Saturday, July 21, 2018

Wow...oh wow. I just remembered this.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

I have returned!!!

Hi guys! It's been such a LONG time!!! I will be resuming posts as of today. Get ready for the updates!!!

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

I'm back - 4th time now...

Thanks to Jerdine, I remembered this blog. Guess it's time to start writing again...

Sunday, July 20, 2008

My Grandmother died yesterday

My grandmother died at age 76 on Saturday, July 19 @ 8:30pm. This was after being rushed to KPH as her illness got worse. Thanks to all of you who prayed for me & her as it was REALLY painful to see her in pain. It seemed to have been cancer and I am angry. VERY angry. Angry at my grandma leaving me here on earth. Angry at the doctors who discharged her from the hospital and left her to die. Angry that I was not rich enough to fly her out for treatment. Angry that she had to be in so much pain as no doctor would try to treat her because her biopsy test results were not ready yet. She is the second of the 3 women who have spoilt me and made me the "monster" I am today. Only my mother is left and she has hypertension. So now anything is possible with my mom now that her mother is dead. Crying every 6 hours is now the norm for me and I still think this is all a dream that I will soon wake up from.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

I have a new blog!

Hey guys,

Sorry for the rare writing but my time is really taken up with so many things. I just set up a new blog for my cell group so I dealing with that now. Will get back to this one as soon as I am free.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Members' Meeting

Members' Meeting was interesting but sometimes I wish more people would talk in church business meetings. Why do they keep silent, then go outside to grumble, murmur & gossip? Beats me. I just gonna speak my mind. Damn the torpedoes! Church is doing well though and poised to expand this year. Great job, God!

New Cell Group

Well guys, I got a new group of teens to be responsible for now. 22 of them! I changed the format of it to a club and dubbed it the "Bible Readers Club". They are going to change the church! I can feel it! More about them to come...

Friday, February 29, 2008

I am back (for the third time)!

Hey guys,

I will now continue the blog where we are at. It's been a year and a lot has happened. Effective March 1, I will continue. Thanks for your patience. God bless you all.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Bitch!!!

My dog has puppies again! 10 of them! Does she know how much it costs to take care of puppies? Does she know the pain I go through in seeing her pregnant TWICE! She's not even 2 years old yet. Talk about teenage pregnancy. She doesn't even know who the father is. He's such a dog too! Just used her and left. Now she has the nerve to look to me for help. I feel like a father. All the puppies look good though. Hope they survive. Will keep you posted on my horny dog. Later.

I am back...again?

It's been such a long time! Man! Nuff Tings a gwaan! Jamaica? No Problem! Let's see if we can catch up over the past 5 months. I am working now. In charge of the young men's department. Doing PR for the Youth Department AND the Men's Department and still setting up my own business soon. I lost my van though (engine trouble) but my lady got a new car (Honda though, darn!). I am going to be 30 this year so looking towards marriage finally. Actually setting a date now. I will be trying to post weekly now. God bless you all for reading my old posts. Will try to go back to basics soon. Going to make you reading this worth your time. Later.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Twelve Wise Skills For Christians In Ministry - got this from a great christian website!

Theological Underpinning

When Jesus sent His disciples out He knew He was sending "unlearned men" out to face hostile Jewish and Roman authorities with the task of establishing the Kingdom of God and founding His Church. They were truly “sheep in the midst of wolves”. In the natural sense they were totally vulnerable and stood no chance. He then says "therefore.” And connects the perilous situation they were facing with the need for "Christian craftiness" -"therefore be as wise as serpents”. It is an exhortation to the gaining of practical wisdom, insight and thinking skills within the bounds of Godly restraint ("and as innocent as doves").

True Christian thinking confounds the wisdom of this world. It operates on a higher and much more strategic level under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The disciples after Pentecost were able to confound the wisdom of the Jewish and Roman authorities so that they become enraged when faced with wisdom they could not resist. This was promised by Jesus (Luke 21:14-15 NKJV) "Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; {15} "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. And fulfilled in the lives of Stephen and the apostles (and numerous Christians down the years)(Acts 6:10 NKJV) And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

The term “innocent as doves” may be referring the reader to the Holy Spirit which is symbolized by a dove and which implies that godly wisdom partakes of the innocent purity of the Holy Spirit along with His clean, sharp (Heb 4:12,13) and creative wisdom which pierces through to the real issues.(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The irresistible godly wisdom that Jesus said would be characteristic of His persecuted followers flows from a Spirit-informed (1 Cor 2:10-16, 1 John 2; 20, 27) and renewed mind (Romans 12:1,2) focused on good Kingdom purposes (Phil 4:6-8, Matt 6:33,34) and which is stabilized by the peace of God (Colossians 3:15-17, James 3:13-18). Wherever we turn in this discussion we find two constants 1) The need for the Holy Spirit to reveal things to us 2) The need for us to renew our minds to receive His wisdom. In the New King James Version there are 6 NT references to renew or renewal and five of them refer to the renewal of our minds or our natures while the sixth is the reference in Hebrews 6 about being "renewed to repentance". Tackling these references.....

(Romans 12:2 NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

(Ephesians 4:23 NKJV) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

(Colossians 3:10 NKJV) and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

(Titus 3:5 NKJV) not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

These verses indicate that at conversion we receive a "new man" with a new renewed mind called the "mind of Christ" (see 1 Cor 2:10-16) and that the regeneration of the Holy Spirit leads to a renewing of the nature and a radical change in the way we think. This new nature and new mind is "renewed in knowledge" that is knowledge is a key component to personal change. That knowledge is knowledge of Christ and what He has done for us. Its result is that we are transformed into "the image of Him who created him...”. The new man has a Creator and is being made into the image of that Creator - Jesus. Therefore a Christian should gradually receive a wisdom like Jesus’ wisdom and be able to handle the situations of life with dignity and poise and be able make wise and discerning judgments. Throughout Scripture the naive, foolish or lazy person is seen as morally culpable since they have resisted receiving or applying the wisdom that God intends them to have. To refuse wisdom is to refuse God who is wise and to refuse wisdom when we have the indwelling Holy Spirit in us is a terrible thing indeed. It is something the writer to the Hebrews was very conscious of (Hebrews 12:25-29) when he wrote “do not refuse Him who speaks....for our God is a consuming fire". This may sound harsh but a foolish, naive or lazy Christian is an insult to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

The wisdom of God proceeds from the Gospel and it is the foundation for all that follows. Christ is our wisdom, sanctification and redemption and the gospel is wisdom from God unto salvation. (Read 1 Corinthians 1 for a fuller treatment of this). That is tackled in other articles in this magazine e.g. The Big Picture will not be addressed in this article. What we will look at here is the wisdom we can use to build on that foundation. First of all we shall look at the wisdom Christ and the apostles showed in their ministry and at practical thinking skills they seem to have displayed.

Practical Thinking And Communication Skills Demonstrated In Scripture

  1. Black and White, Light and Shadow. This is the technique of defining an issue by saying both what it is and what it is not e.g. love is patient and kind, love is not envious or boastful etc. Define the issue in terms of what it is (white) and what it is not (black). It can help to add what it always is vs. what it never is. (see 1 Cor 13) We see this employed when things need to be portrayed clearly e.g. love in 1 Cor 13 and godly wisdom in James 3:13-18. When we have an issue we want to communicate to others clearly we can try this and say "I am saying A & B...but I am not saying X or Y". It helps eliminate confusion and promote unity on the issue.
  2. Weighing Up The Cost. Jesus and Paul both exhorted people to weigh up the cost of Christian commitment and a number of parables demonstrate the advantages of figuring out whether a tower can be built or an army confronted and the folly of lack of calculation in the amount of oil needed for lamps etc. A simple way to weigh up the cost is a technique called PMI that has been popularized by Edward de Bono. Three columns are drawn up marked Plus, Minus and Interesting respectively. The positive aspects go under Plus, the disadvantages under Minus and the intriguing aspects under Interesting. After this is done the individual items in each column can be "weighted" according to importance. The resulting balance sheet is often a very good and effective tool for wise decision-making.
  3. Eternal vs. Temporary Biblical decision-making takes the eternal into account. Anything that is eternal outweighs anything that is temporary just as a mountain outweighs smoke. Everything that is eternal is substantial and precious. The eternal mustard seed of faith is thus "bigger" and more powerful than any earthly obstacle. In evaluating a decision it needs to be asked "Am I sacrificing the eternal to gain what is temporary?". Do not be like Esau who sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup. If we must sacrifice then let us sacrifice the temporary to gain the eternal.(Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20} "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  4. Pearls Before Swine Character and receptivity need to be taken into account when dealing with people. Wise people do not take a uniform approach to people and situations but they discern them to see whether they are wasting their time, talents and teachings. Jesus told his disciples not to cast their pearls before swine i.e. not to try to teach ignorant, hostile and aggressive people. This may seem "undemocratic" but it is the best use of resources. Likewise Paul moved on from hostile areas and stayed a long while in places that valued what he had to say.
  5. The Jesus Pattern Paul used the life of Jesus as a pattern or paradigm for solving ordinary church problems. Particularly the incarnation. When there was a problem with giving Paul pointed to Jesus and said.... (2 Corinthians 8:8-9 NKJV) I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. And when there was a problem with quarreling and the development of a church pecking order Paul appealed....(Philippians 2:3-7 NKJV) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. {4} Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. {5} Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, {6} who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, {7} but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Whatever the church situation there is nearly always a good answer when we use the life of Jesus as our model and as our thinking paradigm.
  6. The Conversation Of The Heart Teaching should be aimed at what people are thinking and saying in their hearts. Jesus, Peter and Paul all seemed to address the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Malachi does this quite explicitly...(Malachi 2:17 NKJV) You have wearied the LORD with your words; Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them," Or, "Where is the God of justice?"When your teaching addresses the thoughts and intentions of people's hearts it gains a cutting edge that makes it powerful and effective. It is important to deeply listen to others so that we can know the deep and troubling thoughts of our congregations and address them.
  7. Thinking In Pictures and Diagrams In a church business meeting one good word picture can win agreement faster than a long discussion. Most people operate by intuitive assent rather than by strict logic. A well crafted picture will get this intuitive agreement and help them to recognize the merits of what you are saying. For instance rather than offering an elaborate formal analysis of the faults in the church structures it could be said that the church is like a train with a wonderful engine and great carriages but the coupling between them is broken. This focuses attention on the problem in a recognizable way. Jesus used parables and Paul used types and all bible authors used vivid metaphors to get their points across. Pray for God to give you a picture of the situation then fine tune it and hone it until it is crystal clear. It will be an enormous help.
  8. Aim High And Plan Everything With That In Mind. Jesus and the apostles thought and planned in terms of the highest and the best. They did not plan to preach the gospel to one-third of the world. They planned for the WHOLE world to hear, they planned in terms of ULTIMATE PURPOSES and IDEALS. We need to ask "what lofty ideal is this moving towards...” "What godly purpose is this contributing to...” Sometimes we get bogged down in the short-term purposes and ideals such as a building program. We need to ask "what is the ultimate purpose of...the building program" and keep asking that question until we get a final answer such as "to provide a facility so that people can hear the word of God, grow and become like Jesus in love". The building is not the ultimate purpose or the ideal. The people are. If the program is not contributing towards the ideal then it must be adjusted. Learn to think, plan and communicate in terms of ultimate goals and purposes.
  9. Never give an order without giving a really great reason. The phrase "in order that" appears often in Scripture and frequently in the epistles. Christians are not just told to be good because that is the right thing to do. They are told to be good because it serves a great and good purpose. Here is just one example.(Philippians 2:14-16 NKJV) Do all things without complaining and disputing, {15}that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, {16} holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. After each command there is a statement of the ideal or purpose that it is helping to achieve. This is wise leadership. Tell people why!
  10. Global Vision, Local Adjustments The Great Commission is a very flexible plan towards an ultimate ideal. It can be carried out by many and varied methods e.g. by radio, or by preaching or by one on one witnessing. Yet it is not all flexibility. The important ingredients are clearly specified and included in God's plan e.g. baptizing and "teaching them all I have commanded you.". This is a good pattern for our plans. We need to have great and lofty plans and be able to implement them in many different ways depending on what is appropriate at the local level. You may need to have a "Jerusalem Council" (Acts 15) in order to decide what belongs to the global ideals and what is able to be adjusted at the local level. Success often hinges on getting this right. Get everyone to draw three columns, Global (non-negotiable), Local (adjustable), Unsure (important but is it that important.) and then share what they have and talk it through. Keep your purposes and ideals prominently before you as you do this.
  11. Consult others often. Proverbs reminds us that we do not have all the answers in our own heads, God expects us to ask those around us for advice.(Proverbs 15:22 NKJV) Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established. One way of doing this is with a focus group. Get together a small group of say 6 godly and competent people from reasonably different backgrounds. Ask them to do a "SWOT analysis" of the idea - its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is powerful and has helped many people get a perspective on their ideas.
  12. Pray with your pen in hand. "Write what you see in a book” was the Lord's instructions to the apostle John who was in exile on the island of Patmos. David seems also to have prayed with his pen in hand and recorded his prayers in the Psalms. Writing down the insights we get in prayer can be very valuable and the basis of much further ministry. It saves us from forgetting things and we can review the ideas later with others in the light of Scripture. God imparts His wisdom to those who treasure it . Writing down the ideas that you receive from Him is one way of treasuring His wisdom. You can go too far with this and some think they are getting "revelation". There is a large gap between God imparting wisdom and scriptural inspiration. Despite its abuses this is a good and wise technique for retaining your godly wisdom after the prayer hour and I have found it very valuable indeed.

Conclusion

Christians should be clear thinking clever people filled with the irresistible wisdom of the Holy Spirit and able to handle life's tricky situations with peace, poise and power. This was certainly the case with Jesus, Stephen, Peter and Paul. They were clearly able to be masters of their situations even when they were harsh and adverse situations. They did not always solve the problems. In fact all eventually became martyrs. But they lived wisely with a wisdom that was not of this world and founded the movement that has transformed so many lives and brought hope to the world.

© Copyright Asian Internet Bible Institute 1997

Twelve Wise Skills For Christians In Ministry - got this from a great christian website!

Theological Underpinning

When Jesus sent His disciples out He knew He was sending "unlearned men" out to face hostile Jewish and Roman authorities with the task of establishing the Kingdom of God and founding His Church. They were truly “sheep in the midst of wolves”. In the natural sense they were totally vulnerable and stood no chance. He then says "therefore.” And connects the perilous situation they were facing with the need for "Christian craftiness" -"therefore be as wise as serpents”. It is an exhortation to the gaining of practical wisdom, insight and thinking skills within the bounds of Godly restraint ("and as innocent as doves").

True Christian thinking confounds the wisdom of this world. It operates on a higher and much more strategic level under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The disciples after Pentecost were able to confound the wisdom of the Jewish and Roman authorities so that they become enraged when faced with wisdom they could not resist. This was promised by Jesus (Luke 21:14-15 NKJV) "Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; {15} "for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. And fulfilled in the lives of Stephen and the apostles (and numerous Christians down the years)(Acts 6:10 NKJV) And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

The term “innocent as doves” may be referring the reader to the Holy Spirit which is symbolized by a dove and which implies that godly wisdom partakes of the innocent purity of the Holy Spirit along with His clean, sharp (Heb 4:12,13) and creative wisdom which pierces through to the real issues.(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The irresistible godly wisdom that Jesus said would be characteristic of His persecuted followers flows from a Spirit-informed (1 Cor 2:10-16, 1 John 2; 20, 27) and renewed mind (Romans 12:1,2) focused on good Kingdom purposes (Phil 4:6-8, Matt 6:33,34) and which is stabilized by the peace of God (Colossians 3:15-17, James 3:13-18). Wherever we turn in this discussion we find two constants 1) The need for the Holy Spirit to reveal things to us 2) The need for us to renew our minds to receive His wisdom. In the New King James Version there are 6 NT references to renew or renewal and five of them refer to the renewal of our minds or our natures while the sixth is the reference in Hebrews 6 about being "renewed to repentance". Tackling these references.....

(Romans 12:2 NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

(2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV) Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

(Ephesians 4:23 NKJV) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

(Colossians 3:10 NKJV) and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

(Titus 3:5 NKJV) not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

These verses indicate that at conversion we receive a "new man" with a new renewed mind called the "mind of Christ" (see 1 Cor 2:10-16) and that the regeneration of the Holy Spirit leads to a renewing of the nature and a radical change in the way we think. This new nature and new mind is "renewed in knowledge" that is knowledge is a key component to personal change. That knowledge is knowledge of Christ and what He has done for us. Its result is that we are transformed into "the image of Him who created him...”. The new man has a Creator and is being made into the image of that Creator - Jesus. Therefore a Christian should gradually receive a wisdom like Jesus’ wisdom and be able to handle the situations of life with dignity and poise and be able make wise and discerning judgments. Throughout Scripture the naive, foolish or lazy person is seen as morally culpable since they have resisted receiving or applying the wisdom that God intends them to have. To refuse wisdom is to refuse God who is wise and to refuse wisdom when we have the indwelling Holy Spirit in us is a terrible thing indeed. It is something the writer to the Hebrews was very conscious of (Hebrews 12:25-29) when he wrote “do not refuse Him who speaks....for our God is a consuming fire". This may sound harsh but a foolish, naive or lazy Christian is an insult to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

The wisdom of God proceeds from the Gospel and it is the foundation for all that follows. Christ is our wisdom, sanctification and redemption and the gospel is wisdom from God unto salvation. (Read 1 Corinthians 1 for a fuller treatment of this). That is tackled in other articles in this magazine e.g. The Big Picture will not be addressed in this article. What we will look at here is the wisdom we can use to build on that foundation. First of all we shall look at the wisdom Christ and the apostles showed in their ministry and at practical thinking skills they seem to have displayed.

Practical Thinking And Communication Skills Demonstrated In Scripture

  1. Black and White, Light and Shadow. This is the technique of defining an issue by saying both what it is and what it is not e.g. love is patient and kind, love is not envious or boastful etc. Define the issue in terms of what it is (white) and what it is not (black). It can help to add what it always is vs. what it never is. (see 1 Cor 13) We see this employed when things need to be portrayed clearly e.g. love in 1 Cor 13 and godly wisdom in James 3:13-18. When we have an issue we want to communicate to others clearly we can try this and say "I am saying A & B...but I am not saying X or Y". It helps eliminate confusion and promote unity on the issue.
  2. Weighing Up The Cost. Jesus and Paul both exhorted people to weigh up the cost of Christian commitment and a number of parables demonstrate the advantages of figuring out whether a tower can be built or an army confronted and the folly of lack of calculation in the amount of oil needed for lamps etc. A simple way to weigh up the cost is a technique called PMI that has been popularized by Edward de Bono. Three columns are drawn up marked Plus, Minus and Interesting respectively. The positive aspects go under Plus, the disadvantages under Minus and the intriguing aspects under Interesting. After this is done the individual items in each column can be "weighted" according to importance. The resulting balance sheet is often a very good and effective tool for wise decision-making.
  3. Eternal vs. Temporary Biblical decision-making takes the eternal into account. Anything that is eternal outweighs anything that is temporary just as a mountain outweighs smoke. Everything that is eternal is substantial and precious. The eternal mustard seed of faith is thus "bigger" and more powerful than any earthly obstacle. In evaluating a decision it needs to be asked "Am I sacrificing the eternal to gain what is temporary?". Do not be like Esau who sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup. If we must sacrifice then let us sacrifice the temporary to gain the eternal.(Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; {20} "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
  4. Pearls Before Swine Character and receptivity need to be taken into account when dealing with people. Wise people do not take a uniform approach to people and situations but they discern them to see whether they are wasting their time, talents and teachings. Jesus told his disciples not to cast their pearls before swine i.e. not to try to teach ignorant, hostile and aggressive people. This may seem "undemocratic" but it is the best use of resources. Likewise Paul moved on from hostile areas and stayed a long while in places that valued what he had to say.
  5. The Jesus Pattern Paul used the life of Jesus as a pattern or paradigm for solving ordinary church problems. Particularly the incarnation. When there was a problem with giving Paul pointed to Jesus and said.... (2 Corinthians 8:8-9 NKJV) I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. And when there was a problem with quarreling and the development of a church pecking order Paul appealed....(Philippians 2:3-7 NKJV) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. {4} Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. {5} Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, {6} who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, {7} but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. Whatever the church situation there is nearly always a good answer when we use the life of Jesus as our model and as our thinking paradigm.
  6. The Conversation Of The Heart Teaching should be aimed at what people are thinking and saying in their hearts. Jesus, Peter and Paul all seemed to address the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Malachi does this quite explicitly...(Malachi 2:17 NKJV) You have wearied the LORD with your words; Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them," Or, "Where is the God of justice?"When your teaching addresses the thoughts and intentions of people's hearts it gains a cutting edge that makes it powerful and effective. It is important to deeply listen to others so that we can know the deep and troubling thoughts of our congregations and address them.
  7. Thinking In Pictures and Diagrams In a church business meeting one good word picture can win agreement faster than a long discussion. Most people operate by intuitive assent rather than by strict logic. A well crafted picture will get this intuitive agreement and help them to recognize the merits of what you are saying. For instance rather than offering an elaborate formal analysis of the faults in the church structures it could be said that the church is like a train with a wonderful engine and great carriages but the coupling between them is broken. This focuses attention on the problem in a recognizable way. Jesus used parables and Paul used types and all bible authors used vivid metaphors to get their points across. Pray for God to give you a picture of the situation then fine tune it and hone it until it is crystal clear. It will be an enormous help.
  8. Aim High And Plan Everything With That In Mind. Jesus and the apostles thought and planned in terms of the highest and the best. They did not plan to preach the gospel to one-third of the world. They planned for the WHOLE world to hear, they planned in terms of ULTIMATE PURPOSES and IDEALS. We need to ask "what lofty ideal is this moving towards...” "What godly purpose is this contributing to...” Sometimes we get bogged down in the short-term purposes and ideals such as a building program. We need to ask "what is the ultimate purpose of...the building program" and keep asking that question until we get a final answer such as "to provide a facility so that people can hear the word of God, grow and become like Jesus in love". The building is not the ultimate purpose or the ideal. The people are. If the program is not contributing towards the ideal then it must be adjusted. Learn to think, plan and communicate in terms of ultimate goals and purposes.
  9. Never give an order without giving a really great reason. The phrase "in order that" appears often in Scripture and frequently in the epistles. Christians are not just told to be good because that is the right thing to do. They are told to be good because it serves a great and good purpose. Here is just one example.(Philippians 2:14-16 NKJV) Do all things without complaining and disputing, {15}that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, {16} holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. After each command there is a statement of the ideal or purpose that it is helping to achieve. This is wise leadership. Tell people why!
  10. Global Vision, Local Adjustments The Great Commission is a very flexible plan towards an ultimate ideal. It can be carried out by many and varied methods e.g. by radio, or by preaching or by one on one witnessing. Yet it is not all flexibility. The important ingredients are clearly specified and included in God's plan e.g. baptizing and "teaching them all I have commanded you.". This is a good pattern for our plans. We need to have great and lofty plans and be able to implement them in many different ways depending on what is appropriate at the local level. You may need to have a "Jerusalem Council" (Acts 15) in order to decide what belongs to the global ideals and what is able to be adjusted at the local level. Success often hinges on getting this right. Get everyone to draw three columns, Global (non-negotiable), Local (adjustable), Unsure (important but is it that important.) and then share what they have and talk it through. Keep your purposes and ideals prominently before you as you do this.
  11. Consult others often. Proverbs reminds us that we do not have all the answers in our own heads, God expects us to ask those around us for advice.(Proverbs 15:22 NKJV) Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established. One way of doing this is with a focus group. Get together a small group of say 6 godly and competent people from reasonably different backgrounds. Ask them to do a "SWOT analysis" of the idea - its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is powerful and has helped many people get a perspective on their ideas.
  12. Pray with your pen in hand. "Write what you see in a book” was the Lord's instructions to the apostle John who was in exile on the island of Patmos. David seems also to have prayed with his pen in hand and recorded his prayers in the Psalms. Writing down the insights we get in prayer can be very valuable and the basis of much further ministry. It saves us from forgetting things and we can review the ideas later with others in the light of Scripture. God imparts His wisdom to those who treasure it . Writing down the ideas that you receive from Him is one way of treasuring His wisdom. You can go too far with this and some think they are getting "revelation". There is a large gap between God imparting wisdom and scriptural inspiration. Despite its abuses this is a good and wise technique for retaining your godly wisdom after the prayer hour and I have found it very valuable indeed.

Conclusion

Christians should be clear thinking clever people filled with the irresistible wisdom of the Holy Spirit and able to handle life's tricky situations with peace, poise and power. This was certainly the case with Jesus, Stephen, Peter and Paul. They were clearly able to be masters of their situations even when they were harsh and adverse situations. They did not always solve the problems. In fact all eventually became martyrs. But they lived wisely with a wisdom that was not of this world and founded the movement that has transformed so many lives and brought hope to the world.

© Copyright Asian Internet Bible Institute 1997

My Job

I am a Senior Network Engineer at a telecommunications company. I am responsible for maintaining the network. I lovemy job. It's fun and no day is like the day before it. Forces me to think and that's something I really like about this job. No boring stuff. Sometimes I actually feel like a dunce because of the sheer pressures of the job. Sorta like being kicked into the deep end of the pool and expected to swim. I am thriving though. Nearly got fired once but won't go that low again. God has been good. Bless Him everyday. Salary is good too and expecting a raise anytime now. Got a girl to marry, a house to buy and 2 new vehicles to get. God's willing of course. LAter.

Monday, October 16, 2006

Church Leaders

Sometimes I get frustrated at church. I get the impression that a lot of prominent people in churches have this idea that if they don't see your vision, then it's not of God and it's their duty to block you. In other words, God is put into their box and He is not allowed to come out. It hurts to hear the words spoken against me at church when all i want to do is to make it more youth-friendly in their approach. Funny. So many church leaders are living dinosaurs caught in a time warp and have no use to themselves or others spiritually. Please note that I am not perfect either but I allow others to have their visions as long as they pass the Spirit test in 1 John. I don't pretend to know everything God is doing on earth but too many leaders behave that way. Like, if you don't act/think/talk/dress the way they want, you can't be a good christian. Crazy! Listen to these misconceptions voiced by local church leaders and tell me if you agree:
  • Girls with creamed hair can't be christians.
  • People who DJ gospel music aren't christians.
  • If you discuss oral/anal/solo sex in church, you are a perverted troublemaker.
  • The pastor alone should know the Bible (exceptions are bible students)
  • If you wear anklets, you are not a christian.
There are so many other pieces of crap out there, I can't type them all easily. But it's so hard to fight satan's schemes while fighting christians who are supposed to be on your side too. Almost demoralizing. Will overcome though. preparing for some more clashes soon. Pray for me more.

Young Leaders - 2

These 8 persons are something else. For some reason God has put these people together and, once again, I get a group of young people to mentor. It's a bit hard as I have to set an example and also, learn patience as they make a lot of mistakes. They are coming along nicely. I have my sights on couple others though that seem promising. I believe that GT is on the brink of a turning point in its history and I am preparing some of the youth to become integral in this event. Still getting a lot of opposition from church people though. I guess once you don't act like the typical, complacent religious person, then you can't be of God. Getting used to it though. Reading God's Generals today. Made an impact. Learning to center myself in Christ before making big steps. Pray for me, Saints.

Trafigura - 1

I am so disgusted with the PNP. THave you checked the facts? The facts and their statements not adding up. something's wrong guys. something stinks and it isn't your underarm! To mitigate the fallout, the PNP sacrificed Colin Campbell but surely that isn't enough! Bruce & his crew are calling for blood but they aren't better as they broke banking rules for this information (more on that in another post). Portia hasn't even said anything public on it yet. SHAME! Won't pressure this one yet. Elections will be delayed now until PNP settles this one down. Wanna bet?

Vehicles

Drove a Mitsubishi Pajero yesterday & saw a Noah today. Thinking of buying an automatic transmission vehicle. Feels like I'm selling out though. Been driving vans with manual transmission for ALL my driving life so it's hard to make the adjustment. We'll see though. Nikki wants one though so I am leaning towards it. Feels strange being near a van which runs quiet & doesn't jerk my back when dropped in potholes. Interesting times are ahead. Stay tuned.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Pajero!!!

I drove a pajero today! 2 door. Gasoline engine though. Found out when I stalled it 4 times in 2 minutes! But when I was driving around the neighbourhood, I was so shocked. I didn't feel the potholes! Damn! I want a vehicle like this! Thanks Kenneth for the loan. Must get a second drive soon.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

An article regarding the recent deacon case

Hypocrisy stinks to high heaven

P AND I are strong believers in God, according to the Christian faith that we have been raised in.

But we hold no secrets or favours for people who parade in the trappings of Christianity but do other non-Christian things.

Certainly, the events surrounding the findings of a video recording of sexual behaviour with children that an adult, who has the church title of deacon, was aware of but did not report, has drawn our ire.

SICK IN THEIR HEADS?

I have read in both morning papers the reports of leaders of the church in question being seemingly annoyed that the matter was made public via the media. The damning statement that was made, suggesting that the event was a church private matter makes one want to scream 'Are these people sick in their heads'?

And what is even worse is the deafening silence from other churches who don't seem moved to think that this is something that they might get on their soapboxes and shout about. If someone were lobbying to legalise and launch casino gambling as a major event in Jamaica to attract tourists, the pastors, preachers, canons, deacons and reverends would be blabbing their mouths morning, noon and night saying no, this will destroy the nation's moral fabric.

So, too, if there were a debate about legalising homosexuality or same-sex marriages, or state acceptance of a demonic church, would we be hearing chatter and loud chatter from every corner of the religious community?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

But where are they now? Are they deciding to put out a joint statement? They have never done this before. Are they waiting for the law to take its course and a conclusion be found in the courts? The law has never constrained their voices before.

Is it maybe that this now publicised event is actually much more commonplace than we would like to think? Could it be that there are many cases of sexually-abused children that church leaders know about and they have chosen to keep it to themselves in order to protect the pathetic reputation of their worthless churches?

CANCER WHICH DESTROYS

I think that 'Thou Shalt Not Be a Hypocrite' was one of the sins written on the third tablet of commandments that Moses broke on his way down from Mt. Sinai.

Either he broke it or some spineless pretend Christian knocked it out of his hand.

Whatever happened, the notion that it is okay to be something in public and something else behind the church doors is a cancer that will destroy a country like Jamaica, that fervently believes that it has religion and, in particular, Christianity, as a pillar to fall on.

Good Lord, even Portia the Prime Minister has been fooled. I wonder what she thinks of the holier than thou church now?

Jermaine's birthday bash

I finally went out! It's been a while but such is life. Carried out Nicole & treated Dale on his birthday. Carried some of my students too. night started off slow. You know me guys. I reached early. Party slated to start at 8pm. I reached 9pm. THey not even start the music yet! Dale, of course, laughed at me but just one of those things. Decided to go to Miracle to pass the time. Was packed. Chilled for a little while. Saw Kirk, the ever-present OBC rep, and chatted a little. Saw some cute girls but Nikki was cuter anyway. Nikki wanted to go inside so we did. Performers were not the best in my opinion but they meant well spiritually. I decided to act like a skettel (what's new!) to the extent people probably thought I was gay. I was THAT bored. Anyway, I dragged Nikki out of the church so we could return to the club. She was reluctant as she wanted to get her money's worth (Note: We went in FREE!) that's why I dragged her. Reached the club. Saw anothe rof my kids and we went up. Got a group rate since it was about 10 of us from GT coming in. Music was good. People were there. food was half-price. Couldn't complain. Found a spot and claimed it. Danced my white man dance but Nikki and the rest danced properly. I didn't care though as I am not proving anything. The music was getting people warmed up. It was a birthday bash so we had a cake cutting ceremony. Cake was being shared out and we listened to the live acts passing through. Jason Mighty, Ryan Mark, Blessed and Moses passed through. Jermaine did a little thing too. Had to leave early though as I had to return one of my kids home by 2am which we did. Overall a good night. Recharge is the 19th so we'll see how that goes.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Young Leaders

Reformed my cell group recently. 8 persons. I believe they will be future leaders of the church and I have the job of growing them up. 4 guys, 4 girls. They all have the qualities I've been looking for for a while and I trust they will walk into what God has for them. Will give you more details next month as I will try to spend more time with them. Who knows, may give you a personality profile of each of them one day. Pray for us please.

YMAC begins

Well, as told before, I am the Director of the young men arm of my church so I've been planning the first meeting for a while. We started July 15, 2006 with 15 guys attending and 27 guys signed up. Praise & Worship went well and we had a mini-prayer meeting before we started. Had a lively competition segment and divided the guys in two houses. The MOV leaders passed through and made encouraging statements which were well received. The next meeting will be August 5, 2006. If you are a young male between 13 - 24, feel free to pass through. You'll be welcomed.

Sorry Guys! (Again)

I have been SO busy! I am setting up my own business (Lumgan: watch out for that name!), YMAC started ( more details in another post), Job hunting ( need the quick cash) and attending church more than once per week (can you say the same?). Hear the plan. I will now post DAILY. No matter if I have something important to say or not, I will now post EVERYDAY. Hope I can keep it up.

Friday, April 14, 2006

I am YMAC Director.

I am now the director of YMAC. This is the church's arm that is responsible for the younger boys & men in the church. I am right now focussing on those aged 13-25. Please be in prayer for me. Big Job!!! Have a great team around me. Hope they deliver. God is there too. This is a critical age as they will form their attitude toward God largely during this time. Thank you Lord for trusting me with this huge job. It's bigger than me but then you are bigger than it. To You be the glory. Looking forward to the challenge. Later.

Hope for Jamaica

Is it just me or since Portia won the presidency & became prime minister, the country seems a better place to live in? I support her a lot but, even though I am a christian, I still am uncomfortable with her level of christian rhetoric. Make no mistake, I believe God placed her there but that doesn't give her license to dictate certain things concerning her right to leadership. I wish her all the best as where she goes, the country goes with her. Keep it up Portia. May God be with you even if a lot of people aren't. Later.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Norma Hudson

Mrs. Hudson died on March 13 - the same day as Brian's mother, Mrs. Newman. I felt this one too - not as much as Mrs. Newman - but enough nevertheless. I respected her zeal and vision and she will be missed. Her son is taking it well it seems and I hope that he will continue to b strengthened by God as he copes with the loss of both his parents within a 3 year span. Mrs. Hudson, looking forward to seeing u later. God bless your family.

Calabar lose Champs

We lost champs by TWO POINTS!!! AWWWW!!! It was close. Won't get upset at Josef for defecting to Wolmer's as he is free to do as he wishes but I feel if he had stayed put we would've gotten it this year. It was great though. This rivalry (Calabar & KC) is a very intense one but among the old boys' there is a grudging respect between us. History has shown that we are the most talked about powerhouses overall in recent times in schoolboy competition. Oh well, next year, we getting it as KC's class 1 is now gone. Hurray!!! Later.

Letter I wrote to my christian friends at church (where there is a high school alma mater rivalry)

I have noticed that in our church there is a very small but vocal segment of KC supporters who insist on fooling not only themselves, but (unfortunately) the church community at large about the prowess & prestige of KC and their alleged achievements. I am a strong believer in facts & details as opposed to emotional outbursts which may bear no relevance to reality and so, as a loyal, pedigreed (Executive Prefect, Valedictorian, Quiz Squad, etc) member of the Calabar community, I believe that it's now time to attack - and hopefully eliminate - this myth & falsehood ( of KC prestige & achievements) from the midst of our brethren. As such, let us compare the achievements of Calabar versus the achievements of KC. We'll begin with KC.

Kingston College's Achievements for the School Year 2005-2006

  1. Participated in numerous schoolboy competitions. Didn't win ONE!!!
  2. Boys' Champs 2006. (Beat us by TWO points!!!)
Now we'll have Calabar.

Calabar's Achievements for the School Year 2005 - 2006


  1. Schools' Challenge Quiz – Defending Champions (Back to Back to Back!)
  2. School's Cricket Champions (Corporate Area under-16?)
  3. Earned the invitation to the Sir Gary Sobers' International Schools' Cricket Tournament
  4. Manning Cup Champions
  5. Oliver Shield Champions
  6. Colts' (Under-16) Football Champions
  7. Corporate Area Under-16 Basketball Champions
Score : Calabar 7 KC 1 !!!!!


I trust that it is plain to all well-thinking, mentally balanced & of sound mind, unbiased & Spirit-filled believers that Calabar is superior to KC in practically all areas of life & achievement. Please note that this is just ONE YEAR! We have achieved much in previous years - no doubt KC has too - but I felt compelled to bring the facts to the attention of all of us in order for us well-thinking christians of GT to be in serious prayer & intercession for the minds of our KC alumni & their rabid, die-hard supporters to be refocussed on reality and not in some dream world where they alone compete.. When KC can win more than 2 or 3 trophies/competitions/awards for the year in successive seasons, THEN they can trumpet their own praises. Until then, even though I am a part of the silent minority of Calabar supporters, I will continue to be as "one crying out in the wilderness" defending the honour of my alma mater.

We are all one family in Christ so I am of the belief that my KC brothers - however misguided they are at this moment in time - can be redeemed and also be honest enough to admit publicly that Calabar is BY FAR the highest achievers in terms of overall schoolboy achievement - academically & athletically. A lot of schools are better in one area but weak in the other. Calabar has been fortunate to have the strength in both. Thanks be to our God!

That's all for now. I'm currently planning to be in prayer for my KC brethren in Christ. I am asking all concerned stakeholders (girlfriends/wives included) to join me in praying for their release from their folly. Maybe it's a spiritual stronghold? Who knows except God? I hope not though as they are mostly great people. Please stay tuned for part 2 of this news release in the not too distant future. Feel free to respond or try to refute my statements. i don't mind as long as the truth is told & the brethren are edified.

God bless you all.

Respectfully

Melville Lumley
Calabar High School (1988 - 1995)

"The Utmost for the Highest"


Calabar wins Quiz!!! 3peat!!!

I just want the world know that the CALABAR boys have done it - by beating FORTIS (KC) in a keenly contested final match 28 - 26
The wait while the queries were sorted out was agonizing but we remained confident that we would emerge victorious.The victory is even sweeter given that the record has been set by us as having defeated the KC clan. I am sure that it is not a record with which they had wanted their name associated, if they had the choice. Just for the records its also the third year straight that Cbar has beaten KC in Quiz.
I must say many thanks to the old boys who extended themselves and supported the team throughout the season and we certainly look forward to their continued support as we work towards improving the training systems and the resources available to the team for the upcoming seasons. Of course none of this would have been possible without the hard work as well of the coaching team headed by Donovan Williams, himself an old boy.
Let us join the team in celebrating this victory.

I love this pic! What do you think of it?

Brian's mother

Mrs. Newman died on March 13. News hurt me especially as it was unexpected. TOTALLY unexpected. Trying to come to grips with it. Brian seems to be taking it well but then, I don't see him when he's alone, right? Hope that he moves on as she is in the place we want to be. The funeral went well. Still upset that she had to choose to be buried in Trelawny!!! I couldn't afford to go but I hope Brian understands. I miss her dearly especially since she fed me M&M's! I hope that Daddy & Sis accept Christ soon. Will be praying. God bless all of you who attended.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

My view on Champs.

I am so glad on how it turned out. Reason: We couldn't win and it looked to be a blowout. But we came up great. Obliterating them in the relays!!! KC didn't win one! We lost the war but at least we won some psychological battles. Next year, I believe we'll pull it off. God bless. Later.

Previous Winners of the Champs

Previous Winners
Year Boys Champs Girls Champs
1910 Wolmer's School
-
1911 Jamaica College
-
1912 Jamaica College
-
1913 Jamaica College
-
1914 St. George's College
-
1915 Wolmer's School
-
1916 Jamaica College
-
1917 Wolmer's School
-
1918 Jamaica College
-
1919 Jamaica College
-
1920 Munro College
-
1921 Jamaica College
-
1922 Jamaica College
-
1923 Jamaica College
-
1924 Wolmer's School
-
1925 St. George's College
-
1926 Munro College
-
1927 Wolmer's School
-
1928 Jamaica College
-
1929 Wolmer's School
-
1930 Calabar High School
-
1931 Calabar High School
-
1932 Calabar High School
-
1933 Calabar High School
-
1934 Munro College
-
1935 Munro College
-
1936 Calabar High School
-
1937 Kingston College
-
1938 Wolmer's School
-
1939 Wolmer's School
-
1940 Jamaica College
-
1941 Wolmer's School
-
1942 Kingston College
-
1943 Munro College
-
1944 NO COMPETITION
-
1945 Munro College
-
1946 Calabar High School
-
1947 Munro College
-
1948 Munro College
-
1949 Wolmer's School
-
1950 Kingston College
-
1951 Kingston College
-
1952 Jamaica College
-
1953 Kingston College
-
1954 Kingston College
-
1955 Calabar High School
-
1956 Wolmer's School
-
1957 Kingston College
St. Hugh's High
1958 Calabar High School St. Hugh's High
1959 Jamaica College St. Hugh's High
1960 Excelsior High School St. Hugh's High
1961 Calabar High School Manchester High
1962 Kingston College St. Andrew High
1963 Kingston College Titchfield High
1964 Kingston College Titchfield High
1965 Kingston College Mannings High
1966 Kingston College Mannings High
1967 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1968 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1969 Kingston College Mannings High
1970 Kingston College Excelsior High School
1971 Kingston College Excelsior High School
1972 Kingston College Excelsior High School
1973 Kingston College Excelsior High School
1974 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1975 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1976 Calabar High School St. Mary's High
1977 Calabar High School St. Mary's High
1978 Calabar High School The Queen's School
1979 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1980 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1981 Calabar High School Vere Technical High
1982 Clarendon College Vere Technical High
1983 Kingston College Vere Technical High
1984 Clarendon College Vere Technical High
1985 Clarendon College Vere Technical High
1986 Calabar High School Vere Technical High
1987 St. Jago High Vere Technical High
1988 Calabar High School Vere Technical High
1989 Calabar High School Vere Technical High
1990 Calabar High School Vere Technical High
1991 Jamaica College Vere Technical High
1992 Jamaica College Vere Technical High
1993 St. Jago High Vere Technical High
1994 Jamaica College Manchester High
1995 Jamaica College Manchester High
1996 Calabar High School St. Jago High
1997 Calabar High School St. Jago High
1998 Jamaica College St. Jago High
1999 Jamaica College St. Jago High
2000 Jamaica College Vere Technical High
2001 Kingston College Vere Technical High
2002 Kingston College Vere Technical High
2003 Kingston College Holmwood Technical High
2004 Kingston College Holmwood Technical High
2005 Kingston College Holmwood Technical High