The Hobbit premieres tomorrow. My daughter Elizabeth attended a special opening event in Wellington but we are all waiting for the real thing to release. I think most people would agree that my role was pivotal to the success of the movie and, indeed, I was the fairest of the Elves. But before I tell…
Read MoreHow Communities Heal
Update: GREAT evening. Photos are on Facebook.Thanks Vivian for your inspiration! And thanks Colin and Laurel for the invitation. ———– Original Post: Debbie and I have been invited to a book launch tomorrow for How Communities Heal: Stories of Social Innovation and Social Change, by vivian Hutchinson who spells his first name in lower case. Either that…
Read MoreThe Dreadlocked Barefooted Bishop of Wellington
Update: Watch the news on TV and read May 5 NZ Herald interview. Original: Some very exciting news. The papers are ablaze this weekend with the announcement that Justin Duckworth has been elected Bishop of Wellington, New Zealand’s capital city. “The Anglican Church needs to be ”dusted off” and it believes a dreadlocked, barefooted priest is the man to do…
Read MoreFinding your inner monk
You are never too young to be a monk. We have been enjoying this weekend with a bunch of young people (16 – 25) from around New Zealand who are part of the Order of St Stephen (OSS). Nice people. Mostly Anglicans, maybe all of them Anglicans, probably due to the re-launching of this monastic Order…
Read MoreCentral Easter Camp
Today a team from Ngatiawa headed over to the Central Easter Camp a little north of Wellington. About 1000 teenagers camping out and journeying through the Easter weekend together. Mostly Baptists but this year some Anglican youth groups are joining in and the Ngatiawa contemporary monastery, where we are staying, have been invited to lead some…
Read MorePassionFest this week
There is a huge marquee on the field next to our yurt. Thats because PassionFest happens this weekend. Its a small, intimate, social justice festival for about 300+ people. We were here last year and loved it. So if you are in New Zealand then come on over and bring your tent. Read more about…
Read MoreRugby World Cup
Update: IT HAS BEGUN!! These sites will keep you up on the games: Sportal, Allblacks.com, Stuff, and NZ Herald Rugby World Cup. As a Kiwi its my duty to offer an apology to all my friends from England, South Africa and Australia for the solid beating you will receive at the World Cup which starts in a few days in…
Read MoreHanging with the barcode guy
Meet the barcode guy. We are spending a few days in Devonport, Auckland, with David and Margaret Allis. David is a house church guy and fundraising radical who has been following my blog for years so its great to finally meet up. Thanks Ellis family for your hospitatlity and giving space for our noisy family.…
Read MorePraxis: Training for an Emerging Postmodern Paradigm of Mission
We came to Ngatiawa Contemplative Monastery, here near Waikanae, New Zealand, for PassionFest and liked the people so much that we stayed. Its been a week now and we are having a great time. Justin and Jenny Duckworth are the main conspirators. They let me putter around in the kitchen and hassle the heaps of…
Read MoreThe 6th Christian Leaders Vision Conference
Next week I will be at the NZ Christian Leaders Vision Conference in Waikanae. This is hosted by the people behind the (previously known as) Vision Network. I met some of them last year in Cape Town at Lausanne, including the famous Glyn Carpenter. Special blurb from website: "The 6th New Zealand Leaders’ Congress is…
Read MoreMy ‘BLOGGING FOR ACTIVISTS’ workshop at PassionFest 2011
We are about to head south to be a part of New Zealand's PassionFest which runs from Feb 11 to 13 in Waikanae. I actually had never heard of it which is strange because it appears to be NZ's most exciting Christian Festival based around art, justice, food and fun – which makes it very…
Read MoreMurray Deaker should be here
Hearing Prime Minister John Key speak yesterday to the Parachute Festival crowd made me think that Murray Deaker should come one year to speak and stir things up. Murray Deaker is a Kiwi icon and well-known sports commentator. I grew up in Orewa and Murray was one of my dad's drinking mates. I remember Murray,…
Read MoreParachute: Largest Christian Event in the Southern Hemisphere
Thats what the word is down here in Hamilton, New Zealand at Parachute Festival 2011. 25,000 people are coming this weekend. Apparently that makes it the "largest Christian event of any kind in the Southern hemisphere" . . .or in other words . . IT BEATS THOSE BLODDY AUSSIES and makes all their wimpy Christian…
Read MoreKiwis are UNBEATABLE and UNDEFEATABLE!
OK – you have been expecting me to say something about the New Zealand's spectacular undefeated appearance at the FIFA 2010 World Cup . . and here it is. Paraguay could not beat the Kiwis. Slovakia???? Nope!! Not even Italy, the defending world champions, could beat the Kiwis. That's because the KIWIS ARE UNBEATABLE! And…
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