Barry Guy Marshall

You ever meet someone once and you know that this person has made a profound impact on your life? Well that was Barry Marshall for you. I don’t think anyone could say that when they came into contact with Barry they hadn’t gone into a wrestling match with God. Barry inspired, challenged, loved, taught and mostly gave himself to you.

Barry is the reason I am a Christian today. When others were giving me crap Christianity Barry had the space to push me to new and liberating places. I will never forget Barry talking to young people about being drunk and saying honestly how smashed he got at his engagement party and how he challenged me to ministry by saying "what is the greatest gift you can give you your children, the latest IPod or the gift of simplicity". He taught me that to go into a song in different key you go to 5th note and 7th it.

Barry was a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Unfortunately Barry passed away in the sea almost a week ago. Barry you will be missed, not only by your family but by a generation of young and old that you impacted in astounding ways. You liberated many and even though people got upset with your views, you liberated them to.

Barry you died in the same way you lived. Paddling out to sea alone while others stood on the shoreline watching. Barry may you always be apart of our thoughts and our actions. May we to carry the liberation torch that has touched your flame to others.

Who wins??

I wonder if God also sighs when she thinks of the joy and the release, we humans could experience if we would just learn to go out of our comfort zones and out of our thought patterns and out of our experiences and out our belief. 

I wont lie the past 2 weeks I have been trying to sift through allot of muck. The homosexual workshop has been put of Dcamp. Not by me but by the Youth Pastors of the various churches that attend. What I have been trying to understand is how much of the situation is people that are homophobic and how much of it is narrow sightedness.

I think my most hurtful comment was when someone said that if I cause one of there youth to stumble into homosexuality  (which was not the point of the discussion to prove it right or wrong but to listen to one person experience of Christ and their sexuality) I would have a millstone tied to my neck and thrown into the sea. NICE and VERY CHRISTIAN approach I think. I can only imagine the plight of the homosexual. Oh and just cause people are pro homosexuality doesn't make what they have to say any less truthful. apparently as well talking about homosexuality to teenagers will make them turn to homosexuality???? Just like talking about drugs will make teenagers druggies

So anyway at least I see people who are supporting me and trust me enough. To those who did thank you.... 

May we learn Jesus you always listened before you spoke. John 3:17

Grace Beyond Our Expectations

So can you believe it.... I actually found a girl who like me back. This is an achievement :)
Anyway so its been a long time since my last post but I have been thinking allot. Is Jesus a God where we have to grovel at His feet? What the deal?? Do we have to sit and pray and pray and pray and pray to get anything? Why is it that we find ourselves almost begging God for anything. Where is the love? Where is the Grace? Truth be told I don't think I want a God like that. That in my suffering and pain, in a communities suffering and pain, in a countries suffering and pain, in a world suffering and pain, God is trying to teach me a lesson or I have to pray 70 times before Gods sectary Jesus lets God hear my prayer. Sorry if that is who Jesus is I think I am leaving the church.
However I came to a lecture the other day with this tension in side of me. The lecture spoke of the enlightenment. Now I understand the root of I generation. This is where the French Revolution started. It was a place that said what about my own good. I don't want to be a peasant I want to be something more. I am important and I........... I........... I............ I.............

Before this point, community was the most important aspect. The highest form of salvation was in the community. Jesus spoke into that... Salvation was a community exercise.

Which got me thinking on the lines of do I have to accept Jesus to know salvation?...To know grace?... Does Jesus's save me regardless of my verbal commitment? Is an individual commitment biblical?? or even Christian? Funny enough Jesus never has an alter call. Is what we have now in or churches a product of the enlightenment?My own conclusion is that, Grace is offered regardless, Heaven is available for all. That must be the greatest gift that Christ bestowed on us. Its not about growling at the feet of Jesus its about experiencing the Grace of God in the world. The opportunity to be saved, to repent, to have hope. This leaves humans with the task of not saving people.. We are not called to save people, we called to love and become like the master. Tend to the poor, Plead the case for the widow and the ultimate form of human tasks, to lay down ones life for the people we don't know.

I think we need a little more community in our lives