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my view OCTOBER 2018
The remedy to casualisation Statistics indicate the percentage of workforce holding full-time jobs, with benefits such as holidays, sick leave and other entitlements, has significantly decreased in recent years. This is known as the casualisation of the workplace.
Mike Bullard Mike Bullard is the Church and Leaders Support Pastor for Baptist Churches Western Australia.
Statistics around relationships also show an increasing casualisation. Despite some recent positive trends, Australians are waiting longer to marry, fewer are getting married and the proportion cohabiting before marriage is now at 81 percent. Casualisation seems to be on the rise in many areas of life. Even church attendance has fallen. In addition to this, the people who do attend church attend less regularly.
We live in a culture that makes fewer commitments, treats those commitments with less seriousness and moves on to new commitments faster than ever before. Some have described our commitment framework today to be ‘until I get a better offer’. This, of course, is concerning if we are interested in spiritual health and discipleship. When we read through the Bible, God tends to move things towards increasing commitment and
security. Far from being casual, God is covenantal. God is seen to be a maker and keeper of covenants. In the Old Testament, covenants were entered into with oaths and sacrifices. They were a big deal. God’s relationship with creation, with humanity, and with His people are described in covenantal terms. He encourages people to have covenantal relationships. Jesus asks for a strong commitment from His followers.
He used the symbol of the Passover meal captures the giving of His life for the salvation of people – the new covenant. This is not a relationship to be entered into lightly. It is covenantal. What does it mean for us to swim against the tide of casualisation? I think it means becoming covenantal in our approach. Long-term, committed relationship; fewer and deeper friendships; regular and consistent spiritual disciplines: these move us in the direction of being covenantal rather than casual. We become more ‘solid’ people who are then more able to be ‘solid’ for others.
Words will never hurt me? ‘Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.’ Did anybody else grow up with that?
Miriam Lochore Miriam Lochore is a country pastor’s wife, mother of three and teaches creative writing at Sheridan College.
I did. If other kids said awful things to me I was taught to act tough. Pretend I didn’t care. Can’t hear you. And the flip side? Well, if other people’s words couldn’t hurt me, my words couldn’t hurt them. I could say what I liked! I could say thoughtless, or hurtful things, and if my words had an effect, I could blame the other person for being too sensitive in reacting to them. One of the things God does over time, if we keep walking
with Him, is a relentless probing. He does it through interactions with others, through life’s circumstances, and, most consistently, through our ongoing engagement with the teaching of the Bible. Nothing is exempt from God’s X-ray vision: not our secret thoughts, not the desires of our heart, not even the cultural assumptions we grew up with that are as normal to us as breathing. One by one, God takes our values, beliefs, attitudes and
behaviour, and compels us to examine them. I never thought I’d have to pick apart the things I grew up with, but God had other ideas. Think about this: ‘Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue is also a fire ... With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.
Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.’ [James 3:5, 9-10] It has taken me 45 years to work this out, but this is not compatible with ‘words will never hurt me’. Words do hurt me. My words hurt other people too. The things I say and the way I say them matter to God. It is okay for me to ask others to be careful with their words. I can take responsibility for being careful with mine. Are there any assumptions you grew up with that God might want you to examine?
Unread books … If you are like me, at any one time you have a pile of books waiting to be read. Actually, I have several piles – one in my office at Vose Seminary, another in the study at home, another next to my bed … well, I won’t bore you with the details.
Dr Brian Harris Dr Brian Harris is the Principal of Vose Seminary and Pastor at Large for the Carey Group.
Sadly, only about ten percent move from the ‘to be read’ to the ‘read’ pile. I give most a fair shot by reading the opening pages. Many tell you what they’re on about, the first few pages being all you need – the rest of the book simply filling out concepts clear from the start. A look at the concluding chapter confirms you haven’t missed much inbetween. I classify them as ‘books I’ve almost read’.
More scholarly works can be challenging. I apply the ‘second time’ test. If I have to read a paragraph a second time, and the meaning remains obscure, I put the book in the ‘when I gain another ten IQ points’ pile. A remarkable number of books finish there, a thorn in the flesh to my pride, and a reminder that humility is sometimes the only realistic option.
Some books are too wordy – their 500 plus pages announcing that the author has not consulted your diary and is indifferent to the restraints on your time. They finish on my ‘when I master speed reading’ pile – but could get a look in, especially if they have clear chapter divisions announcing topics of interest. I might then read chapters 1, 17 and 43 before they are relegated to my ‘books I’ve partly read’ pile.
One book stands in its own category. I come back to it daily. It’s long, and old. Parts are easy to read, others seriously complex. For over 50 years it’s been in my ‘books that transform’ pile. When I read it, I feel that it is reading me – that it knows me all too well, and anticipates the changing seasons of my life. It’s a book I will never consider read, rather a book I will always keep reading … perhaps you’ve guessed the title?
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