Tell The Story

A Second Mile Spirit

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nic

One frustrating tendency we’ve developed as a society is the frantic pace we seem to be expecting ourselves to sustain each and every day.

Just 2 years ago I was given a second chance at life, literally; surviving an ischaemic stroke caused by a bloody clot in the base of my brain stem. At the time, I was allowing myself to work under significant pressure, trying to balance 68 balls in the air, and still keep enough in the tank to bring up my young family, spend time with my wife and live a purpose-filled life….

A life event such as this has the tendency to make you sit up and consider things in quite a different way, and for me, this one was transformational.

It was only later on that I realised this was God’s will and grand plan.

Indulge me for a moment; think of a time in your life when you feel like you’ve lost control: a moment of high stress, conflict with a co-worker, a bitterly angry partner, relationship breakdown or maybe your own health scare… During these times, our mind has a cruel habit of misplacing its wisdom (when it’s most needed), and the outcome does not fulfill any purpose. This is when God does his best work… often through us, his divine grace and love impact a much wider group of people we’re blissfully unaware are being affected by our experience.

God presents us with challenges, opportunities and ‘moments’ every day – our challenge is to listen with the intent to understand his whispers and encouragement.

Pastor Greg Jones spoke about developing a different spirit on Sunday and, importantly, demonstrated to us all exactly what it looks like to live on the ‘second mile’.

Caleb (Numbers 14:24) demonstrated a different attitude than the others; he remained planted in God’s great vision. He had a different approach because he had a different heart; he didn’t whinge and moan about what he didn’t have; he didn’t focus on what was wrong with the situation. Rather, he made a choice. Caleb used the power we all have every day, the power to choose what we feel like on the inside.

Regardless of what’s going on around you, you always have a choice. Since nearly losing everything, my perspective on life’s choices is very different. I take the opportunity every day to ‘jump out of the box’, and live life with passion, purpose and not to just fall back into the landscape.

God is saying “let me out” Live on the second mile, let his light shine through you, and live every day like it’s a gift – which is exactly what it is!

Written by Nic Stephen

Energizer Youth on a Hero’s Journey

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The next generation of our church are very excited to see where we can take the church in the future. We are being inspired by the generations above and we are getting ready to bring celebrating and learning about Jesus to a whole new level. We are already starting by doing what we can to influence the people around us and bring them to Christ. We are all currently getting involved more and more within the church; lots of the youth are volunteering in various parts of the church and doing what they can to help make the church an even better place to be each and every week. We believe our time is now. As a youth team, we are learning about ‘the heroes journey’; we are learning about what Jesus did and how we can be more and more like him outside of church and how we can influence others to do so. Fifteen year old Energizer Youth, Danica Ellis says “school, dancing and work give me a chance to be able to talk to my friends and tell them my testimony and how God has impacted my life so much, it changed me for the better. If I didn’t give my life to Jesus, I wouldn’t be the same person in front of them.” She also explains that ”I can impact my friends, people at work or people I just met around my age, because I find it easiest to connect with this group of people.” This is something that’s very hard to do for most people, but as a youth ministry, we are all working towards being comfortable talking to anyone about Jesus and inviting people to church. We have been encouraged to read our bibles a lot more and Danica said one of her favourite verses is Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “It reminds me that God is always with me and that he gives me the strength to complete all of his tasks.” We have all learnt how to read the bible and get something we need to hear from it; it’s not always easy, but if we ask God for help, klhe will reveal himself. This is how the heroes’ journey brings us to connect, empower, serve and send. Youth is held on a Friday night from 7-9 in the church’s main building, our Hobart Campus, and is a great place for people of ages 13-18 to gather and learn about Jesus, and have a great time surrounded with amazing people. Also, if you’re above the age bracket you can become a youth leader and watch the youth grow and help them live a great life in Jesus’ name! Written by Jaymie Mullen, Energizer Youth

Blast From The Past

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grant
When I was in my twenties, I worked in a hairdressing salon in Frankston, Victoria. It was a very busy salon, with over fifteen hairdressers and half a dozen nail technicians. We were innovative, exclusive and more than that; we were GOOD, and we knew it! Egos reigned supreme in that salon. The salon was owned by a man named Barry Page and he was an incredible teacher and father to us all. He knew how to build a team and he knew how to manage all of our personalities with the skill of an orchestra conductor. Working for Barry was a complete joy, and we all fought for his attention and love. When he let us know that we were doing a great job that was when we knew we had made it. I liked to think that I was his favourite! I am sure we all did.

Hayley was a part time hairdresser, but man-o-man, what a bitch she could be! Don’t get me wrong, she was nice enough most of the time, but when she snapped, she drew blood. Hayley knew how to cut right to the quick and get into your heart, bypassing your head. She was a surgeon with words, and if she wasn’t so good looking and talented, I am sure we would have killed her as she was blow waving. Like I said, it was a salon of egos.

It was tough for us all when Barry told us that he had sold the salon. The toughest part was the new owners, Bill and Kate. Nobody liked them or respected them, but we all had to suck it up. We were a team, for better or worse. Even though I had been in the salon for a long time, and I had a huge clientele, there was still a fight over “Top Dog”. The fight normally erupted between the two biggest egos in the place: mine and Hayley’s.

After I was made salon manager, I made some pretty bad choices. I was ill-equipped, and immature. One of the early decisions was to let Hayley go. Long story. I ended up leaving the salon after another 8 months to pursue my dream job at L’Oreal. I barely saw my old team after that. Until Zuckerberg came along and invented Facebook.

Three months ago, Hayley contacted me via Facebook. I noticed that she looked happy and reasonably stable, so I accepted her friend request. She sat in the background of my news feed and I looked on as she added posts, and I guess she did the same for me. Two weeks ago, Hayley started making an effort to get back in touch over the phone. I told Gaynor about it, and we both started to remember the old days [we worked together] with Hayley and we wondered aloud why she might be getting back in touch.

After some to-ing and fro-ing, Hayley and I managed to touch base. It was great! We reminisced together, apologised to one another and caught up on family, where we live now and work. It was a happy conversation, and fairly superficial. You know, it was “nice”. Then Hayley dropped the bombshell… she mentioned to me that she had noticed that I had become more “spiritual” of late and she wondered about that.

Now I am wary of these conversations, as I have had some “interventions” from old friends who think I have joined a cult and I have lost friends and family and even been abused by some old workmates. I decided in this instance to be bold, and I shared my entire testimony with Hayley. Lock…stock and two smoking barrels later, and after the tears had subsided [hers and mine] she said to me “I wish I could have that”. What happened next was amazing. I explained to Hayley how she COULD have this and what it meant. I told her that all of that pain, sorrow and shame that she felt from her past would be torn up in an instant by Jesus and forgotten about for all eternity. I told her that the book of her life would still have its cover, but the pages would now be perfect. The pages would be the same pages that Jesus has in His book. Her life would be without blemish and that she could be completely forgiven. I explain what Grace is, and how loved, how worthy and how wonderfully made she is. I asked her if she wanted all of that and when she said “yes”, I told her that all she had to do was to accept that Jesus died for her, and ask for forgiveness, and then we would pray together.

It’s a strange feeling leading someone in the sinner’s prayer over the phone, especially when you know that The Holy Spirit is the one calling the shots. It’s a strange feeling to know that God is using you in the middle of an ordinary day, but what a privilege to have Him use us like this. Hayley went to church the next Sunday, where (get this!) Barry [our old boss] was preaching AND she invited an old work colleague to church with her, Brooke, who re-committed her heart as well. God is always, has always and will always be walking and working with us, through us and in us.

Speak. He is listening.

Written by Grant Mullen

It’s The Little Things; Laura’s Secret to Loving Children

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Laura’s face is a much-loved one around Energizer Church, particularly among the children down in EKids. Since joining us in August last year, she has jumped right in and served cheerfully and effectively in kids’ church. Laura’s natural affinity and gift for working with children is not something that is contained within the walls of our church though; she also works at a local Early Learning Centre throughout the week, working with children from babies to primary aged kids. Laura is very aware of the vital role she plays in the development of these precious little people and she is keen to launch out into the deep in 2015 in her workplace. “I have such an important role to play in the way that children learn and grow, and this year with God’s support, I want to strive to follow through with what I have learnt from church and implement it into my workplace. I really feel like this year is a big year of growth and confidence.”

Launching into the deep has been a common theme for us at Energizer Church so far this year, with the phrase “do it different” on everyone’s lips. For Laura, this year is about stepping into her identity in Christ, being happy and comfortable with who she is and allowing that to draw people to God. In particular she is passionate about showing the love of Christ to the young ones in her care: “I feel that I was always meant to do it, even though it’s been hard at times and I’ve wanted to try other things, something always stops me, so I think there is definitely a reason God wants me working with children and I think that’s where I’m going to have the most impact.” Laura’s love for the families which whom she work speaks volumes about her spiritual conviction: “working with children really gives me a great opportunity to connect with families in a positive way through building relationships to the point where I can openly mention God to them”. Laura also prays passionately for the families connected to her workplace and never let’s an opportunity to step out and help a stranger pass by. “I don’t necessarily believe that the only way we can tell people about God is through words; every little bit matters”.

Although she works in a secular environment Laura is not alone as she takes the love of Christ into her world. She goes in the strength of our Church, a community who believe in one another and champion one another. “To me church plays a vital part in the way I connect with people beyond the church. Without church I wouldn’t gain the confidence and support to step out in faith. Some Sundays I listen to sermons and feel that the sermon is really speaking to me; that God is telling me something that I need to know in order to step out in faith and reach the lives of others”. However, it’s not just Sundays that encourage and inspire Laura, a regular attendee at her LifeGroup, she attributes some of her confidence to the strong relationships she has forged within the church. It’s these relationships, along with leaning on her favourite scripture, Romans 8:38-39, that keep Laura staying the path when trialling days threaten to get her down.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord”. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)

“Connecting people to God, for me, is all about showing his love; showing people that they are not alone and that there is someone who loves you more than anything. Sometimes all people need to hear is that they are not alone and that god loves them. Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a huge difference.”

This week, as you go into your workplace, school or wherever you are headed, remember, like Laura, the little things can make the biggest impact on people’s lives. Let’s be a church who are always ready to show the love of God with our service, our words or even just a smile!

By Jen Grubb

Changing A Generation; One Frog at a Time

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University parties would be one of the last places where you might expect a Church to encourage their Young Adults’ ministry to hang out, but our young adults’ pastor Simon Grubb has other ideas. This year, Energizer YA, combined with our friends at Velocity Church YA, is launching a fortnightly outreach into the student accommodation at UTAS. A team of volunteers will go into the various accommodation services and provide support, pastoral care and free pancakes to the students who live there. Red Frogs is a chaplaincy service, founded on the Gold Coast as a response to the danger that young people were putting themselves in a Schoolies Week. It now operates through the local church is over 9 countries, in universities, at music festivals and sporting events.

This year, Energizer Church is launching out into the deep and finding ways to “do things different”. For Energizer Young Adults, this means getting out of their comfort zone, heading out into the community and creating opportunities to serve their generation. It might just seem like free pancakes and red frogs, but to a young person stressed out with a uni workload and living away from home, that little bit of love is going to go a long way. Energizer YA aims to provide opportunities for those already connected with the church to put their faith into action; they want to see a generation empowered and released to take the love of Christ beyond the walls of the Church. To this Red Frogs Crew, that’s what Connect, Empower, Serve, Send is all about!

Matthew 20:28 is the verse that underpins Red Frogs’ existence, according to founder, Citypointe Church pastor, Andy Gourlay:

“For the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

It’s this verse that has inspired Simon to gather a team of passionate and willing Red Frogs volunteers from amongst the young adults’ ministry. “We are inspired by Jesus’ example to serve in a way that has meaningful impact in the short term, but also allows for longer term connection and discipleship,” explains Simon. “Jesus gave his life, so our response is give up some of our evenings and make them available for his kingdom”.

The Energizer YA Red Frogs Team is in need of some volunteers. If you are looking for opportunities to get out of your comfort zone and bring the love of Christ to the community, then this could be perfect for you!

By Jen Grubb