The Cost of Discipleship

I think I have probably preached on the theme of "The Cost of following Jesus" a few times in the last 23 years. Scripture verses come to mind: "take up your cross", "if anyone isn't willing to give up...", "by [love] will they know you are a disciple". It's all great in theory. But right now, at this moment all I know is that being a disciple, or trying to be, hurts!

The cost of discipleship for me, at this moment, means doing what I honestly believe God wants me to, even though I feel like I am letting all my heroes down. I feel like I am deserting the people I respect the most in my life. People who have been ministry examples to me. People who have taught me and supported me. People who have encouraged and equipped me. People who love me and have sacrificed for me.

I know that's not what they feel - but it's how I feel. So, right now, today: doing what God has called me to hurts. Even if it is the right thing - or perhaps, I know it's the right thing because it hurts so much.

The easiest, safest, most secure thing to do is to stay where I am - I can do that, I can be good at that, I can make a difference there. The most comfortable thing to do is to stay put. But I suspect that's also the reason I can't stay. Because I wasn't taught to be comfortable. (I have preached a number of times that God's job is not to make us comfortable, it's to get us home safely, and our partnership with God is to get others home safely. Time to practice what I preach.)

The cost of discipleship, for me, today - is to leave the secure, known comfort and dive head first into the unknown - trusting and believing that I may just have heard God right.

"Christ did not give you a car and tell you to push it.

He didn't even give you a car and tell you to drive it.

You know what he did?

He threw open the passenger door, invited you to take a seat,

and told you to buckle up for the adventure of your life."

(Max Lucado)

Thanks Salvo Studios for the chance to tell some of my stories. Keep up the good work Ben and David.

WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF ME

“Because, like Christ, Christians are to love the world and be agents of its redemption, God’s callings also relate to human needs, whether those needs are in the church or beyond it. When a Christian perceives a genuine human need and has the abilities needed for attending to it, that need becomes a spark of God’s calling to him.” (Douglas J Schuurman)

Those that have read my blog before will no doubt have picked up on my ministry and life theme – transforming lives. I am fairly passionate about the ministry opportunities that exist to partner with those less fortunate than I to bring about improvement in their circumstances.

From my earliest recollections my parents have taught me, in their living and teaching, that we are all equal, and that we all deserve the same privileges. But since this is not a reality, where there exists an obvious disparity (in opportunity, in voice, in privilege) that I exist to give priority to the poor, the marginalised, the ignored and the rejected.

I am convinced that God has grown, equipped and called me to be engaged in ministry within the humanitarian relief and development sphere. This passion and equipping has been assisted by The Salvation Army (Australia Southern and New Zealand Territories) in their willingness to support my ongoing graduate and post-graduate education and to release and support me to be engaged in humanitarian ministry. I am extremely grateful for this support.

I have had the privilege to attempt to put my actions where my mouth is on a number of occasions now. Each opportunity has served to remind me that I am a man of privilege and that whilst I can rationalise this unfairness of my privilege, a pure accident of birth and my resultant upbringing, I am not able to forget it, nor allow it to pass as an academic life-framing exercise.

So, when World Vision (Australia) offered me an opportunity to become fully engaged in aid and development work I decided that it was time for me to follow my passion and what I believe to be my calling, and make the most of my equipping. On June 3 I will remove myself from my current Salvation Army appointment and commence a new chapter of my life.

I am so very grateful for the Salvo investment in my life, but at this time there is no opportunity for me to grow my talent (Matthew 25:14-30) within this movement. I was born into The Army and have served for 23 years as an Officer and had some amazing opportunities and met some incredible people. So it is not easy to say thank you, and move away – but I believe that God requires that we each, as individuals, are accountable for our service.

This is what God requires of me (and frankly it scares me at the moment)!

AUSTRALIAN RECONCILIATION BAROMETER

The Australian Reconciliation Barometer is a landmark study which provides a detailed snapshot of the views of Australians about reconciliation and what barriers affect people from taking action.

The Barometer measures four core areas that are considered essential to progressing reconciliation - awareness, attitudes, perceptions and action - and is designed to be repeated every two years.

The research tells us that attitudes are improving, that we value the relationship and that we all have part to play in reconciling. Here are some of the key findings.

We agree the relationship is important (Indigenous 99%, Other 87%)
All Australians see the relationship between Indigenous people and other Australians as important and are optimistic for the future of the relationship. There was a 99% agreement with this statement from Indigenous respondents and 87% other Australians.

We agree the relationship is improving (Indigenous 52%, Other 48%)
Both groups are most likely to agree that the relationship between Indigenous people and other Australians is improving according to 49% of general community respondents and 52% of Indigenous respondents. Though contact with Indigenous people is limited results show we want to interact more.

The Apology has improved the relationship (Indigenous 58%, Other 42%)
The survey demonstrated that the Apology was important for Indigenous people and the relationship between us. Around 3 in 5 Indigenous respondents and 2 in 5 Australians believe this statement. The survey also identified that Australians believe that there should be government specific measures to address Indigenous disadvantage, though most thought that government programs to address disadvantage have been unsuccessful.

We know a lot about Indigenous cultures (Indigenous 89%, Other 39%)
The general community’s knowledge of Indigenous history and culture is fairly low. However, the research showed that around 4 out of 5 Australians believe it is important to know about Indigenous history and culture and are therefore open to learning more.

We believe past policies still affect Indigenous people (Indigenous 91%, Other 64%)
Both groups agree that previous race-based policies continue to affect some Indigenous people today. However, both groups ranked different perceived reasons for Indigenous disadvantage. Indigenous people identified external factors such as poor access to health care and education services, while other Australians identified Indigenous people as being responsible for their own disadvantage.

We believe in the special place of Indigenous people and their connection to the land (Indigenous 96%: Other 59%)

Australians believe Indigenous culture is important to Australian and Indigenous heritage. Many agreed that Indigenous history should be a compulsory part of the history curriculum in schools. However only 44% of all Australians identified that they believe Indigenous people are open to sharing their culture.

We don’t think the media presents a balanced view of Indigenous Australians (Those who think it does present a balanced view, Indigenous 9%, Other 16%)

Only 9% of Indigenous respondents agreed that the media provides a balanced view of Indigenous Australia. The survey also identified that the general community’s attitudes to Indigenous people comes from secondary sources like the media, rather than from personal experience. However, the survey found that many wanted to interact more.

We agree we are prejudiced against each other (Indigenous 93%, Other 71%)

There was strong acknowledgement, particularly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents (93% agreed), that there are high levels of prejudice between the two groups. From the other respondents 71% agreed with this statement.

We trust each other (Indigenous 12%, Other 9%)

The study revealed that levels of trust between the two groups are very low. This shows that while Australians see the relationship as important there is general acknowledgement that there is a lot of work to be done to build the quality of the relationship and how the two groups see each other.

To read the full Barometer go to www.reconciliation.org.au/baromter2010