This evening I attended a training session for potential Police Youth Support People at the local PCYC. Basically I’ll be on call if a young or ‘vulnerable’ person is arrested, and their parent or guardian isn’t available to sit in on their police interview, to make sure that the police are following the correct procedures, and that the young/vulnerable person is aware of their rights/responsibilities.
I’m not really sure how much good I’ll be, but if it means that the interview can go ahead, then hopefully a.) justice will be done swiftly; and b.) the young/vulnerable person can get out of the police station faster, and begin the rehabilitative process (in theory).
I finish my course at the end of this year, which feels like a long way off, yet also feels like it’s just a few short months away. I have very little idea of what I’ll be doing after that, so I’m hoping that God will allow me to get a bit of a clue, and continue preparing me for whatever it is.
I was just watching (like literally just now) “So you think you can dance” with Fiona (don’t ask why… we just were… I don’t know…)
Like all these reality, make-or-break, competition shows like Australian Idol etc… The judges always have the job of telling people they haven’t made it, and if you’re like Kyle Sandilands you’ve got no problem doing it in the most obnoxious, arrogant, and pig-headed way… but most judges try to do it as gently as possible…
However, in trying to be gentle, judges often say quite dumb things… One contestant on “so you think you can dance” unfortunately just wasn’t good enough, and during the obligitory conversation with the judges after the performance, the dancer asked to get straight to the point. He said “if I’m unsuccessful just tell me, and that’s enough.”
To which the female judge replied “You haven’t made it. but no one here is unsuccessful. You danced on this show and you are successful.”
What?
Surely no one auditions just to be told you can’t dance…? This dancer obviously wanted to make it through to the next round, and if he made it, I guess he would have said he was “successful”, and having not met his goal, what is he????
A successsful failure?? Yeah… nice one.
I’m all for the whole break-it-gently thing, and there’s no need to be bullish about the whole thing, people have feelings (even dancers…); but to say someone’s successful when their obviously not just seems quite… well… patronising.
It doesn’t do anybody any favours when you say things like that. It’s actually more loving to just tell it like it is, so you can deal with it…
Proverbs 27:5 “Better an open rebuke than hidden love.”
Just had this great thought about life as a segway. (not the 2 wheel machine that Job rides in Arrested Development…)
Not sure where it’s going yet, but I like it! The transition of one subject to the next - of birth to death…
It’s deep man.
Here’s my further thoughts - 04.02.2008
Well, I was thinking about service leading at church and how to make a smooth segway between different parts of the service.
And then I was thinking about how there’s a real art to making a smooth segway in conversations with people. And if you don’t have segways everything just seems disjointed and awkward. Like someone blurting out “I love turtles” when everyone else is talking about their favourite cafe in Sydney… Saying I love turtles is all very good and valid, but… there’s a time and a place. And if everyone’s talking about aquariums and you segway to turtles, it’s all good!!
It’s like this when we’re talking about Jesus. 90% of evangelism is all about steering the conversation towards Jesus so we can segway to the gospel.
Life is full of segways…
And life is kinda like one big segway… trying to make a smooth transition from birth to kingdom come.
I think this thought has been mostly influenced by the Bible’s wisdom literature, which I’ve been reading a lot of lately as we’ve been preaching through Proverbs at church.
Wisdom literature is all about navigating your way through life well and making that smooth segway.
Of course, at the heart of wisdom literature - living the wise life - is “the fear of the Lord” which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Ecc. 12:13; Job 28:28).
A successful life segway begins with “the fear of the Lord” - that is, by trusting the God who created, controls, and sustains all life, and who we can only know through Jesus as revealed in the Bible.
(This blog is continuing the conversation from Pete’s blog “Clarkson and the Soldier”.)
War… what is it good for? Absolutely nothing?
Well… what about defending the defenseless? Or crushing an evil tyrant? Or stopping an invasion? Was it wrong to fight against the war march of the Nazis in WWII?
The New Testament of the Bible is noticebly silent on the issue of national warfare… Jesus gives instruction on personal vandettas - “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:38-48); and Paul also gives instruction “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath…” (Romans 12:19). But on a national level… nothing is specified.
Overall I think the Bible teaches a non-violent approach to conflict whether on a personal or national level (In the OT Proverbs has much to say about a cool headed response to conflict [cf. Prov. 14:29; 19:11]; and in the NT “blessed are the peacemakers” [Matt. 5:9]; and there are more…)
However, the Bible doesn’t advocate pacifism either… There is no instruction that one shouldn’t go to war, or join the army. When Jesus meets the Roman Centurion in Luke 7 Jesus commends the faith of the Centurion “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel…”; and one might expect that Jesus would add the comment (as he did with the sinful woman in John 4) “your faith has healed your servant, go and leave the army and sin no more.” But there is no such comment. The Centurion is to continue in his post, and the silence of Jesus on the matter gives reason to believe that there is no conflict between his faith in Jesus and his military occupation. Perhaps this argument makes too much out of a silent issue, and certainly the story is not about whether Christians should be in the army, but at the very least it doesn’t condemn the military, and by implication, nor does it condemn their use.
I’ve more to add, but I need to take a break for now. Will post more in a day or so… Further ideas: The Bible condemns anything motivated by greed (including wars). The Bible endorses the defending of the defenseless through the upholding of the law (giving fair pay, generosity to the needy, and justice to victims etc).
