH EASE AND DELIGHT. THE BURDEN SEEMS EASY, THE ROAD SEEMS CLEAR AND THE PREVAILING CONDITIONS WORK IN OUR FAVOUR. LIKE A FOUR-YEAR-OLD CATCHING A KINGFISH WITH A LINE ON A STICK WITH NO BAIT. OR A GOD-GIVEN GAP IN A SEEMINGLY OTHERWISE IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION. There are also times, perhaps more often than we wish, where it’s a slog. Ministry is difficult. Family life is complex and at times blindsiding. These are the times when we must discern: to push or to hold, to fight or to let go? Wisdom is needed in seasons of difficulty, trusting the Spirit’s leading when the path seems unclear.

Pioneering has stepped into its second year of Frontier, our incubator for those who are stirred and called to “… creatively respond to the Holy Spirit’s initiatives with those outside the Church; gathering others around them as they seek to establish new contextual Christian community.” In February, we had one participant locked in, and a few disparate leads. It was a moment where we had to ask, “God, what are you up to here?!” Something galvanised in our spirits and hearts, leading us to attend to both the sheer grace of God and the hard work of unearthing those who might sense the risky and divine invitation to pioneer for the Kingdom. What has unfolded is nothing short of miraculous.

Daz Farrell had held the Pioneering post in these recent years, sensing and praying for a ‘multiethnic’ work of the Spirit to occur with emerging leaders. His tagline was ‘Have a go, go deeper, deepen the mix’, and with this hope, it’s exciting to share that five people have taken the call to ‘go pioneer’ this year, with three from different ethnic backgrounds. This has created a rich and diverse

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BY NATHAN MARSHALL group, with our initial gathering kicking off at the end of the ‘La Nina’ rain event in late March. We brought together complete strangers for a slow but steep decent into community, story-sharing, Frontier-framing and solitude, as our hearts were stirred, and our paradigms stretched. As the swollen Wingecarribee River flowed powerfully where we gathered, we were guided by Scripture and the Spirit, reminded that, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy!” (Psalm 126:5).

Perhaps this is a timely reminder that difficulty and grace are not unknown to one another. Our coming together took tremendous effort and our sharing was woven with grief and struggle, yet the richness of our fellowship created a true sense of ‘communitas’.

The gift of this initial gathering is not to create clever strategies or work on the latest innovative techniques, but instead to have our hearts come alive to what we might imagine that God is inviting us into for this pioneering journey. Brueggeman, in his book The Prophetic Imagination, reminds us, “Our culture is competent to implement almost anything and imagine almost nothing.” This is always a timely reminder that we join in and with God’s activity, following Jesus into the thick of life in all its mess and beauty.

Our first teaching time kicked off this week with Karina Kremenski, author of Urban Spirituality, wrestling with the cruciform call to be embodied in our pioneering work. We look forward to what will spout from this fertile soil, trusting that, ‘We plant the seeds that one day will grow.’

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NEWS

STEPPING OVER THE THRESHOLD Just over the ACT border, a healing home is being established by the Missionheart Christian faith community. Dubbed ‘Missionhouse’, this new place is the realisation of a dream that began in the formation of this church some 24 years ago.

“Donations were given right back at the start of Missionheart, which we knew needed to be set aside for this place. We have been dreaming of this for a long time. It’s an extension of what we are called to do and gives us the space to journey deeply with people in healing,” says Missionheart leader Jason Hayduk.

An extension of their work in the centre of Canberra, Missionhouse will allow for those on the fringes to find relationship, restoration and reconciliation to God in an established loving community where they can belong and contribute. There will be opportunities for people to find freedom from addiction and illness, develop life skills, train for future employment, be spiritually nurtured, and to grow in relationship with God and others.

Leaders Jason and Kelly Hayduk (pictured above), who planted Missionheart, are amazed at God’s provision of

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this property and deeply aware of his preparation in their lives. “Personally, God has been preparing us for this kind of community living. Having four kids and foster kids and having people come in and out of home over all our married life, has helped us to get here. If we hadn’t had that full household, the transition would be much harder,” says Kelly.

And God has also provided many of the tangible goods needed for furnishing the new home. Kelly recounts that in packing she kept wondering why she seemed to have more than they needed, and then the property’s former owners gifted them an expansive table around which meals with an extended family could flourish. “We want to be able to extend an invitation to people to come live with us and learn a new rhythm of life,” she says.

The property is currently housing the Hayduks and two of their children, and another Missionheart family – Stew and Bec Henderson and their daughter – who are the nucleus of this new live-in healing community. The first step for this team is to go deep in formation over the next six to 12 months to create a healthy community and to prepare the home physically for its first intake.

After the spiritual and physical foundations are laid, they will begin to invite people in to journey in community.

“We know that we have to prepare the foundation and build something that will last. Within the live-in team we have to find new rhythms and hosting some short-term visitors will help us learn how to do hospitality together,” says Kelly.

Day Church in Wollongong), Dave Standen (Kingsway Community Church in Caringbah, (pictured with his family being inducted by Daz Farrell) and Tanwin Tanoto, (Hurstville Church of Christ) have all been appointed to an exciting new season of leadership and vision.

As well as spiritual renovation within the team, this time is also for physical renovation. There are several spaces throughout the property that need to be converted into bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces to welcome people into the community. Fresh Hope Engage is supporting them in fundraising towards the fit-out of the new living spaces. The team are also aware they will need to partner with many different people to realise the potential of the property.

It has been a ‘baptism of fire’ for these new leaders, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing churches to adopt a new way of doing mission, including the hiring process for new ministers. However, the privilege of leading kingdom spaces and faith communities has kept spirits high, regardless of this unique season.

Kelly says, “Some days it feels overwhelming. But when you look out the windows at the land around us, there’s also a relief in finally getting here and knowing this is all happening in God’s time.”

– Naomi Giles

NEW LEADERS INDUCTED

Jeremy Bromhead, who with his family moved from Red Hill Church in the ACT, has experienced a significant shift in his environment, through accepting the Senior Pastor role at Nowra Church of Christ. “I was working three days as an electrician, studying a day and helping out where I could at church, so I am straight out of Bible college and into this role,” he said. “My wife [Jordan] and I are trying to live a lifestyle where God has our first ‘yes’. Sometimes that doesn’t always line up with our comfort, or our logic. Sometimes ‘yes’ means stepping into something you’ve disqualified yourself for, but Jesus has qualified you for. That’s the only real qualification, isn’t it?”

One of Jeremy’s first decisions was to put services on hold, but this cultivated an opportunity to begin building personal relationships with church members. “COVID has actually given time and space to get to know people individually,” he said.

Five churches affiliated with Fresh Hope inducted new senior leaders at the start of the year, all of whom are aged 40 or younger.

Jeremy Bromhead (Nowra Church of Christ), Adam Miller (Penrith Church of Christ), Jono Prince (New

Like Jeremy, Tanwin Tanoto’s journey to his new role was one that was many years in the making. “I was the volunteer Associate Pastor at Ecclesia [in Sydney] since 2014. I worked in tech. It was a hard job to leave – the job was good, and the company was growing, they just hired 20 new people.” As a successful business analyst in a growing start-up, ministry wasn’t an easy pivot for Tanwin, but the attraction of full-time ministry was always there. “I had always felt a pull, that my gifts weren’t being used appropriately [in a secular space]”, said Tanwin. “It’s been hard not being able to meet everyone with half the church on Zoom. The next 12

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NEWS months is a journey for myself, Hurstville and Fresh Hope to discern God’s leading for what’s next.”

For Fresh Hope, these new appointments bring a sense of anticipation, with a new generation making their mark on what the future of our faith communities looks like, both inside our movement and beyond.

Daz Farrell, EMD, said: “There’s a lot more collaboration within the younger generations … I think there’s a move in our city for collaboration, and because the younger generation doesn’t hold everything the older generations did, I think we will see this cross over and partnership, and I’m excited because it’s wider than just us.”

–Gil Corr

ETHOS SUB-COMMITTEE FORMED

“As I listen across the churches, I see a beauty in the variety in our movement. But there’s also some real challenges about how we hold the line in terms of our beliefs and values,” says Daz. “I felt we needed to bring the voices of our churches together and take the time to distil our ethos and core values. This kind of work is so important, and it must involve an intentional listening to each other and the Spirit as we come together.”

To facilitate that, the sub-committee is comprised of nine leaders from across Fresh Hope churches and is facilitated by Kevin Sheehan of Coast Community Church. Daz Farrell, representing Fresh Hope, is also a member of the sub-committee. “In a time of change we need to be clear about who we are,” says Kevin. “We have to go deeper, discovering what’s already there but labelling it, capturing it, so it can be communicated with clarity. It’s knowing what’s under the surface at that foundational level so we can build from that. The deeper we go in understanding who we are, the more fruitful we will be.”

The members of the sub-committee are (pictured, from left) Stephen Cha (Conference Executive and The Chapel Sydney), Edwina Blair (ACOM & Rivergum Community Church), Daz Farrell (Executive Ministry Director), Pat Cox (Blaxland Church of Christ), Mark Curtis (Broken Hill Church of Christ), Alasdair MacDougall (Liberty Church), Kevin Sheehan (Coast Community Church), Ryan Graham (Campbelltown Church of Christ), Stephen Martin (Living Hope Maitland), and Kym Dixon (Kingsway Community Church).

Fresh Hope is a movement that prides itself on embracing and celebrating unity in diversity. To bring clarity in a time of rapid cultural change, the movement is again seeking to draw out and distil its essential DNA through the formation of an ‘ethos subcommittee’.

Executive Ministry Director Daz Farrell has called for the formation of the sub-committee to begin the important work of capturing the movement’s essence and restating its core values. The group met for the first time on 19 March.

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All church leaders across the Fresh Hope movement will be encouraged to participate in the work of the sub-committee through a survey and discussion paper that will be tabled at Collective in November. “We’re not landing a document to say, ‘This is what we are doing.’

We’re crafting something on behalf of the churches, and with input from the churches, to open up this conversation,” says Kevin.

The sub-committee is keen to ensure that every voice in the movement is valued, so that through shared wisdom and insight, clarity and unity will emerge.

– Naomi Giles

BECOMING PART OF THE FAMILY Sometimes a simple phone call can be God’s way of directing His people to new and unexpected missional opportunities.

Such was the case when Your Church in Coffs Harbour was contacted early in 2020 by support worker Cing from the Myanmar community, who said they were looking for a church building where they could worship.

Your Church Senior Pastor Mark Deutschmann arranged to meet with Cing to discuss their needs and show him the church’s facilities. “Our elders all agreed we should open our doors to this community. They began meeting in our kids church building the next Sunday,” Mark said.

When the members of Your Church met the small group of Myanmar Christians for the first time, they decided they would drop any charges for renting the building. It seemed like the right thing to do, Mark said. “The Myanmar community wanted to contribute, so they suggested instead of rent they would give a tithe.” Since then, the two worshipping communities

have been growing in their cultural understandings together, with lots of interchanges. Although only three of the Myanmar group understand English, they have begun to bridge the gap through the sharing of meals, worshipping together and joining in with each other’s gatherings. Cing acts as an interpreter.

“Once COVID restrictions began to ease mid-year, Cing asked for help, mainly to lead communion or speak in their services, and we even had the joy of helping with a baby dedication,” Mark said.

This year, Your Church has also reshaped its kids outdoor and indoor play spaces for the Myanmar children. Cing shared with Mark that the mothers of their community had struggled to find a safe space for their kids to play due to cultural and language barriers. A Fresh Hope grant has given Your Church the chance to refresh their equipment and the construction of a new playgroup is set to begin next month. The long-term aim is to move towards integrating both communities into one worshipping entity.

– Naomi Giles

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BOOK REVIEWS READY OR NOT

BY DOUG PAUL

Ready or Not is a call for Christians to innovate and pioneer for the future. It is an invitation for kingdom leaders to reclaim their calling to innovate.

Written at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the book is a wake-up call for church leaders to think beyond the Sunday service and whatever used to be ‘normal’. In these uncertain times of lockdown, online churches and dwindling church attendance, author Doug Paul asks this timely question: “How does kingdom innovation happen and how can we make it normal?”

To answer that, Paul breaks down five phases of kingdom innovation: (1) Identification: framing the start of the journey by locating the big idea and framing the problem we’re trying to solve; (2) Ideation: generating new practices, concepts and ways of thinking to solve the innovation challenge; (3) Experimentation: launching, testing, adjusting and relaunching the innovation; (4) Mobilisation: knowing why and how the innovation worked so it can be mobilised; and (5) Multiplication: making the innovation scalable and removing as many barriers as possible. These five phases give us the framework and mindset that encourage innovation.

In each phase, Paul uses stories and innovations from the past to drive his points home. From the creation of Sunday school, the WWJD bracelet, the civil rights movement and Archimedes’ ‘eureka’ moment, to the great manure crisis of 1894, Paul brilliantly illustrates the myth, barriers and triggers for innovation.

I find this book to be weighty. Weighty in a sense that it is better to be read slowly, with a journal in hand, so you can take notes along the way. Better yet, this is a good book to be read together with your leadership team.

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BY TANWIN TANOTO After all, ideas are generated better in teams. Overall, I cannot say this is a practical book because this is more of an idea book. So, it is weighty in the sense that it helps you to think and plan rather than do and copy. That is, after all, the essence of innovation.

In summary, this is an excellent and challenging book for all kingdom leaders. Whether you are a church planter, a pastor or a para-church leader, this book will tickle your creative bone and make you curious about what kingdom innovation looks like. I highly recommend the book, especially as churches and other Christian organisations are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You are not to be the reformed, gilding in gold the victories of the past. You are to be reforming: Active.

Adaptive. Always listening, learning, searching, curious … joining Jesus in what he’s doing next. This is the leadership we need for the brave new world we find ourselves in. This is how we find the future, together.”

MISREADING SCRIPTURE WITH WESTERN EYES

BY E. RANDOLPH RICHARDS & BRANDON J. O’BRIEN

Some books open our eyes. Some books blow our minds. This book does both for me!

At first glance, I thought this was an exegesis book on how to interpret the Bible. But after reading it through, this is actually a book on culture. Richards and O’Brien show us how our cultures play a key role in our interpretation (or misinterpretation) of the Bible. “In whatever place and whatever age people read the Bible, we instinctively draw from our own cultural context to make sense what we are reading.”

The Bible is a foreign land – especially for us living in western culture. And if you have taught or preached from the Bible, you would know that the biggest challenge is to bridge the gap between what the passage meant for the original hearers and how it applies to us.

This is especially difficult due to our cultural blind spots.

This book highlights some of the major cultural assumptions and axioms we have in our western culture and contrast them with the Ancient Near Eastern culture. For example, by looking at the Bible through our individualistic and western eyes we might misinterpret the collective and communal aspects in some passages in the Bible. The second example is how we see time.

For modern Westerners, we value time. We measure time by the seconds (or hundredth of a second if you are a race car driver). But in the Ancient Near East, they don’t see time that way. They have two units of measurement for time: Kairos and Chronos. “… the biblical authors, like many non-Westerners, were less concerned with clock or calendar time (chronos) and more concerned with the appropriateness and fittingness of events (kairos).

You might say they were more concerned with timing than with time.”

Being an Asian who grew up in Indonesia and now living in Sydney, I feel this tension all the time. So, I can understand the complexity of reading an ancient scripture from cultures that are foreign to most of us.

However, I believe as a preacher we need to do our due diligence and be as faithful as we can to the text. In that regard, this book is not only a comprehensive tool to recognise our cultural blinders, but it provides a few practical steps to remove them when reading scripture.

On a personal note, Richards was a missionary in Indonesia for a few years. So, he uses a lot of examples from Indonesian culture and language to contrast that with western culture. That I find relatable and amusing.

WITH ALL YOUR HEART

BY A. CRAIG TROXEL

(Ezekial 36:26), to its danger (Jeremiah 17:9). In the New Testament, Jesus also talks a lot about hearts. He deals with people’s hearts in His ministry. With more than 1000 occurrences, ‘heart’ is the most used word in the Bible to describe the inner-self. However, ‘heart’ can also be the most misused word today.

Troxel argues that the way we interpret ‘heart’ today is different from what the Bible meant – almost the opposite. “Today, heart is understood to refer to a person’s emotion. Biblically, the heart refers to the whole person, including the capacity to think.” This book explains the three functions of the heart: mind (what we know), desires (what we love), and will (what we choose).

What I love about this book is the way Troxel points everything back to Christ. By outlining the functions of the heart, Troxel also outlines the sins associated with each function. How sin limits our mind on what we know, how iniquity twists and perverts our desires, and how transgression and rebellion drive our will. As a solution, Troxel presents Jesus in His offices as an antidote for our sins. Jesus as our prophet teaches and assures our mind, Jesus as our priest redeems and renews our desires, and Jesus as our king subdues and strengthens our will.

As a minister, I find this book very helpful in helping me understand the wholeness of a person. In helping others, it is critical that we see people as a whole. Not only do we know people by their choices, but we can love and understand people better by relating to what they think and what they love. Moreover, this book also helps me shape my own pastoral heart. By understanding that my heart consists of my mind, desires, and will, I can know myself better. It also helps me in carefully reflecting on what God is forming me into.

This book is easy to read while at the same time filled with rich theological and biblical arguments. Not only is ‘heart’ the most used word in the Bible, but most of our issues are also related to our hearts. Therefore, I find this book to be mind-opening – or should I say heartopening?

I highly recommend this book if you want to learn how God transforms the lives of His people through our hearts – ourselves and those who are under our care.

“The heart is the governing centre of a person. When used simply, it reflects the unity of our inner being, and when used comprehensively, it describes the complexity of our inner being.” – A. Craig Troxel The Bible talks a lot about the heart. From the songs of David, the new covenant that God promised His people

To read more reviews by Tanwin go to: https://freshhope.org.au/blog/category/reviews/

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LIFE TO THE FULL AT THE TOPS

BY GIL CORR ‘LIFE TO THE FULL!’ READS THE SLOGAN GREETING INCOMING STUDENTS, PACKED INTO SCHOOL BUSES AS THEY PULL INTO THE TOPS CONFERENCE CENTRE. THE JOHN 10:10 REFERENCE PROBABLY GOES UNNOTICED BY THE MAJORITY, BUT A FEW STUDENTS MAY READ THE CATCHCRY AND DREAM OF WHAT ADVENTURES THE NEXT FEW DAYS MAY HOLD. But what does ‘Life to the Full!’ really mean for a student who has additional needs? What does it mean for those with a physical or mental disability? For many, the adventures and anticipation that await at a site like The Tops may be an experience that feels anything but full.

One schoolteacher, Sharon, expected this response from some of her students who were challenged with additional needs. To her surprise, though, The Tops activities were incredibly inclusive to all camp attendees, regardless of their physical or mental capability. But more than that, Sharon was blown away by The Tops staff members’ dedication to have every student experience adventure in its entirety.

Tops staff member Georgia Culey (pictured, standing left with fellow staff member Tilly) said the experience of abseiling was always worth any additional effort, particularly for one student at a recent camp. “For the majority of things, they can actually still do the activity, but particularly for this student, we were able to get him to go on the abseil,” she said.

“With an abseil, we get [a student] to the bottom of the wall, and kids climb up the wall, but we had to set up a haul system, to haul him up to the top. Once he’s up the top we can set him up to abseil back down. So, we get five or six kids to be on one side of the rope, while we’re

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holding him and pulling him up, and we can transfer him so he can do the full abseil himself.” Georgia said the experience was one that this student would always remember. “He had a ball; it was really awesome.”

Adam Stewart, Program Manager at The Tops, stressed that this wasn’t a one-off moment, but an integral part of the work ethic and mindset of The Tops at large.

“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is the ability to deal with the individual,” Adam said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter what your challenges are, we’re going to treat you like a valued individual. I imagine in some spaces, someone who has additional needs or challenges, is treated differently … but we try not to do that.

“Jesus takes people for who they are and who they could be. Jesus is always gracious with the person. And he always digs to the heart of the matter. And part of the heart of the matter is calling out the identity of a person – bringing them closer to the place where they’re loved and valued and a child of God. And we’re called to live the same way.”

‘I HAVE BEEN SET FREE IN CHRIST’ MY NAME IS EVELYN* AND I WAS BAPTISED AT THE MARY WADE WOMEN’S CORRECTIONAL CENTRE IN SYDNEY, WHERE I AM AN INMATE. I WANT TO SHARE MY STORY WITH YOU. I had been having lots of conversations with Robyn, our chaplain. About a month before I was baptised, I started asking Robyn questions about faith.

My baptism was in the chapel and I was dressed head to toe in a beautiful white cape with a bow around the middle that showed that I have been made new in Christ. One of the other inmates made a crown out of flack leaf and marigold and put it on my head before the baptism. I shared my testimony, and then Robyn tipped water over my head.

There were 18 other inmates there and they all clapped and cheered when I finished sharing my story. I know there are about three other girls who want to be baptised, too!

I’m so excited about my new life in Christ because I have a future now.

Here is what I shared on the day of my baptism. I hope it encourages you:

around drugs, pain and more drugs to cover up the pain.

I did not think of tomorrow or what my future would hold. Through Christ, I have found meaning to life. I have found light in the darkest of places and I now hold high hopes for my future, for what I will accomplish with God by my side and for the ways in which I will touch the people that surround me throughout my time here on earth.

“The story of how I came to find God is no extraordinary story, it is a story that reminds us that God is always right there, waiting for us to come to him and that he will never forsake any one of us, for his love has no limit. And that, my friends, is extraordinary in itself if you ask me. Placing my faith in Christ, I intend to fulfil my purpose here on earth as God intended, to live for the Father who brought me life. I will stumble along the way, though I know He will pick me up and lead me in the right direction.

“Each night I pray for you all with the same spirit that brings us all together in the end. The spirit that lives within each of us and blossoms graciously when nurtured. I am so honoured to have been given the opportunity to be reborn in the very place I first came to Christ, baptising me in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I now know that I have found a place of belonging and community, shared by our love for Christ.”

– As told to Emily Ferguson * Real name changed

“I come before you today to share with you a piece of my heart and to signify my inclusion in God’s family, to share with you the honour of being born again into a new life with Christ.

“It was just an ordinary day for me. In the evening, I felt a prompting to look into the Bible that sat next to my cellmate’s bed. I did not know at the time that the decision I made that day would become one that would forever change my life – one that would bring me life. It would be the beginning of my spiritual awakening and the start of an everlasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

“Before I found Christ, I was lost in a world that revolved

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UNCERTAINTY AND CHANGE THERE IS UNCERTAINTY IN A WHOLE RANGE OF AREAS, MOST OF WHICH ARE BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE INSTITUTION THEMSELVES– GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, FUTURE STUDENT NUMBERS, INCREASING COSTS OF EDUCATION JUST TO NAME A FEW. Change is also inevitable: the rapid shift to online meetings and classes due to COVID is just one example of the many demands that institutions face that require them to be both agile and flexible. But whilst uncertainty and change are often seen as challenges to effective operation, they are not necessarily negative.

On the contrary, they also provide new opportunities and a chance for innovation within the sector. Teaching today’s students for tomorrow’s ministry with yesterday’s means has always been a recipe for producing irrelevant graduates and frustrated congregations.

But innovative and contextual education practices that integrate a practical model of ministry within a strong theological and biblical framework yield graduates that shine.

Graduates, of course, first start out as new students. And here change is also being seen in the demographics of new students that are entering into theological institutions.

Available statistics about those entering theological training in the US (which is being more or less mirrored here) reveals a very interesting shift in the kinds of students taking up study and their reason for doing so.

Of the 6900 students who were surveyed as they commenced theological study during the survey period: • 47% are older than 35 and 50% are married; • The primary reason why students choose to commence theology study is because they have experienced a call from God on their lives; • Almost all students said that personal referral (from a pastor or friend) was how they ultimately decided on which institution to attend; • 55% of students have already served in local church leadership positions in the 5 years prior to starting study. 93% have leadership experience in some context;

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BY PETER LAUGHLIN • 81% are working while studying; • 81% do not expect to enter into a local church pastoral ministry when they complete their study.

Some of these statistics are to be expected, for example, people generally do not choose to do a theological degree unless they have experienced some call from God on their lives, which reminds us again of how important it is as a Christian community to be constantly challenging our congregations to listen for God’s call.

But to see that almost 50% of students are older than 35 and have had some local church leadership experience before commencing study reveals that it is not just our young people who need to be challenged concerning their future but those who are already working in full-time capacities and are serving our churches in some way.

Particularly striking is the fact that 81% of students do not expect to enter into a local church pastoral ministry role when they complete their study.

Almost a third are looking to enter specialised ministry roles (such as chaplaincy, counselling, youth ministry, worship ministries etc.).

And the remainder indicate their interest lies in missions, teaching or they are as yet undecided. If these statistics are mirrored only partially here (and all evidence suggest that they are) then it reveals a strong desire amongst future graduates to work outside of the traditional pastoral ministry roles.

This will no doubt prove to be a challenge for the Christian church in the years ahead but it also provides encouragement to see that, more than ever, God is calling people to do ministry ‘outside of the box’ and over time this may very well prove to be exactly what the Church needs.

Please continue to pray for ACOM as we seek to fulfil God’s call for us in preparing people for work in His Kingdom. In this fast changing and uncertain environment, we need above all to be listening to what God is wanting to do through us.

Pray that we will have attentive spirits and open hearts.

– Associate Professor Peter Laughlin is Academic Dean at ACOM To find out more about studying with ACOM visit www.acom.edu.au

A REWARDING EXPERIENCE

BY MEGAN LAIDLAW

MAUREEN MUIR IS A LONG-TIME VOLUNTEER AT CLELLAND LODGE AND WINNER OF FRESH HOPE CARE’S 2019 MAY ASHWOOD AWARD. She has been volunteering at Clelland for 10 years and is a founding member of the ‘trolley dollies’. She takes a trolley around to the residents and they can purchase items off it. It’s like a convenience store on wheels with all the goods, including the popular chocolate bars and chip packets.

“It’s particularly helpful for those residents who don’t have family support. I always spend more time talking rather than selling. I enjoy being available for the residents if they happen to be feeling a bit lonely or they just want a chat,” says Maureen.

“I’ve noticed some residents do get a bit panicky if I don’t get there on time as they worry they have missed me. It’s obviously important to them, but I also find I get more than I give as it’s also very important to me. I find it very rewarding.”

Like many volunteers, Maureen did have to take some time off last year due to the government-enforced COVID-19 restrictions. “It was quite challenging, and I missed it, but I made sure I caught up with the other volunteers for lunch once a month. This helped us stay connected.”

“Catherine [Clelland’s volunteer coordinator] has been my guardian angel. She has been encouraging and supporting me from the very beginning. Even during my time off, she made sure I knew that I hadn’t been forgotten. She would call me and send me cards to keep in touch and show she cared. She did this for all the volunteers.”

Maureen is very happy to be back volunteering and the team and residents at Clelland are so glad to have her back. “Volunteering is important for my wellbeing and the residents’. We just need to be there ... as another human being that cares.”

Maureen, left, with volunteer coordinator Catherine.

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OUR FIRST MISSIONARY TO INDIA MARY THOMPSON WAS 30 WHEN SHE CAUGHT THE STEAMER MASSILIA TO BOMBAY TO BECOME AUSTRALIA’S FIRST CHURCHES OF CHRIST MISSIONARY. AFTER RECEIVING ‘THE CALL’ AT THE 1891 INTER-COLONIAL CONFERENCE, MARY MADE A 40-YEAR COMMITMENT TO ZENANA MISSION – SERVING WOMEN LIVING IN HARDA AND DHONA, 419 MILES NORTH-EAST OF THE INDIA CAPITAL. Located in the Central Provinces of India, the province of Harda was and is still accessible by train via the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. Acting as the mission ‘hub’ for Churches of Christ, Harda offered a small church serving Europeans and Eurasians. The province had a population of 15,000 when Mary arrived, the people spread among 409 villages situated within a 10-mile radius.

However, to Mary’s great surprise, the small church congregation had only 35 members. For the locals, expulsion from their family following conversion was a very real threat, but despite this obstacle the town seeded much gospel work. In 1893, the first Bible training school for ministers opened in Harda for male students.

With India’s deeply segregated society, women were rarely permitted to enter places that men inhabited, but they retained freedom to participate in ‘zenana’ activities carried out in ‘private areas of houses for women’. This is why Mary’s work was referred to as ‘Zenana Mission’ and through her four decades of service, Mary’s work came to emulate and inform the idea of successful mission work. Her female converts were known as ‘Bible women’ in town, and they worked with Mary to bridge the vast cultural differences between English missionaries and the villagers.

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BY JULIA GILCHRIST Observing her work during a three month stay in 191920, Bert Wilson, mission secretary for the Foreign Christian Mission Society reflected: “Having been a teacher in Australia, Mary Thompson began her career in India in the school room. But in addition to that work, she felt that the mothers in the homes must be taught also. So, she began a systematic program of visiting in the homes of the people. Many of the women were not friendly at first, especially the Mohammedan women.

They were prejudiced, and their husbands did not want their wives to learn from foreign women. But gradually the simple life of faith opened up the doors and the hearts of the Harda women.”

Mary came to be known to the Indian community as ‘Beloved Mary’ and to Australians as ‘Our Pioneering Missionary’. During Mary’s leadership of the girls school in Harda, which had the largest enrolment of non-Christian girls in the province, Mary facilitated the opening of girls schools, establishing and supporting women’s hospitals, and encouraged the building of women’s wards in hospitals.

Well known in Australia, Mary’s inbound and outbound travel, speaking engagements and social activities were regularly reported in many Australian newspapers, including The West Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and syndicated regional newspapers around the country.

In the last five years of her mission, Mary continued alone in her work after the United Society pulled out of India, and she was sustained by donations and prayers from her Australian network.

Mary returned to Australia on furlough several times between 1891 to 1934, her last visit triggered by ill health.

Returning to her hometown of Melbourne to rest, she died in March 1936.

In recognition of her contribution in India, the ‘Mary Thompson Memorial Bungalow’ was built, funded by donations from the brotherhood and opened in 1937 as a nurse compound attached to the Ashwood Hospital Compound in Dhona.

“

... through her four decades of service, Mary’s work came to emulate and inform the idea of successful mission work.

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OBITUARY – BILL HARRISON 1941-2021 WILLIAM JOSEPH (‘BILL’) HARRISON WAS BORN ON 23 MARCH 1941 IN ULVERSTON IN THE LAKES DISTRICT OF NORTHERN ENGLAND. HE WAS THE ELDEST OF THREE CHILDREN, HAVING TWO YOUNGER SISTERS – JUNE AND MARILYN. His early schooling years were memorable for his regular absences from class, with Bill preferring to skylark in the local graveyard with his friends. He was 10 when the family migrated to Australia as ‘10-pound Poms’. Upon arrival in Sydney, the family travelled by steam train to Bathurst, where they lived for two weeks while waiting for their accommodation in Sydney’s East Hills Migrant Camp to be readied.

At the camp, Bill found a few mates and they enjoyed using the streetlights as piñatas. He is also remembered for taking pity on a young boy in the camp who was hiding from his stepfather. Bill hid the boy in his wardrobe in the garage where he slept, while Bill’s father joined the search party and his mother cooked for the search teams.

The Harrison family finally moved into their very own Australian home in Canley Vale – a house built by his father. Bill and his father had collected the materials for construction of the house in the evenings; however, Bill was quite mortified years later to learn that they liberated most of the materials from storage yards.

When he was 12, Bill contracted rheumatic fever. Around this time, his parents joined a local church where Bill went to Christian Endeavour, and then to other youth events with his sisters at the local Church of Christ.

This marked the beginning of his faith journey and introduction to leadership roles. Bill went to Fairfield Boys High School from 1954 to 1956, before leaving to work at Wunderlich’s, a building materials manufacturer, where he completed a Building Construction Certificate.

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BY DENNIS NUTT He wanted to study at Bible college; however, the Leaving Certificate was a prerequisite, so he enrolled at Parramatta Evening College. He entered Woolwich Bible College in 1963 and became the college handyman – there’s even a poem about it. He also had a reputation for practical jokes – such as pretending that dried PVA glue on his hands was a terrible skin condition, and playing car-crash sound effects through the window late at night, prompting worried neighbours to come out of their homes to see what had happened. When he entered Bible college, he had a ‘rent-a-wreck’ of a car, which his fellow students claimed was held together by “faith, rope and charity”.

Bill met Ruth in 1965 and they were engaged six weeks later, but due to college rules were not able to be married until 1967, after graduation. Bill and Ruth had two children – Catherine and Trevor. Bill had full-time ministries at Wyoming (Central Coast), and in Sydney at Carramar, Hurstville and Seven Hills over a period of 20 years. There’s no way we can do justice here to his time in these churches, suffice to say he has helped countless people in their spiritual and earthly journeys.

In the early 1970s, Bill studied and began working as a part-time relationship counsellor with what is now “Relationships Australia”, in addition to his work with the Church. He transitioned to a full-time counselling role around 1983, and then spent 21 years as manager of The Salvation Army Counselling Service in Penrith. He gave countless people the tools to cope with difficulties in their lives and improve their relationships.

Reflecting on his ministries, he wrote: “The experiences in these roles have been amazing – from working with ordinary everyday people who show courage and commitment that’s anything but ordinary, to others in high-flying positions who at heart are hurting and just as confused in life situations as any of us and have the courage to acknowledge it.” He was a truly humble, gentle man.

In the mid 1980s, he discovered and fostered his artistic talents, beginning with pencil and moving through to pastels and oil painting. With Ruth, he was involved

with Emmaus Australia for more than 25 years, helping people explore and renew their Christian faith, serving on more than 40 teams for the Western Sydney and Central West areas.

Bill ‘allegedly’ retired in 2014. He continued to serve in part-time ministry at Pathways church, supported the work at the local outreach Cafe at Lalor Park, continued with Emmaus, became involved with the Kids and Aboriginal programs, alongside being a devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend to many.

He devoted his life to serving God, others and equipping them for good, and to understand that when all seems dark, sometimes we just need to open our eyes. He modelled what it means to be a loving spouse. He was always supportive of Ruth through health challenges, career changes, financial pressures and all the ups and downs of life. The quote, “To me, the sun rises and sets with her”, authentically describes his love for Ruth.

As a father, he taught by example through his compassion, truthfulness and in many practical ways.

He taught respect for others – including those with different views – hard work and fun. He taught how to use tools – and that what is broken can often be fixed or improved. Most importantly, he taught what it is to truly live in a Christlike way. The Christian values he taught were clearly evident in his life. He was a man of God; his faith and encouragement were an inspiration to those he encountered.

He is the first of the 1966 graduating class to fall asleep in Jesus. Ruskin wrote: “Live so as to be missed.” Bill lived that way, and he will be missed. As the ancients used to say “Ave! et Vale!” – “Hail! and Farewell!” to which we add “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

“

He devoted his life to serving God, others and equipping them for good.

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