What is our focus ?

I was looking at the famous picture from "In Darkest England" by William Booth and I couldnt help thinking about todays church. What is it we are actually doing ? What are we really about ?
“Dramatic changes in purpose, attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, characterized by actions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control that reflect a commitment and obedience to Jesus Christ.”
I truly believe that the local Church is still a viable ministry vehicle. Unfortunately it seems like it normally functions like a rescue ship that is constantly recruiting passengers to become sailors who end up spending their time fixing the holes in the sails instead of rescuing people. We watch as sailors jump ship to find a better one somewhere else. It’s inadvertantly become a competition of who’s got the better ship just to keep people in it. Of course, there are those who just jump back in the water and start rescuing people.
The sailors who jump in to rescue people in the dark stormy waters are usually looked at as disobedient, undisciplined in the fine art of rescuing. The sailors looking for a different ship are too occupied to rescue the drowning people around them.
When the captain decides to jump in to rescue someone, more will join him in the water and use any means neccesary to rescue victims. The rest of the crew either stay on the ship, look for a new ship or look for a new captain. Why? It’s because the majority of sailors became highly skilled in caring for the ship and never learned how to swim.
Here it is. Are we discipling people to fix and build ships so we can build more ships, or are we rescuing people using any means neccesary to get them to shore as quickly as possible? The message is just as relevant today if not more so, yet we are busy fixing the sails. Are you willing to get wet to save someone ?

Grandma's 100

Yes you did read that correctly this last week we got to share in a very special event my Grandma (Brigadier Elva Lamotte)turned 100. It was great to be able to share with family and think of the changes that Grandma would have seen in her life and to also give thanks for a life lived serving God. Grandma and I have not always seen eye to eye on everything but her love for family, commitment to God and The Salvation Army and her work ethic are things that you cant help but take notice of and give thanks for.
As part of her centenary Grandma received a number of letters from very important people; there was a letter from the Queen,one from the Governor General, another from the Premier of Victoria, one from the local member for Parliament Kirstie Marshall, as a retired officer there was also a letter from the current General, one from retired General Eva Burrows and also one from the Commissioners. These were all beautiful letters acknowledging Grandmas service to the community and thinking of the changes over the journey of Grandmas life. The Commissioner even wished Grandma well as she starts on the next one hundred years !
As lovely as these letters were it was the one Grandma received from the Prime Minister Mr Rudd that really stood out,now this is not a political statement and I know Mr Rudd would be extremely busy but every other letter expressed some thoughts and best wishes over a couple of paragraphs ( Kirstie Marshalls was on a hand written card ) the letter from Mr Rudd contained fourteen words. Fourteen words for a hundred years of life....why bother ? It stood out so poorly from every other note received that it actually became a laugh,now I dont for a minute think that Mr Rudd personally wrote this letter, but whoever did deserves a good kick. All that this letter showed was a lack of care and effort.
Now the reason I have written about this is not just to bag the Prime Minister but to remind us that everything we do people are taking notice of, and if we do things without the appropriate level of commitment and effort it is very easy to see. Now there would have been no problem if we didnt receive a letter from Mr Rudd, but once it was decided to send one it needed to be better than what was presented. We as people and certainly those of us that are Christians need to make sure that when we invest in peoples lives we do so fully and commit the time and effort demanded of such a task. It may take some extra effort on our part but it will be worth it in the long run.
Happy Birthday again Grandma, you always said you would get a letter from the Queen !