Neil's blog

I just love the brutal Aussie humour, & it sells! Shops with names they’d never get away with in the U.K, like: ‘The Athlete’s Foot’ - a shoe chain, ‘Holy Sheet’ sells luxury beds & linen, but my favourite is ‘Roti Boti’, an Indian Restaurant! Can you imagine dining at a restaurant in Scotland called ‘Deli Beli’? Yet, all these brands are very popular.

The ‘Scots’ Church’ where I’m preaching, as you’d expect, attracts a large number of Scots or Aussies with Scottish backgrounds, but not just exiled Scots. The morning service is very traditional with a strong choral participation, while the evening serves a large number of students & young adults from a mix of ethnic backgrounds.

It strikes me that, like America, Australia is a hotbed for risk-takers & entrepreneurs. The Scots who founded the Scots Church bought a huge amount of land which now sits in the Central Business District, & brings in a lot of money from leasing. This money allows the church to employ full time workers & reach out in distinctive ways. Richard, whom I’ve swapped with, is involved in getting alongside business people in the City Centre to support & mentor them in following Jesus; John Diacos, is responsible for the evening service & mentoring students & young adults. Meanwhile their sister church ‘St Stephen’s’ is reaching another group of people. The constant challenge is to see what Jesus is calling us to do and to join in with.

In Scotland the church has suffered from a lack of adventure & risk taking. Kirk Sessions, Presbytery meetings & General Assemblies until recently were very conservationist. The ‘Church Without Walls’ Report has encouraged a more progressive approach. Aussies, by nature are a bit more willing to take risks, after all many travelled some distance to get here. My theory is that, when the church’s influence in society recedes & followers become less, there’s a greater willingness to try new things. God & the Gospel message never change, but cultures do. We can’t expect people just to come along to church services any more, we Christians need to be out there, adventurously living the Jesus life, helping people to see that following Jesus is the greatest path they can take.

Scotland used to be a great sender of missionaries to the World & her people were involved in inventing much technology we take for granted like the television & phone. What happened to dull our adventure & stunt our willingness to step out in Faith? On the other hand, Douglas Robertson, the lead pastor of Scots Church, is a scot who came seeking a bit of adventure (see photo of the Urks with the Robertsons). But we need adventurous scots in Scotland too!

By the way, it’s great to have most of my family out with me now, & to see & speak with the Fullarton Flock last Sunday by ‘Skype’, during their morning service. John Logie Baird & Alexander Graham Bell would have been proud of us! Anyway, I really must be adventurous & check out the ‘Roti Boti’, to pot (or the poti) with the consequences!