Coffee Break – July 2010

Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:13

Kelvyn Dear Friends,

Jill has been reminding me today (Monday) that this needs to get written so we talked about what has been happening in my life recently. I know there have been heaps of things because the diary has been full as has the email in box. And the paper is mounting on my desk for the “to do” list indicating precious little time to get to those items. But there seems to have been one constant for a few weeks – a visit to the dentist on Wednesday mornings. (Why was I blessed with terrible quality teeth?)

I have needed a root canal and subsequent crown. You make yourself very vulnerable lying on your back on the dentist’s “chair” with mouth wide open for an hour or so. If it were not for the discomfort, noise of the drill and suction implement, occasional smell of ground tooth dust, and bright light, then one could readily slip into sleep. I had not been to this surgery previously so there was a little to look at, but not much – diplomas on the wall, and a blank ceiling. Some surgeries have a mural on the ceiling which makes for interesting viewing. But I did notice that I could sort of watch what was going on by a slightly deformed reflected image in the chrome framework of the overhead light. However I found it more comfortable to shut my eyes most of the time. Yes it is not the most enjoyable experience but bearable with the reminder that “short term pain means long term gain”.

There are heaps of applications to one’s spiritual journey: rotten stuff needs to be dug out, the weakness of the flesh can be “repaired” by the grace of Heavenly Father, total submission to our God is what is required, the more we put off dealing with things the more difficult and costly they become, and so on.

It does not take a lot of thinking to find parables or stories as vehicles for conveying truth and Good News.

Pastors Conferences

These are coming up in August at four different venues – Auckland, Waikanae, Rotorua, Dunedin and Hanmer Springs. Please register for these conferences by 23 July 2010. For further details and registration form, see our website.

Latest tranzsend video

The latest tranzsend video to be posted on the website is entitled “We have a dream”. It features Paul and Sarah speaking about their vision for the poor in South Asia. They hope to leave in September subject to raising their team support. Check it out at http://www.tranzsend.org.nz/resources/our-videos

Advance notice -tranzsend invites you to send your mission stories from Central America and the Caribbean -Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, for the September Baptist. Copy due 11 August 11. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Baptist National Centre Staff

You may be aware that we have had to find a new receptionist as Helen Oliver, after eight faithful years, has had to leave due to ill health.

We also say goodbye to Elke Keeling, Children & Family leader and welcome Helen Croukamp and Karen Warner who will be interim in this role.

2010 Treasurer’s Letter

The latest update on Pastor’s pay scales was sent out at the beginning of June. Please check with your Treasurer and see if he has received a copy.

You will also have to organise to have your 2010 Administration Manual updated with the new letter and spreadsheets (pages 215, 366, 368).

Police Vetting Forms

The police are only vetting forms which have been completed within three months of us sending them into their office. If they are older than that, they will reject them and they will have to be completed again. At present the current waiting list for vetting is 3 months. Please pass this information on to your children / youth leaders.

Safety First – Baptist Children and Family Ministry Safety Workbook

This workbook has recently been written to assist local churches to develop policies and procedures that can be used to create a safe environment for children and the people who work with them and to ensure that if harm occurs, it is dealt with appropriately. If you have not received a copy, it can be downloaded from our website.

Green Baptist Hymn Books available

Rangiora Baptist has 60 of these to give away. Contact Diane on 03 313 4997.

International Wellbeing Study

We have been asked to let you know of a large online international study investigating peoples’ wellbeing, which investigates peoples’ wellbeing over the course of one year. They aim to investigate the wellbeing of religious leaders / people as research to date has consistently found that religious people are often happier than nonreligious people. If you would like to take part in this anonymous study, it takes about 25 – 30 minutes every three months (5 times in total). For more details and to participate http://www.wellbeingstudy.com, the study code to input is RELIGION + (type of religion).

Book Depository Limited

The Book Depository believe in 'All books to all' and this means they will always try to deliver the best book availability, keen prices and their unbelievable free delivery Worldwide. We have heard that they are cheaper than Amazon.
They also really enjoy books and you'll find the website and e-mails full of reviews, interviews and other interesting book news.

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk.

Christians Against Poverty

Christians Against Poverty’s 7 Day Challenge is running for the week of 23-29 August 2010. Their clients have very tight budgets while paying off their debts. They stick to them for weeks. Could you stick to one of the average client budgets for just seven days?
Take up the challenge with people from churches around New Zealand and learn to re-evaluate your spending in the light of a genuine CAP client budget and then donate the difference between their budget and what you would normally spend. If you would like to order a church promotional pack to promote the 7 Day Challenge at your church or are interested individually please contact Aimee Cringle email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.capnz.org.

As we travel through our wet winter I pray your preparations for and delivery of preaching, and conversations with the people for whom you have pastoral responsibility, will be filled with clear and gentle expressions of Heavenly Grace, Holy Spirit joy, and Christ honouring love. “Let the Word of God dwell in you richly....”

Pastoral Moves

Rob Petrini appointed Senior Pastor at Opawa, commencing mid July 2010
Tom Frew appointed Senior Pastor at Tauranga Central commencing June 2010
Andrew Court appointed Ministry Pastor at Orewa commencing September 2010
Rhett Snell appointed Associate Pastor at Mt Roskill commencing 13 June 2010
Eun Sil Cho (Christine) appointed Pastor at Auckland International Church
Tim Tautau resigned Titahi Bay May 2010
Damien Ardell resigned Greymouth May 3020
Graeme Birch resigned Milford end of 2010
Hendrico Viljoen concluded as Youth Pastor, Milford June 2010
Olivia MacCarthy resigned as Youth pastor, Henderson

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