THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY{Christianity was never meant to be lived out alone}

Christian Community / Community Project Feedback - Past Projects / Meet Mel Thorburn Leadership Roundtable / Angry Words Family Service / Reflections on Riverina

Issue 04 | June - September 2012

PORTAL

THE PORTAL TEAM

{EDITOR} Andrew Mackereth {WRITERS} Brad Carr / Charlotte Woodfield / Melissa Guyan / Mel Palmer / Andrew Mackereth / Mel Thorburn Mark van Wijk / Al Ronberg / Max Carr / Debbie du Toit / Thomas Woodfield

{ART} Art Director/Designer - Amanda Crane / Photographer - Al Ronberg

{REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS} Rowland Forman / Andy and Nikki Bray / Louise Hopman

{GUEST CONTRIBUTORS} Kate Hosking / Sue Lynn Leong / Harrison Carr

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Contents{ON THE COVER}

4 Christian Community It’s all about the community!

11 Leadership Spotlight Meet Mel Thorburn - BoranyLife Office Administration

12 Community Project Feedback - Past Projects Past community projects feel goods

14 Leadership Roundtable Living Stones and Rowland Forman

19 Angry Words Family Service Angry Birds is great - Angry Words are not

24 Our Inner Community Reflections on Riverina and 1945 BC helping out the community

{REGULARS}

3 Pastor’s Column A word from the Pastor

8 Children’s Ministry BotanyKids - Small Groups

10 Musings Living Well Daily by Rowland Forman

15 Kid’s Portal Pull out pages full of activities to amuse the kids for a while

20 Youth Ministry Xchange: Fostering relationships through faith

22 Carey Baptist College

An insight from current student Andrew Mackereth

23 Creative Space A place for you to be creative and show everyone

26 Who’s That Get to know some of our fellow members in the church... Meet Pete and Melissa Guyan and Thomas Woodfield

28 Reviews - Music // Movies // Books Grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up and grab some popcorn,

30 Marriage & Parenting Advice from Andy and Nikki Bray of Family Life

31 What’s On at BotanyLife? Get your pens out and mark these dates on your calendar

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BOTANYLIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH

{STAFF}

Lead Pastor/Elder - Brad (and Rochelle) Carr / Community Pastor - Mark (and Steph) van Wijk / Children’s Pastor - Mel (and Drew) Palmer Church Administrator - Mel (and Julian) Thorburn / Sunday Service Coordinator - Mandy Francis

{ELDERS}

Todd (and Sheree) Hughes, Harataki (and Shona) Manihera, Steve (and Robyn) Young

Welcome to the fourth issue of Portal.

This issue is focused on community groups, and the key role they play in the life of our church. We currently have eleven groups running at

BotanyLife, and they do a great job of giving us smaller places to relate and grow together as our church gets larger. So rather than just using this

column to tell you what’s coming up in this edition of Portal (see the contents for that), I want to tell you why I believe connecting in a community

group is so important.

Firstly, from a theological point of view, the very nature of God pushes us towards community. God is highly relational, existing for eternity in a

tri-unity of three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He models community in his own essence, and invites us to mimic him and live life relationally.

Secondly, from a biblical stand-point, it is clear that in the Old Testament Israel was organised into smaller groups within the larger tribes for

coordination, leadership and care (Ex 18:24-25). And certainly when you come to the early church, you find the followers of Jesus also organising

themselves that way. The early church met in both a large group in the temple for worship and teaching, and from house to house in smaller groups

for fellowship, eating and prayer (Acts 2:42-46). That provides a great model for us of the importance of both large and small gatherings.

Thirdly, from the practical side, community groups are important for us obeying the “one another” commands in the New Testament (“love one

another”, “encourage one another”, etc). Those commands are difficult to practice in the context of larger church services, whereas community groups

are tailor-made for living out the commands to do life with one another.

Fourth, pastorally, community groups are essential as the church grows and the elders and pastors are not able to personally shepherd everyone

anymore. This means community groups become the primary place of pastoral care, allowing our church leaders to come alongside and support

groups when extra help or care is needed. I love hearing stories around our church of when people have been in difficult times and their

community groups have stepped up and done an outstanding job of caring, supporting, and praying for one of their own.

Finally, personally, I find being connected in a community group a huge blessing in my own life. I love being part of the Drew’s Crew men’s

community group, and just being one of the members of the group. I enjoy the chance to connect with a group of men in the church; to talk

through sermons and studies and how they relate to life; to talk and laugh and pray about the challenges we’re facing; and to feel like I’m connected

a little more deeply with a few brothers at BotanyLife.

If you’re not currently connected to one of our community groups, I hope this issue of Portal encourages you to take that step and try one or two out.

If you are already in a group, I hope these articles encourage you to renew your commitment and level of engagement in your group.

Either way, I hope you enjoy this latest edition of Portal.

BradLEAD PASTOR

Brad Carr

welcome to the...

Pastor’s Column

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Text by Mark van Wijk.

rowing towards Christ likeness is a life-long process,

as we continue to mature in our walk with God.

Therefore, as a church, we value life-long learning, as we study

and obey God’s Word together. We also believe that God

intends for much of that growth and learning to take place in

the context of Community Groups, where we can build strong,

authentic relationships with each other. With this in mind, let’s

explore what it means to be a Christian community.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD

A Christian community is made up of those people who have responded to the message of the gospel. Those who have been saved (according to Ephesians 2) ‘by grace, through faith, in Christ’. In the book of Exodus, God declares the Israelites to be His ‘treasured possession’, and His ‘own people’ (19:4-5, 6:6-7). In 1 Peter 2:9-10, Peter takes these phrases and applies them to the church – we too are ‘a people belonging to God’.

Christianity was never meant to be lived out alone. Instead, God has placed us together in His family, the Church, where we can accomplish much more for Him together than we ever could apart.

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WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST

A Christian community consists of those who deliberately share their

lives together. The New Testament often refers to Christians as being

God’s ‘family’ or ‘household’ (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:19, Romans

12:10). Families share everything – they eat, live and work together.

The other common metaphor the Bible uses is that of a body.

Christians are not a collection of individuals, but rather a single

functioning organism - each of us with different parts to play, but all

strongly connected.

WE HAVE THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT

A Christian community models an alternate way to live, it is

distinctive in how it approaches life. Like a ‘city on a hill’ (Matthew

5:14), the visible behaviour of the community shines out to all around

them, and demonstrates the glory of God. When Christ returns, he

will ‘restore all things’, but until then the Spirit of God is given to

us as a ‘deposit, guaranteeing’ that future restoration (Ephesians

1:13-14). The Spirit empowers us to model (in our imperfect way) what

a restored world looks like. We are to model the transformation that

the gospel makes to every aspect of our lives.

If this is a model of what a healthy Christian community looks like,

then how do we become this kind of community?

In the body of Christ ‘each member belongs to all the others’

(Romans 12:5), but this is much deeper than simply being a part of

the same group or belonging to the local golf, fishing or sports club.

As different parts of the same body, we are inescapably dependant

on one another. In the many ‘one another’ statements of the New

Testament letters, the implications for this are spelled out for us.

In his book Gospel in life, Pastor Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian

Church, Manhattan) describes a series of ‘community-building

practices’ that build healthy Christian community, that I think are

intensely practical:

Affirm one another’s strengths, abilities and gifts.

(Romans 12:10, James 5:9, Romans 12:3-8)

We see this expressed most clearly in Romans 12:10: ‘Honour one

another above yourselves’. We should be much quicker to praise,

affirm, honour and celebrate the success of others, than to receive

these same things. There is a tendency in all of us (and I see this

clearly in my own life), to seek praise and affirmation, but we are

called to let this go, and instead to deliberately and specifically

encourage the other members of the body. If you find it hard to do

this genuinely, it might be helpful to consider another person in light

of these questions:

• Where are they growing and making progress? Perhaps in their

ability to handle difficulties or criticism? Or maybe they are

growing in peace, joy or self-control? Affirm and speak to them

about this.

• What talents and gifts do they have? Do you see them using their

gifts in ways that might benefit others? Do you see something

in their lives that could be cultivated? Tell them what you see,

encourage them to grow.

• Are they making sacrifices in order to make good decisions, even

though others may not be aware of it? Affirm their obedience.

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Fruit, gifts and sacrifices should be confirmed and affirmed in

Christian community.

Affirm one another’s equal importance in Christ (Romans 15:7,

1 Cor 12:25, 1 Peter 5:5, James 2:1)

As a Christian community we must refuse to be impressed by the

world’s status-ladders or pecking orders, which teach that some

classes, races, jobs or cultures have more ‘power’ than others. Over

and over, God’s Word implores us to reject this kind of thinking, and

to ban it from the church.

On the contrary, we are specifically encouraged to build

relationships with Christians across these traditional barriers. We

are also to value all gifts equally, rather than to hold some in higher

regard as the world might (e.g. Speaking or leadership ability).

James 2:1-14 is another classic text that expressly forbids favouritism

of rich people over poor.

Affirming one another through visible affection (Romans 16:16,

James 1:19, Eph 4:32, 1 Thess 3:12)

The New Testament directs us a number of times to ‘greet one

another with a holy kiss’, or ‘with a kiss of love’. We normally skip

past these instructions pretty quickly, and it’s probably fair to say

that some cultural translation is needed here, but we can’t avoid the

command to communicate love and affection in an appropriate and

visible way.

We must not be cold, abrupt, indifferent or harsh with one another,

but more than that, we must be willing to actually talk about our

love for each other. James 1:19 reminds us that one of the easiest

ways to practice this is to simply listen attentively to each other,

rather than be quick to rush in and take over a conversation.

I love what Dietrich Bonhoeffer says about this in Life Together:

‘THE FIRST SERVICE THAT ONE OWES TO OTHERS IN THE

FELLOWSHIP CONSISTS IN LISTENING TO THEM. JUST AS LOVE

TO GOD BEGINS WITH LISTENING TO HIS WORD, SO THE

BEGINNING OF LOVE FOR OTHERS IS LEARNING TO LISTEN

TO THEM… LISTENING CAN BE A GREATER SERVICE THAN

SPEAKING… THERE IS A KIND OF LISTENING…

AN IMPATIENT, INATTENTIVE LISTENING THAT IS ONLY

WAITING FOR A CHANCE TO SPEAK AND THUS GET RID OF

THE OTHER PERSON.’

Share one another’s space, stuff and time (Romans 12:10,

1 Peter 4:9, Galatians 6:10)

In a healthy Christian community, there is a willingness to share our

physical, material worlds, the way that families do. Specifically this

could mean:

• Sharing our homes, as we eat, learn, play and pray together.

• Sharing our stuff, our resources, perhaps by meeting practical

needs.

• Sharing time - being available to one another, and being

committed to meeting together regularly.

As a side note, anywhere you read ‘do good to one another’ (e.g.

Galatians 6:10), the writer is talking about concrete material help - it

means providing money, shelter or other practical help.

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Share one another’s needs and problems (Gal 6:2, 1 Thess 5:11,

Hebrews 3:13)

This may mean sharing resources and possessions, or perhaps

providing love and support in times of grief or weakness. We must

be willing to engage with people who are hurting and provide

whatever support they need.

Galatians 6:2 talks about carrying each other’s burdens. To help

someone who has a heavy load, you’ve got to get in close to them,

in order to take some of the weight on yourself. Notice it doesn’t

just say other’s burdens, but each other’s - a healthy Christian

community is a place where we don’t let others carry their loads

alone, but it’s also a place where we don’t try to carry our own

loads alone. We help others and we let them help us.

Share one another’s beliefs, thinking and spirituality (Col 3:16,

Eph 5:19, Romans 12:16, 1 Cor 1:10)

In a healthy Christian community we study and teach the Bible

to each other, we pray together, and we worship God together (in

a variety of ways). We are called to not only study the Bible as

individuals, but we are to read, study and wrestle with it together -

which leads to deeper unity, and greater consensus around how to

live out our faith in our own time and place.

Serve one another through accountability (James 5:16, Romans

15:14, Eph 4:25)

Earlier we looked at the call to be willing to share our needs with

each other, but we must also allow ourselves to be accountable to

others in the way that we live, even in the more personal aspects of

our lives. We must be willing to admit our own areas of weakness,

and develop close relationships with Christian friends who we

allow to speak into those areas of difficulty, in which self-deception

is easy. Often this includes areas such as our work/life balance,

sexuality, or use of money.

Serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation

(Eph 4:2, Col 3:13, Gal 5:26, James 4:11, Matthew 5:23-24, 18:15)

Christians in community don’t give up on one another. We must

always seek to forgive (or repent), and to repair relationships. And

it’s always your move. It doesn’t matter how the relationship was

damaged, or who ‘started it’, God calls you to reach out in love, that

the relationship might be repaired, and to never give up until it is

restored. Ephesians 4:2 tells us to ‘bear with one another’ - don’t

sweat the small stuff, and Galatians 5:26 talks about avoiding both

‘provoking’ (despising or looking down on a person), and ‘envying’

(resenting or feeling inferior to a person).

Serve one another’s interests rather than our own (Hebrews

10:24, Romans 15:1-2, Gal 5:13)

This is the classic servant-heart idea, and it’s hard. Without seeking

recognition for ourselves, we’re called to deliberately engage with

each other’s interests and needs. We must also avoid exploiting our

own Christian community, by making ourselves so indispensable

that we become dependent on others’ dependence on us. We must

also avoid simply taking (emotionally, materially and spiritually) from

our community, and never giving anything back. The challenge is to

neither be so proud as to think that we don’t need community, nor

so needy that we continually exploit others in our community.

We’d love for everyone at BotanyLife to be connected to a

community group, where we believe these ‘one another’ principles

can be best lived out. Community groups are where we can build

authentic relationships, in community with other church members.

To help foster healthy Christian community, each of our community

groups incorporate their own unique mix of the same three focus

points as the wider church - Upward (through worship, prayer, and

study), Inward (through fellowship, sharing, and social events), and

Outward (through organising or participating in outreach events

and programmes).

If you haven’t already, we’d love to help you connect into a

Community Group. Please take a look at the groups listed in the

Community Groups brochure (available at the Info Desk or at www.

botanylife.org.nz), and then feel free to visit any (or all) of them to

see where you feel most at home. If you have any questions, or

you’d like to know more about any of the groups, I’d love to hear

from you!

[Portions of this article are adapted from Gospel in Life, by Tim Keller]

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hances are, if you look back over your childhood, you can

probably remember one adult who really took an interest in

you and made you feel special. Maybe it was your Sunday School

leader, a sports coach, or a school teacher. Whoever it was, I bet

you remember them because they took the time to talk to you

and spend time with you, to get to know you. I am sure that those

people were the ones who spoke into your life with the most

impact. Developing relationships with kids earns you the right to

speak into their lives. One of the most effective ways to develop

relationships with kids in the church is through small groups in

the Children’s Ministry.

We introduced small groups into our Primary Aged ministry a few years

ago. While our groups aren’t so ‘small’ any more they still give us a

better chance at creating community and making connections than

we can in the large group setting where we teach the Bible lesson.

The energy created by a large group environment brings excitement

to the kids’ teaching time and worship. Our small group time creates a

sense of community for kids whose spiritual growth depends on caring

people who build relationships with them.

COMMUNITY: The small group environment gives kids a safe place

to share what they’ve learned, to grow in their relationship with God

and others, and to give and receive love. The small group experience

is intended

to fill our kids

with a sense

of belonging

that’s sometimes

absent in kids’

lives today. Small

groups give

kids a safe and

comfortable

group of people

with whom they

can process the

Bible story, share personal joys and struggles, and form friendships.

CONNECTION: Even with the most compelling and creative lessons,

truth can take a detour between kids’ ears and kids’ hearts. Kids aren’t

always sure what they’re supposed to do with what they’ve heard -

so actual learning or life-change doesn’t occur. Being in relationship

with a caring leader and friends helps children connect what they’ve

learned to their lives in a real and relevant way. In small group, leaders

walk kids through the “So what?”, and, “What now?” questions. They

help kids see how God’s Word applies to their lives today.

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Being in a small group is great! On Sundays you get to see your friends and learn things together. Not to mention there are also socials. Socials are a time to get together with your friends and have fun! Part of being in a small group is knowing you are never alone. There is always a leader that you can ask questions, and other people that can help you understand. You have to do your part too. If someone asks you for help, you can’t just say no. It’s all about teamwork! That’s why small groups are a lot of fun.

By Sue Lynn Leong (Member of the Jungle Girls Small Group)

Text by Mel Palmer.

AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE OPPOSITE PAGE WE HAVE SOME BIG SMALL GROUPS! Research tells us that the ideal group size for community and connection is actually 6-8 (in fact some of the material I’ve read says no more than five kids to every leader is ideal). To achieve this ideal we would need to split most our groups in half! I’d LOVE to be able to do that. The community and connections made for the kids would be so worth it!

Of course splitting our groups in half would mean that we need twice the number of leaders. If you’d like to chat about the possibility of becoming a small group leader, I’d love to hear from you!

Being a leader isn’t only of benefit to the kids. You will be amazed at how God will work through you to foster a loving and rewarding relationship with the children you work with. Small groups have already changed the lives of many children around the world because of the feeling of self-worth that they received in a small group. Are you ready to be used by God to change some lives?

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FOREST 1 - Forest 1 welcomes our Year One children - the youngest members of the Forest. They have recently welcomed three new ones who moved up from the Orchard at the beginning of this term. The Small Group leaders for this group are Casey Roux, Rebecca Hand and Jordan Millen.

FOREST 2 - Our Year Two small group is the biggest with 15 children -most of whom are pretty regular attendees of the Forest. This group is led by Drew Palmer, Richard Dykes, Joy Britten and Shanae Hofmans.

FOREST 3 - The Year 3 group is led by Cathy Downey-Parish, Curtis Mountfort and Larissa Sproul.

FOREST 4 - The leaders of our Year 4 group are Lara Hasslebach, Cameron Roots and Matt Williams.

JUNGLE GIRLS - Led by Lisa Hohneck, Isabel Hand and Sam Caceres.

JUNGLE BOYS - Led by Andrew Creahan, Grant Archibald and Steve Collier.

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Do you measure your life by birthdays, or

by the day? Are you defined by how many

years you have lived, or by how well you

live each day? What matters is not how

long you have lived, but how well you

have lived.

To help me focus on what really matters, I

periodically engage in a two-part stock-take.

The first part helps me to reflect on how short

life is, the second, how I will live the days left

to me. I calculate how long I would have to live

if my genetic predisposition is on my mother’s

side, or my dad’s. Then, to gain perspective on

how to live, I meditate on Psalm 90.

NUMBERING MY DAYS

The calculation part of my stock-take is based

on an overly literal interpretation of Psalm 90:12.

Teach us to number our days that we

may gain a heart of wisdom

Numbering my days on my mum’s side is easy.

I’ve outlived her. She died when she was a

mere 58 years. So, on her side of the family,

I’m doing okay. Nine years ago my dad died

at the ripe age of 83. On that calculation, I

have around 5241 days, or 168 months to live!

Not long. Sobering as that is, it’s not what the

Psalmist (most likely Moses) had in mind when

he said - teach us to number our days. It’s

more likely, in the context, he meant that we

need to treasure every day as a gift from God

and learn to live each day well.

LIVING EACH DAY WELL

That’s where the second part of my periodic

routine kicks in. I read all of Psalm 90. May

I suggest that you do that right now? The

psalm helps me to zoom in on one of life’s

central questions: “How can I learn to live each

day well?”

1. Keep Circling Back to God. First, says

the author (in verse one through six) we can

learn to live each day well, by realizing that

God is eternal and life is short. God is our

permanent address - he is our dwelling place.

Everything around us is temporary, as daily

news and obituary notices constantly remind

us. Practically, that means I need to be like

a homing pigeon - circling back to God at

regular intervals throughout the day. The way

that works in my life is to set aside a time of

reflection at the beginning of every day, when

I do two very simple things - read a section

of the Bible worshipfully, and pray through

the day ahead. I take out my calendar and

invite God to invade my day. As often as I can,

I pause after main appointments in my day,

to thank God for his help and ask for more.

Then at the end of the day I pray through

the day backward, thanking God for his help

with the last major activity of the day, then the

penultimate one and so on.

2. Keep Short Accounts with God. In verse

seven through eleven, it’s as if the psalmist

is saying you can live each of your days

well by realizing that God is holy and life is

stained by sin. He is awestruck by the thought

of God’s holiness, in verse 7 he says, we are

consumed by your anger. He recognizes that

God is aware of every one of his sins, and

that there is a connection between his sins

and the shortness of his life. Recently a close

friend said, “Maybe my high blood pressure

and high blood sugar level is because of the

cumulative effect of stress in this last year?” I

know the person well, and I agreed with their

assessment. This psalm is saying something

even more important - the need to be aware

of the cumulative effect of unconfessed sin. The

way my godly grandmother used to express

that truth is that I must “keep short accounts

with God.” She meant that I needed to allow

as little time as possible between a sin and

a time of confession. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul

says, Don’t let the sun go down while you are

still angry.

Applying

that principle to the seven deadly sins, we

might say, “Don’t let any of your days end while

you are still lustful, prideful, slothful, greedy,

envious, angry or gluttonous.” To live each

day well, I need to allow no clouds to come

between me and God. The hinge of Psalm 90

is verse 12: Teach us to number our days that

we may gain a heart of wisdom. The Message

paraphrase captures the essence of these

words: “Oh teach us to live well! Teach us to

live wisely and well.” Are you living your days

wisely and well?

3. Keep Asking God to Satisfy You with His

Love. In verses thirteen through seventeen,

the Psalmist reminds us that if we want to live

well, we need to realize that God’s love will

never let us go, and life is transformed by

prayer. John Piper captures the essence of this

section of the psalm when he says, “God is

most glorified in us when we are most satisfied

in him.” Are you currently satisfied with God?

If the tidal waves of life have upturned your

frail boat lately, you are probably saying, “Not

really.” Then join me in making verse fourteen

our daily prayer: Satisfy us in the morning

with your unfailing love. When that prayer is

answered, we will experience what we were

made for - to glorify God by enjoying him

day by day by day. It’s intriguing from time

to time to speculate on how much longer we

have to live. It’s infinitely more important to live

a Godward life daily. Here’s how that works

according to this timeless psalm:

• Every single day, keep circling back to God,

and reflecting on his eternity and your frailty.

• Every single day, focus on God’s holiness,

and keep short accounts with him.

• Every single day, ask God to satisfy you with

his love, and stand by while he floods you

with his joy!

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Living Well Daily

Rowland Forman serves as the National Director of Living Stones Leadership Ministries, which helps local churches in New Zealand to develop servant-hearted leaders. He has been in full-time Christian ministry almost 40 years, serving as a Bible College Principal, Teaching Pastor, Church-Planter, Curriculum Writer, Author and Mentor. Rowland and Elaine are foundation members of BotanyLife, being part of the initial core group that started the church, and they both lead separate men’s and women’s community groups. They have three adult children, seven wonderful grandchildren, and a fantastic son-in-law.

GAINING PERSPECTIVE FROM PSALM 90

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he lovely Mel Thorburn works in

the church office doing numerous

jobs that keep BotanyLife ticking over.

Her gorgeous smile and cheerful

manner make her a well-loved member

of this church. She is married to Julian

(Julz) and has three beautiful children -

Georgia (8), Baxter (6) and Reagan (5).

It was a delight to sit down and chat

with her the other day. I really love this

lady. She is such an awesome person

and having worked in an office before,

I have a high respect for everything she

gets through in a day.

How do you fill up your hours at

the office?

Believe me, it’s not hard. I wish I had time

to do all the work I had to do. My main

jobs are the weekly bulletin, the roster -

that’s huge, banking, paying bills, printing

CDs and other items for the services,

emailing... things like that. I also source

things for services, particularly the special

services like Mother’s and Father’s Day.

Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to squish a

full time job into a half time job. The hours

are great, because they fit in with kindy

hours, but 2pm comes around way too

quickly.

What’s your favourite aspect of the job?

I love working with the team. Everyone is

so enthusiastic and it’s really exciting to be

part of a team that is so passionate about

what we’re doing. They aim for the best and

it’s really inspiring.

What did you do before becoming a

mother and then working at the church?

I was a publication manager for a medical

publishing company. That involved liaising

with authors and editing articles, laying

them out. I like to do things really well and

this suited my skill set.

It was cool having a role outside of

motherhood, but I never really hungered

for it. Being a mum is awesome and a full

time job of its own. I found life just as busy

before this job with all the things I used to

volunteer for and get involved with. I’ve had

to learn to pull back and let a few things

go now that I’m working at the church.

I get a real sense of team spirit with

the BotanyLife leadership - how is this

fostered?

Brad is hugely responsible. We have a

staff meeting every Tuesday - debriefing

the service and planning for next week.

Brad is amazing at vision casting. He’s a

fantastic boss - he will always take the time

to listen. The communication within our team

is really open and honest, yet we can be

really gracious with one another. I guess

that’s the privilege of working in a Christian

environment. We all have a similar goal too,

so that’s really helpful. We have a heart to

help each other out.

How do you find balancing family life

with work life?

I have an incredibly supportive husband

who is really hands-on with the kids. Brad

agrees that I’m a wife and mother first, so

that is awesome. There are times when the

job requires more... like one off services -

Mother’s Day or Leadership Cafes. Julz is

my right hand man and always helping me

with whatever I need.

What’s the best thing about parenthood?

Special cuddles from kids. I love those quiet

one-on-one times with the kids. Knowing

that you are their comfort and they trust

and love you. It’s such a blessing.

As always - I like to end with a few

“getting to know you” questions...

What’s your favourite dessert?

Crème Brulee (Julz answered that one)

If you ever get free time, what do you

like to do with it?

I love seeing and being with people, so

probably grabbing a coffee with a friend or

a date night with Julz would be right at the

top of my list.

What’s your favourite movie?

The Labyrinth - I just re-watched it recently

and remembered how I much I love it!

T

LE

AD

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IP S

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T

meet...

Mel

BotanyLife Staff Member Text by Melissa Guyan

Thorburn

12

Community Project FeedbackPAST PROJECTSO

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SO MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED, and so many businesses contributed with extremely generous donations, that it’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to passing on the gratitude of our school. But first and foremost has to be BotanyLife Community Church.

The majority of people helping over the weekend are church members who have no connection with our school, but gave up their time and expertise to give something to our community. Truly

amazing, truly “Living life with passion and purpose”.

I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU and all the generous members of BotanyLife for the

extraordinary work and makeover they completed at our school. We were so very lucky to

be on the receiving end of such a huge community project and substantial makeover to our

school. Everything looks fabulous, and I know there has been lots of wonderful feedback

from the children and the school community.

MY HUSBAND AND I helped out on the Sunday and it was a great project to be part of. The atmosphere was something very special and it was great to meet such a lovely group of friendly positive people who were keen to make a difference. Thank you to you all for your, time, effort and energy.

JUST WANTED TO send my thanks to BotanyLife Church for all the great improvements to Elm Park School grounds. Such an amazing undertaking in one weekend, but I know it wasn’t just a miracle as my husband and I spent nine hours helping in the weekend, which was probably less than half of the time many of the church members spent and we could barely move on Saturday afternoon!! We actually get to benefit from all the work though, as my daughter attends the school and my son starts in July.

I WAS ASTOUNDED by the thought and planning to organise all the areas that played a part. We were greeted by a friendly and cheerful woman on the gate who seemed to know everything that was going on, so we knew the weekend would be productive. When we submitted our names I was wary not to spend too much time there, as the kids might get bored in the child care. However, when I went to pick them up they didn’t want to leave! Thanks to Mel & Co., they had done so many fun activities including mosaics, clay moulding, kite flying, watching movies etc. it wasn’t surprising they asking to return on the Sunday! The food was scrumptious with a huge variety of delicious baking and yummy filled rolls and fruit, which was a welcome reward for the workers. It was great that a celebration with music, bouncy castle, sausage sizzle and ice cream could be included.

13

ON BEHALF OF MY CLASS and myself I wish to add our sincere thanks to each of you for the AMAZING work you all put in at Point View School!! The total transformation is breath-taking - we can hardly believe that this was achieved in such a short space of time. There had been an incredible amount of planning before the weekend and everything was just so organised and well co-ordinated! Wow, what a tribute to your leadership, your team spirit and heart for the community.

WE HELD AN UNSCHEDULED ‘SPECIAL’ ASSEMBLY TODAY to talk about the weekend

- the first time I have done this in four years. We showed photos and had children telling

their stories. Sherri got all the children who attended up on stage and they talked about the

challenges and their favourite moments and what they planned to do in the Hive. It was a

very special time for everyone.

WHAT A BLESSING for our school in terms of the results you achieved and in terms of the tremendous sense of community that you brought into our grounds and our school community. Your work will enhance children’s learning about our environment for years to come and your spirit of service will continue to prompt thought about your church community and your faith.

THIS PROJECT CERTAINLY WAS

A BLESSING to all of us at Point View and we will treasure it and

enjoy the beauty, peace and many learning opportunities it will offer. Our classroom looks down on the Hive and it is a feast for the eyes! We truly feel so very fortunate to have been afforded this “gift” of Love you gave to us!!

HOW CAN WE EVER THANK YOU for what you did over the weekend? I wish you could have been at school today as the families who had not been there over the weekend arrived to see the results of all the hard work. There was a huge sense of excitement and lots of anticipation about future use of the Bee Hive.

I PRAISE GOD for all you have

done for our

school and trust

that God will con

tinue to bless

your community of faith.

WOW! FANTASTIC ORGANISATION. What would our c

ommunities do without

fabulous

organisations like

this? So many thanks.

WE ARE ALL STILL

INVIGORATED by the amazing atmosphere you brought with you. It affected everyone and is being commented on in many different ways.

OU

TR

EA

CH

I KEEP THINKING ALSO

ABOUT THE HUGE

NUMBER of extras you did around the school - the paving, the front garden, the garden clean outs, the painting, the scooter storage fencing, the container shelving and so on.

14

LEA

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iving Stones is a leadership resourcing ministry

headed up by our very own Rowland Forman.

Every year they run a Leadership Roundtable which,

despite the lack of an actual round table, is a very refreshing

time of challenge and input from some very passionate and

skilled pastors and theologians.

This year I was very drawn to how different churches and ministries

are finding creative ways to engage their local communities. My

independent observation of how churches generally seek to engage

their community is to run big events that are essentially attractional.

A big part of why I have been drawn towards BotanyLife is the

community projects that we are so passionate about, but more than

that, the underlying idea that our best opportunity to be salt and light

to our community, is to go where they like to go, and to invest ourselves

in the things that are important to them!

Hearing stories of how leaders’ hearts are breaking for the people that

God brings across their paths was a truly humbling experience, and

as I reflect upon what this might mean for the things I know God has

asked me to do, I find myself considerably challenged to give more, to sacrifice more and if I am to be honest, to care more.

As the year comes to a close, it is exciting that we still have so much ahead of us, so many opportunities to connect with people beyond our Sunday services - not just in one big community project each year, but in the simple everyday relationships we cultivate in our schools, our workplaces and in our families.

Text by Al Ronberg.

15

Copyright © 2011, BibleWise. All Rights Reserved. Drawing by JJ Johnston.

Rahab hides Joshua's spies. Find what is di�erent in each picture.

BibleWise

Find the Difference, Rahab

KID

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JUNGLE GIRLS’ SOCIAL

Tonight was awesome… it was all about the `Jungle Girls’ and

having fun!

First we made homemade pizza with ham, cheese, salami and

cheerios. While our pizzas were cooking, we each got to

decorate our very own cupcakes with decorating gel pens,

pink marshmallows and pink icing, then each took turns

relaxing with a foot spa, chilling with our friends and eating

our yummo pizzas.

We then watched the movie Soul Surfer, which is all about the

amazing story of Bethany Hamilton. At the age of 13, she was

attacked by a shark and lost an arm, but had the courage to

go back into the ocean and surf again. It was an amazing

story, and reminded us to not give up when the going gets

tough, and that God is with us all the time. While we watched

the movie, some of the girls got their hair curled, and it

looked great!

Looking forward to the next `Jungle Girls’ get-together already!

By Kate Hosking

16

KID

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HERE’S A BIT OF FUN...

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”- Genesis 2:15

©Jellyfish One 2011www.whatsinthebible.com

© 2010 Jelly�sh Labs, LLC

1. True or False - Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son Issac? 2. What was Abraham’s name before God changed it? 3. What was Abraham’s nephew called? 4. The names of Isaac and Rebecca’s twins were?5. Jacob had 12 sons, who was his favourite?6. Who did God call to lead the people out of Egypt?7. How many plagues were there in Egypt? What were they?8. True or False - To cross the Red Sea the Israelites had to swim.9. While the Israelites were in the desert what did God provide for food?10. What is the most important commandment?

ANSWERS: 1. True; 2. Abram; 3. Lot; 4. Esau and Jacob; 5. Joseph; 6. Moses; 7. 10 - water turned to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, death of the firstborn; 8. False; 9. Manna and Quail; 10. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all you strength

17

DVD 1: In the Beginning CROSSWORD PUZZLE

1 2 3

4

5

6

7 8

9 10

11 12

13

ACROSS

5.. Another word for the first 5 books of the Bible 6. There are 66 ____ in the Bible. 7. The first book of the Bible. 9. There are 27 books in the ____ Testament. 10. The second book of the Bible. 11. The word “testament” means _____. 13. Clive’s brother

DOWN 1. It took 1600 ____ to write the Bible. 2. Who was the woman created to be Adam’s companion? 3. Man of News 4. Translated the Bible from Hebrew to Latin 8. What animal tempted Eve? 9. Who built the ark during the flood? 12. Sunday School Lady uses a _____ flannelgraph.

KID

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TEST YOUR MEMORY...

18

KID

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LCAKE

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups milk

100g butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

ICING

100g butter

250g icing sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

Little milk to mix

1 tsp vanilla essence

Heat oven to 180°C. Line a 20cm cake tin with

baking paper. I wouldn’t recommend a loose

bottomed cake tin for this recipe as it is very

runny and will drip out of tin. If that is all you

have make sure you line it well.

Put all ingredients in a food processor or cake

mixer and mix together until combined.

Pour into prepared tin.

Bake for at least 50minutes. Cake is cooked

when a skewer poked into the centre comes

out clean.

To make icing beat all ingredients together

and add a little milk as needed to get a

smooth spreadable consistency.

Ice cake when cold; if your cake is still warm

your icing will melt off!

STEP IT UP!

Add a handful of chocolate chips to mixture.

Stir through some raspberry jam just before

you bake.

Slice cake in half and add some raspberry jam

to the centre.

See what else you can try! Maybe for an

adults’ treat you could pour some Kahlua or

coffee over the hot cake as it comes out of the

oven. For kids add Smarties or M&M’s instead

of choc chips.

YOU ARE ONLY LIMITED BY

YOUR IMAGINATION!

Happy baking,

I love this cake and it is super easy, especially if you want the kids to help. Just throw all ingredients into the food processor or cake mixer, mix till combined and chuck in the oven.

Try stepping it up - some ideas at the end of the recipeR

eci

pe

by

Lou

ise H

opm

an.

19

FAM

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ngry Birds is the title of one of the most popular “apps”

available on phones, i-pods and tablets today. Children

and adults the world over are addicted to the challenge of

taking down the baddie pigs by firing birds from a slingshot.

ANGRY BIRDS IS GREAT - ANGRY WORDS ARE NOT.

That was the focus of our second annual “Family Service,” held on

Sunday 24th June. After the great success of our first family service

in 2011, another service with all the children and adults together

was planned for this year. The fact that the weekend of this year’s

Family Service was only our second Sunday at the new Botany

College venue just added some more fun to the day!

And what a fun service is was! Many of the children enjoyed

some pre-service fun playing the actual Angry Birds games before

the service got underway with some great children’s worship, led

by many of the BotanyKids team. There was also some adult and

children’s quizzes (testing their knowledge of birds and angry words

in the Bible); a fantastic drama with the “Angry Nerds” (Kelvin and

Lochie were outstanding!!); and even a life-size Angry Birds game

complete with a slingshot!!

The whole point, of course, was for all of us to be reminded that

our angry words hurt each other. The message reminded us to

“Stop! Think! Pray!”, before using words that wound someone else.

Hopefully people have been putting that into practice, and less

angry words have been flying around the house these days!

A huge thanks to the wonderful team who staged our “Angry

Words” Family Service, especially Mel Palmer, Mandy Francis,

Andrew Brooks and Mark van Wijk.

Text by Brad Carr.

20

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ed by Mike and Rachael Read, Xchange is a group that

meets on Sunday mornings during the school terms.

Catering for year 7 and 8 (forms 1 and 2), this group bridges

the gap between BotanyKids and ALTR, aiming to foster

relationships between members and build a foundation of faith

which will continue to grow through high school years.

As Mike puts it, the group aims to “help them to understand why

they believe”. “It’s [also] about moving from dependence to starting

the journey of independence”.

Their Sunday morning programme, combined with twice-a-term

socials, are the tools used by Mike, Rachael and their team of

leaders to bring this about. During church, the youths engage in a

forum-like setting where discussions are guided around questions

of faith, relationships and choices. This past term has seen them

grapple with issues such as “Will I be ok when the world ends?”,

and, “Do I have to tell others about God?” It’s not just leaders

asking the tricky questions, according to Mike. “Every now and

then we have some bright spark kid that’s got some challenging

views on things which requires some sound theology to steer in the

right direction...!”

Their assortment of “great, strong, up-front leaders” are a valuable

asset. “They all take the big idea and do something different with it,”

says Rachael.

Xchange came about through Mike’s interest in youth, which had

led him not only to undertake a youth pastors’ course, but also to

consider a career as an intermediate teacher. Reacting to the need

for an intermediate group, Mike approached Brad; “The eldership

had been praying for about three or four months prior that someone

would step forward to take on this ministry, so there wasn’t a lot of

discussion - it was like, “oh that’s cool, when do you start?”

On top of the Sunday morning programme, twice a term on a Friday

night the group gets together for social activities, ranging from the

more sedate movie night to more extreme activities. The “Fear Factor”

social from last year, which took place on Paul and Rachel Knight’s

farm involved “lots of food, lots of mess, [and] lots of cold people”.

This term has seen Xchange do rock climbing and a movie night as

indoor activities are preferable during the autumn and winter terms.

Rachael points out that more important than the activities themselves

is what they promote: “[Socials are] about relationships; giving them

an opportunity to connect with each other”.

And it’s all part of the change process. “It’s a big deal for parents,

dropping their ten or eleven-year-old at some strangers’ place,”

says Mike, “It’s the parents... starting to see that their soon-to-be

teenagers will go off and start doing youth group stuff... they’re

growing up,” adds Rachael.

“We’ve loved seeing the kids grow through the two years that we

have them, and it’s always hard at the end, bittersweet as they

move on. It takes them two years, but that’s great; seeing them

ready to go”.

L

Xchange: fostering relationships through

FAITHText by Thomas Woodfield.

“DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND, THAT BY TESTING YOU MAY

DISCERN WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD, WHAT IS GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT” - ROMANS 12:2 (ESV)

21

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2222

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have recently been burdened to encourage my brothers

and sisters at BotanyLife to think about the opportunities

for Christian education that are available to us in New Zealand.

Having just completed 18 months of technically part-time study

at Carey Baptist College, I can honestly say that I have learned

more about my God in these last 18 months than in the five years

preceding them. I mingled with Christians from a plethora of

backgrounds and traditions. I participated in a community which

feeds it students twice a week for free. I was taught how to read

Scripture (better), how to study Scripture (better), and how to begin

the process of applying it. In Christology, I was confronted with the

importance of Christ’s ongoing representation of humanity to the

Father; this was a highlight for me. As much as I had been given to

believe that studies in classical and systematic theology were dull

and clinical, I found them to be anything but. As I have grown in

theological precision I have also grown in awe of Christ. There’s a

running joke at Carey that “Jesus” is the answer to every question

and I found that to be exactly right, although I learned that it is isn’t

enough to simply state that: at Carey and in the real world you are

required to show your working.

This piece isn’t an advertisement for Carey. It is a fine school, full

of fine people and staff, offering fine courses and opportunities for

growth, worship and community (you should be so lucky). However,

all of these things I know about Carey, I have good authority to

believe, are true of Laidlaw and Pathways also. The fact of the

matter is that when it comes to theological schools, we are spoiled

for choice! There are more options than we know what to do with.

I have felt God burdening me to encourage others to take stock

of these options. Many of you are living in Scripture and reading

books and growing spectacularly into the image of Christ. Amen.

But on the off chance that a few of you (like me) require

and/or desire a more structured learning process, I would suggest

you think seriously about formal theological study to complement

and give context to your personal faith journey. Being young and

unmarried, I of course have a lot more time on my hands than you

may do. I can appreciate, at least in theory, the numerous demands

upon your time which might make studying difficult. I would suggest

that in spite of the difficulty you wouldn’t regret it. I would argue

that there are options available that might make part-time study an

easy and tolerable proposition for you.

With everything going on, you might only be able to manage a

paper a year. You might choose to study by distance. You might

only be free in the evenings so choose to attend night classes or

only free at weekends so choose to take advantage of day-courses

offered by Living Stones. You might have no time at all for

assignments so choose to merely sit in on (or “audit”) papers instead;

and if you’re not fussed about studying for any sort of accreditation,

this is a credible option. The reality is that there are diverse and

relatively flexible options. You might not be able to spare much of

your time, but what little you can would assuredly be well invested.

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity that was presented to

me to spend such a length of time studying my God in detail. It is

my ambition to continue studying in a reduced capacity in the new

year and to continue to do so in subsequent years. It is my hope

that I might be able to encourage others to think seriously about

doing the same. It seems a shame to waste such valuable resources,

especially when they have been made so accessible to us. I am

speaking entirely from experience, but it is my suspicion that as one

is confronted with new but orthodox ways of thinking and speaking

about Christ that one cannot help but grow in awe of him.

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E

TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY

Te Kareti Iriiri O Carey

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

Prospectus 2012-13Prospectus 2012-13

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E

TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE TE KARETI IRIIRI O CAREY

Te Kareti Iriiri O Carey

CAREYBAPTIST COLLEGE

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

careyB A P T I S T C O L L E G E

Te K a r e t i I r i i r i O C a r e y

Prospectus 2012-13Prospectus 2012-13

Text by Andrew Mackereth.

23

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There once was a mag called PortalWith space, due to creative shortfallSo get off your chuffGrab your crayons and stuffCos this is as good as we can do without you and it’s AWFUL! send your creative work e.g. poems, art,

song writing etc to portal@botanylife.org.nz

24

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number of weeks ago we

celebrated our final church service

at Riverina School. We were celebrating

God’s provision of Botany College, and

frantically planning how we would

manage all the logistics of the move. But

as we stood and sang a final couple of

songs during that last service, I have to

admit feeling a little emotional saying

goodbye to that little school hall.

Riverina was the school that opened its

doors to us when we were struggling to

find a rental facility to meet in as a church

at the start of 2004. Even though it wasn’t in

the area our name suggested - more like on

the edge of Pakuranga and Panmure - we

were grateful to find somewhere to meet as

a church after a somewhat fruitless search to

that point.

Yet it became our home for the first eight

and a half years of our life as a church,

and as I looked back on that time during

that final service there were many things I

thanked God for.

I gave thanks for that initial leadership team

of five couples - Andy and Nikki Bray, Stan

and Margaret Bloxham, Robin and Sonia

Byrne, Cliff and Cassy Hand, and Rochelle

and I - who made wise decisions about the

mission and core DNA of our church that still

guide us today.

I gave thanks for the thirty or so other

people in our core group who chose to

leave an established church behind to be

part of starting something new out in their

community of East Auckland.

I gave thanks to God for the wonderful

people he has brought to our church family

over the years, who now play key roles

in our church. So many people have now

become dearly loved brothers and sisters,

and fellow pilgrims on this journey of life.

I gave thanks for the new leaders God

has brought as elders and staff - Harataki

and Shona Manihera, Steve and Robyn

Young, Todd and Sheree Hughes, KK and

Susan Leong, Mark and Steph van Wijk,

Mel and Drew Palmer, Mel and Julian

Thorburn, Mandy Francis, and Shellene and

John Garofalakis. And our wider team of

outstanding ministry leaders throughout

our church - what a great team to lock

arms with.

I gave thanks for our first community project

held at Riverina School when we were

just four months old. I gave thanks for the

gardens that were planted, the toilet block

that was painted, the curtains that were

sewn, and the playground equipment that

was built. But I also gave thanks to God for

planting a calling in our hearts to be a “go

and do” church.

I gave thanks for the people who have found

Christ at Riverina during or after church

services or Christianity Explored groups.

I gave thanks for the over 400 church

services we have held in that school hall

- for times of heartfelt worship, times of

reflection and prayer, times of repentance

and confession. I gave thanks for zany

dramas, moving testimonies, quiet moments,

stirring worship, and Bible-centred sermons.

I gave thanks for the number of teenagers

and adults who have been baptised in the

chilly waters of the Riverina school pool each

March, signifying their faith in Jesus and

their commitment to him.

I gave thanks for the families who have

joined us over the last eight years, and the

babies that have been born during that

time. I gave thanks for all the Bible lessons

taught to our children in the Oscar rooms,

classrooms, staff room, library and even

corridors. And I gave thanks for the number

of children that have opened their hearts to

Jesus in those rooms and trusted in him for

the first time.

But most of all I gave thanks to a God who

has been faithful to us as a church, through

the thrilling times and the tough times,

through excitement and tragedy.

And I gave thanks that the church is not a

building - it is not defined by the premises

where it meets, whether that’s a majestic

cathedral or a simple church hall. The church

is the people, the community of faith of those

who have trusted in Jesus and are being

built into the new temple of the Holy Spirit

(Eph 2:19-22).

And as I stood and sung praises in that

final service, with tears in my eyes, I gave

thanks for you, and that you are a part of

what God is doing at BotanyLife - wherever

we may meet.

Text by Brad Carr.

A

Reflections on Riverina

25

1945 BC Community Group wanted to give back to our community. So we decided to have a big cook up of Cannelloni and Fiji Curry to freeze for the BotanyChef’s. It was a night of good times, good company and great smelling food which made us all HUNGRY!

CO

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26

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?

hile I have had the joy of spending

time with, and getting to know,

Melissa over the past couple of years,

this was my first decent conversation

with her husband, Pete, where we did

more than share niceties around kids’

demands after a church service. And what

surprised me was that spending time with

Melissa and Pete Guyan is kind of like

talking to conjoined twins. They are very

natural together and their replies almost

seamlessly marry into one fluent story. It

was really great to hang out with them

and their two boys, Jake and Brody, for

an afternoon.

The story behind how this harmonious couple

came to find one another is quite amusing.

After a six month stint in the USA, Pete

returned to his home church here in Auckland

in 1999. Whilst sitting in the congregation he

noticed this ‘babe’ singing up front, leaned

over to his brother, Phil Guyan, and asked

“Who is she? I want to go and meet her!”

Unbeknownst to Pete, Melissa’s parents were

sitting right behind him hearing the whole

conversation! And what’s more, her dad was

the minister of the church at the time too.

Awkward - but memorable I’m sure!

Whilst Melissa has toyed with putting her

hand up to join the worship team, this

musical talent has been somewhat hidden

from most of us at BotanyLife. But it should

be noted that music is strong in the Guyan

household. Melissa is very artistic, being a

singer, song writer and pianist. Pete’s brilliance

shines through in his directing several school

musicals, plus playing the saxophone - which

he admits he has tried to keep secret

from Brad!

Melissa is currently developing another

creative outlet. She is kicking off her writing

career around being an at home mum.

Melissa has self-published three novels to

date, with another hopefully due for release at

the end of this year. Melissa feels privileged

to have not only found her passion, but also

to be in a position where she can do it. Her

dream would be to write full time when both

kids go to school, but realistically it may

be more like working one to two days and

writing three days. Of key importance for her

is that she is there for the kids and being

able to work her own hours with writing

allows for this.

Pete started at Bucklands Beach Intermediate

in 1995, and even taught on section there

during teacher’s college. However, after an

illustrious career of leading students both on

the stage and on camp, Pete has made a big

change! In August, the whole family moved to

Suzhou Industrial Park in China, where Pete is

teaching maths and science to 11-13 year olds

at an international school.

The move to China was driven in part by

financial motivation, allowing Melissa to

continue developing her writing career and

be a stay at home mum. But interestingly this

is a move that has been on Melissa’s heart

for some time. Having grown up in Pakistan

where her parents were missionaries, Melissa

attended an international school herself. She

absolutely loved it and knew that she wanted

her kids to have this experience too. God has

stepped in and guided their decision making

as everything came together

very easily and painlessly. Obviously

Pete’s outstanding skill-set and great

experience made him a much sought

after candidate too!

On being asked what the hardest thing is

about moving to China, Pete gave the true

kiwi-bloke answer... sport! Whilst he’s hoping

they’ll have cable, he is not sure if he’ll get to

play hockey, which he’s done so for the last

30 years. Melissa’s answer on the other hand

was more relational; leaving Mum whom she

speaks to daily in Hamilton, and her best

friend Brenda who she emails 3-4 times a day

on the North Shore. And BotanyLife made

mention on this list too - when returning to

NZ they will come worship with us as they

view BotanyLife as their church home and

love coming here.

Fun in the Guyan household for their eldest

son Jake (4) takes the form of exploring new

spots (like Musick Point), after school wrestling

matches (when daddy gets home) and

lights-off lounge discos. Though Brody is only

13 months old, he seems to be a man’s-man

and is following daddy’s love of all things

sporting. Melissa and Pete are huge movie

fans, so an ideal date night for them is to go

see a movie. Often this takes the form of

getting a special dessert and DVD to have an

in-home movie night.

So that’s a snapshot of what I learned about

the Guyan’s in an afternoon. They are a

lovely family who are very easy to hang out

with and chat to. And a couple of food-related

fun-facts you should know: both have a sweet

tooth (cheesecake and chocolate mud cake

rating highly), but don’t feed Melissa gluten

or fruit and vegies to Pete - he honestly does

have a legitimate reason to turn down the

brussel sprouts!

Text by Mel Thorburn.

W

Pete and Melissa Guyan

27

fter living with Thomas for over half

her life, we reckoned Charlotte must

know him pretty well. So we asked her

to interview him...

It’s a mild Auckland afternoon, and I’m

sitting opposite Thomas in Circus Circus

café, two plates of delicious food and a

recording device between us.

Thomas is explaining an early life event

he’s well aware of but doesn’t exactly

remember - his birth. Like me, he was born

in Christchurch. (Our older sister, Amelia,

bucked the trend and was born

in Wellington.)

“We’ve got the photo album in Christchurch

(with) the original tags that we had on our

bassinets in hospital, and photos of us, in

Mum’s arms... all that babyish sort of - ‘what

am I doing here? I’m so confused.’ ”

And like all three of us, he grew up in

Christchurch. At 20, Thomas moved to

Auckland to attend university.

“I’ve done a bachelor of music majoring in

classical performance.” While he was at first

(in his own words) improving his ability to

“sing like a girl” (also known as countertenor,

or male alto, his honours year focus is on

musicology, “basically music history and

literature. My real area of interest is Tudor

church music.”

But Thomas is not just keen on old dead

musicians. He also loves watching sport -

ranging from NFL to provincial rugby. Sport

was something he did with his dad - sitting

down to watch the rugby on Friday and

Saturday nights together, “and that was really

cool.” (Until it was interrupted by the girls of

his family asking them to yell a little less.)

Not many people get baptised by their

very own grandfather. Ours happened to be

a Methodist minister. Thomas says he was

blessed to be born into a Christian family,

“but I didn’t really understand and engage

with it, I just sort of went ‘well, I believe in

God, and that’s awesome, he’ll be there for

me forever and ever, amen.’ ” He’s developed

and changed since being a self-confessed

“fairly difficult” teenager. “I look back and go

‘I was an idiot’.”

While he says his move to Auckland helped

him grow up, he also started to walk away

from Jesus.

“I suppose it was really though January,

February of 2010 that I really hit rock

bottom.” A relationship had ended and

our grandfather - to whom Thomas was

especially close - had just passed away.

“It was at that point that I really went “Ok,

where do I turn?” And it was really God that

pulled me out of that.” As he puts it, “God

decided to stick with me and he didn’t let

me go, he never let me go.”

He came to BotanyLife for the first time in

March 2010. He’d been invited along before

then, but singing at the cathedral - his job

at the time - kept him busy on Sundays.

“Not to denigrate Anglicans at all, (but) it

wasn’t church for me. It wasn’t growing me

spiritually. (Then) I think it was Aimee, invited

me to church, in March 2010 (after I’d left the

cathedral).”

That first time at BotanyLife, Thomas recalls,

he was in a really bad space. But he still

remembers clearly the sermon he heard

that morning. “It was the Judges series at

that point, the sermon was about not putting

God in a box. And it was a really gory

sermon, a really guy sermon, it spoke to me

really powerfully.

“As a musician I can get good music

wherever I go, and I can engage in any

music, but for me it was really important

to have really good Biblical teaching, and

that’s what I’ve found at Botany, and

that’s why I’ve stayed, and that’s why I

love Botany.”

He’s certainly got stuck in - helping out

with parking, and with Botany Kids as a

big group leader. “We have great times

together, because I think we’re on the same

mental level... bright colours! Squirrels! Let’s

run around!”

I think it’s best I make no comment on that...

Text by Charlotte Woodfield.

A

Thomas Woodfield

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Review Time

grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up, grab some popcorn, it’s...

DISCLAIMER: These reviews contain personal opinions of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the views of BotanyLife Community Church. For more specific information on movies and music, check out www.pluggedin.com.

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Family | THE ADVENTURES OF TINTINReviewed by Melissa Guyan

I grew up with TinTin. My brother loved

the comic books, so when I saw the movie

was being released I was super excited.

I was initially disappointed to hear it was

going to be animated, but I had nothing to

worry about. The graphics in this movie are

amazing. Even if TinTin is not your thing,

I’d recommend watching it just to be

astounded with the fabulous job Speilberg

and Jackson did. The story is fast paced, filled

with adventure, action and a really great

storyline. Pete and I were testing it out to see

if our four year old was ready for it, but the

storyline is aimed at older children and there

is quite a bit of physical fighting throughout

the movie.

If you have older children, it is a great family

movie... no one will be bored, that’s for sure!

Length: 1hr 47mins Rating: PG - contains violence

Age: My personal opinion - 9 years and over

True Story | MACHINE GUN PREACHERReviewed by Andrew Mackereth

You might argue that Gerald Butler certainly

isn’t doing what Jesus would do, but at least

he’s doing something. Machine Gun Preacher

is a movie about humanitarianism and

militarism. Containing moderate amounts of

vulgarity and violence, this is not a movie that

you should watch with your kids. It is, however,

very thought provoking. How seriously do we

take Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek?

Would we fight or kill to protect our families?

Then why not also to protect our brothers and

sisters in the Sudan and Uganda? What is

the cost when we try to take justice into our

own hands? What is the cost when we fail

to do so? Machine Gun Preacher asks all of

these questions. It does not glorify violence.

It does not put Sam Childers (upon whose

life and actions the film is based) upon a

pedestal. It simply illustrates the consequences

of his powerful obsession with “justice”: how

it changes the lives of children in the Sudan

and Uganda; how it changes the lives of his

family; how it changes him. All in all, it is a

fascinating and enthralling character study.

I would recommend this film to pacifists,

militants, lovers of philosophy and fans of

Gerald Butler.

Length: 1hr 29mins Rating: R16

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ifted Hands is the story of Ben Carson, who is one of

the world’s best brain surgeons. He has performed

some of the most difficult surgeries in the world, such as

separating Siamese twins joined at the head, and performing

a “hemispherectomy” which involved removing one side of a

person’s brain. What makes his story special is that he started

off from a really hard background.

Ben Carson started out in a really poor family. They couldn’t afford

all the things that his friends had, and he struggled with anger

issues. His dad left home when Ben was eight years old and his

older brother Curtis was ten, leaving their mum to bring them up on

her own. She really struggled and had to check herself into mental

hospitals a number of times suffering from depression. Ben also

struggled in school, getting really bad grades and being picked on

as the class “dummy.”

Those struggles with anger grew until he was 14 and got so angry

at his mum about a pair of pants she had bought that he tried

to hit her. His brother stopped him. But Ben felt so bad he sat in

the bathroom for 4 hours reading his Bible and praying that God

would help him with his anger issues. After those four hours in the

bathroom his relationship with God became very real, and he never

had issues with anger again.

Two things happened to Ben when he was in fifth grade (Year 6

in New Zealand) that changed the way he lived. The first thing

was that he had his eyes tested and they found out his eyesight

was really bad, which explained a bit of why he was getting bad

grades. When he got glasses he was really surprised by how much

he could see. The second thing that happened in fifth grade was

his mother made Ben and his brother only watch TV shows three

times a week. The rest of the time they had to spend reading books

and they had to write two book reports every week for their mum

on what they had read. What they didn’t realise until they were a

bit older was that their mum couldn’t read (they gave their book

reports out loud). Their mum knew how hard it was not being able

to read, and really wanted them to read and write and get a good

education.

After junior high and high school, Ben studied at Yale University

and then the University of Michigan Medical School. At the end of

medical school he made the decision to go into brain surgery, and

was accepted at Johns Hopkins Medical Hospital, the most famous

training hospital in the world. After studying there and then working

for a year in Australia, he joined the staff at John Hopkins, and

did some of his famous operations. The “himespherectomy” and the

operations on the Siamese twins, made him world famous.

What I learnt from the book is that no matter what kind of

background you come from or struggles you have, with God’s help

you can achieve your dreams and goals with determination and

hard work. I would recommend this book to people who like being

inspired by others’ stories. Gifted Hands is published in an adult’s

edition and also in the Zonderkidz Biography Series for kids and

young teens.

G

GIFTED HANDS:

The Ben Carson Storyby Gregg Lewis and

Deborah Shaw Lewis

Text by Harrison Carr.

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s I’ve pondered the sad story of another young student

who had an abortion without her parents consent these

past few days, I’ve been taken down the path of unconditional

love, and the absolute necessity that our children know that

they are loved no matter what.

Our daughter is now 18 but I remember vividly an incident when

she was just 11. Andy and I had been talking about this whole

topic of unconditional love one evening and I was adamant that

our children knew that they were loved unreservedly. But our

conversation got me thinking so I went into her bedroom, sat on the

end of her bed and said to our daughter, “Sweetie, I want you to

know something really important: there is nothing you could do that

would make me love you more and there is nothing you could ever

do that would make me love you less”.

I thought to myself, “she knows that anyway’, but now I’ve made it

very clear.” I was totally surprised when she took the topic further

and said, “you mean there’s nothing I could ever do or achieve that

would give me more of your love?”.

“That’s right, darling” I replied. But she went on seeking even more

clarification: “And there’s absolutely nothing I could do - no bad

choice, no mistake, no failure, that would make you love me less?

Absolutely nothing?”.

“No honey”, I said, “Nothing. We cannot love you any more than we

already do - you don’t need to earn our love, it’s there, complete.

And while you may one day make a bad choice, we would never

love you less. Wrong choices can have devastating consequences

and there are natural consequences to wrong choices that can

make life incredibly hard - and we hope and pray that you don’t

have to learn

those lessons the

hard way. But if

you did make a

wrong choice our

love would never

be in question.

We will always

love and support

you no matter

what the future

holds. We want

you to know that

just as you cannot

be separated

from God’s love

our love is always

there too.”.

I will never forget her face that evening - she looked at me with her

big beautiful eyes and she cried. My little girl’s face was filled with

so much relief as she was overwhelmed with what it means to be

truly loved. I was shocked by her tears, but also thankful

for the opportunity to express unconditional love to our daughter.

I learnt that evening never to presume that our children know they

are loved. We need to express unconditional love to them with our

words as well as our actions. I also believe that it’s not a one–off

discussion. As they navigate their way through life they need to

know regularly that we, their parents, are in their corner. And when

life gets hard and they stuff up, we may be disappointed for them

but we will never reject them. So parents, make sure they know.

Unconditional

Text by Nikki Bray

LoveA Andy and Nikki Bray are foundation

members of BotanyLife, being part of the original leadership team that started the church in 2004. Together the Bray’s lead Familylife, a ministry which is dedicated to showing couples God’s plan for marriage and family. Through one day seminars and inspiring weekend conferences, Familylife presents biblical, proven principles to help people stay happily committed and continually growing for a lifetime of oneness.

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What’s on at Botany...

Saturday 22nd - Sunday 23rd September

Community Project

Friday 19th - Monday 22nd

OctoberSwitch-On Camp

Sunday 21st OctoberSong of Songs series begins

Wednesday 31st OctoberBotanyLife

mainlymusic’s 7th birthday

Friday 30th November

Final Chickzone event for 2012

Sunday 9th DecemberBotanyKids

Christmas parties

Sunday 16th DecemberJesus’ Birthday Party

Monday 24th December

Christmas Eve service

Sunday 30th December & Sunday 6th January

No church services

Sunday 13th January 2013Summer series

begins