Back Home Again

He has returned! Yes, after months of procrastination I have chosen to resurrect The Starry Crown for further reflections, both logical and illogical. To tell the truth, I never intended for this blog to lapse into obscurity but pressures of life really overwhelmed me in the last few months and suddenly it seemed that posting random stuff in the public domain was not a life priority. Well, the prodigal son has returned. I hope that over this year I'll be able to bounce around ideas that have occurred to me while enduring the trials of 4th Year at Moore College as well as musical/political/social rants. It is also a good time for a new beginning as I have just returned from Moore Mission at St Philip's York St.

This was a great mission in so many ways. Massive respeckt to Justin, MPJ, and all those at CBF for organizing the program. Many thanks also to Ian Powell for coming in and giving our Sydney Anglican complacency a boot up the backside with refreshing honesty! The time spent on walk-up was productive and I got to speak to many people about Jesus. But the long journeys in from the West to the CBD every day was draining. A less-than-full program also made it hard to feel like we really got off the ground.

But the hardest thing for me was the concept of ministering to the City Worker Tribe. It's no secret that the corporate culture is one where I don't feel at home. More than that, though. I think I'd rather do five years at Long Bay than be chained to a workspace in a glass-framed skyscraper. After a week I could feel the life draining out of me.

I discussed this with a compadre on the way home last night. He quite rightly pointed out that all of us are called to cross-cultural ministry. That is very true. But is it possible to minister to a culture about which there is nothing to admire? When people go on long-term mission my gut feeling is that there has to be something about the place they go that they really like. It might be the history, the language, the culture, or even the food. But what it there was nada, nothing, zero, zip? Can we really 'become like' something we hate? Is it even wise to try? While the apostle Paul was deeply troubled at the idolatry he found in Athens he could still find a way of placing his message in the context of a culture that was on the search for religious truth but hadn't found it.

On the other hand, where do we stop? Exactly how much do we have to see in a culture that is redeemable before we decide that we're the right minister for the job? Will a culture that seems very close to our own social ideals end up subtly corrupting the message we bring? Am I putting culture over Gospel? Where is the wise man in this situation?

On a different note, I went to see the Archibald Prize yesterday afternoon. First time I have ever done that. Some good pictures there, plus a lot of Very Ordinary. I voted for the picture of Archbishop Elliot and his cat for the People's Choice. Go see it!