Scrapbook clippings from my week.

Two helpful books

Rotary Clubs
I have been doing the circuit of speaking at a variety of Rotary Clubs. I am impressed by the sort of stuff these clubs do in their communities. They seem to have a lot of little projects going on. They seem to volunteer readily for tasks and always there is warmth of fellowship. I was mentioning this to a friend the other day. I finished by saying, "Wouldn't it be great to have a church like that?" His response was to chuckle and say, "Church is different. When people join a Rotary club they know they are joining a service organisation. They already have that interest." I wanted to respond but chose not to continue the theme. But here is what I thought. - When we get involved in the Church we are following Jesus. Jesus was a servant and went about his community serving people. He called his disciples to be servants. When asked about the most important thing in life he told the story of "The Good Samaritan" and then said, "Go and do likewise." He called his followers to be "salt" and "light" in the community. I could go on, but it would seem to me that the Church which is following Jesus should be the ultimate service club and if we are Jesus' followers we would expect to be servants! 
Warmth at the brewery
During the week I went to my chaplaincy at the brewery. It was my first visit following the funeral of my friend who was from the brewery. I have felt the brewery as tough going because of all the changes taking place there. The other day, from my first "hello" I felt a certain warmth and belonging. It may have been because of my efforts at the funeral, but I felt really welcome there. I was intrigued. They have a new brew floor with the latest brewing technology. Two guys who will be working there insisted that they show me around. They were proud, pleased and excited as they showed me the processes in each part. I really appreciated it. I love my job sometimes.
Me the mechanic... 
A few months ago we purchased a 1996 Nissan diesel van. It has been very handy, but it has been difficult to start. I have not had the opportunity to explore why, but have been afraid that it could be very expensive.  We have not been using it recently because its Warrant of Fitness expired. In NZ vehicles have to be examined for a WOF every six months. We had booked it in to go to a garage on Friday morning to get examined. Last Sunday it started, but on Friday it just refused to start!  We had to cancel our date at the garage. On Saturday morning I decided I would take the time to look into the problem. I hunted out a book I purchased at a second hand store years ago, called "Diesel Repair Manual" and I read up appropriate sections. I had thought it could be a glow plug problem. The book said that if one glow plug (of four) was not working your vehicle probably would not start on cold days. It also gave information about testing the glow plugs. So armed with my tools, my home made tester and my "brilliant" mechanical knowledge, I tested the glow plugs. Three out of the four were not working! It is a wonder it started at all! We went to town and purchased four new glow plugs and returned home and put them in. Gingerly I turned the key. I waited until the glow light went off, then turned the key further to start the motor. The motor immediately fired into life! I have tried it several times since and it starts instantaneously.  I have fixed our starting problem! The van is booked for a WOF check tomorrow.... but it is so good to have such mechanical success! To get a mechanic to do that would have cost me heaps!  There is something nice about fixing things, about mechanical cause-and-effect things that you can reason through and problem solve with. I would have enjoyed being a mechanic.
"The Sins of Scripture"
I have just completed reading a good book by Bishop John Shelby Spong entitled "The Sins of Scripture". I found it helpful though I think sometimes he stretches his imagination. Chapter headings are;

• The Word of God
• The Bible and the environment
• The Bible and women
• The Bible and homosexuality
• The Bible and Children
• The Bible and anti-semitism
• The Bible and certainty
• Reading scripture as epic history.

This last chapter I found to be one of the best summaries of the formation of scripture. While John Spong tends to use a lot of words to make his points, it is well worth the read. For those who are skeptical about conservative expressions of Christianity, this gives an alternative outlook.
I ran!
My friend put a pointed message on facebook giving information about a "Stadium to Surf" 10k road race on March 9th next year, with the implication that we should do it. So today we walked to the reservoir and jogged (sort of) around the track. It was pretty pathetic but it was a start. We have four months to go from walking a few kilometres to running ten kilometres in a reasonable time. Watch this space.