My father celebrated his 60th birthday this year. I have this enduring memory of him wandering from table to table with a glass of scotch in hand, muttering “But I just don’t feel 60!” to anyone who would listen.

My father; immemorial.
One of the great men who taught me everything I know about God, the Father of the Prodigals.
One of my great heroes.

Let’s all raise a glass to fathers, father-figures and the Father Almighty this weekend.

A Black Briefcase

There are a few things I know for sure about my father;
That he was raised in Ramsgate, England – somewhere near the coast with old concrete lifts that were sunk deep into the crumbling walls of the beach.
That he ran away to join Her Majesty’s Merchant Navy when he was 16.
That he was raised fatherless, by his mother, who was a hardened wartime woman with a partially blind Chihuahua named Janie.
Most other things are a mystery. Perhaps, I think my father was raised in a stoic generation, in a country determined to hold on to her post-war dignity, the Great Lion rising slowly to her knees.

Either way, I’ve never been privy to the infinite details of his life. I’ve wondered where he keeps them; I’ve been an idle spectator for 27 years, which leaves 33 unaccounted for.
I have played detective, as any child does; built up a picture of him that is close to mythological – a composite of eavesdropped conversations, best guesses and fractured memories.
But I still maintain that the key to all this information is in his black briefcase.
The brand of the case escapes me. There is nothing distinguishable about it. It’s a generic thing; polished black leather exterior with 3-dial bronzed combination locks on either side of the handle.
I’m pretty sure he got it when he was working for the Social Welfare Department in Auckland, where he was my mother’s boss, and their office fling turned into a 30-year marriage. I suspect this because he was an appliance repair man and a wood-turner after that, and I don’t imagine my father needing a black briefcase for either of those professions.
The briefcase was an ever-present talisman in our household. A kind of Bermuda square, tucked away in the dark corners of hallway cupboards, or under his mother’s old writing desk. For as long as I have known, important things have disappeared into that dark case. As a child, I did my best to keep an inventory.

One marriage certificate.
Some tax papers, the details of which ‘do not concern me.’

A stack of baby photos, square and yellowed.
(Through the ages of 11 to 14, I convinced myself these were evidence of a secret love child.)

All locked up and guarded by two, 3-dial bronzed combination locks.

I have progressed from a curious child to an angst-fuelled teenager to a sentimental man. And through these years I have realized my father is like that briefcase. He, like the typical kiwi male, has never allowed himself the spending of emotions. Instead, I imagine he shoves his unspoken pride, disappointment, failures and triumphs in that same black briefcase. I imagine I’ve picked up a briefcase of my own, shutting away the skeletons of Oedipus and Freud next to missed appointments and unconstructed tree-houses.

I imagine, and I hope that it is a long time before I am granted the opportunity to reach under that cracked, Victorian writing desk and pull out his faded black briefcase. When I do, I expect many mysteries will be solved and a few will be added.

On my 25th birthday, I convinced myself into a quarter-life crisis. I drank some wine and penned a lingering ode to my father on 4 pages of torn journal paper. I told him that he was my hero and my muse; a darkened, weathered old man who fathered 7 good children and one black sheep. I told him that I had always believed him to be indestructible, and that to this day he has never given me evidence to the contrary.
Before I had a chance to sober up, I addressed and posted the letter.
It was 2 weeks before I gathered the courage to call home.
I asked my mother, did he get it. Did he get the letter?

Sure he did, she said.
I saw him pop it in the briefcase.

The Prophets were and will always be the litmus test of what God is trying to communicate with humanity.
The Prophet Amos said, ‘God does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets’.
Jewish theologian Abraham Heschell believes that they ‘exegete existence from a divine perspective’. They help us to hear God and interpret the moment, the world we live in.
The Old Testament as a body of writing is dominated by the prophets, voices that long to be heard and understood in our day.
The last 12 books of the Old Testament are called the ‘Trei Asar’ (Aramaic for 12), a collection of minor prophets that are to be read as one volume. One book with 12 chapters.
Each chapter tells the story of how God spoke to and through individuals who were passionate about the heart of God for his people. Prophets whose lives became a ‘message’ to re-remind us of God’s eternal purposes.
Prophets like Jonah whose story is a mixture of bizarre moments and human frailty. A life that would mirror the life and story of Jesus. A message of hope and redemption.
Or the drama of Hosea who gave himself to a prostitute to highlight the love and passion that God has for his people.
Then there is Habakkuk whose 3 chapters are filled with complaint and consternation. God turns his complaint into an opportunity for renewed vision and prayer.
One by one the prophets paint a picture of hope that breathes life into the culture of our day. An eschatalogical echo that forever reminds us that the spirit of the text is alive and well.
Lets open the Trei Asar and reconnect with what God is saying….

Greg

We are excited to have Graham Fletcher speaking not only at Beyond Borders next week but also at Edge next Sunday (July 25th)!

Graham is an ordained senior minister of C3-International with over 35 years of full-time ministry experience. He and his wife Patricia have pastored and planted churches in three states of Australia, and also in British Columbia, Canada, where they currently serve as pastors of C3-Vancouver. Very cool.

Graham is known and appreciated for his inspirational teaching of the Word of God in his own inimitable down to earth and humorous style. So he fits right in with us here at Edge.

To find out when he will be speaking during conference check out…

www.beyondborders.org.nz

Otherwise click on the following link hear this inspiring personal message for you from Fletch himself …

Fletchgreeting

See you there!

It’s only two weeks now until the Beyond Borders Conference when we will get to hear from some incredible speakers and musicians from NZ and overseas.

One of the couples who will be coming to speak are Jon and ReAnne Daniels. The Daniels lead Coastlands church in Adelaide, South Australia. Coastlands is a growing multi-site church with a passion for Jesus and His ways. They both love leading people in worship and have written many songs that are sung around the world. They have 3 kids-Reece, Isabella & Evangeline.

Jon will be leading a seminar on Church planting and speaking at the main meetings. He and ReAnne will also run a seminar on team leading. We are really excited to hear what they have to say and get the chance to hang out with them for the few days they are here.

They will also be speaking at both our Sunday services next week (July 18th). It’s always encouraging to hear what God is doing in other churches around the world and we look forward to hearing what the Daniels bring to Edge. So come along and be inspired!

If you want to see more of what they do check out the Coastlands website www.coastlands.org.au. Hot site guys, good job.

Birthdays are important.
In my family, they are the reason that we gather at least 5, (and more recently 7)
times a year to celebrate the life of one, no excuses, no absences…!

Edge Family is having a Birthday on Sunday. We are turning 11.
That’s an achievement to be proud of.
Now at my family gatherings, everyone has to attend. It’s the only time they do what they are told!
I’d like to say the same to all of you….but that would be taking things a little far.
But I do want to encourage you all to come along, join the celebration and remember many of
the amazing times we have shared together on the journey so far.

Happy Birthday Edge.

Linda

I was amazed at Fraser’s passion not only to see his community changed but to see other people take up the call to be God’s message to our communities. His dream is to see churches planted and established throughout New Zealand and connected through the LinkNZ community. It’s a great dream. One we are part of at Edge.

The Hardy’s will be at both services on Sunday. They will be praying in some new elders, so we are looking forward to what they have to share!

Strahan.

The only time the word pastor is used in the NT is in Ephesians 4:11 where the context is plural. Jay described how the first churches were led by teams of elders rather than a ‘hired gun’. Edge Kingsland follows this model. I still feel that we can easily put pressure on the main guy at the front to bring whatever we might need.

The history of God’s people is that of the people nominating a mediator, someone to “do the work”, whereas as Christians we each have been selected by the Father through Christ to be his sons and daughters. The priesthood is now for all believers.

Jay emphasized leadership, and leadership for all to do our own work of deciding to pursue Christ and his anointing and to not be lazy and defer to a preacher or pastor the hard work of following Jesus. Maybe in our culture where we have specialized every difficult and arduous task to professionals, we have done the same in our spirituality. We are told in Scripture to delight ourselves in the Lord- why should we let someone else have our fun. Lets pursue Jesus today (and be like Jay) haha.

James K.

Fraser & Dale Hardy:
Fraser and Dale are apostolic leaders of LinkNZ (the network of churches we belong to), and have recently planted a church in Hamilton. They are coming to Edge next week to speak at both services and you won’t want to miss it! If you get the chance while they’re up, ask them to tell you some of the stories from the tron. Very cool.

Beyond Borders:
This is the first conference we have ever hosted and we are really excited about it. We will be having a whole bunch of speakers from local and afar sharing on mission and worship from July 21st to the 23rd. Check out this link for more details… www.beyondborders.org.nz

School – Dismantling the Plastic Jesus:
7pm each Thursday in June in the café. Come explore some of the misconceptions that exist about Jesus and look into who he really was and is (For more details check out the related blog below).

Art Classes:
Graham Dodd is running art classes for all who are keen from May 23rd to June 27th on Sundays from 2-4. If you missed the first few weeks don’t worry you can still come along! No nude posers allowed.

In the Future:
Keep your eye on this site for what’s happening. You can check the calendar on the nav bar on the left or scroll through the month’s blogs.

Legends.

This was the key passage around which Cindy Ruakere shared with us on Sunday. It was another amazing time when Holy Spirit engaged with us again in amazing and intimate ways; putting flesh on our dry, life wary bones, reviving purpose and hope within us and bringing freedom to our crippled and arthritic journeys.

On Monday as I woke up to another week I recalled how Adam was made. The bible says “Then the Lord formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). So as I got out of bed and cleared my congested throat I was reminded that from the very beginning God breathed us to life. I imagine him getting down on his hands and knees, down close and breathing into Adam.

Two of my sons have grown up with asthma. I have spent long nights watching over my boys as they struggle for one of the few free things in life – air. So I have experienced the preciousness of that gift. Breath is life. Our very breath is a gift from God. As we breathe in, as we breathe out, we acknowledge our God. We acknowledge his gift of life.

Holy Spirit come, continue to breath life into these bones.

It seemed fitting that we baptized people on Pentecost Sunday. Rachel, who  arrived in NZ that morning from Kansas City, with an inkling about getting baptised in southern waters,  stumbled (jet-lagged) into church to hear a message about Pentecost -  the arrival of Holy Spirit,  including an invitation to be baptised that afternoon. Some would call it random. We think it was a divine collision. God is like that. But certainly not random.

So, into a full tide under a grey autumn sky three beautiful young women pledged their allegiance to Jesus and embarked on a new stage on their faith journey. We commend you Rachel, Maranda and Sarah!

Jesus comforted his friends by telling them,

It is for your own good that I am going, because unless I go the Paraclete (Spirit) will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send Him to you. He will lead you to the complete truth.

And he told them…

not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the gift the Father promised. John baptised with water but in a few days you will be baptised with the
Holy Spirit.

10 days later, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Church was born!

Holy Spirit Welcome….You are welcome here. Guide us Holy Spirit…Speak to us again.