Mark Conner's Space

Remembrance Day

Every year, on 11 November at 11 am – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – Australia pauses to remember those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations since the beginning of the 20th century.

Today is the 91st Anniversary of Armistice Day (Remembrance Day). Click here for further information from the Australian War Memorial.

Can I suggest that all Australians pause this morning at 11 am for a minute of silence in respect of those who have given their lives for our nation and our freedoms.

President Obama's Speech

Last week saw the swearing in of the 44th leader of the United States of America as Barack Obama officially began his role as president.

President Obama's inauguration and speech can be viewed on You Tube by clicking here. A full transcript of his address is available from the New York Times web site (click here).

Not everyone likes Obama. There are concerns about his policies on a number of important issues, including abortion (see Jim Wallace's recent article on this). President Obama is not perfect. He is not the messiah. He needs our prayers and God's wisdom. He plays a crucial role at this important time in world history.

Overall, I thought President Obama's inauguration speech was very inspiring. Here are some of the things I really liked about it ...

1. Obama addresses the crucial issues head on - war, the economy, health care, education, the environment, energy, nuclear threat, terrorism, and world poverty. He names the challenges and refuses to ignore them. He brings them right out into the open where they can be discussed and where decisions can be made. Leaders must always clearly define the current reality. 

2. Obama offers hope over fear. He said, "... the challenges are real, they are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time ... but .. they will be met." People need hope and leaders need to be dispensers of hope. See the music video 'Yes We Can' for an example of hope-filled words.

3. Obama has an global interest and perspective, which is essential for a leader of one of the most powerful nations of earth. No doubt, his Kenyan father and the number of years he lived in Indonesia have helped this. Although I love America and spent 10 very enjoyable years of my life there, there is a still a tendency in American culture to be somewhat insular and to think that America is the world. The fact that they call their national baseball finals the 'World Series'  is a classic illustration of this. The fact that fewer than 10% of Americans have a passport or have traveled outside of the US also doesn't help (a statistic from the book The Extreme Futureby James Canton, PhD). I believe that Obama will help to change this.

4. Obama calls people to a spirit of service - "a willingness to find meaning in something greater than ourselves."  It's a call to kindness, selflessness, honesty, hard work, loyalty, tolerance, courage, and responsibility. Government and leaders can only do so much. People must rise to the challenges of their time and be the kind of people that make the world a great place to live.

5. Obama seeks to lead for the 'common good'. He said, "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth." As the president of an entire nation, his role is to create an environment where diversity is valued, where religious freedom is preserved, and where open dialog can take place. Christians currently living in places where there is no freedom of religion would love to hear this said by national leaders.

6. Finally, Obama speaks with confidence but without arrogance. He models a graciousness and a humility that is important for all leaders. He honours the past. He acknowledges God. He makes it clear that government exists to serve the people and not the other way around.

If you'd like to know more about who Barack Obama is, where he has come from, what makes him tick, and what his policies are, then I'd recommend his book The Audacity of Hope.

P.S. Pastor Rick Warren from California's Saddleback Church prayed at President Obama's inauguration. For responses to his prayer, click here.

Australia Day 2009

Today is Australia Day- an annual celebration, held every January 26th, of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, marking the colonisation of Australia by Great Britain.

Having just read the book The First Fleet by David Hill, it is amazing that our nation, as it is today, even got started. England was sending convicts from its overflowing prisons to America when America's sudden independence (on July 4th, 1776) closed that door. Other locations were discussed, with Botany Bay being a last resort. The long trip out from England was marked by frequent crises and challenges, let alone the first few years of trying to establish a colony in such tough conditions. Although intending to make peaceful relations with the local Aborigines, the arrival of the First Fleet no doubt became detrimental to these first Australians.

Reverend Richard Johnson was the chaplain of the First Fleet and he held the first church service on Australian soil on Sunday 3rd February, 1788. His sermon was based on Psalm 116:12 - "What shall I render unto the Lord for all that he has done for me?" To learn more about Australia's Christian heritage, click here.

Our nation may seem small and insignificant to many but I believe that God has a purpose for it. As Australians, let's celebrate our nation today - it's heritage, it's diversity, and it's future.

 

Racism

Many have lauded the election of President Barack Obama as a new day for African-Americans, after a long history of abuse and mistreatment. Unfortunately, racism is still alive and well in America. 

Click here to read a shocking report of recent incidents since the election.

Prejudice based on skin colour is not only sad, it is morally wrong. Each human being is created in the image of God and is to be treated with dignity and respect. The apostle Paul tells us that 'in Christ' there is neither Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male nor female (Galatians 3:28). This does not mean that racial, socio-economic, and gender differences cease to exist (they don't) but that are no longer to be a cause for segregation or prejudice.  

One of the things I love about CityLife Church is that we have over 100 nationalities represented in our community, which now numbers over 8000 people. I love this diversity as it gives us a bit of foretaste of heaven, where people from every people group will gather around the throne to worship God (see Revelation 7:9). 

God is an incredibly innovative God who created difference on purpose. Let's value the differences and remember that unity is not uniformity but rather harmony in diversity.

A New American President

Yesterday, the American people voted in a new president - Barack Obama. Winds of change are in the air and there is a lot of anticipation about what kind of leadership Obama will bring to his nation.

There is no doubt that he is a charismatic speaker who has captured the attention of people from all sectors of society. The challenge for Obama now is to try to turn around a nation that is in crisis financially and in regard to its place in the world arena.

Regardless of our personal thoughts about Obama, we need to pray for him - that God will give him wisdom to lead America.

The apostle Paul put it this way back in the first century under the rule of the Roman Empire ...

"The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live. He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we've learned: that there's one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us — Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out." [1 Timothy 2:1-7. The Message Bible]

P.S. For full election coverage from the USA click here. For local coverage from the Herald Sun click here or from the Melbourne AGE click here.

P.S.S. To watch Obama's victory speech, click here. It is in three parts and is over 20 minutes long, but it is well worth a listen. Click here to listen to John McCain's speech. He was very gracious in defeat.

Obama or McCain - who would you vote for?

On Tuesday, November 4th, Americans will vote for a new president as their presidential election takes place.

Who will win - Barack Obama or John McCain? Who would you vote for?

Some people tend to vote more 'conservative' while others vote on the 'liberal side'.

Here is an article on the election by American political commentator, Jim Wallis (author of God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It). You may not agree with everything he says but his comments are very thought-provoking ...

"In 2004, several conservative Catholic Bishops and a few megachurch pastors like Rick Warren issued their list of 'non-negotiables' which were intended to be a voter guide for their followers. All of them were relatively the same list of issues: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, etc. None of them even included the word 'poverty', only one example of the missing issues which are found quite clearly in the Bible. All of them were also relatively the same as official Republican Party Web sites of 'non-negotiables'. The political connections and commitments of the religious non-negotiable writers were quite clear.

I want to suggest a different approach this year and share my personal list of 'faith priorities' that will guide me in making the imperfect choices that always confront us in any election year -- and suggest that each of you come up with your own list of 'faith' or 'moral' priorities for this election year and take them into the polling place with you.

Was Moses a Mass Murderer?

  A recent article in the Melbourne Age profiled Cleric Francis Macnab of St Michael's Uniting Church in Collins Street. He is hoping to start a new faith for the 21st century claiming that the 10 commandments are too negative, Jesus was just a Jewish peasant, and Moses was a mass murderer.

Francis feels that this new faith is necessary because the old faith no longer works. "The old faith is in large sections unbelievable. We want to make the new faith more believable, realistic and helpful in terms of the way people live," he said. St Michael's is promoting the new faith with a $120,000 campaign over several months, involving newspaper and radio advertising, the Internet, banners and billboards.

It's sad to see numbers of churches today refusing to change their liturgy (how they 'do' church) yet willing to totally rework their theology(what they believe about God) in their quest to be relevant to an increasingly secular culture. Is it any wonder that attendance at these kinds of churches is on the decline, as they have little to offer. In contrast, churches who are willing to change their liturgy, making it more contemporary and relevant to the culture, yet who are faithful to foundational biblical theology, are often the ones who are growing and reaching out to the needs of all generations.

In our quest to be relevant let's continue to contend for the 'faith once entrusted to God's people' (Jude 3)!