THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY{Christianity was never meant to be lived out alone}
Christian Community / Community Project Feedback - Past Projects / Meet Mel Thorburn Leadership Roundtable / Angry Words Family Service / Reflections on Riverina
Issue 04 | June - September 2012
PORTAL
THE PORTAL TEAM
{EDITOR} Andrew Mackereth {WRITERS} Brad Carr / Charlotte Woodfield / Melissa Guyan / Mel Palmer / Andrew Mackereth / Mel Thorburn Mark van Wijk / Al Ronberg / Max Carr / Debbie du Toit / Thomas Woodfield
{ART} Art Director/Designer - Amanda Crane / Photographer - Al Ronberg
{REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS} Rowland Forman / Andy and Nikki Bray / Louise Hopman
{GUEST CONTRIBUTORS} Kate Hosking / Sue Lynn Leong / Harrison Carr
26
Contents{ON THE COVER}
4 Christian Community It’s all about the community!
11 Leadership Spotlight Meet Mel Thorburn - BoranyLife Office Administration
12 Community Project Feedback - Past Projects Past community projects feel goods
14 Leadership Roundtable Living Stones and Rowland Forman
19 Angry Words Family Service Angry Birds is great - Angry Words are not
24 Our Inner Community Reflections on Riverina and 1945 BC helping out the community
{REGULARS}
3 Pastor’s Column A word from the Pastor
8 Children’s Ministry BotanyKids - Small Groups
10 Musings Living Well Daily by Rowland Forman
15 Kid’s Portal Pull out pages full of activities to amuse the kids for a while
20 Youth Ministry Xchange: Fostering relationships through faith
22 Carey Baptist College
An insight from current student Andrew Mackereth
23 Creative Space A place for you to be creative and show everyone
26 Who’s That Get to know some of our fellow members in the church... Meet Pete and Melissa Guyan and Thomas Woodfield
28 Reviews - Music // Movies // Books Grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up and grab some popcorn,
30 Marriage & Parenting Advice from Andy and Nikki Bray of Family Life
31 What’s On at BotanyLife? Get your pens out and mark these dates on your calendar
3
BOTANYLIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH
{STAFF}
Lead Pastor/Elder - Brad (and Rochelle) Carr / Community Pastor - Mark (and Steph) van Wijk / Children’s Pastor - Mel (and Drew) Palmer Church Administrator - Mel (and Julian) Thorburn / Sunday Service Coordinator - Mandy Francis
{ELDERS}
Todd (and Sheree) Hughes, Harataki (and Shona) Manihera, Steve (and Robyn) Young
Welcome to the fourth issue of Portal.
This issue is focused on community groups, and the key role they play in the life of our church. We currently have eleven groups running at
BotanyLife, and they do a great job of giving us smaller places to relate and grow together as our church gets larger. So rather than just using this
column to tell you what’s coming up in this edition of Portal (see the contents for that), I want to tell you why I believe connecting in a community
group is so important.
Firstly, from a theological point of view, the very nature of God pushes us towards community. God is highly relational, existing for eternity in a
tri-unity of three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He models community in his own essence, and invites us to mimic him and live life relationally.
Secondly, from a biblical stand-point, it is clear that in the Old Testament Israel was organised into smaller groups within the larger tribes for
coordination, leadership and care (Ex 18:24-25). And certainly when you come to the early church, you find the followers of Jesus also organising
themselves that way. The early church met in both a large group in the temple for worship and teaching, and from house to house in smaller groups
for fellowship, eating and prayer (Acts 2:42-46). That provides a great model for us of the importance of both large and small gatherings.
Thirdly, from the practical side, community groups are important for us obeying the “one another” commands in the New Testament (“love one
another”, “encourage one another”, etc). Those commands are difficult to practice in the context of larger church services, whereas community groups
are tailor-made for living out the commands to do life with one another.
Fourth, pastorally, community groups are essential as the church grows and the elders and pastors are not able to personally shepherd everyone
anymore. This means community groups become the primary place of pastoral care, allowing our church leaders to come alongside and support
groups when extra help or care is needed. I love hearing stories around our church of when people have been in difficult times and their
community groups have stepped up and done an outstanding job of caring, supporting, and praying for one of their own.
Finally, personally, I find being connected in a community group a huge blessing in my own life. I love being part of the Drew’s Crew men’s
community group, and just being one of the members of the group. I enjoy the chance to connect with a group of men in the church; to talk
through sermons and studies and how they relate to life; to talk and laugh and pray about the challenges we’re facing; and to feel like I’m connected
a little more deeply with a few brothers at BotanyLife.
If you’re not currently connected to one of our community groups, I hope this issue of Portal encourages you to take that step and try one or two out.
If you are already in a group, I hope these articles encourage you to renew your commitment and level of engagement in your group.
Either way, I hope you enjoy this latest edition of Portal.
BradLEAD PASTOR
Brad Carr
welcome to the...
Pastor’s Column
4
Text by Mark van Wijk.
rowing towards Christ likeness is a life-long process,
as we continue to mature in our walk with God.
Therefore, as a church, we value life-long learning, as we study
and obey God’s Word together. We also believe that God
intends for much of that growth and learning to take place in
the context of Community Groups, where we can build strong,
authentic relationships with each other. With this in mind, let’s
explore what it means to be a Christian community.
WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD
A Christian community is made up of those people who have responded to the message of the gospel. Those who have been saved (according to Ephesians 2) ‘by grace, through faith, in Christ’. In the book of Exodus, God declares the Israelites to be His ‘treasured possession’, and His ‘own people’ (19:4-5, 6:6-7). In 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter takes these phrases and applies them to the church – we too are ‘a people belonging to God’.
Christianity was never meant to be lived out alone. Instead, God has placed us together in His family, the Church, where we can accomplish much more for Him together than we ever could apart.
FE
AT
UR
E A
RT
ICL
E
WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST
A Christian community consists of those who deliberately share their
lives together. The New Testament often refers to Christians as being
God’s ‘family’ or ‘household’ (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:19, Romans
12:10). Families share everything – they eat, live and work together.
The other common metaphor the Bible uses is that of a body.
Christians are not a collection of individuals, but rather a single
functioning organism - each of us with different parts to play, but all
strongly connected.
WE HAVE THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT
A Christian community models an alternate way to live, it is
distinctive in how it approaches life. Like a ‘city on a hill’ (Matthew
5:14), the visible behaviour of the community shines out to all around
them, and demonstrates the glory of God. When Christ returns, he
will ‘restore all things’, but until then the Spirit of God is given to
us as a ‘deposit, guaranteeing’ that future restoration (Ephesians
1:13-14). The Spirit empowers us to model (in our imperfect way) what
a restored world looks like. We are to model the transformation that
the gospel makes to every aspect of our lives.
If this is a model of what a healthy Christian community looks like,
then how do we become this kind of community?
In the body of Christ ‘each member belongs to all the others’
(Romans 12:5), but this is much deeper than simply being a part of
the same group or belonging to the local golf, fishing or sports club.
As different parts of the same body, we are inescapably dependant
on one another. In the many ‘one another’ statements of the New
Testament letters, the implications for this are spelled out for us.
In his book Gospel in life, Pastor Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian
Church, Manhattan) describes a series of ‘community-building
practices’ that build healthy Christian community, that I think are
intensely practical:
Affirm one another’s strengths, abilities and gifts.
(Romans 12:10, James 5:9, Romans 12:3-8)
We see this expressed most clearly in Romans 12:10: ‘Honour one
another above yourselves’. We should be much quicker to praise,
affirm, honour and celebrate the success of others, than to receive
these same things. There is a tendency in all of us (and I see this
clearly in my own life), to seek praise and affirmation, but we are
called to let this go, and instead to deliberately and specifically
encourage the other members of the body. If you find it hard to do
this genuinely, it might be helpful to consider another person in light
of these questions:
• Where are they growing and making progress? Perhaps in their
ability to handle difficulties or criticism? Or maybe they are
growing in peace, joy or self-control? Affirm and speak to them
about this.
• What talents and gifts do they have? Do you see them using their
gifts in ways that might benefit others? Do you see something
in their lives that could be cultivated? Tell them what you see,
encourage them to grow.
• Are they making sacrifices in order to make good decisions, even
though others may not be aware of it? Affirm their obedience.
6
Fruit, gifts and sacrifices should be confirmed and affirmed in
Christian community.
Affirm one another’s equal importance in Christ (Romans 15:7,
1 Cor 12:25, 1 Peter 5:5, James 2:1)
As a Christian community we must refuse to be impressed by the
world’s status-ladders or pecking orders, which teach that some
classes, races, jobs or cultures have more ‘power’ than others. Over
and over, God’s Word implores us to reject this kind of thinking, and
to ban it from the church.
On the contrary, we are specifically encouraged to build
relationships with Christians across these traditional barriers. We
are also to value all gifts equally, rather than to hold some in higher
regard as the world might (e.g. Speaking or leadership ability).
James 2:1-14 is another classic text that expressly forbids favouritism
of rich people over poor.
Affirming one another through visible affection (Romans 16:16,
James 1:19, Eph 4:32, 1 Thess 3:12)
The New Testament directs us a number of times to ‘greet one
another with a holy kiss’, or ‘with a kiss of love’. We normally skip
past these instructions pretty quickly, and it’s probably fair to say
that some cultural translation is needed here, but we can’t avoid the
command to communicate love and affection in an appropriate and
visible way.
We must not be cold, abrupt, indifferent or harsh with one another,
but more than that, we must be willing to actually talk about our
love for each other. James 1:19 reminds us that one of the easiest
ways to practice this is to simply listen attentively to each other,
rather than be quick to rush in and take over a conversation.
I love what Dietrich Bonhoeffer says about this in Life Together:
‘THE FIRST SERVICE THAT ONE OWES TO OTHERS IN THE
FELLOWSHIP CONSISTS IN LISTENING TO THEM. JUST AS LOVE
TO GOD BEGINS WITH LISTENING TO HIS WORD, SO THE
BEGINNING OF LOVE FOR OTHERS IS LEARNING TO LISTEN
TO THEM… LISTENING CAN BE A GREATER SERVICE THAN
SPEAKING… THERE IS A KIND OF LISTENING…
AN IMPATIENT, INATTENTIVE LISTENING THAT IS ONLY
WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO SPEAK AND THUS GET RID OF
THE OTHER PERSON.’
Share one another’s space, stuff and time (Romans 12:10,
1 Peter 4:9, Galatians 6:10)
In a healthy Christian community, there is a willingness to share our
physical, material worlds, the way that families do. Specifically this
could mean:
• Sharing our homes, as we eat, learn, play and pray together.
• Sharing our stuff, our resources, perhaps by meeting practical
needs.
• Sharing time - being available to one another, and being
committed to meeting together regularly.
As a side note, anywhere you read ‘do good to one another’ (e.g.
Galatians 6:10), the writer is talking about concrete material help - it
means providing money, shelter or other practical help.
7
Share one another’s needs and problems (Gal 6:2, 1 Thess 5:11,
Hebrews 3:13)
This may mean sharing resources and possessions, or perhaps
providing love and support in times of grief or weakness. We must
be willing to engage with people who are hurting and provide
whatever support they need.
Galatians 6:2 talks about carrying each other’s burdens. To help
someone who has a heavy load, you’ve got to get in close to them,
in order to take some of the weight on yourself. Notice it doesn’t
just say other’s burdens, but each other’s - a healthy Christian
community is a place where we don’t let others carry their loads
alone, but it’s also a place where we don’t try to carry our own
loads alone. We help others and we let them help us.
Share one another’s beliefs, thinking and spirituality (Col 3:16,
Eph 5:19, Romans 12:16, 1 Cor 1:10)
In a healthy Christian community we study and teach the Bible
to each other, we pray together, and we worship God together (in
a variety of ways). We are called to not only study the Bible as
individuals, but we are to read, study and wrestle with it together -
which leads to deeper unity, and greater consensus around how to
live out our faith in our own time and place.
Serve one another through accountability (James 5:16, Romans
15:14, Eph 4:25)
Earlier we looked at the call to be willing to share our needs with
each other, but we must also allow ourselves to be accountable to
others in the way that we live, even in the more personal aspects of
our lives. We must be willing to admit our own areas of weakness,
and develop close relationships with Christian friends who we
allow to speak into those areas of difficulty, in which self-deception
is easy. Often this includes areas such as our work/life balance,
sexuality, or use of money.
Serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation
(Eph 4:2, Col 3:13, Gal 5:26, James 4:11, Matthew 5:23-24, 18:15)
Christians in community don’t give up on one another. We must
always seek to forgive (or repent), and to repair relationships. And
it’s always your move. It doesn’t matter how the relationship was
damaged, or who ‘started it’, God calls you to reach out in love, that
the relationship might be repaired, and to never give up until it is
restored. Ephesians 4:2 tells us to ‘bear with one another’ - don’t
sweat the small stuff, and Galatians 5:26 talks about avoiding both
‘provoking’ (despising or looking down on a person), and ‘envying’
(resenting or feeling inferior to a person).
Serve one another’s interests rather than our own (Hebrews
10:24, Romans 15:1-2, Gal 5:13)
This is the classic servant-heart idea, and it’s hard. Without seeking
recognition for ourselves, we’re called to deliberately engage with
each other’s interests and needs. We must also avoid exploiting our
own Christian community, by making ourselves so indispensable
that we become dependent on others’ dependence on us. We must
also avoid simply taking (emotionally, materially and spiritually) from
our community, and never giving anything back. The challenge is to
neither be so proud as to think that we don’t need community, nor
so needy that we continually exploit others in our community.
We’d love for everyone at BotanyLife to be connected to a
community group, where we believe these ‘one another’ principles
can be best lived out. Community groups are where we can build
authentic relationships, in community with other church members.
To help foster healthy Christian community, each of our community
groups incorporate their own unique mix of the same three focus
points as the wider church - Upward (through worship, prayer, and
study), Inward (through fellowship, sharing, and social events), and
Outward (through organising or participating in outreach events
and programmes).
If you haven’t already, we’d love to help you connect into a
Community Group. Please take a look at the groups listed in the
Community Groups brochure (available at the Info Desk or at www.
botanylife.org.nz), and then feel free to visit any (or all) of them to
see where you feel most at home. If you have any questions, or
you’d like to know more about any of the groups, I’d love to hear
from you!
[Portions of this article are adapted from Gospel in Life, by Tim Keller]
FE
AT
UR
E A
RT
ICL
E
8
hances are, if you look back over your childhood, you can
probably remember one adult who really took an interest in
you and made you feel special. Maybe it was your Sunday School
leader, a sports coach, or a school teacher. Whoever it was, I bet
you remember them because they took the time to talk to you
and spend time with you, to get to know you. I am sure that those
people were the ones who spoke into your life with the most
impact. Developing relationships with kids earns you the right to
speak into their lives. One of the most effective ways to develop
relationships with kids in the church is through small groups in
the Children’s Ministry.
We introduced small groups into our Primary Aged ministry a few years
ago. While our groups aren’t so ‘small’ any more they still give us a
better chance at creating community and making connections than
we can in the large group setting where we teach the Bible lesson.
The energy created by a large group environment brings excitement
to the kids’ teaching time and worship. Our small group time creates a
sense of community for kids whose spiritual growth depends on caring
people who build relationships with them.
COMMUNITY: The small group environment gives kids a safe place
to share what they’ve learned, to grow in their relationship with God
and others, and to give and receive love. The small group experience
is intended
to fill our kids
with a sense
of belonging
that’s sometimes
absent in kids’
lives today. Small
groups give
kids a safe and
comfortable
group of people
with whom they
can process the
Bible story, share personal joys and struggles, and form friendships.
CONNECTION: Even with the most compelling and creative lessons,
truth can take a detour between kids’ ears and kids’ hearts. Kids aren’t
always sure what they’re supposed to do with what they’ve heard -
so actual learning or life-change doesn’t occur. Being in relationship
with a caring leader and friends helps children connect what they’ve
learned to their lives in a real and relevant way. In small group, leaders
walk kids through the “So what?”, and, “What now?” questions. They
help kids see how God’s Word applies to their lives today.
CH
ILD
RE
N’S
MIN
IST
RY
Being in a small group is great! On Sundays you get to see your friends and learn things together. Not to mention there are also socials. Socials are a time to get together with your friends and have fun! Part of being in a small group is knowing you are never alone. There is always a leader that you can ask questions, and other people that can help you understand. You have to do your part too. If someone asks you for help, you can’t just say no. It’s all about teamwork! That’s why small groups are a lot of fun.
By Sue Lynn Leong (Member of the Jungle Girls Small Group)
Text by Mel Palmer.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE OPPOSITE PAGE WE HAVE SOME BIG SMALL GROUPS! Research tells us that the ideal group size for community and connection is actually 6-8 (in fact some of the material I’ve read says no more than five kids to every leader is ideal). To achieve this ideal we would need to split most our groups in half! I’d LOVE to be able to do that. The community and connections made for the kids would be so worth it!
Of course splitting our groups in half would mean that we need twice the number of leaders. If you’d like to chat about the possibility of becoming a small group leader, I’d love to hear from you!
Being a leader isn’t only of benefit to the kids. You will be amazed at how God will work through you to foster a loving and rewarding relationship with the children you work with. Small groups have already changed the lives of many children around the world because of the feeling of self-worth that they received in a small group. Are you ready to be used by God to change some lives?
CH
ILD
RE
N’S
MIN
IST
RY
FOREST 1 - Forest 1 welcomes our Year One children - the youngest members of the Forest. They have recently welcomed three new ones who moved up from the Orchard at the beginning of this term. The Small Group leaders for this group are Casey Roux, Rebecca Hand and Jordan Millen.
FOREST 2 - Our Year Two small group is the biggest with 15 children -most of whom are pretty regular attendees of the Forest. This group is led by Drew Palmer, Richard Dykes, Joy Britten and Shanae Hofmans.
FOREST 3 - The Year 3 group is led by Cathy Downey-Parish, Curtis Mountfort and Larissa Sproul.
FOREST 4 - The leaders of our Year 4 group are Lara Hasslebach, Cameron Roots and Matt Williams.
JUNGLE GIRLS - Led by Lisa Hohneck, Isabel Hand and Sam Caceres.
JUNGLE BOYS - Led by Andrew Creahan, Grant Archibald and Steve Collier.
10
Do you measure your life by birthdays, or
by the day? Are you defined by how many
years you have lived, or by how well you
live each day? What matters is not how
long you have lived, but how well you
have lived.
To help me focus on what really matters, I
periodically engage in a two-part stock-take.
The first part helps me to reflect on how short
life is, the second, how I will live the days left
to me. I calculate how long I would have to live
if my genetic predisposition is on my mother’s
side, or my dad’s. Then, to gain perspective on
how to live, I meditate on Psalm 90.
NUMBERING MY DAYS
The calculation part of my stock-take is based
on an overly literal interpretation of Psalm 90:12.
Teach us to number our days that we
may gain a heart of wisdom
Numbering my days on my mum’s side is easy.
I’ve outlived her. She died when she was a
mere 58 years. So, on her side of the family,
I’m doing okay. Nine years ago my dad died
at the ripe age of 83. On that calculation, I
have around 5241 days, or 168 months to live!
Not long. Sobering as that is, it’s not what the
Psalmist (most likely Moses) had in mind when
he said - teach us to number our days. It’s
more likely, in the context, he meant that we
need to treasure every day as a gift from God
and learn to live each day well.
LIVING EACH DAY WELL
That’s where the second part of my periodic
routine kicks in. I read all of Psalm 90. May
I suggest that you do that right now? The
psalm helps me to zoom in on one of life’s
central questions: “How can I learn to live each
day well?”
1. Keep Circling Back to God. First, says
the author (in verse one through six) we can
learn to live each day well, by realizing that
God is eternal and life is short. God is our
permanent address - he is our dwelling place.
Everything around us is temporary, as daily
news and obituary notices constantly remind
us. Practically, that means I need to be like
a homing pigeon - circling back to God at
regular intervals throughout the day. The way
that works in my life is to set aside a time of
reflection at the beginning of every day, when
I do two very simple things - read a section
of the Bible worshipfully, and pray through
the day ahead. I take out my calendar and
invite God to invade my day. As often as I can,
I pause after main appointments in my day,
to thank God for his help and ask for more.
Then at the end of the day I pray through
the day backward, thanking God for his help
with the last major activity of the day, then the
penultimate one and so on.
2. Keep Short Accounts with God. In verse
seven through eleven, it’s as if the psalmist
is saying you can live each of your days
well by realizing that God is holy and life is
stained by sin. He is awestruck by the thought
of God’s holiness, in verse 7 he says, we are
consumed by your anger. He recognizes that
God is aware of every one of his sins, and
that there is a connection between his sins
and the shortness of his life. Recently a close
friend said, “Maybe my high blood pressure
and high blood sugar level is because of the
cumulative effect of stress in this last year?” I
know the person well, and I agreed with their
assessment. This psalm is saying something
even more important - the need to be aware
of the cumulative effect of unconfessed sin. The
way my godly grandmother used to express
that truth is that I must “keep short accounts
with God.” She meant that I needed to allow
as little time as possible between a sin and
a time of confession. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul
says, Don’t let the sun go down while you are
still angry.
Applying
that principle to the seven deadly sins, we
might say, “Don’t let any of your days end while
you are still lustful, prideful, slothful, greedy,
envious, angry or gluttonous.” To live each
day well, I need to allow no clouds to come
between me and God. The hinge of Psalm 90
is verse 12: Teach us to number our days that
we may gain a heart of wisdom. The Message
paraphrase captures the essence of these
words: “Oh teach us to live well! Teach us to
live wisely and well.” Are you living your days
wisely and well?
3. Keep Asking God to Satisfy You with His
Love. In verses thirteen through seventeen,
the Psalmist reminds us that if we want to live
well, we need to realize that God’s love will
never let us go, and life is transformed by
prayer. John Piper captures the essence of this
section of the psalm when he says, “God is
most glorified in us when we are most satisfied
in him.” Are you currently satisfied with God?
If the tidal waves of life have upturned your
frail boat lately, you are probably saying, “Not
really.” Then join me in making verse fourteen
our daily prayer: Satisfy us in the morning
with your unfailing love. When that prayer is
answered, we will experience what we were
made for - to glorify God by enjoying him
day by day by day. It’s intriguing from time
to time to speculate on how much longer we
have to live. It’s infinitely more important to live
a Godward life daily. Here’s how that works
according to this timeless psalm:
• Every single day, keep circling back to God,
and reflecting on his eternity and your frailty.
• Every single day, focus on God’s holiness,
and keep short accounts with him.
• Every single day, ask God to satisfy you with
his love, and stand by while he floods you
with his joy!
MU
SIN
GS
WIT
H R
OW
LA
ND
Living Well Daily
Rowland Forman serves as the National Director of Living Stones Leadership Ministries, which helps local churches in New Zealand to develop servant-hearted leaders. He has been in full-time Christian ministry almost 40 years, serving as a Bible College Principal, Teaching Pastor, Church-Planter, Curriculum Writer, Author and Mentor. Rowland and Elaine are foundation members of BotanyLife, being part of the initial core group that started the church, and they both lead separate men’s and women’s community groups. They have three adult children, seven wonderful grandchildren, and a fantastic son-in-law.
GAINING PERSPECTIVE FROM PSALM 90
11
he lovely Mel Thorburn works in
the church office doing numerous
jobs that keep BotanyLife ticking over.
Her gorgeous smile and cheerful
manner make her a well-loved member
of this church. She is married to Julian
(Julz) and has three beautiful children -
Georgia (8), Baxter (6) and Reagan (5).
It was a delight to sit down and chat
with her the other day. I really love this
lady. She is such an awesome person
and having worked in an office before,
I have a high respect for everything she
gets through in a day.
How do you fill up your hours at
the office?
Believe me, it’s not hard. I wish I had time
to do all the work I had to do. My main
jobs are the weekly bulletin, the roster -
that’s huge, banking, paying bills, printing
CDs and other items for the services,
emailing... things like that. I also source
things for services, particularly the special
services like Mother’s and Father’s Day.
Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to squish a
full time job into a half time job. The hours
are great, because they fit in with kindy
hours, but 2pm comes around way too
quickly.
What’s your favourite aspect of the job?
I love working with the team. Everyone is
so enthusiastic and it’s really exciting to be
part of a team that is so passionate about
what we’re doing. They aim for the best and
it’s really inspiring.
What did you do before becoming a
mother and then working at the church?
I was a publication manager for a medical
publishing company. That involved liaising
with authors and editing articles, laying
them out. I like to do things really well and
this suited my skill set.
It was cool having a role outside of
motherhood, but I never really hungered
for it. Being a mum is awesome and a full
time job of its own. I found life just as busy
before this job with all the things I used to
volunteer for and get involved with. I’ve had
to learn to pull back and let a few things
go now that I’m working at the church.
I get a real sense of team spirit with
the BotanyLife leadership - how is this
fostered?
Brad is hugely responsible. We have a
staff meeting every Tuesday - debriefing
the service and planning for next week.
Brad is amazing at vision casting. He’s a
fantastic boss - he will always take the time
to listen. The communication within our team
is really open and honest, yet we can be
really gracious with one another. I guess
that’s the privilege of working in a Christian
environment. We all have a similar goal too,
so that’s really helpful. We have a heart to
help each other out.
How do you find balancing family life
with work life?
I have an incredibly supportive husband
who is really hands-on with the kids. Brad
agrees that I’m a wife and mother first, so
that is awesome. There are times when the
job requires more... like one off services -
Mother’s Day or Leadership Cafes. Julz is
my right hand man and always helping me
with whatever I need.
What’s the best thing about parenthood?
Special cuddles from kids. I love those quiet
one-on-one times with the kids. Knowing
that you are their comfort and they trust
and love you. It’s such a blessing.
As always - I like to end with a few
“getting to know you” questions...
What’s your favourite dessert?
Crème Brulee (Julz answered that one)
If you ever get free time, what do you
like to do with it?
I love seeing and being with people, so
probably grabbing a coffee with a friend or
a date night with Julz would be right at the
top of my list.
What’s your favourite movie?
The Labyrinth - I just re-watched it recently
and remembered how I much I love it!
T
LE
AD
ER
SH
IP S
PO
TL
IGH
T
meet...
Mel
BotanyLife Staff Member Text by Melissa Guyan
Thorburn
12
Community Project FeedbackPAST PROJECTSO
UT
RE
AC
H
SO MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED, and so many businesses contributed with extremely generous donations, that it’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to passing on the gratitude of our school. But first and foremost has to be BotanyLife Community Church.
The majority of people helping over the weekend are church members who have no connection with our school, but gave up their time and expertise to give something to our community. Truly
amazing, truly “Living life with passion and purpose”.
I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU and all the generous members of BotanyLife for the
extraordinary work and makeover they completed at our school. We were so very lucky to
be on the receiving end of such a huge community project and substantial makeover to our
school. Everything looks fabulous, and I know there has been lots of wonderful feedback
from the children and the school community.
MY HUSBAND AND I helped out on the Sunday and it was a great project to be part of. The atmosphere was something very special and it was great to meet such a lovely group of friendly positive people who were keen to make a difference. Thank you to you all for your, time, effort and energy.
JUST WANTED TO send my thanks to BotanyLife Church for all the great improvements to Elm Park School grounds. Such an amazing undertaking in one weekend, but I know it wasn’t just a miracle as my husband and I spent nine hours helping in the weekend, which was probably less than half of the time many of the church members spent and we could barely move on Saturday afternoon!! We actually get to benefit from all the work though, as my daughter attends the school and my son starts in July.
I WAS ASTOUNDED by the thought and planning to organise all the areas that played a part. We were greeted by a friendly and cheerful woman on the gate who seemed to know everything that was going on, so we knew the weekend would be productive. When we submitted our names I was wary not to spend too much time there, as the kids might get bored in the child care. However, when I went to pick them up they didn’t want to leave! Thanks to Mel & Co., they had done so many fun activities including mosaics, clay moulding, kite flying, watching movies etc. it wasn’t surprising they asking to return on the Sunday! The food was scrumptious with a huge variety of delicious baking and yummy filled rolls and fruit, which was a welcome reward for the workers. It was great that a celebration with music, bouncy castle, sausage sizzle and ice cream could be included.
13
ON BEHALF OF MY CLASS and myself I wish to add our sincere thanks to each of you for the AMAZING work you all put in at Point View School!! The total transformation is breath-taking - we can hardly believe that this was achieved in such a short space of time. There had been an incredible amount of planning before the weekend and everything was just so organised and well co-ordinated! Wow, what a tribute to your leadership, your team spirit and heart for the community.
WE HELD AN UNSCHEDULED ‘SPECIAL’ ASSEMBLY TODAY to talk about the weekend
- the first time I have done this in four years. We showed photos and had children telling
their stories. Sherri got all the children who attended up on stage and they talked about the
challenges and their favourite moments and what they planned to do in the Hive. It was a
very special time for everyone.
WHAT A BLESSING for our school in terms of the results you achieved and in terms of the tremendous sense of community that you brought into our grounds and our school community. Your work will enhance children’s learning about our environment for years to come and your spirit of service will continue to prompt thought about your church community and your faith.
THIS PROJECT CERTAINLY WAS
A BLESSING to all of us at Point View and we will treasure it and
enjoy the beauty, peace and many learning opportunities it will offer. Our classroom looks down on the Hive and it is a feast for the eyes! We truly feel so very fortunate to have been afforded this “gift” of Love you gave to us!!
HOW CAN WE EVER THANK YOU for what you did over the weekend? I wish you could have been at school today as the families who had not been there over the weekend arrived to see the results of all the hard work. There was a huge sense of excitement and lots of anticipation about future use of the Bee Hive.
I PRAISE GOD for all you have
done for our
school and trust
that God will con
tinue to bless
your community of faith.
WOW! FANTASTIC ORGANISATION. What would our c
ommunities do without
fabulous
organisations like
this? So many thanks.
WE ARE ALL STILL
INVIGORATED by the amazing atmosphere you brought with you. It affected everyone and is being commented on in many different ways.
OU
TR
EA
CH
I KEEP THINKING ALSO
ABOUT THE HUGE
NUMBER of extras you did around the school - the paving, the front garden, the garden clean outs, the painting, the scooter storage fencing, the container shelving and so on.
14
LEA
DE
RS
HIP
RO
UN
DTA
BLE
iving Stones is a leadership resourcing ministry
headed up by our very own Rowland Forman.
Every year they run a Leadership Roundtable which,
despite the lack of an actual round table, is a very refreshing
time of challenge and input from some very passionate and
skilled pastors and theologians.
This year I was very drawn to how different churches and ministries
are finding creative ways to engage their local communities. My
independent observation of how churches generally seek to engage
their community is to run big events that are essentially attractional.
A big part of why I have been drawn towards BotanyLife is the
community projects that we are so passionate about, but more than
that, the underlying idea that our best opportunity to be salt and light
to our community, is to go where they like to go, and to invest ourselves
in the things that are important to them!
Hearing stories of how leaders’ hearts are breaking for the people that
God brings across their paths was a truly humbling experience, and
as I reflect upon what this might mean for the things I know God has
asked me to do, I find myself considerably challenged to give more, to sacrifice more and if I am to be honest, to care more.
As the year comes to a close, it is exciting that we still have so much ahead of us, so many opportunities to connect with people beyond our Sunday services - not just in one big community project each year, but in the simple everyday relationships we cultivate in our schools, our workplaces and in our families.
Text by Al Ronberg.
15
Copyright © 2011, BibleWise. All Rights Reserved. Drawing by JJ Johnston.
Rahab hides Joshua's spies. Find what is di�erent in each picture.
BibleWise
Find the Difference, Rahab
KID
’S P
OR
TA
L
JUNGLE GIRLS’ SOCIAL
Tonight was awesome… it was all about the `Jungle Girls’ and
having fun!
First we made homemade pizza with ham, cheese, salami and
cheerios. While our pizzas were cooking, we each got to
decorate our very own cupcakes with decorating gel pens,
pink marshmallows and pink icing, then each took turns
relaxing with a foot spa, chilling with our friends and eating
our yummo pizzas.
We then watched the movie Soul Surfer, which is all about the
amazing story of Bethany Hamilton. At the age of 13, she was
attacked by a shark and lost an arm, but had the courage to
go back into the ocean and surf again. It was an amazing
story, and reminded us to not give up when the going gets
tough, and that God is with us all the time. While we watched
the movie, some of the girls got their hair curled, and it
looked great!
Looking forward to the next `Jungle Girls’ get-together already!
By Kate Hosking
16
KID
’S P
OR
TA
L
HERE’S A BIT OF FUN...
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”- Genesis 2:15
©Jellyfish One 2011www.whatsinthebible.com
© 2010 Jelly�sh Labs, LLC
1. True or False - Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Issac? 2. What was Abraham’s name before God changed it? 3. What was Abraham’s nephew called? 4. The names of Isaac and Rebecca’s twins were?5. Jacob had 12 sons, who was his favourite?6. Who did God call to lead the people out of Egypt?7. How many plagues were there in Egypt? What were they?8. True or False - To cross the Red Sea the Israelites had to swim.9. While the Israelites were in the desert what did God provide for food?10. What is the most important commandment?
ANSWERS: 1. True; 2. Abram; 3. Lot; 4. Esau and Jacob; 5. Joseph; 6. Moses; 7. 10 - water turned to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of the firstborn; 8. False; 9. Manna and Quail; 10. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all you strength
17
DVD 1: In the Beginning CROSSWORD PUZZLE
1 2 3
4
5
6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13
ACROSS
5.. Another word for the first 5 books of the Bible 6. There are 66 ____ in the Bible. 7. The first book of the Bible. 9. There are 27 books in the ____ Testament. 10. The second book of the Bible. 11. The word “testament” means _____. 13. Clive’s brother
DOWN 1. It took 1600 ____ to write the Bible. 2. Who was the woman created to be Adam’s companion? 3. Man of News 4. Translated the Bible from Hebrew to Latin 8. What animal tempted Eve? 9. Who built the ark during the flood? 12. Sunday School Lady uses a _____ flannelgraph.
KID
’S P
OR
TA
L
TEST YOUR MEMORY...
18
KID
’S P
OR
TA
LCAKE
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
100g butter, melted
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
ICING
100g butter
250g icing sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
Little milk to mix
1 tsp vanilla essence
Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm cake tin with
baking paper. I wouldn’t recommend a loose
bottomed cake tin for this recipe as it is very
runny and will drip out of tin. If that is all you
have make sure you line it well.
Put all ingredients in a food processor or cake
mixer and mix together until combined.
Pour into prepared tin.
Bake for at least 50minutes. Cake is cooked
when a skewer poked into the centre comes
out clean.
To make icing beat all ingredients together
and add a little milk as needed to get a
smooth spreadable consistency.
Ice cake when cold; if your cake is still warm
your icing will melt off!
STEP IT UP!
Add a handful of chocolate chips to mixture.
Stir through some raspberry jam just before
you bake.
Slice cake in half and add some raspberry jam
to the centre.
See what else you can try! Maybe for an
adults’ treat you could pour some Kahlua or
coffee over the hot cake as it comes out of the
oven. For kids add Smarties or M&M’s instead
of choc chips.
YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY
YOUR IMAGINATION!
Happy baking,
I love this cake and it is super easy, especially if you want the kids to help. Just throw all ingredients into the food processor or cake mixer, mix till combined and chuck in the oven.
Try stepping it up - some ideas at the end of the recipeR
eci
pe
by
Lou
ise H
opm
an.
19
FAM
ILY S
ER
VIC
E
ngry Birds is the title of one of the most popular “apps”
available on phones, i-pods and tablets today. Children
and adults the world over are addicted to the challenge of
taking down the baddie pigs by firing birds from a slingshot.
ANGRY BIRDS IS GREAT - ANGRY WORDS ARE NOT.
That was the focus of our second annual “Family Service,” held on
Sunday 24th June. After the great success of our first family service
in 2011, another service with all the children and adults together
was planned for this year. The fact that the weekend of this year’s
Family Service was only our second Sunday at the new Botany
College venue just added some more fun to the day!
And what a fun service is was! Many of the children enjoyed
some pre-service fun playing the actual Angry Birds games before
the service got underway with some great children’s worship, led
by many of the BotanyKids team. There was also some adult and
children’s quizzes (testing their knowledge of birds and angry words
in the Bible); a fantastic drama with the “Angry Nerds” (Kelvin and
Lochie were outstanding!!); and even a life-size Angry Birds game
complete with a slingshot!!
The whole point, of course, was for all of us to be reminded that
our angry words hurt each other. The message reminded us to
“Stop! Think! Pray!”, before using words that wound someone else.
Hopefully people have been putting that into practice, and less
angry words have been flying around the house these days!
A huge thanks to the wonderful team who staged our “Angry
Words” Family Service, especially Mel Palmer, Mandy Francis,
Andrew Brooks and Mark van Wijk.
Text by Brad Carr.
20
YO
UT
H M
INIS
TR
Y
ed by Mike and Rachael Read, Xchange is a group that
meets on Sunday mornings during the school terms.
Catering for year 7 and 8 (forms 1 and 2), this group bridges
the gap between BotanyKids and ALTR, aiming to foster
relationships between members and build a foundation of faith
which will continue to grow through high school years.
As Mike puts it, the group aims to “help them to understand why
they believe”. “It’s [also] about moving from dependence to starting
the journey of independence”.
Their Sunday morning programme, combined with twice-a-term
socials, are the tools used by Mike, Rachael and their team of
leaders to bring this about. During church, the youths engage in a
forum-like setting where discussions are guided around questions
of faith, relationships and choices. This past term has seen them
grapple with issues such as “Will I be ok when the world ends?”,
and, “Do I have to tell others about God?” It’s not just leaders
asking the tricky questions, according to Mike. “Every now and
then we have some bright spark kid that’s got some challenging
views on things which requires some sound theology to steer in the
right direction...!”
Their assortment of “great, strong, up-front leaders” are a valuable
asset. “They all take the big idea and do something different with it,”
says Rachael.
Xchange came about through Mike’s interest in youth, which had
led him not only to undertake a youth pastors’ course, but also to
consider a career as an intermediate teacher. Reacting to the need
for an intermediate group, Mike approached Brad; “The eldership
had been praying for about three or four months prior that someone
would step forward to take on this ministry, so there wasn’t a lot of
discussion - it was like, “oh that’s cool, when do you start?”
On top of the Sunday morning programme, twice a term on a Friday
night the group gets together for social activities, ranging from the
more sedate movie night to more extreme activities. The “Fear Factor”
social from last year, which took place on Paul and Rachel Knight’s
farm involved “lots of food, lots of mess, [and] lots of cold people”.
This term has seen Xchange do rock climbing and a movie night as
indoor activities are preferable during the autumn and winter terms.
Rachael points out that more important than the activities themselves
is what they promote: “[Socials are] about relationships; giving them
an opportunity to connect with each other”.
And it’s all part of the change process. “It’s a big deal for parents,
dropping their ten or eleven-year-old at some strangers’ place,”
says Mike, “It’s the parents... starting to see that their soon-to-be
teenagers will go off and start doing youth group stuff... they’re
growing up,” adds Rachael.
“We’ve loved seeing the kids grow through the two years that we
have them, and it’s always hard at the end, bittersweet as they
move on. It takes them two years, but that’s great; seeing them
ready to go”.
L
Xchange: fostering relationships through
FAITHText by Thomas Woodfield.
“DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND, THAT BY TESTING YOU MAY
DISCERN WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD, WHAT IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT” - ROMANS 12:2 (ESV)
21
YO
UT
H M
INIS
TR
Y
2222
ED
UC
AT
ION
have recently been burdened to encourage my brothers
and sisters at BotanyLife to think about the opportunities
for Christian education that are available to us in New Zealand.
Having just completed 18 months of technically part-time study
at Carey Baptist College, I can honestly say that I have learned
more about my God in these last 18 months than in the five years
preceding them. I mingled with Christians from a plethora of
backgrounds and traditions. I participated in a community which
feeds it students twice a week for free. I was taught how to read
Scripture (better), how to study Scripture (better), and how to begin
the process of applying it. In Christology, I was confronted with the
importance of Christ’s ongoing representation of humanity to the
Father; this was a highlight for me. As much as I had been given to
believe that studies in classical and systematic theology were dull
and clinical, I found them to be anything but. As I have grown in
theological precision I have also grown in awe of Christ. There’s a
running joke at Carey that “Jesus” is the answer to every question
and I found that to be exactly right, although I learned that it is isn’t
enough to simply state that: at Carey and in the real world you are
required to show your working.
This piece isn’t an advertisement for Carey. It is a fine school, full
of fine people and staff, offering fine courses and opportunities for
growth, worship and community (you should be so lucky). However,
all of these things I know about Carey, I have good authority to
believe, are true of Laidlaw and Pathways also. The fact of the
matter is that when it comes to theological schools, we are spoiled
for choice! There are more options than we know what to do with.
I have felt God burdening me to encourage others to take stock
of these options. Many of you are living in Scripture and reading
books and growing spectacularly into the image of Christ. Amen.
But on the off chance that a few of you (like me) require
and/or desire a more structured learning process, I would suggest
you think seriously about formal theological study to complement
and give context to your personal faith journey. Being young and
unmarried, I of course have a lot more time on my hands than you
may do. I can appreciate, at least in theory, the numerous demands
upon your time which might make studying difficult. I would suggest
that in spite of the difficulty you wouldn’t regret it. I would argue
that there are options available that might make part-time study an
easy and tolerable proposition for you.
With everything going on, you might only be able to manage a
paper a year. You might choose to study by distance. You might
only be free in the evenings so choose to attend night classes or
only free at weekends so choose to take advantage of day-courses
offered by Living Stones. You might have no time at all for
assignments so choose to merely sit in on (or “audit”) papers instead;
and if you’re not fussed about studying for any sort of accreditation,
this is a credible option. The reality is that there are diverse and
relatively flexible options. You might not be able to spare much of
your time, but what little you can would assuredly be well invested.
I am immensely grateful for the opportunity that was presented to
me to spend such a length of time studying my God in detail. It is
my ambition to continue studying in a reduced capacity in the new
year and to continue to do so in subsequent years. It is my hope
that I might be able to encourage others to think seriously about
doing the same. It seems a shame to waste such valuable resources,
especially when they have been made so accessible to us. I am
speaking entirely from experience, but it is my suspicion that as one
is confronted with new but orthodox ways of thinking and speaking
about Christ that one cannot help but grow in awe of him.
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E
TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY
Te Kareti Iriiri O Carey
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
Prospectus 2012-13Prospectus 2012-13
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E
TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY
Te Kareti Iriiri O Carey
CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E
Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y
Prospectus 2012-13Prospectus 2012-13
Text by Andrew Mackereth.
23
CR
EA
TIV
E S
PAC
E
There once was a mag called PortalWith space, due to creative shortfallSo get off your chuffGrab your crayons and stuffCos this is as good as we can do without you and it’s AWFUL! send your creative work e.g. poems, art,
song writing etc to [email protected]
24
CO
MM
UN
ITY
number of weeks ago we
celebrated our final church service
at Riverina School. We were celebrating
God’s provision of Botany College, and
frantically planning how we would
manage all the logistics of the move. But
as we stood and sang a final couple of
songs during that last service, I have to
admit feeling a little emotional saying
goodbye to that little school hall.
Riverina was the school that opened its
doors to us when we were struggling to
find a rental facility to meet in as a church
at the start of 2004. Even though it wasn’t in
the area our name suggested - more like on
the edge of Pakuranga and Panmure - we
were grateful to find somewhere to meet as
a church after a somewhat fruitless search to
that point.
Yet it became our home for the first eight
and a half years of our life as a church,
and as I looked back on that time during
that final service there were many things I
thanked God for.
I gave thanks for that initial leadership team
of five couples - Andy and Nikki Bray, Stan
and Margaret Bloxham, Robin and Sonia
Byrne, Cliff and Cassy Hand, and Rochelle
and I - who made wise decisions about the
mission and core DNA of our church that still
guide us today.
I gave thanks for the thirty or so other
people in our core group who chose to
leave an established church behind to be
part of starting something new out in their
community of East Auckland.
I gave thanks to God for the wonderful
people he has brought to our church family
over the years, who now play key roles
in our church. So many people have now
become dearly loved brothers and sisters,
and fellow pilgrims on this journey of life.
I gave thanks for the new leaders God
has brought as elders and staff - Harataki
and Shona Manihera, Steve and Robyn
Young, Todd and Sheree Hughes, KK and
Susan Leong, Mark and Steph van Wijk,
Mel and Drew Palmer, Mel and Julian
Thorburn, Mandy Francis, and Shellene and
John Garofalakis. And our wider team of
outstanding ministry leaders throughout
our church - what a great team to lock
arms with.
I gave thanks for our first community project
held at Riverina School when we were
just four months old. I gave thanks for the
gardens that were planted, the toilet block
that was painted, the curtains that were
sewn, and the playground equipment that
was built. But I also gave thanks to God for
planting a calling in our hearts to be a “go
and do” church.
I gave thanks for the people who have found
Christ at Riverina during or after church
services or Christianity Explored groups.
I gave thanks for the over 400 church
services we have held in that school hall
- for times of heartfelt worship, times of
reflection and prayer, times of repentance
and confession. I gave thanks for zany
dramas, moving testimonies, quiet moments,
stirring worship, and Bible-centred sermons.
I gave thanks for the number of teenagers
and adults who have been baptised in the
chilly waters of the Riverina school pool each
March, signifying their faith in Jesus and
their commitment to him.
I gave thanks for the families who have
joined us over the last eight years, and the
babies that have been born during that
time. I gave thanks for all the Bible lessons
taught to our children in the Oscar rooms,
classrooms, staff room, library and even
corridors. And I gave thanks for the number
of children that have opened their hearts to
Jesus in those rooms and trusted in him for
the first time.
But most of all I gave thanks to a God who
has been faithful to us as a church, through
the thrilling times and the tough times,
through excitement and tragedy.
And I gave thanks that the church is not a
building - it is not defined by the premises
where it meets, whether that’s a majestic
cathedral or a simple church hall. The church
is the people, the community of faith of those
who have trusted in Jesus and are being
built into the new temple of the Holy Spirit
(Eph 2:19-22).
And as I stood and sung praises in that
final service, with tears in my eyes, I gave
thanks for you, and that you are a part of
what God is doing at BotanyLife - wherever
we may meet.
Text by Brad Carr.
A
Reflections on Riverina
25
1945 BC Community Group wanted to give back to our community. So we decided to have a big cook up of Cannelloni and Fiji Curry to freeze for the BotanyChef’s. It was a night of good times, good company and great smelling food which made us all HUNGRY!
CO
MM
UN
ITY
26
WH
O’S
TH
AT
?
hile I have had the joy of spending
time with, and getting to know,
Melissa over the past couple of years,
this was my first decent conversation
with her husband, Pete, where we did
more than share niceties around kids’
demands after a church service. And what
surprised me was that spending time with
Melissa and Pete Guyan is kind of like
talking to conjoined twins. They are very
natural together and their replies almost
seamlessly marry into one fluent story. It
was really great to hang out with them
and their two boys, Jake and Brody, for
an afternoon.
The story behind how this harmonious couple
came to find one another is quite amusing.
After a six month stint in the USA, Pete
returned to his home church here in Auckland
in 1999. Whilst sitting in the congregation he
noticed this ‘babe’ singing up front, leaned
over to his brother, Phil Guyan, and asked
“Who is she? I want to go and meet her!”
Unbeknownst to Pete, Melissa’s parents were
sitting right behind him hearing the whole
conversation! And what’s more, her dad was
the minister of the church at the time too.
Awkward - but memorable I’m sure!
Whilst Melissa has toyed with putting her
hand up to join the worship team, this
musical talent has been somewhat hidden
from most of us at BotanyLife. But it should
be noted that music is strong in the Guyan
household. Melissa is very artistic, being a
singer, song writer and pianist. Pete’s brilliance
shines through in his directing several school
musicals, plus playing the saxophone - which
he admits he has tried to keep secret
from Brad!
Melissa is currently developing another
creative outlet. She is kicking off her writing
career around being an at home mum.
Melissa has self-published three novels to
date, with another hopefully due for release at
the end of this year. Melissa feels privileged
to have not only found her passion, but also
to be in a position where she can do it. Her
dream would be to write full time when both
kids go to school, but realistically it may
be more like working one to two days and
writing three days. Of key importance for her
is that she is there for the kids and being
able to work her own hours with writing
allows for this.
Pete started at Bucklands Beach Intermediate
in 1995, and even taught on section there
during teacher’s college. However, after an
illustrious career of leading students both on
the stage and on camp, Pete has made a big
change! In August, the whole family moved to
Suzhou Industrial Park in China, where Pete is
teaching maths and science to 11-13 year olds
at an international school.
The move to China was driven in part by
financial motivation, allowing Melissa to
continue developing her writing career and
be a stay at home mum. But interestingly this
is a move that has been on Melissa’s heart
for some time. Having grown up in Pakistan
where her parents were missionaries, Melissa
attended an international school herself. She
absolutely loved it and knew that she wanted
her kids to have this experience too. God has
stepped in and guided their decision making
as everything came together
very easily and painlessly. Obviously
Pete’s outstanding skill-set and great
experience made him a much sought
after candidate too!
On being asked what the hardest thing is
about moving to China, Pete gave the true
kiwi-bloke answer... sport! Whilst he’s hoping
they’ll have cable, he is not sure if he’ll get to
play hockey, which he’s done so for the last
30 years. Melissa’s answer on the other hand
was more relational; leaving Mum whom she
speaks to daily in Hamilton, and her best
friend Brenda who she emails 3-4 times a day
on the North Shore. And BotanyLife made
mention on this list too - when returning to
NZ they will come worship with us as they
view BotanyLife as their church home and
love coming here.
Fun in the Guyan household for their eldest
son Jake (4) takes the form of exploring new
spots (like Musick Point), after school wrestling
matches (when daddy gets home) and
lights-off lounge discos. Though Brody is only
13 months old, he seems to be a man’s-man
and is following daddy’s love of all things
sporting. Melissa and Pete are huge movie
fans, so an ideal date night for them is to go
see a movie. Often this takes the form of
getting a special dessert and DVD to have an
in-home movie night.
So that’s a snapshot of what I learned about
the Guyan’s in an afternoon. They are a
lovely family who are very easy to hang out
with and chat to. And a couple of food-related
fun-facts you should know: both have a sweet
tooth (cheesecake and chocolate mud cake
rating highly), but don’t feed Melissa gluten
or fruit and vegies to Pete - he honestly does
have a legitimate reason to turn down the
brussel sprouts!
Text by Mel Thorburn.
W
Pete and Melissa Guyan
27
fter living with Thomas for over half
her life, we reckoned Charlotte must
know him pretty well. So we asked her
to interview him...
It’s a mild Auckland afternoon, and I’m
sitting opposite Thomas in Circus Circus
café, two plates of delicious food and a
recording device between us.
Thomas is explaining an early life event
he’s well aware of but doesn’t exactly
remember - his birth. Like me, he was born
in Christchurch. (Our older sister, Amelia,
bucked the trend and was born
in Wellington.)
“We’ve got the photo album in Christchurch
(with) the original tags that we had on our
bassinets in hospital, and photos of us, in
Mum’s arms... all that babyish sort of - ‘what
am I doing here? I’m so confused.’ ”
And like all three of us, he grew up in
Christchurch. At 20, Thomas moved to
Auckland to attend university.
“I’ve done a bachelor of music majoring in
classical performance.” While he was at first
(in his own words) improving his ability to
“sing like a girl” (also known as countertenor,
or male alto, his honours year focus is on
musicology, “basically music history and
literature. My real area of interest is Tudor
church music.”
But Thomas is not just keen on old dead
musicians. He also loves watching sport -
ranging from NFL to provincial rugby. Sport
was something he did with his dad - sitting
down to watch the rugby on Friday and
Saturday nights together, “and that was really
cool.” (Until it was interrupted by the girls of
his family asking them to yell a little less.)
Not many people get baptised by their
very own grandfather. Ours happened to be
a Methodist minister. Thomas says he was
blessed to be born into a Christian family,
“but I didn’t really understand and engage
with it, I just sort of went ‘well, I believe in
God, and that’s awesome, he’ll be there for
me forever and ever, amen.’ ” He’s developed
and changed since being a self-confessed
“fairly difficult” teenager. “I look back and go
‘I was an idiot’.”
While he says his move to Auckland helped
him grow up, he also started to walk away
from Jesus.
“I suppose it was really though January,
February of 2010 that I really hit rock
bottom.” A relationship had ended and
our grandfather - to whom Thomas was
especially close - had just passed away.
“It was at that point that I really went “Ok,
where do I turn?” And it was really God that
pulled me out of that.” As he puts it, “God
decided to stick with me and he didn’t let
me go, he never let me go.”
He came to BotanyLife for the first time in
March 2010. He’d been invited along before
then, but singing at the cathedral - his job
at the time - kept him busy on Sundays.
“Not to denigrate Anglicans at all, (but) it
wasn’t church for me. It wasn’t growing me
spiritually. (Then) I think it was Aimee, invited
me to church, in March 2010 (after I’d left the
cathedral).”
That first time at BotanyLife, Thomas recalls,
he was in a really bad space. But he still
remembers clearly the sermon he heard
that morning. “It was the Judges series at
that point, the sermon was about not putting
God in a box. And it was a really gory
sermon, a really guy sermon, it spoke to me
really powerfully.
“As a musician I can get good music
wherever I go, and I can engage in any
music, but for me it was really important
to have really good Biblical teaching, and
that’s what I’ve found at Botany, and
that’s why I’ve stayed, and that’s why I
love Botany.”
He’s certainly got stuck in - helping out
with parking, and with Botany Kids as a
big group leader. “We have great times
together, because I think we’re on the same
mental level... bright colours! Squirrels! Let’s
run around!”
I think it’s best I make no comment on that...
Text by Charlotte Woodfield.
A
Thomas Woodfield
WH
O’S
TH
AT
?
28
Review Time
grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up, grab some popcorn, it’s...
DISCLAIMER: These reviews contain personal opinions of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the views of BotanyLife Community Church. For more specific information on movies and music, check out www.pluggedin.com.
MO
VIE
RE
VIE
WS
Family | THE ADVENTURES OF TINTINReviewed by Melissa Guyan
I grew up with TinTin. My brother loved
the comic books, so when I saw the movie
was being released I was super excited.
I was initially disappointed to hear it was
going to be animated, but I had nothing to
worry about. The graphics in this movie are
amazing. Even if TinTin is not your thing,
I’d recommend watching it just to be
astounded with the fabulous job Speilberg
and Jackson did. The story is fast paced, filled
with adventure, action and a really great
storyline. Pete and I were testing it out to see
if our four year old was ready for it, but the
storyline is aimed at older children and there
is quite a bit of physical fighting throughout
the movie.
If you have older children, it is a great family
movie... no one will be bored, that’s for sure!
Length: 1hr 47mins Rating: PG - contains violence
Age: My personal opinion - 9 years and over
True Story | MACHINE GUN PREACHERReviewed by Andrew Mackereth
You might argue that Gerald Butler certainly
isn’t doing what Jesus would do, but at least
he’s doing something. Machine Gun Preacher
is a movie about humanitarianism and
militarism. Containing moderate amounts of
vulgarity and violence, this is not a movie that
you should watch with your kids. It is, however,
very thought provoking. How seriously do we
take Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek?
Would we fight or kill to protect our families?
Then why not also to protect our brothers and
sisters in the Sudan and Uganda? What is
the cost when we try to take justice into our
own hands? What is the cost when we fail
to do so? Machine Gun Preacher asks all of
these questions. It does not glorify violence.
It does not put Sam Childers (upon whose
life and actions the film is based) upon a
pedestal. It simply illustrates the consequences
of his powerful obsession with “justice”: how
it changes the lives of children in the Sudan
and Uganda; how it changes the lives of his
family; how it changes him. All in all, it is a
fascinating and enthralling character study.
I would recommend this film to pacifists,
militants, lovers of philosophy and fans of
Gerald Butler.
Length: 1hr 29mins Rating: R16
29
BO
OK
RE
VIE
W
ifted Hands is the story of Ben Carson, who is one of
the world’s best brain surgeons. He has performed
some of the most difficult surgeries in the world, such as
separating Siamese twins joined at the head, and performing
a “hemispherectomy” which involved removing one side of a
person’s brain. What makes his story special is that he started
off from a really hard background.
Ben Carson started out in a really poor family. They couldn’t afford
all the things that his friends had, and he struggled with anger
issues. His dad left home when Ben was eight years old and his
older brother Curtis was ten, leaving their mum to bring them up on
her own. She really struggled and had to check herself into mental
hospitals a number of times suffering from depression. Ben also
struggled in school, getting really bad grades and being picked on
as the class “dummy.”
Those struggles with anger grew until he was 14 and got so angry
at his mum about a pair of pants she had bought that he tried
to hit her. His brother stopped him. But Ben felt so bad he sat in
the bathroom for 4 hours reading his Bible and praying that God
would help him with his anger issues. After those four hours in the
bathroom his relationship with God became very real, and he never
had issues with anger again.
Two things happened to Ben when he was in fifth grade (Year 6
in New Zealand) that changed the way he lived. The first thing
was that he had his eyes tested and they found out his eyesight
was really bad, which explained a bit of why he was getting bad
grades. When he got glasses he was really surprised by how much
he could see. The second thing that happened in fifth grade was
his mother made Ben and his brother only watch TV shows three
times a week. The rest of the time they had to spend reading books
and they had to write two book reports every week for their mum
on what they had read. What they didn’t realise until they were a
bit older was that their mum couldn’t read (they gave their book
reports out loud). Their mum knew how hard it was not being able
to read, and really wanted them to read and write and get a good
education.
After junior high and high school, Ben studied at Yale University
and then the University of Michigan Medical School. At the end of
medical school he made the decision to go into brain surgery, and
was accepted at Johns Hopkins Medical Hospital, the most famous
training hospital in the world. After studying there and then working
for a year in Australia, he joined the staff at John Hopkins, and
did some of his famous operations. The “himespherectomy” and the
operations on the Siamese twins, made him world famous.
What I learnt from the book is that no matter what kind of
background you come from or struggles you have, with God’s help
you can achieve your dreams and goals with determination and
hard work. I would recommend this book to people who like being
inspired by others’ stories. Gifted Hands is published in an adult’s
edition and also in the Zonderkidz Biography Series for kids and
young teens.
G
GIFTED HANDS:
The Ben Carson Storyby Gregg Lewis and
Deborah Shaw Lewis
Text by Harrison Carr.
30
MA
RR
IAG
E / PA
RE
NT
ING
s I’ve pondered the sad story of another young student
who had an abortion without her parents consent these
past few days, I’ve been taken down the path of unconditional
love, and the absolute necessity that our children know that
they are loved no matter what.
Our daughter is now 18 but I remember vividly an incident when
she was just 11. Andy and I had been talking about this whole
topic of unconditional love one evening and I was adamant that
our children knew that they were loved unreservedly. But our
conversation got me thinking so I went into her bedroom, sat on the
end of her bed and said to our daughter, “Sweetie, I want you to
know something really important: there is nothing you could do that
would make me love you more and there is nothing you could ever
do that would make me love you less”.
I thought to myself, “she knows that anyway’, but now I’ve made it
very clear.” I was totally surprised when she took the topic further
and said, “you mean there’s nothing I could ever do or achieve that
would give me more of your love?”.
“That’s right, darling” I replied. But she went on seeking even more
clarification: “And there’s absolutely nothing I could do - no bad
choice, no mistake, no failure, that would make you love me less?
Absolutely nothing?”.
“No honey”, I said, “Nothing. We cannot love you any more than we
already do - you don’t need to earn our love, it’s there, complete.
And while you may one day make a bad choice, we would never
love you less. Wrong choices can have devastating consequences
and there are natural consequences to wrong choices that can
make life incredibly hard - and we hope and pray that you don’t
have to learn
those lessons the
hard way. But if
you did make a
wrong choice our
love would never
be in question.
We will always
love and support
you no matter
what the future
holds. We want
you to know that
just as you cannot
be separated
from God’s love
our love is always
there too.”.
I will never forget her face that evening - she looked at me with her
big beautiful eyes and she cried. My little girl’s face was filled with
so much relief as she was overwhelmed with what it means to be
truly loved. I was shocked by her tears, but also thankful
for the opportunity to express unconditional love to our daughter.
I learnt that evening never to presume that our children know they
are loved. We need to express unconditional love to them with our
words as well as our actions. I also believe that it’s not a one–off
discussion. As they navigate their way through life they need to
know regularly that we, their parents, are in their corner. And when
life gets hard and they stuff up, we may be disappointed for them
but we will never reject them. So parents, make sure they know.
Unconditional
Text by Nikki Bray
LoveA Andy and Nikki Bray are foundation
members of BotanyLife, being part of the original leadership team that started the church in 2004. Together the Bray’s lead Familylife, a ministry which is dedicated to showing couples God’s plan for marriage and family. Through one day seminars and inspiring weekend conferences, Familylife presents biblical, proven principles to help people stay happily committed and continually growing for a lifetime of oneness.
31
WH
AT
’S O
N G
UID
E
What’s on at Botany...
Saturday 22nd - Sunday 23rd September
Community Project
Friday 19th - Monday 22nd
OctoberSwitch-On Camp
Sunday 21st OctoberSong of Songs series begins
Wednesday 31st OctoberBotanyLife
mainlymusic’s 7th birthday
Friday 30th November
Final Chickzone event for 2012
Sunday 9th DecemberBotanyKids
Christmas parties
Sunday 16th DecemberJesus’ Birthday Party
Monday 24th December
Christmas Eve service
Sunday 30th December & Sunday 6th January
No church services
Sunday 13th January 2013Summer series
begins
Top Related