Today’s pet peeve is middle of the road blues

I was in a middle of the road church. They still had principals, and even encouraged if not ‘enforced’ them, but when it came to the faith, it was middle of the road. I realized though that the faith is not middle of the road. Jesus preached turning away from lifestyles of sin and putting one’s faith in him. The gospel of Jesus is a radical thing. One is told to follow him. So, a church is middle of the road to attract more people, but it does not explain the gospel, the basis of the faith. So, middle of the road is an annoying problem as it’s not the gospel.

When Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope

Priorities in the face of changing culture

2005.The new Pope Benedict XVI will make a priority to communicate with the secular world, says New Zealand Marist Brother Richard Dunleavy, who lived in Rome for 13 years.

“You have a feeling that you are doing something worthwhile”

New Year’s honour for Wendy

2004. Lower Hutt woman Wendy Zamanek says it’s neat to be listed on the New Year’s honours list. Receiving the Queen’s Service Medal for Community Service not only makes her proud, but she says the award recognises the two women’s organisations that she sweated blood and tears for during the 80s, 90s and today.

Brought up in a home for boys was hard, then life turned for the better

Around the world with your baggage

2002. It’s no easy road finding God. At least, for Ian Head (Pictured above). In 1956, he was going to end his life by jumping off the Westminster Bridge in London. A pull to go to the remotest part of the world was stronger. Ian arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, later that year. It was not until 1987 that the emotional baggage he brought with him started to fade.

SLT sees training for Christians as wholistic, for life, and from “God’s perspective”

God’s rule and reign in every area of life

2000. God’s perspective must filter into every area of your life, says Barbara Thomas member of the Strategic Life Training board.

“God’s principles apply to every area of life. It’s not just for Sunday’s or church meetings or that you deal with any area of your life differently,” she says.

“Important” healing ministry given permission to work in archdiocese

Healing prayer ministry proceeding cautiously

2006. The facilitator of the School of Healing Prayer, set up last year in the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington, says the healing ministry is a neglected area because “Satan has been getting his own way for all too long and has nearly succeeded in killing off the healing ministry, especially in the Western Church.”

Retail outlet for Christian resources has quite an extensive range

House of Hope making a difference

2000. Petone’s House of Hope (In New Zealand) was born out of a “fairly evident need for resources and ministry”, explains shop manager and chairman of Jubilee Ministries, Selwyn Stevens (Pictured above).

Support for church initiative to instill values into council planning

Recovering “village values”

2003. Pictured above: The Hutt City Council. A community charter initiated by local churches and adopted by Hutt City Council aims to support Lower Hutt as a safe and connected community, what Lower Hutt Mayor John Terris calls an effort to recover “village values”.

Community get-together an opportunity to look after each other

Antidote for fearful society

2002. St. James’s Anglican Church in Lower Hutt hosted a display of local community and social help organizations throughout the week ending with an ecumenical service on October 20.

Local events stir up action

Working together

2002. Pictured above: The Hutt River. Hutt City Council and local churches (In New Zealand) are making moves to work at creating a safe city, particularly since two unsettling incidents occurred on April 13 this year.

Children from India inspire Kiwis to lend a helping hand

Compassionate response to unemployment

2001. While watching a slide presentation of underprivileged children from India at a house group meeting, Ken and Wendy Fraser were impressed that God wanted them to help unemployed people in the Hutt Valley (in New Zealand).

Penalising approach not welcomed

Backing for beneficiaries

2005. A church agency representing the views of the national representatives of four mainline churches (in New Zealand) is concerned that a government bill at select committee stage will unduly penalise domestic purposes beneficiaries who do not establish paternity of their children.

“They were coming because they wished to meet with other people”

Loaves & Fishes only community meal

2001. The Community Outreach Mission for the Salvation Army Crossroads Community Church in Lower Hutt (in New Zealand) runs the only regular community meal in the city.

“I would not have imagined that the need would still be as great”

No let-up in demand for foodbank service

2006. While the Lower Hutt foodbank gave thanks for its 20 years in the community at a mid-week service at St. James Anglican Church, the use of foodbanks continued to increase in some areas of New Zealand.

“What will be the impact of proposals on the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society”

Getting Brash over welfare reform

2005. Christian-based organisations are calling National Party leader Don Brash’s proposals for welfare reform backward measures.

“We don’t think this year we are facing a major shortage”: Presbyterian secretary

Minister shortage changes methods

2006. The thirty-one advertised ministerial vacancies in Presbyterian churches throughout New Zealand do not constitute a major shortage, according to the church’s assembly executive secretary Dr Kerry Enright. He conceded, however, that parishes with smaller numbers could not attract ministers.

“We are never consciously investing in prohibited investments”: Anglican church

Anglican Church is not wealthy and does not invest in “sin”

2001. The Anglican Church in New Zealand invests socially, and social responsibility is of high priority. Chief Executive of Trust Investments Management Ltd, Peter Jansen, says the Anglican Church is not a wealthy church and does not invest in sin, in response to a 2 September Sunday Star Times article that investigated the Church’s finances.

Was there enough room to move?

Parking problems

2007. More Lower Hutt residents want to go to the library on a Sunday morning than go to church. Response from a Hutt library survey of 3700 residents showed changing library hours to start at 10am was popular. But this means parishioners from the adjacent Anglican St James Church would be competing for parking spaces at the morning service, according to representatives from the church. The church rents 23.5 carparks to the Hutt City Council for public use during the week, which could be cancelled, according to The Hutt News.

By Peter Veugelaers

Published 2007, Challenge Weekly

Applied theology of the Lord of the Rings sold out

2004/2013. David Moxon became an Archbishop of the Anglican Church in New Zealand and then the Anglican representative to the Vatican in Rome for five years. This was a little of a trajectory of his activities in my interview with him starting with the interview in 2004 and then the interview in 2013. Starting with older The Lord of the Rings news.

Is the first Hobbit movie a ‘religious word’ or principle or something which can change at the heart level?

2013. This is Anglican Archbishop David Moxon’s “review” of the first Hobbit movie via an interview I did with him in 2013.

“A serious misunderstanding of Tolkien’s intentions” says Bishop in response to critic’s malinging of The Return of the King

2004. I interviewed David Moxon (pictured above), the then Bishop of the Waikato (in New Zealand), about The Lord of the Rings movies that were released in the theatre. It seems quite timely to publish that interview in light of the latest ‘incarnation’ of the Lord of the Rings in the media. Here is David Moxon’s “review” of The Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson This is an unofficial review but an interview I had with him in 2004.

A “viable alternative for young people”

Fifteen issues strong but still a way to go

2002. Since 1998 Soul Purpose magazine has targeted Christian and non – Christian young people aged between 12 – 25 years.

The magazine has reached its 15th issue and while the crew could rest on their laurels, Founder and Chief Editor Hamish Stevenson feels they have a long way to go.

“Our focus is to encourage and motivate youth”

Zeal Studio a first for Wellington

2002. In the heart of Wellington City [in New Zealand] is the first semi-professional recording studio in the city managed by Christians, says FX Audio Manager Mat Barnes. Youth center Zeal’s latest development is FX Audio, a recording facility for college students and young bands so they can venture confidently into the music industry.

Retailers saw an opportunity to expand gospel music in the marketplace

Christian music hits mainstream retailer

2002. The CD Store’s latest venture in retailing Christian music may become a significant part of the music industry in New Zealand, says the chain’s Manager Roger Harper.

People still trucking into Bible college

Enrolments steady at Bible College of NZ

2007. Bible College of New Zealand enrolments are holding steady although they are well down on those of the early 2000s. Figures have declined in the past two years because of a drop in the number of international students.

The college expects 650 full time equivalent students this year at its national campus in West Auckland, nine regional centers, and distance learning center – the same as last year.

New Bible materials are a ‘fundamental reshaping’ of older resources

Salt makes way for Light

2004. Scripture Union is making fundamental changes to their range of published resources which will take over from the old range of Bible materials in September this year.

Salt, a range of published resources to help leaders of children’s, youth, and all-age church-based ministry to run learning sessions and weekly services, will be succeeded by Light. Salt has been active since 1984, though Scripture Union has been publishing a similar church-based curriculum for over 60 years.

Sitting down with a Bible teacher: “Jesus Christ is the only relevant issue, churches are not”

Unique man with a unique message

2000. Bible teacher and author Charles W. ‘Chuck’ Missler is described on his ministry website, Koinonia House (khouse.org), as a “unique man with a unique message”.

Mr. Missler was speaking throughout New Zealand over the Easter period and beyond.

Missioners OMS share testimonies from abroad

OMS – Reaching the nations for Christ

2000. OMS is reaching the city of Medellin, Colombia (pictured).

Over the last year OMS International has seen growth in missionary numbers and new directions in missions with a greater emphasis on international partnership with the emerging national churches on “mission fields”, says New Zealand National Director Denis Shuker.

Amazing Grace: “a timely evangelistic tool”

Anti-slavery film likely to be shown here

2007. The pending release of a movie garnering Christian support in Australia is gathering interest in New Zealand.

Programming that contribute to spiritual and ethical development recommended

A good chance for “spiritual” broadcasting

2002. The Television New Zealand public broadcasting charter will gradually come into effect but TVNZ will not have an obligation to reflect programmes with a direct spiritual flavour as this will not be part of their objectives, unless there is a change to the charter before it becomes law.

Legal ground to apply pressure to NZ on Air and Parliament

Christians in secular radio and television

Law change in religious broadcasting gets apprehensive response

2000. The law change in religious and spiritual broadcasting in New Zealand means that church groups as well as minority groups should, by legislation, expect their fair share of radio and television programming, but has been responded tentatively to by some Christians working in secular radio and television.

Hosanna World Outreach Centre was host of “inspirational” youth conference

Conference sparks up and inspires youth

2004. Being in the same room as [New Zealand sports stars] Michael Jones, Ma’a Nonu, or Linda Vagana might intimidate most New Zealand teenagers. 1Touch, a youth conference organized by Lower Hutt’s Hosanna World Outreach Centre, gave young people the opportunity to listen to their star’s testimonies on how they succeeded in life, which included a little autograph hunting.

‘Focus on the future’ for national church

Shifting priorities

2005. The Presbyterian Church is consulting with parishes and presbyteries to decide on the priorities for the church’s national tasks.

Focus on the Future is a series of meetings with parishioners being held in the North and South Island and encourages written submissions.

Cafe church: the way of the future?

Envisaging and innovating the future Church

2002. Wellington Pastor Anthony Walton views writing books, including his latest, Future Church: Church by Design, as a leadership tool for producing vision, “casting a direction the church needs to head down”.

Responding to the issue with heart and mind

To Be or Not to Be?

2000. Norman has always been a man of decision and authority; in fact some people have found him difficult and boorish.

He has recently, at the age of 56, suffered a heart attack and then, some four days after a severe stroke as a result of a blood clot detaching itself from the wall of the heart. The brain swelling after the stroke made his condition much worse and it was feared that he would die. He was ventilated and treated vigorously for his heart, lung and brain damage.

Beautiful churches with “great acoustics, cool pulpits and loads of leadlight”

Church used for acoustic concerts

2004. New Zealand recording artist Bic Runga is on her one-month Acoustic Church Tour playing at 10 churches on a 16 date tour.

Bic Runga is a 26-year-old singer songwriter, signed to Columbia Records in New Zealand, and with two albums to her credit, Drive and Beautiful Collision.

Hall extension intends to make room for all

More kids trigger expansion

2006. Knox Presbyterian Church in Lower Hutt (New Zealand) is undertaking the extension and renovation of its Grimes Hall at a cost of nearly $750,000.

Church relaunches with expansion

New $5.5 million building shows growth in Hutt

2007. A church’s $5.5 million building investment in an old relocated Mitre Ten shop is further evidence of growth in the Hutt Valley.

The Hope Centre, in Lower Hutt, previously the Hutt Christian Covenant Church, has re-launched because of rapid growth and attracted hundreds on its opening day.

Cancer victim shares his story

Cancer victim keeps the faith in face of death

2014. A junior doctor struggling with bowel cancer believes he had the God-given strength to finish his studies, qualify as a doctor and work whilst being treated.

He has also been overwhelmed and lost for words at the generosity of sympathizers.

“This vision to be a place of hope and inspiration and love for all has been growing in my heart for over 20 years.”

Church steps out in faith to build $7m worship centre

2006. The Presbyterian Church in the South Auckland village of Clevedon (a town in New Zealand; see picture below) has paid $1.2 million for 8ha of rural land on which it hopes to build a $7 million “worship centre”.

Clevedon, in South Auckland, New Zealand

Archbishop visits every year on church matters

Antiochian archbishop visits

2007. The head of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of Australia and New Zealand visited Canterbury and Dunedin last weekend

Singles seeking friendship take to get-together

Singles seeking support

2005. Members of Christian Friendship Fellowship (NZ) are gathering at Queen Charlotte Sound this Easter from all over New Zealand for one of the fellowship’s major get-togethers of the year, the “Significant Singles” camp.

Hope for leavers

Old way is creaking and groaning

2001. Mark Pierson, of Cityside Baptist Church in Auckland, sees huge numbers of people leaving Western churches as a great opportunity.

Taking the easter story to schools — by kids

Kids relive Easter

2005. New Plymouth primary schools have experienced the Easter story close up at a local Baptist church over four days of outreach to mostly year three to year six schoolchildren.

“After a while there was a need to have clear leadership”

Baptist churches face shortage of pastors

2006. Larger Baptist churches are having difficulty filling senior pastor roles meaning nearly half the pastor vacancies in Baptist churches are either for congregations of 300 or more or in multi-staffed churches.

Left his mark: leaders respond to Pope’s death

Champion of moral certainties

2005. New Zealand Anglican and Presbyterian Church leaders have extended their sympathies to Catholic Church.

Annual appeal and rebranding church website

“Together we can help Kiwis in need”

2004. The Salvation Army’s theme this year is “together we can help Kiwis in need” elaborated in a breakfast presentation with a series of short messages about the work of The Army and their annual appeal. One hundred and twenty years serving New Zealanders was celebrated at Booth House in Wellington, April 16, which also looked forward to Salvation Army Week, to kick off on April 28 until May 4.

New look

Church face-lift goes with new market image

2005. Move over the religious services column in Saturday night’s newspaper. Advertise in a movie theatre, or the local rag. That’s what a brethren church did to re-invent itself in the eyes of the community.

“A decision was made to go contemporary”

Brethren church goes modern

2001. It was do or die for a small Brethren church in Petone that was vulnerable to losing members, especially youth.

After approximately four years of soul searching and seeking God on their situation, a decision was made to go contemporary and be a place where people find reality in community.

A house for pregnant teens

Home to grace pregnant teenagers

2003. When Treena and Marcus van Rijssel purchased a house in Wellington last year for the purpose of housing and supporting pregnant teenagers, two pregnant girls approached them to use the facilities which were not furnished or decorated. One of those girls has gone on to appear on Kids – a TV 2 documentary about teenage mums.

Body, soul and spirit for women

Encouraging women

2000. Aglow New Zealand encourages women to become whole in body, soul, and spirit in an age where it can be fashionable to focus on form rather than content.

Aged care overlooked – lobby group

Call to boost aged care

2005. New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services is challenging the Government to sufficiently fund rest homes and hospitals of elderly people and says a 3 percent funding increase is too little too late.

Creating good families

Impacting Christians and non-Christians

2000. “We exist so that God, working in and through us, will use us, to help people know, apply, experience, embrace and proclaim God’s truth on marriage and family. The result is godly families reaching others with God’s truth”, explains Andy Bray, Director of FamilyLife (in New Zealand), a ministry that encourages a variety of couples at various stages in life in their marriages and roles as mothers and fathers.

Retired widower remarried

Doubly successful in marriage

2013. A retired New Zealand vicar who’s been blessed with two long, happy marriages knows the secret of success.

Cecil Marshall, now eighty-six, was married to Barbara for 40 years. After her death 18 years ago, he was devastated but remarried and has enjoyed another 17 years of marriage to Margaret.

Outreach on

Calling Kiwis to the Olympics!

2000. Blood, sweat, and tears is going to flow from thousands of people worldwide at the Olympics this year. And it will not be just the athletes. The YWAM 2000 Games outreach in Sydney, where the Olympic games are being held in September, will be well underway with an estimated three thousand people. Lots of travelling, little sleep and battling crowds is the order of the day but promises to be one of the most memorable and exciting times in someone’s life. The NZ organizers are looking for 250 New Zealanders to take part.

Ecumenical appeal

Appeal for cyclone-struck Niue

2004. Christian World Service (CWS) is raising money to contribute to the rebuilding of cyclone-damaged Niue.

Cyclone Heta devastated Alofi and the only hospital on the island on January 6.

Supporting chaplains in state schools

Hand of friendship to state schools

2001. The missionary on your doorstep is something vital for the Church to recognize, says Helen McGhie, National Chaplaincy Coordinator of the Churches Education Commission (CEC).

“Academically rigorous” religious and values education

Advancing religious education in state schools

Religious education seems to have no place in a secular society, but there are those who want to change this.

Encouraging prayer across nations

And some came from across the ditch

2007. An intercessor encouraged New Zealanders to get involved supporting Australian Christians in praying for their country at the National Solemn Assembly in Canberra.

Church leaders working together

Partners in Ministry – From relational unity to functional unity

2003. A “rookie” pastor found that churches were not co-operating as strongly as ideal, and he desired a greater unity. It was not enough to motivate Stefan Schlogl, Pastor of Victory Christian Centre, to action but when God spoke to him about initiating fellowship between ministers in the Hutt Valley, he immediately sent letters to some of them sharing his vision.

Caring, loving, supportive environment

City Mission

2000. “People at the bottom of the heap” are the focus of Christian based Wellington City Mission.

Blind Mission casts a vision

To give sight to the blind

2000. Vision 2020 is Christian Blind Mission International’s (CBMI) latest development.

Christians and voting

It’s gold for Jesus’ party

2005. Avalon Baptist Church in Lower Hutt choose a gold background for this election-related sign so as not to confuse onlookers that it supported a particular party.

Response to Christian controversy

At odds with kingdom values

2004. A church minister has suggested that what the Enough is Enough march demonstrated was at variance with kingdom values.

The church responds to cultural changes

Cultural shifts offer challenges for church

2004. Religious belief is not declining in New Zealand and other Western countries – the situation is increasingly described as a change from “religion” to “spirituality”, so is the consensus from sociologists, theologians, and academics from around the globe who say there is a resurgence of spirituality and belief in God outside of institutionalized Church.

Church responds to Halloween

Saints and Angels links church and community

2003. Don’t dress up like a ghoul. Come along as Saint John or the angel Gabriel, or Moses. The Saints and Angels party encourages children to come dressed up as an angel, saint, or character from the Bible, rather than Halloween costumes.

Christians stir controversy at Parliament

Enough is Enough

2004. The Rally for Human Rights preceded hundreds who marched Monday in the Enough is Enough rally taking a message to Parliament’s steps about the sanctity of marriage, proposed legalizing of civil unions and the Care of Children Bill deemed to undermine the marriage institution.

Myths and facts

I have come across some odd sayings in my day. But more than odd, they were controversial sayings, but delivered palatably, with even with a hint that it should be accepted. Except when I heard it, I may have had the advantage of my knowledge over others in the crowd.

The controversies were told at church, but if one knows their Bible quite literally, as I do, you would think twice about the saying. You would recognize it as controversial and that it did not quite fit the evidence of the Bible. Maybe they were aiming for mass and consumer acceptance, but I sat there dismayed. Waiting for someone to correct. So here it is. The fallacies that appeared from time to time on my journeys. How do I reply…

Church unity at ‘high level’ and revival anticipated

Harvest expected in Lower Hutt

2000. Unity between churches in Lower Hutt Valley is unprecedented says Facilitator of Partners in Ministry, Seth Fawcet. He says many people who have been in Lower Hutt for a long time are testifying they have never had this sense of unity.

Visiting evangelist responds to “move of God”

‘God moves’ in Lower Hutt church

2000. “We are sitting on the brink of the greatest revival we will ever see. Only time will tell but that’s where we are at,” says Mike Livengood, a visiting American evangelist to Hutt Christian Covenant Centre (CCC) in Lower Hutt.

Organizers don’t give up

‘God still there with or without Tenney’

2001. Scheduled Raging Fire Conference keynote speaker Tommy Tenney pulled out less than two weeks before the event. After meeting, organizers decided to continue with the event.

Set in the auditorium of Naenae College in Lower Hutt over September 27 and 28, the crisis in America detained him.

Enthusiasm builds for conference

‘God chaser’ coming

2001. Revivalist Tommy Tenney, author of the best-selling The God Chasers, told O.A.C. Ministries evangelist Tim Findlay that he was open to come to New Zealand after his tour of Australia this year. Their relationship was born when the American itinerant minister spent time in Nelson last year, where approximately two thousand people attended his conference.

Conform?

One huge negative compels me to write today. I am sorry because there are positives as well. That one negative is, being expected to measure up to a standard of excellence that is expected of everyone.

There was an ethos to live up to, a vision to achieve. They were “building people of excellence”. An eighty hour work week was the ideal. If people did not like what they seen and heard, to go away. The implication is that we do things our way. A fortress mentality. But, what happens when you inevitably do not measure up, or if you do? And by someone else’s standard. I mean, is this for everyone? And is there guilt at not measuring up? Then, people were asked to submit to the leadership and be “blessed”. This was the final straw. Now, it was becoming controlling, one was being asked to come under obedient submission to the so-called authority. To become prosperous I presume.

But the measure of a church should be the measure shared of Jesus Christ — who loves me not for what else I can do, not for how much work I will do, and not for how many dollars I can make. Prosperity is the impossible standard for many, the domain of the business or company, but they will tell you to think big. For Jesus, the measure of success was not how much the wealthy young man had, but by how much he was willing to follow Jesus. The Christ who does not impose a vision or direction, but asks the question. Where we are free to be ourselves while listening and learning from Christ alone. And one to another share a mutual appreciation and spiritual intimacy because of Jesus in our lives.

Brands

I was in the middle of watching a advertisement about sagging skin and the product they claimed would get rid of this ‘physical problem’ under the eyes. It seemed it would alleviate the emotional pain that came with having physical unattractiveness as well. That was never said, but isn’t feeling unattractive emotional? Then put the cream on again and again and make sure you get a good night’s sleep for good measure! That does not solve the emotional side of it.

I was hearing the reviews customers gave about the product and how it solved their problem. I always find reviews in advertisements a little if not a lot ingenuine. How can one prove the review is sincere in a format intended to promote a product? I guess some people feel this way about churches.

‘Souls saved’ during pandemic – Zoom helped

Members of a Christian group in New Zealand have been spreading the faith. Through their efforts, some students have put their faith in Jesus Christ while others want to know more, during a year marked by the Covid19 pandemic.