Occasionally a colleague will ask a question like this: "If you weren't the Pastor at your church would you attend it?"  It's an interesting question because it challenges the reason why we do what we do. However, there is also something very sad about the question. For starters, it assumes that church is something that you attend - that long held myth that somehow faith can be boxed into a religious meeting. Worse than that (IMHO), it can reinforce the devilishly clever lie that somehow we can "consume" religion in a similar way to how we consume McDonald's Hamburgers! 

What does it really mean to be church? If WE ARE THE CHURCH, then how do we overcome consumerism and "compete" with the offerings of the world. Well, I think the answer is simple: we don't! Yes it is important for us to try and relate to people; yes, it is important that we have some degree of "attractiveness" that allows people to think "I would love to be part of that". But ultimate-ly we are not called to be attractive, we are called to be faithful - we are called to fulfill our purpose (honour | build | connect). Can we achieve these things if we separate ourselves from our communi-ty of faith? Can we do this if we neglect to fellowship with one another? 

You see fellowship is important. Meeting together "as is our custom" is more than something to do on a Sunday morning: it is the gathering of the saints; it is the coming together of the body of Christ; it is the bride seeking to be found by the groom "without spot or blemish". 

So here's my answer to that question at the start "If you weren't the Pastor at your church would you attend it? - YES I would. Not because we have the most compelling teaching or most wonderful wor-ship music; not because my kids are well catered for; not because of the great vision and direction of the church (although all these things are important!). I say YES because fellowship is important. I say YES because when we gather together we ARE the church! 

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his prom-ise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not ne-glect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." Hebrews 10:23-25 

Blessings
Pastor David Auty 

The past two weeks we have looked at the two milestones in our journey so far in re-discovering our purpose and vision as a Church: 

Our Mission statement—Hawera Baptist Church exists to: Honour God; Build the Kingdom of God; Connect with our community 

Our Vision statement – “Living faith from the inside out” (and the five focus areas) 

Now that we understand our purpose and have found a vision that we can partner with God in to-gether, we find ourselves in a place where the rubber really meets the road. We are in a new phase of the journey. This current phase is exciting because it is the time for action. So here are the BIG questions: 

Are we willing to make the changes needed for significant Kingdom impact? 

Are we able to make the jump from theory to practice? 

In order to work on these changes and develop a strategy we need to: 

Develop leadership within each of the focus areas. 

Develop activities and outcomes for each of the focus areas. 

Get everyone who calls HBC “home” to find their place within the plan. 

Keep the “big picture” in mind. 

There has been progress in all of these areas. For example: Several people have been approached to consider the development of leadership and skills for focus areas; we have a number of church activi-ties set for the first half of 2012 which reflect the five focus areas (see below); some people have approached me with questions of “fit” and we are working on that with them; I keep writing things like this to help keep the “big picture” in mind :) 

There will be more detailed info available in the next couple of weeks, but for now here are some of the “activities” planned for the first half of the year with the specific focus areas they relate to (in brackets): 

“The Help” Movie night, 10-12 Feb (Care & Inclusion) 

5-5-5 Prayer, 12 Feb—11 March (Prayer & Worship) 

Church family camp (Theme: “Living faith from the inside out = all areas) 

Bridge Builders, 15-17 March (Discipleship & Training AND Care & Inclusion) 

Easter “stations”, 5-8 April (Prayer & Worship) 

Self Denial, 10-24 June (Local & Global Mission) 

As well as the above “one offs” we will continue with ongoing activities (craft, youth, service, mission team etc.), but we are also looking at a number of new initiatives (eg. Quad groups for men; another Alpha course; others…?). Please take some time to consider where you might fit and what your pas-sion is. 

Arohanui, Pastor David Auty 

Last week we looked at the first milestone in our journey to discover our purpose and vision as a Church. This was the identification of our Mission statement - 

Hawera Baptist Church exists to: Honour God; Build the Kingdom of God; Connect with our community 

After articulating our purpose/mission/reason we exist, we then embarked on an open, prayerful and consultative process of seeking God for a vision that would take HBC into the future. This process began with a simple question asked at our church meeting on 20 March 2011: “What would it look like if HBC were to have 5% Kingdom impact in Hawera by 2020”? This “seed question” allowed us to think, dream and plan for discovering a new vision for the church and the second milestone came as we affirmed our new Vision Statement at our AGM/Vision Night on 3 September 2011: 

“Living faith from the inside out” 

Alongside this vision statement we adopted the symbol of a Koru to graphically represent our church and the living, dynamic flow of mission and ministry that we want to develop in five focus areas: 

Prayer & Worship → Discipleship & Training → Care & Inclusion → Local & Global Mission Resourcing and Administration 

“Living faith from the inside out” speaks of who we are, and who we hope to be. It is a frame-work for us to move forward into the future. If our Mission statement is the first lens for what we should be about as a church, then the Vision statement is the second lens—the lens that sharpens our focus and allows us to identify specific ways in which we seek to move forward….but more on that next week. 

Blessings to you all. Arohanui, Pastor David AUty 

I’m off on holiday for 10 days and I thought it would be good to do something different for the newsletter/blog for the next few weeks. Over the past two years we have been on a journey to discover our purpose and vision as a Church. In this journey there have been two significant milestones so far, and we are now into a third phase of the journey. Over the next three weeks I will remind you of the milestones, and then take a look at what’s next for us as a church. 

Today let’s look at Milestone One Back in September 2010 we came to our first milestone at our AGM/Vision Night where we affirmed the purpose of the church (why we exist) in the form of a “Mission statement”. Gaining inspiration from historic and biblical sources like: the “foundation stone” outside the old entrance to the church; the plaque in the old foyer for Douglas E. Gabbie, “A worthy helper in the building of this church”; and the Biblical understanding that we are to be “salt and light” to the world, we affirmed our Mission statement as: 

Hawera Baptist Church exists to: Honour God; Build the Kingdom of God; Connect with our community 

This is often simply expressed as: 

honour | build | connect 

This Mission statement is very much in keeping with our identity as a church, and expresses both the historic, and the current thinking around why we exist. In a sense, this is the first lens for us when looking at what we should get involved in as a community of faith: Does this honour God? Does this build the Kingdom of God? Does this help us to connect with our community? Good questions for us to ask! 

Next week we will look at our second milestone. Can you work out what it will be? Then I’ll look at “What’s next?” on the 29th January. 

Rich blessings, Pastor David Auty 

Last week I told you how I was getting all artistic and creative for Christmas this year. I can report that there has been some success in this regard. All of the gifts for my brother and his family in Timaru have been lovingly hand prepared and are looking fabulous! I'm not sure how much more I will be able to do though, creating is fun, but it takes a lot of time...and time is running out! 

Christmas does seem to sneak up on us doesn’t it. One minute we're thinking about life and work and "normal" things, and the next BHAM...it's Christmas! I will be heading away for a week with the family prior to Christmas (we'll be back for the Christmas eve and Christmas day services!). Then we’ll be head-ing off again for a couple of weeks at the end of January. Over these times I will be intentionally blocking out time to recalibrate; to take time to smell the roses; to re-create myself ready for the challenges and opportunities of the new year...and I’m really looking forward to it! 

How about you? Have you put any thought into how you might do that for yourself this summer? Perhaps a few days out in creation; or some afternoons of quiet reflection? Maybe you could read through the Christmas story again and reflect on it; or take a chunk of scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to speak God’s word into your life. You could even spend time in prayerful con-templation during a Pacific Cruise (Sheridans..hehe ). In whatever way you choose to do it, please make sure you do! After all, God did it (“on the sev-enth day He rested”). 

So let’s express our true nature. We were created in the image of God with creativity in our blood. God intended that we create...and re-create. 

Have a wonderful Christmas! 
Arohanui, 
Pastor David Auty 

This week I have had the pleasure of thinking about Christmas presents and something struck me - instead of being all twisted up walking around shops aimlessly for hours, searching for the "perfect" plastic fantastic item that will hardly last past New Year, why not do something creative for gifts this year? This in itself was a scary prospect! After all, I'm not exactly "known" as an artist (for rather obvious reasons if you've ever seem me draw a stick man). However, this thought has stuck with me, and after a bit of perseverance, I have come up with an artistic plan which meets my three criteria of a good gift: individually meaningful; something the recipient will want to keep for years; and doesn't break the bank to get it. Now for the implementation...hmmm, I'll update you on the progress next week!

God is so creative! In fact, his creativity is such that we call him The Creator! That is a concept that can be hard for us to really grasp, so let's look at the first couple of verses of Psalm 121, a great "Psalm of Ascent":

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains--
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

I like to paraphrase verse two to read: "My help comes from the Lord, Maker of Mountains!"  

God's creativity is not simply a matter of fact...it is also a message of his faithfulness, it is a promise of his help in times of difficulty and struggle. Creation speaks to us of a God who is interested in everything that we do...because after all, we too are his handy work!

So as you get into the "Christmas spirit", bear this in mind. Don't let yourself get all wound up in the hustle and bustle, but take some time to bask in God's creation, to enjoy BEING God's creation, and to mirror his character in some creative way. Where does my help come from? From a God who speaks to me through his creation and invites me to participate in it with him.

Arohanui,
Pastor David Auty

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Not everything bad that happens to us is due to spiritual attack, but certainly some of it is!  It is important that we are on our toes when it comes to spiritual things. As we look through the Book of Acts together we see a church that is plagued by spiritual opposition in the midst of a time of real effectiveness in sharing the Gospel. This week we look at Stephen, the first Martyr of the church, who lost his life while declaring Jesus as Lord.

I think that it is important that we expect Satan, the author of lies, to mount strong attacks against us at two crucial times in our Christian walk: 1. when we first come to faith; and 2. when we look to be moving towards greater effectiveness in our witness.  At these times it is crucial that we are walking alongside one another; speaking words of life and truth into hard circumstances; sharing together in the real challenges and concerns that we face.  It is also important that we are developing good personal habits in our devotional life: studying the Bible; exploring God's truth through His word; being purposeful in our prayer lives etc.

One of our church members wrote me an email this week and said in it, "I really believe that the Lord is stirring things up in the church" - I agree. And when the Lord is at work, the evil one seeks to undermine and destroy all that God is doing - and he targets us at our weakest points.

Let us stand together as God's people. Let us rely on the goodness of God. Let us face the challenges that come our way in the power of the Holy Spirit!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:10-11 (the Armour of God: truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, Salvation, the Word of God)

Grace and Peace,
Pastor David Auty

Elections are upon us, and by the time we meet together on Sunday morning we will have all had the opportunity to cast our vote for those we believe will do the best job of governing our country for the next three years. A couple of weeks ago I alluded to the underlying political tensions that exist in a community of faith like ours: where two different people, despite sharing the same faith, can have two very different views. In fact it has been said that if you get four Baptists together you get five different opinions.

In this regard politics is like many other areas of life. It is not always as simple as saying "this is right; this is wrong". Sometimes it's that easy...but often it's not!

I find that when there are differences of opinion and different ways of looking at life, often these can have a positive effect on a community. It highlights things like:

- the fact that we are thinking people and not blindly accepting what we're served up.
- that we are a people who are seriously engaging in the world around us and not just giving platitudes.
- .(...but best of all) the fact that what binds us together as people of faith, is greater than what would try and tear us apart.

Our faith in Jesus Christ is the glue that holds us as one people. HE is the way; the truth; and the life...and He can't be contained within any man-made political system.  At this important time where decisions are being made, both personally and as a nation, let's remember our primary goal: to be faithful to God, to follow His Holy Spirit and to seek Him in every way we know how. Only then will we hold the unity in Christ Jesus that God so desperately wants to see in us, His people.

Happy voting
Blessings,
Pastor David

The last couple of days my family and I have been running around the countryside on a pilgrimage to Wairoa in Hawkes Bay. My 84 year old Great Uncle Poho, the last of my Grandfather's siblings, doesn't have long for this life and I felt a strong tug in my spirit to spend time with him before he passes.

I guess it's natural to have this kind of urge, but I have to admit it's never been quite like this for me before. There is something very spiritual and emotional about it, as if somehow this pilgrimage is mixed up in my identity - issues of belonging, connectedness, land and generational significance are running through my heart and mind. It's hard to explain, but it's what has driven me to take this journey; to seek a blessing from my Uncle; and to pray blessings on him in these last days of his life.

As I reflect on all of this, one of my favourite passages of Scripture comes to mind. It was written for another culture who were whakapapa (generational) and whenua (land) oriented people - the Hebrews. Take a look at what God says to them through his Prophet Moses (Dt. 30:19-20):

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

It occurs to me that this blessing found here in Deuteronomy has a touch of eternal significance for individual salvation...but it is so much more than that too! It's also about a communal and generational blessing/salvation which can be experienced in some measure in this life and in this land. Sometimes, I think, our "western" thinking can emphasize the former truth without giving enough attention to the latter.

Uncle Poho is still holding on to life, but he will not hold on forever. Part of my identity is wrapped up in what my Uncle represents and that's not too far from the blessings and curses talked about here in scripture.

"Ma Ihowa koe e manaaki, mana koe e tiaki: Ma Ihowa tona kanohi e whakaara ki a koe, mana ano e tuku te rangimarie ki a koe. A ka karangatia e ratou toku ingoa ki runga ki nga tama a Iharaira; a maku ratou e manaaki." (Tauanga 6:24-26)

‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn hisface toward you and give you peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)

Arohanui, 
Pastor David Auty

You know how the old saying goes: "Don't ever talk about sex, religion or politics". Well I'm sorry but I'm going to talk about 2/3 of those here today.

So let's start with sex...oh ok, let's start with politics instead :)

I know Christian people who strongly believe that you can't be a Christian and vote for "the left". Equally I know other Christian people who adamantly believe the opposite: that there's no way a true Christian could every vote for "the right".

So who has it wrong? Or is there an alternative way of understanding politics that allows for us to hold our civic responsibility to vote, alongside an integrity to our faith as followers of Jesus? A view that allows for us to come to different conclusions from other Christians, while still holding the unity of the body of Christ? I really believe there is.

Does it help for us to ask the question: "who would Jesus vote for?". Well yes, I think it does help. But if you are looking for an easy answer to that question then you'll find it pretty illusive. The fact is that although Jesus taught and performed miracles pointing to "the Kingdom of God", he showed little interest in taking sides with the politicians of his day. In fact he had some hard words to say to many of the powerbrokers that he encountered. He challenged their motivations and urged them, along with everyone else, to seek first the Kingdom of God. So why would we expect a definitive blueprint for voting in the 2011 NZ General election?

So how should we vote? Here's what I think:
- take the issues seriously
- engage in political thoughts, ideas and conversations.
- allow your Christian faith to inform those thoughts, ideas and conversations.
- vote with integrity to what you believe God would have you do.
- recognise that not everyone will come to the same conclusion as you, and that that's OK.

Despite many good intentions and good robust conversations, there is the likelihood that we will come to different conclusions from at least some other Christian brothers and sisters. This is largely based on the different priorities we place on issues. Because of this It is really important that we understand that our different conclusions should not cause bitterness and division. We need to recognise that holding a different political position is NOT the thing that defines you in terms of Christian integrity - that comes from your relationship with Jesus and your commitment to seeking after his will.

So when it comes to ticking the boxes on the 26th all I can say is this: be true to who God made you to be; be true to the integrity that he has placed inside of you; and be true to your identity in Christ. If we can all do that, then we can't go wrong, no matter how we might vote.

Arohanui,
Pastor David Auty