The People's Prince

It was particularly heartening to see Prince William going on a walkabout the night before his wedding to meet and greet well-wishers.  It was this kind of behaviour that earned his mother the title 'The People's Princess'.

However, having seen it and been encouraged, it did get me thinking that really this should be the norm.  The Royal Family is there to serve the people, they are the representatives of the people, and therefore should be mixing with ordinary people more often than not.  Good on both William & Harry for doing this more often than others in their everyday lives.

Over the past few months, I've seen and heard of a number of examples of Christian ministry where leaders have been away from the ordinary people.  This should not be so!  Christian ministry is all about people - loving them, serving them, sharing Jesus with them, teaching them, encouraging them, correcting them, training them and so many more things.  (If I doubt this, 2 Corinthians 5 should remind me of it)  The key is that Christian ministry is about God's involvement with people.  When I (or others) distance or isolate myself from involvement with people, I separate myself from God's work and involvement in the live's of people.

Who will win the 2011 Rugby World Cup?

It's a question I've been asked in both the Northern hemisphere & Southern hemisphere as momentum and interest gathers for this year's Rugby World Cup. In an interesting article in this week's 'New Zealand Listener', Paul Thomas examines the All Blacks' chances in the upcoming RWC.

Using Donald Rumsfeld's quote about Iraq's possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction, where he said "There are known knowns - things that we know that we know. There are known unknowns - that's to say, things we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns - things we don't know we don't know." Paul Thomas examines the known knowns of All Blacks Rugby going into the 2011 RWC. From the facts he provides, he deduces "Everything we know at this point suggests the All Blacks will win the World Cup. It's what we don't know that's the worry."

So, I thought I'd broaden the debate. Using his checks, here's an analysis of who I think are the main contenders for the RWC - the All Blacks, Australia, South Africa, England, France, Ireland, Scotland & Wales. (For me, Argentina, Fiji, Samoa and probably some of the "home nations" are all outside chances.) Each check looks at a different aspect of the team and their prospects based on those characteristics. The categories are:

Form: This speaks for itself, though obviously the Northern Hemisphere has more up to date information on this, as the Southern Hemisphere International season hasn't started yet.
Experience: Apparently, Eddie Jones (former Wallabies coach) reckons you need at least 650 caps in your starting XV. I'm not prepared to add up the various teams' caps, but will consider players with 50+ caps as experienced.
Class: Bob Dwyer, ex-Wallabies coach reckons you need at least 6 world class players in your team, along with some other proven international performers.
A proven coaching/management team: I'm less convinced by this one. Sir Clive Woodward being a prime example of both sides of the folly of this - winning the RWC in 2003 after a previous failure, and then spectacularly losing the 2005 Lions tour after the 2003 RWC success!
Leadership: The article basically described this as the Captain, but I see it as so much more. The pack leader is important in rugby, as well as key players who influence the team.
Home advantage: There's only one team who will have this!

So, let's look at the teams under those categories:

All Blacks:
Form: Number 1 team in the world outside of the World Cup, won 13/14 games in 2010.
Experience: There's no doubting their significant experience - McCaw, Carter, Muliaina, Nonu, Mealamu, Rokocoko, Woodcock
Class: McCaw, Carter, Sonny Bill Williams, Mealamu, Nonu, Smith, Thorn
A proven coaching/management team: Graham "Judge me on the 2007 RWC" Henry, Wayne Smith & Steve Hansen - a pretty impressive 3 wise men, some of the finest minds in world rugby.
Leadership: There's no doubting McCaw & Carter's leadership, but the questions are who else - Brad Thorn & Ali Williams (if fit) will provide some, but you wouldn't say it was a team full of leaders.
Home advantage: Should be a definite advantage, but the added pressure of home advantage may prove to be an extra millstone around the neck for the ABs.

Australia:
Form: Making good progress under Robbie Deans, finally beating their nemesis the All Blacks last year.
Experience: Elsom, Mitchell, Giteau, Moore, Chisholm, Sharpe spring to mind, with a few others who are beginning to gain a bit more experience, but are still in the youthful category currently.
Class: Aside from Matt Giteau, there's some potentially world-class players coming through, but currently they are few and far between.
A proven coaching/management team: Robbie Deans has been rejected by the All Blacks, but has begun to make his own mark on the Wallabies. A wise rugby mind who must surely be a strength for the Wallabies' campaign.
Leadership: There's some leaders here, but not many - Elsom, Giteau & then a whole raft of young fellers who will need some help & guidance.
Home advantage: Australia don't have it, but they're closer to home than many others. The lack of travel and their familiarity with the surroundings will surely be a help.

England:
Form: 6 Nations Champions going into the tournament. Last time they were (2003), they went on to win the RWC. Their loss to Ireland though proves their frailty in form.
Experience: Tindall, Moody, Wilkinson, Thompson, Shaw, Worsley are all fairly old-timers, but perhaps more significantly, all are World Cup Winners - that is significant experience.
Class: Palmer, Moody, Wilkinson probably fit into this category. There's some good young uns too, but they're unproven.
A proven coaching/management team: Martin Johnno Johnson - proven as a player, completely unproven as a coach.
Leadership: They've had a few changes of late, but Tindall, Easter, Moody, Wilkinson provide a good spine of leadership.
Home advantage: Not there at all, in fact, England come to a place where historically they have struggled.

Ireland:
Form: A significant win against England swings the balance in favour of the Irish. They didn't have a good 6 Nations, but all that changed in their last match win against England.

Experience: Hayes, O'Driscoll, O'Connell, Bowe, O'Gara, O'Callaghan, D'Arcy, Wallace, Stringer, Horgan
Class: In O'Driscoll, they have the world class player of the last decade. Add to that, O'Gara & O'Connell, and you have 3 of the great players of world rugby in the last few years.
A proven coaching/management team: Declan Kidney has a good reputation, but is he proven?
Leadership: The 3 world class players provide a spine throughout the team, add to that the wiley Peter Stringer and you have a backbone of leadership.
Home advantage: N/A

Scotland
Form: It's been better than in the Matt Smith & Frank Hadden years, but that's not saying much. There's signs of improvement, but you wouldn't call it good form yet.
Experience: Jacobsen, Hines, Blair, Parks, Southwell, Paterson & Lamont have the experience.
Class: Hmmm...honestly, of that list, you'd have to say only Chris Paterson has the worldclass, and he's not always picked. On his day, I'd say Euan Murray is worldclass, but he's not on his day at the moment & I may be biased.
A proven coaching/management team: Andy Robinson really doesn't have the record which would be described as proven. He was number 2 in the England 2003 success, but whether that counts is up for debate.
Leadership: I really don't know with this one - again, Paterson is the name that stands out, but maybe that's where Scotland's problems start. Who are their leaders? Even their Captain is relatively unknown...who is he again?!
Home advantage: They're playing in the deep South - maybe that is the home advantage they're looking for!

South Africa:
Form: Their Super 15 teams have been doing well, with the Blue Bulls winning the Super 14 last year. The Springboks themselves looked tired and aged last year though, so the form really isn't on their side currently.
Experience: van der Linde, Matfield, du Preez, Smit, Botha, Smith, de Villiers, Habana
Class: Matfield, Habana, Smit, both Steyns, Spies, van der Linde are all world class players. Of all the teams, I would suggest the Springboks have the most world class players in their squad/team.
A proven coaching/management team: Most certainly not. Their coaching/management is on the pitch, whilst the puppet/clown is the public face of their management team.
Leadership: They have undoubted leaders - Matfield, Smit, Spies, du Preez and both Steyns all provide great leadership. This could be their real strength on the pitch.
Home advantage: Their 'home advantage' comes from playing in a country they are used to playing in regularly.

Wales:
Form: Patchy. They've been good at some things, but recently they've been poor.
Experience: A Jones, J Thomas, S Jones, Peel, Williams,
Class: Shane Williams, Steven Jones and Ryan Jones are probably the only world class players in this team. Shane Williams is the cream of the crop of these.
A proven coaching/management team: I like Warren Gatland. He's seen some success in Wales, but not enough - hardly proven at this stage.
Leadership: There's some leadership there - Ryan Jones, Steven Jones, Matthew Rees, Andy Powell, MIke Phillips, Lee Byrne provide it in different ways, though none of them are strong leaders.
Home advantage: N/A

France:
Form: Ah, which French team are we talking about? They are so mixed in their form, it's hard to say which team we are talking about! They can be blindingly brilliant, or dreadfully awful.
Experience: Marconnet, Nallet, Thion, Bonnaire, Chabal, Harinordoquay, Jauzion, Rougerie, Traille,
Class: This may be a tough call, but I think the only world class player France has is Chabal & he's been on the bench a fair bit lately.
A proven coaching/management team: Marc Lievremont has been around for a few years now. He's seen a typically French response - some good & some bad. Hard to describe him as proven.
Leadership: The big names are there, but which are the leaders - Dusautoir is Captain, but so many have been looked to provide leadership, and yet they have been found wanting.
Home advantage: Definitely not here - in Wellington in particular, the French are unlikely to receive a warm welcome!

So, several teams with potential, but as we all know, World Cups are not won on potential. The journalist writing threw in the "known unknowns" of injuries for your team & opposition, refereeing & the on-the-day factor bring an extra dimension.

For what it's worth, I think the winners will probably be the All Blacks (so long as McCaw and Carter stay injury free). I anticipate an All Blacks v Wallabies final, with the semi-finals being made up of Australia v England (my guess is this could go to extra time) & New Zealand v South Africa. For what it's worth, I reckon the QFs will be made up of: NZ, France, England, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, South Africa & Wales.

To my mind, NZ have the team of experience, class & wider than that, sublimely brilliant players on their day. Australia have a good team, but they're just that bit too young - watch out for them in 2015 though! South Africa have the opposite problem - they're just that bit too old.

England are coming right at the right time, but they're just not good enough. They lack in a few areas & just haven't learned how to win games regularly yet. Ireland should be fun to watch, but you can't win a tournament with a few world class players, Scotland don't have the world class players, leadership or experience to go far, Wales will be entertaining, but will never properly threaten, and France - who knows?! They really could and should win it, but they won't. The curse of the French will continue.

I look forward to the RWC & seeing all this played out in real life - the talking will be over & the action/fun will have started. Roll on Sept 9th when the RWC begins and Oct 23rd, when I will look back and see what my predictions were. What do you agree/disagree with? Who do you think will win? I'd love to hear what your thoughts are...

Respectable Sins - Book Review

Every once in a while, you read a book which is so good that you wholeheartedly recommend to others to read. This book is in that category.

I started reading Jerry Bridges' work some time ago, and for a number of reasons hadn't finished it. However, a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to complete what I had begun. What a journey this book takes you on.

My first experience with Bridges came at Bible College, when his 'The Pursuit of Holiness' was a core text for one of my courses. I remember being challenged by it then, and profoundly moved by Bridges' desire to "be holy, as God is holy". His book became one I regularly recommended to students. A few years ago, Jen & I visited Great Victoria Street Baptist church, Belfast when Jerry Bridges spoke. We enjoyed his message, but I felt his writing carried an even greater clarity, urgency and passion.

So, when I picked 'Respectable Sins' up, I was fully expecting a good read. What I wasn't quite prepared for was a spiritual "open-heart surgery".

The book is sub-titled "Confronting the sins we tolerate". Its premise is to look at the more subtle sins that Christians have lost sight of. He examines the "acceptable" sins we tolerate in ourselves - jealousy, anger, pride, unthankfulness, judgmentalism to name a few, and offers the hope of the gospel in response to these sins. I heard someone (who hadn't read the book!) describe it as "just another one of those books saying the same old thing". How wrong they were! Simply put it is powerful, profoundly challenging and an excellent read.

Bridges' opening chapters deal with sin itself and God's remedy for sin, before he moves on in the later chapters to specific sins themselves. It is simple, but gospel-centred reading that reminds us of the ongoing necessity for the Good News of Jesus in the lives of the believer.

"Many Christians think of the gospel as only for unbelievers. Once we trust in Christ, so the thinking goes, we no longer need the gospel. But, as I seek to bring out in this book, the gospel is a vital gift from God not only for our salvation but also to enable us to deal with the ongoing activity of sin our lives. So we still need the gospel every day." From the Preface, p10

As a book, it is so relevant in the University context. Quoting D.A. Carson, he writes of University students "They know how to sin well enough, but they have no idea of what constitutes sin." Having read this book, I am convinced of the need to communicate the reality of sin not just with unbelieving students, but also with believing students who have lost sight of the holiness of God.

Particularly challenging was the fact that Bridges spoke into the sins of anxiety and frustration. I'm pretty sure I've never heard anyone preach on anxiety and worry being sin. Bridges argues "Anxiety is sin for two reasons. First...anxiety is a distrust of God....Second, anxiety is a sin because it is a lack of acceptance of God's providence in our lives." (p64) It was probing to be reminded of my need to trust in God in every area and not worry about anything.

Reading his chapter on 'Unthankfulness', I was reminded of a great sermon I heard some years back given by Alistair Begg on 'Thankfulness and gratitude'. Although a simple chapter, I am struck that its not something many people are teaching. I was thankful for Bridges giving voice to an articulation of the necessity for thankfulness.

Bridges' chapter on pride dealt with a sin that we are aware of. The angles he took in looking at pride probably were a little different. His explanation of the presence of pride in an independent spirit communicated much of what I believe about the importance of teachability.

Near the end of the book, I found that with each chapter, I was going to bed to read with a sense of fear as to how God was going to use Bridges to speak to me next. None was more so than when I got to the chapter on "Impatience and Irritability". You may think "You're not particularly impatient or irritable" - unfortunately, we manage to hide things well. To read Bridges spell out the nature of these sins was like the doctor telling me how I retain my high cholesterol - he spoke into my life, and the truth hurt.
Thankfully, the gospel of Jesus is Good News!

By the time I got to the chapter on "judgmentalism", I'd got my money's worth from the book. God had used it to speak so profoundly to me. But this chapter took the biscuit. Listen to Bridges talking of the well-known passage about the log and the speck in Matthew 7:1-5.

"Stop trying to play God toward your fellow believers in Christ. God is the Judge, not you...Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind in the well-known passage Matthew 7:1-5...Could it be that the log in our own eye is the log of judgmentalism, arrogating to ourselves the role of God?...

The seriousness of the sin of judgmentalism is not so much that I judge my brother as that in so doing, I assume the role of God." (p144)

This book has spoken so profoundly into my life that it belongs in that special category of books that should be re-read, and regularly re-read so that the message of the gospel that rings loud and clear from it rings loud and clear in my life. It reminds me of the wonderful hope of the gospel of Jesus who brings forgiveness of sins, who shows me how to live, and whose presence with me gives me the power to live a holy life that brings glory to Him.

I highly recommend this book which will probe parts that other books don't reach.

The God Who Wasn't There

Just about to head to bed - I thought I'd quite like to start a new book, so looked on my shelves at the plethora of choices. (Note - I love books & at any given time, have a vast number just waiting to be read.) As it's Sunday, I like to focus my thoughts on God, and went to my shelves with a view to picking a book which helped me focus my thoughts on Him, to get to see Him in all His glory.

Surprisingly, having worked through the choices, I realised on my shelves here in NZ I have no books which lead me to specifically look at who God is and delight myself in Him. Yes, there were books which looked at aspects of doctrine, many books which in various ways were "how to-s" of the Christian life, some even written by unbelievers which focussed more on God than many Christian ones ('God is not great' & 'The God Delusion' - maybe it's time for a 'God is great' & 'The God Reality' reposte?), but I just wanted something which "fixed my eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith." Among the estimated several hundred I looked at, none fitted the bill.

Maybe this situation says more about me and my choices of books than it does about the Christian book scene and its authors and readers? But, having been thwarted at reading of Him of whom it was said "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." I've decided when I'm next back in the UK at the store of my boxed away books, I need to get my hands on some of those books & bring them back. Failing that, maybe it's time to even write some myself. Either way, I want to read more of Him and delight myself in Him.