I just got back from a 3 day conference/retreat where we had Brian Mclaren as the speaker. Brian is a well-known writer in the emerging church world and you can check out his website at www.anewkindofchristian.com

I think the first thing that struck me while being at the event is that altough our democracy is over ten years old, we still have a long way to go as a nation. Altough there were some people of colour among us, the audience was mostly white. With Brian focussing on the Kingdom and how we get to play a part in God's unfolding story, I just realized that it's not just about what we as a church can do. The question is much nearer to home - what am I doing to bring justice to this world? Where do I get my own hands in what needs to be done? How open is MY eyes to the pain and hurt of this world?

Quoting Dallas Willard Brian pointed out the differences between having a gospel of "sin management" and the "gospel of the kingdom of God". We need to re-think how we see our role in the world, and when we get involved in our communities it should not be for good PR, but because it is part of who we are - BLESSED to BE a BLESSING.

Would love to hear from others who attened the event or just general comments!

PS Sorry for this blog being so boring when it comes to design etc but I STILL do not know enough to get all the bells and whistles. May the simplicity be a fresh air in our techno-world (LOL!)