2) Noel had a way of dignifying normal life. We college boarders saw each others’ bad hair days, and once Noel asked my friend for a razor to shave because he’d left his at home. He was not embarrassed because he was genuinely humble. He knew that his little moments were just as significant as his global work. His gracious attitude was the same in all circumstances, everything was a gift from Christ. From the podium to the kitchen he was Christ's grateful servant. This inspired the community with integrity from top to bottom. Lk16:10 faithful in little things

3) Noel kept Christ at the centre of the community. Without this, communities inevitably drift. But Noel’s communities stayed true. He would often remind us that the college was to teach us to “think theologically,” because through Scripture we get to know Christ. Noel knew both intimately, which is why often you could tell he was led by the Spirit to say just the right thing, to have that gracious humility, to love that enlivening way. If everyone bathed in the Word and the Spirit like that, counselling services would become redundant. Eph5:26 washed with the word

Each house at this school has a theme, Courage, Character, Compassion, and that of Vose house is Community. This might surprise if you only knew Dr GN Vose from his Wiki page, looking at all his academic achievements and the Theological College he started. But that College was a Vose-like - no, Christ-like - community. It pulled people together. And I’ll warrant that same enthusiastic community was a hallmark of Noel's presidency of the Australian Baptist Union, and then of the Baptist World Alliance: he pulled people together. Noel regenerated discussions between Baptists and Mennonites in a way that hadn't happened since 1630! He planted a new church at 70! Community was his legacy. Back then we used to tease him about being "The Pope of the Baptists.” But he kind of was - in the best sense of “papa,” building up all of us who came to orbit around his truly Christian community.

Don't Squander Your Chance
For many this forced layoff is a chance to reset our priorities and activities. The decks have been cleared for us. So what shall we do with this time? First thought: have a rest! Yessss!!! Watch some movies, read some books, sleep longer…. Maybe get some jobs done, clean up, sort out… But after you’ve caught up, then what? 

Well, what do you consider most important after all? 
Now is a great chance to start doing what you really deep down want to do. 

How about these top five practices for life:
5) Be generous with toilet rolls. If we don't share when we have, who can we ask when we need?
4) Spend quality time with the people in your household. Don't be isolated in your screens, make time to reconnect. Have dinner around the table; ask "what do you thank God for today?"; play a board game; do some craft; a jigsaw… google family fun ideas. 
3) Reconnect with extended family and friends via calls or videolink. 
2) Re-introduce yourself to God. Actually pray. Get to know him better. Day by day. (We can help with Core Stuff, and the Bookmark of HPOWER). 
1) Meet for prayer, care and sharing around the Bible, in groups of 3-6, via videolinks if necessary, to actively grow in the Spirit, and share the love with others. (Cheers can help with this, and get you BOPping!) 

​
This virus, now, is an opportunity for humanity to turn back to God. Let’s take it. 

As Ferris Beuler famously said, Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it. 

Apocalypse. It actually means uncovering, revealing, as in the Biblical book of Revelation. But ironically we have smothered the word with such fearful connotations that we covered over the very thing that was meant to be uncovered! We fear the dangers so much we miss the main point. 

Since we apparently live in such apocalyptic times... it’s well worth asking: what was meant to be uncovered? Answer: the Ending to The Big Story.  

What Big Story? 
The overall narrative from the beginning of time to end. The Biblical Story. The Story within which all our life stories are contained! Which begs the further question, what part will you play in it? Using the Olympic Rings, here’s a graphic summary of that Story: 

Just like all great stories, there's an Author, Evil, Salvation, Freedom & Community. 

Author - Blue reminds us of Creation and thus its Creator. God creates, creation is good, humans are made in God’s image, very good. But then...
Evil - Black, darkness, selfishness, the sin that damages creation. We try to take over from God, to run our own lives but only ruin our own lives. This sinful fallenness is shown from Adam and Eve to every story in the Bible... 
Saviour - Red, blood, the Saviour’s mortal battle to make things right. 
The Law and the Prophets (>>) foreshadow and predict the Salvation to come. The Old Testament repeats stories of sin and salvation: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Israelites, Judges, Kings, Writings and Prophets: we ruin life, God saves it, repeat. There are always warnings, and then judgement for the stubborn and salvation for the faithful. The cycles repeat through history even to the present day. But then comes The Saviour...
(X) Christmas reveals the Christ, the Messiah. 'Jesus' means Saviour. He is none other than the Creator become human, Immanuel, God-with-us. 
Love summarises his message and his actions, love God first, and people as yourself. 
On the cross, Jesus has DONE what we can’t DO for ourselves: he himself bore all our collective sin, guilt, shame, griefs, sorrows etc. for us, on our behalf. Separated from God, he then dies for all of it - in our stead. This means that sin is no longer held against us, we are made right with God! Amazing gift of mercy! 
His resurrection overcomes death with life. This proves he has overcome our sin with his purity.
For 40 days he appears, explaining all Scripture to eyewitnesses, offering His salvation to all. Then… 
Freedom - Gold, the Spirit of resurrection, in us to set us free from the law of sin & death. Jesus ascends, then 10 days later sends His own Spirit into His people, whoever trusts him, helping us to live like Him. Amazing gift of grace! And this gift is still being given and received today… 
Community - Green, Grow in these relationships now and forever. Go share this Big Story. Loving God and people goes on now and forever (>>), in fact The Big Story ends with a divine marriage, Christ receiving his Bride - us! The Big Story turns out to be a Divine Romance.
​So for now we are supposed to Grow in those relationships: turn from our sin, trust the Creator-Saviour-Spirit, and live life his way. This trust is what determines our part in the revealed ending: will we receive His amazing gifts and be in the marriage for the faithful? Or will we refuse, ru(i)n our own lives, and face the judgement for the stubborn? Go share this Big Story to anyone who will listen. 

So I’m now sharing this Big Story with you. May God give you ears to hear it and pass it on. 
I'm convinced this Big Story is actually a True Story, for good reason: it is uniquely coherent, uniquely comprehensive from the beginning of time to the end, and it uniquely accords with all the data we have available to us - including scientific, historical, experiential, relational and spiritual. Therefore it is reasonable to expect that the revealed ending will also come true. 

Yes, the Apocalypse (the Revelation) contains frightening warnings and judgements, alarming events to come - wars, calamities, plagues, martyrdoms at the hands of evil economic and political ideologies. The warnings and judgements will cycle some more - exactly what we see in our day - little re-tellings of the Big Story of evil, salvation, freedom and community to come. But then The Big Story will end as revealed, with a final judgement for the stubborn, and a wedding for the Bride and Bridegroom who is the Creator-Saviour-Spirit. 

But if we only focus on the calamities, we cover over the main revelation to be uncovered: 
the Ending to The Big Story. Don’t miss the main point... What part will you play in The Divine Romance? 

What is Cheers doing during the CV19 lockdown? Meeting in cells of 3-6 in homes, (digital attendance is also ok as long as it is person to person interaction, not anonymous viewing.) In some ways we’ve been doing groups of 3-6 for years whenever we gather around the word. Now we just have to do it at home. You’re welcome to look through our crash course summary on how we provide a balanced diet in the groups with a simple bookmark. We call it the Bookmark Of Power (BOP). 

We see the CV19 lock-in as being in solidarity with Christians in China who can’t meet in groups bigger than 5, so when they hit 6 it is time to split, and by then both triplets need to have someone who can lead. Thus it empowers and multiplies - it disciples. I can see why God might want to equip us all in such a way. So let's make the most of this time. Perhaps our BOPs will work for you in your own circles. Here's youtube's Cheers Playlist for the CV19 lock-in. 

I'm not panicking because my worldview is not limited to Naturalism. COVID-19, bushfires, climate change, etc. merely remind me of our mortality, and the bigger view of life. But Naturalism, which dominates Western public discourse - news and entertainment media, social media, politics, law - across Australia, NZ, USA, UK and Western Europe, has no bigger perspective. As such it's a worldview that generates the very fear, depression, and hostility we see with every reminder of how fragile we are. 

Naturalism in a nutshell: 

• God is sidelined as an invalid reference point 
• Humans will progress by ourselves 
• (Naturalistic) 'Science’ will save us. 
• Nothing outside the physical world is relevant. 

​No wonder they panic when death comes near! 

Naturalism is both shallow and brittle.
It's shallow because it rules out other dimensions, and disregards all non-physical phenomena observed. 

• All the following are ignored: angels, demons, being Spirit-filled, The Presence, dreams, guidance, Illuminated Word, After Death Experiences, healings, resurrections, answers to prayer, transformed lives, fruits of the Spirit. 
• Sometimes an attempt is made to explain spiritual phenomena in naturalistic terms, but these attempts generally lack proof in a manner worse than other dimensional explanations. (I'm not referring to times when physical phenomena are mistaken for spiritual, but when the phenomena are actually spiritual.) 
• It is closed-minded to rule out other-dimensional options before examining whether the evidence actually points there. "First rule of investigating: do not have a presupposition that keeps you from finding the truth."  
• To justify this reductionism naturalists invoke 'the scientific method’ (ie. that non-physical explanations should not be invoked to explain physical processes) as an article of faith implying all life is only physical. But the scientific method is by definition limited to the physical. So applying ’scientific method' to non-physical subjects will always prevent finding truth about spirituality, because it a priori demands that "non-physical explanations should not be invoked to explain even the non-physical”! Well what should?! Examining phenomena outside the scope of naturalism is outside the scope of this 'scientific method.'
• It is less scientific (in the broader sense of ‘knowledge’) to consider only one hypothesis. Naturalism prevents us from considering explanations beyond the physical. That's shallow. 

It is brittle because when disaster strikes, as it inevitably does, the meta-narrative quickly escalates to dread fear and panic. Consider HIV, SARS, COVID-19, 911, ISIS, droughts, bushfires, floods, earthquakes, climate change. Even merely the death of celebrities in their prime, from Elvis, to Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Kobe Bryant. When confronted with mortality, the public discourse is inconsolably shocked, as if our whole existence is in danger of collapse. Because it is:

• When all you have is this natural life, to be reminded of death is to be reminded of oblivion. The naturalistic narrative has no higher perspective from which to evaluate mortality. No afterlife, no hope - except for the species in general which is little consolation for the individual. No individual escapes death, and then all is lost (so they believe.) 
• Fear of death spikes the flight or fight instinct. 
• Flight causes irrational stock-piling of toilet-paper, and economic collapse.
  Or perhaps denial: "She'll be right, I wont take any precautions..."
• Fight blames scapegoats - those gays, those Christians, those migrants, those terrorists, those [insert-race-here] 
• Further, with no higher reference point for moral conduct outside each individual’s own self-centred view, we splinter into tribes (of people who agree with us), and the law of the jungle ensues, as Darwinism approves according to the naturalistic worldview. 
• Living without hope in such a fragile and dangerous world wears one down - no wonder anxiety and depression are epidemic! 

In contrast the Biblical meta-narrative is deep and robust. 
Don’t be put off by the shallow dismissals on public broadcast. Examine the Bible properly without prejudice against spirituality, and you’ll see why it stands the test of time as uniquely reliable revelation from The Creator to us. Unique because no other volume or corpus of texts has anything close to the following qualities:
- Reliable because the archeological and manuscript historical evidence is peerless concerning the Bible's preserved transmission from eye-witnesses to us. 
- Revelation from God, because miraculously the over-arching Saviour-centred story is uniquely coherent and comprehensive, despite the diversity of 40 contributing authors across at least a 1600 year period.
.Plus it contains hundreds, even thousands of specific prophecies, many of which were fulfilled in later parts of the Bible, some of which are yet to be fulfilled in the yet-to-be-completed parts of the Story. Plus it claims to contain, and be, God’s word around 3000 times.
.Plus the meta-narrative combines with the readers’ realities to change lives for the better, right up to the present day. (I mean people can relate with the God of the Bible in the present!)

The Biblical meta-narrative is deep in that it accepts other-dimensional realities and interacts meaningfully and substantially with them.

• The spiritual and relational phenomena in the Bible accord with phenomena experienced in the present. It matches the fullness of reality as we know it by including other dimensions. 

• God-fearers can and do use 'the scientific method’ just as effectively as naturalists. They just use it within its limits. That's why operational sciences (which came from Christian presuppositions that creation would be orderly) continue to be done well by Christians today. 
• ’Science’ (in the broader sense of ‘knowledge’) is better served by 1) clarity about the limits of naturalism, and 2) by also considering non-physical explanations for the non-physical, and even for the physical too! 

It's robust because when disaster strikes, the Biblical meta-narrative has a bigger perspective from which to assess reality. 

• There are reasonable explanations for disaster, pain and suffering. Loss doesn't take us by surprise. Both gloomy and hopeful prospects for the future are reasonably expected. There are firm foundations for hope in the face of personal death. Far from oblivion, death is a doorway. 
• That's why we don't panic. We don’t react to death with abject fear, but with faith, hope, and love (for God and for our fellow humans). We appreciate the reminder of mortality, we come closer to God (through Christ). We can face the harsh realities head on. 
• Then as part of our mandate to care for the planet, we can work calmly for sensible solutions.
• Our Creator provides the higher reference point for our moral code and conduct. And this true north for our compass has worked reliably throughout history: when we do life God's way, it works better. When we abandon God's way, life goes to custard. So it has been generation after generation. 
• This Creator God is truly multi-cultural. This brings us together as one race under God, albeit with many cultural varieties. This makes us work for each other’s good. So yes we also try to help everyone see that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself - 2Corinthians 5. 
• We live with perspective and positivity even under personal mortal threat, because we have a well-founded hope; a steady, positive reference-point; a good relationship with the Creator through Christ's cross and risen Spirit in us. 

Naturalism is a shallow and brittle worldview that discords with reality, and fragments society. 
The Bible gives a deep and robust worldview that accords with reality, and unifies humanity under God. 

Our public discourse needs to break out of its shallow, brittle naturalistic worldview. Otherwise it will keep covering up the BIG Story that these apocalyptic events are meant to uncover for us:
- that we are mortal, sin/self/satanic forces are bad, we need a Saviour. Leaving God was not progress.
- turn back, trust & tune in to the Creator, accept his salvation now and forever. In this true, deep and robust worldview, fear subsides, and we can live in courage & faith. 

​​That’s why with all these fires, viruses, climate change... I'm neither panicking nor in denial. I know what to think when reminded of my mortality. Not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For we were saved with this hope in mind - Romans 8. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom - Proverbs 9. 

Pippa and my nephew Justin were student participants. My sister-in-law Jenny and I were adult observers. Worldview Academy was a camp for teens at Cedarville Ohio comprised of 25 hours of lectures with small groups and activities.
Topics developed from "what do we mean" by worldviews, words, and the West, to "how do we know" a worldview is reliable (apologetics), to "what difference does it make" (ethics, and sharing with others from different worldviews.) 
​We'd like to see something similar in WA.
If you know of such a thing already here... or if you'd like to help build it, please ​let me know.

Keep Moving Forward is morphing to Keep Moving Closer.
During the year we continued working to empower our people to follow Jesus in helping others follow Jesus too. The teenagers and young adults seem most able to adapt, develop, and try new things. In third term two pilot groups started.
- A pilot youth group in Ellenbrook proved too difficult to sustain... 
- The new "Rookies" group for upper primary schoolers is kicking on into the new year led by three young people. 
- A new 18+ group looks ready to commence this term as well, led by a handful of young people. [Update: The Shed has established itself well this year. ]
In both instances they will continue to use simple tools featured in BOOST training.

At Camp in April 2019, Cheers focussed all the more on not just moving forward in mission, but moving closer in relationship. Using games, objects, and clips from the movie Epic, Geoff illustrated the book of Philippians during all-age “Family Times” after breakfast. Teens+adults dug deeper after younger ones’ bedtime. The Way is a Person, His death and resurrection, His Way of discipling, His Spirit, and His Body. 
The Pathway is a Person! Human nature makes it too easy to turn love into a task, mission into a method. We want to have our love with Jesus motivating and overflowing into spirit-led action. We want to be led by his Spirit, not merely our conscience. 
So Cheers 247 continues to focus on the books of the Bible (using thebibleproject.com), where they fit in the big picture, and what the Spirit is saying to us through them. The repeating themes include the Gospel which is that we are given righteousness, the Goal of which is growing relationships. And our young people are putting themselves in lead situations where they have to rely on God more - they keep moving closer. 
​And so we remain hopeful that we will eventually (pray soon) multiply outwards to bless and benefit Banksia Grove and beyond.  ​
​

Reasonable Faith

My daughter is a 21-Pilots fan. Proof: today she bought pre-sales tickets to their December show, where they will play music she hasn’t even heard yet because their album isn’t due out until next month. What if their new album is a terrible disappointment? She might have to sit through a whole concert of terrible music... 

But her purchase is an act of faith. The good kind: reasonable, not blind. The kind that makes for good relationships. There's not an iron-clad guarantee but there are enough reasons to make it worthy of trust. 

Her faith is based on good reasons: their prior performances, the music she has already heard, the interactions she has already enjoyed in the fandom, their demonstrated trustworthiness as people to date. So she has good reasons to trust that the boys will deliver a concert worth the price of entry. So she bought in. 

My faith is based on good reasons: God’s prior performances (in demonstrably reliable histories, writings and prophecies), the ‘music’ I have heard already in this life (the good, true, beautiful, life-giving ways that really work), the interactions with God I have already enjoyed alone and together with other believers, the demonstrated trustworthiness and wisdom of God’s character. I have plenty of good reasons to trust that God will deliver a Life worth whatever price he asks of me. So I bought in. 

Some disparage “faith” per se as if it is blind, based on nothing. Some people seem to blindly believe cliches and assumptions, but these days I’d say that's far more likely among the agnostics of main-stream culture than among the Christians who go against the flow. Most Christians I know have had to challenge the mainstream cliches and assumptions, and have come to my daughter’s kind of faith, a reasonable and well-founded relationship.

When people actually examine the reasons for this kind of faith, they often become ready to buy in. 


Deeper reflections: 
The Limits of Proof
The Phenomenal and the Noumenal - Noumenal realities are important and life-directing. Yet the more noumenal a reality is, the greater the need for good and sufficient reasons. Good reasons are there. Go get 'em. 

Is the church better or worse than most people think?
The Centre for Public Christianity has produced a massive resource on that topic. It's hours of good stuff, more than enough. 

• Here is the point in a 2 minute nutshell: it's not religion but humans that cause the wars, cruelty, etc. They - we - distort good things into bad by our selfishness, greed, fear, laziness, shame, brokenness, incapacity - all of which are aspects of what the Bible calls, "sin." 

You could spend a year going through the details CPX has provided - movies, documentaries, clips, group discussion sheets, school resources. So if you're wondering about it - get into it! You'll have your questions more than answered on this topic. 
But don't miss all the other material CPX has on other topics too. There's a search bar for libraries of articles, videos and podcasts on:

• Topics people ask about Christianity
• Training for Christians to handle ourselves better in public
• Foundations of the Christian faith. 

In my work I focus mostly on the Foundations. How we know that the basics of Christianity are true - that God exists, that the Bible is reliable, and that Jesus rose from the dead. And how these truths fit together to make a really solid and positive foundation for your life. Core Stuff and Boost. The bare minimum info, skills, and relationship that teens really need before they leave home. 
I believe if you keep this Core Stuff central to your life, you'll be far less likely to distort good things into bad. 

But then what comes next?

• CPX is there with such a wealth of answers to many perplexing questions (like "doesn't religion cause wars.") Besides sometimes people's faith doesn't start with the foundations, but with a curiosity about a topic, and CPX's good answers on those topics can then connect people to the core stuff. 
• I'd also add creation.com for a balance of answers around science & creation. 
• And of course churches are the real people who will share life with you as you live out the faith.

​Good answers are there. Go get 'em! 

The theme for 2018's Banksia Grove Family Camp was "Through Heaven's Eyes." Using this graphic and the movie Prince of Egypt we learned that through Heaven's Eyes we can see: WHOLE truth, with our heart, mind, soul, strength, not just a selfish fragment; WORTH of people; WONDERS of God all around us; WORLD history as HIStory.

Families worked together on: a family crest (depicting your family values heart, mind, soul, strength); sock doorstops for each valued family member; white-crayon paintings showing where God is at work perhaps unseen; and a 7-Color Story booklet showing the arc of all good stories, of the Gospel, and of Biblical/World History. 

​As usual Camp was a great boost for the relationships between families, between family members, and between us and God. This year saw the further development of about 8 high quality young adults, developed at Cheers, now taking on much of the responsibilities that make camp run. This made it that much easier for all concerned. The same young adults also are playing various roles in delivering BOOST to other young people. They are advancing along The Pathway. ​

​Last year we were joined by a gentle soul with a true prophetic gift, having died, visited, and returned from heaven. We were just beginning our study of Revelation, and she could confirm numerous aspects of it for us. So unassuming, she's a real blessing. Also, early this year we had a new family move in to the neighbourhood with a fully functional Christian mum & dad. Sadly that's a rarity where we live, and we are thanking God that they've thrown their lot in with us. ​​

We continue to look to God for the nooks and crannies to bless and benefit Banksia Grove and beyond. The life in this movement is wonderful to be a part of. We continue to work and pray for open hearts with whom to share the Gospel of Jesus, and for some of our trainees who are becoming trainers to launch and multiply elsewhere what God is doing here.  ​

This from the Skit Guys. The Serenity Prayer. For leaders. Those of us coming off stress leave. A better way to work. Related is this from AFCI's blog, Why you can't do evangelism. 

It became a presentation, CSI: Christ Scene Investigation. We personally investigated how the sites agree with the texts of the Core Stuff. We saw for ourselves:

• that God knows best how to look after the Land he created and make it flourish - Neot Kedumim
• reminders of our human sin, which makes a Saviour necessary - Holocaust museum, soldiers, checkpoints, crime, and disparate worldviews 
• where Bible texts were so accurately scribed and preserved, containing prophecies fulfilled by the Messiah - Qumran. And we saw some parts of those actual texts from the time of Christ with our own eyes - Shrine of the Book
• where Jesus was born - grotto under the Church of the Nativity
• where Jesus grew up and worked - Nazareth and Sepphoris
• Jesus hometown during his ministry years - Capernaum 
• where he taught and did miracles - Mt of Beatitudes, Kursi, Magdala, Tabgha, Tiberias, Cana, Galilee, Baptism site over Jordan, Mt of Temptations, "Old" Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, clues to the location of the Temple, excavations of David's City, Mt of Olives  
• where Jesus endured Passion Week - Palm Sunday Road, Upper Room, Gethsemane, Caiaphas's House, Roman Praetorium and Pavement  
• where Jesus died for all our sins, and rose defeating sin and death - Gordon's Garden site / Church of Holy Sepulchre / a view from approximate Red Heifer site on Mt of Olives. We checked all three. The former is the best preserved site for us to get a sense of place, and may even be it. 
• where Jesus appeared post resurrection - Garden, Emmaeus, Upper room, a Galilean mountain
• where he ascended - Mt of Olives Church of the Ascension
• where he descended as the Holy Spirit at Pentecost - Upper Room 

Looking back so far this year...

Church 247 continues Sunday afternoons at the Banksia Grove community Centre. It has settled into a routine based on Discovery Bible Study, Looking Back (did you do what you said you would last time?) Looking Up (prayer, worship, Bible Study, listening for what God is saying to us), Looking Forward (planning to obey that word, community announcements, engaging with the neighbourhood). We've worked through Mark, now a series on varieties of mission (including doing Clean Up Day and Tree Day in our time slot), and look likely to tackle Revelation in term 4.

Cheers' Family Camp theme was Hearty Times, appreciating the role of various emotions, based on the Bible, using the movie Inside Out. We learned that:

• Joy comes from loving God and people.
• Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
• Anger tells us something has to be restored
• Sadness changes us and can save others.

The Good News fits in to this in Good Ways, too. Add some craft, quality time activities, and adult discussions about the times we live in, and it was again a big boost to the families who attended. 

From J-Walkers to J-Workers.
Building from last year's theme, Keep Moving Forward, we have been training the young people forward along a pathway toward leadership and mission. They are no longer just Walking with Jesus, they are also Working with Jesus - J-Workers. They run their own studies, help run Church 247, get involved in blessing and benefiting their neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces. They are now beginning to step into camp leadership roles. This training is open to all ages, but it is mostly young adults attending - and growing forward. This is where BOOST is beta tested.  

​Previous Cheers logs back to the beginnings in 2003 can be found here.