Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 9 May, 2012
In the Trinity Mount Barker office we try to be careful with grammar and punctuation! It seems good to us that the material we distribute reflects the care and effort taken to prepare it. Unsurprisingly, one of the points of discussion at different times is the apostrophe; when should it be used? Where in the word does it belong? I’m sure that some of you find yourselves having these discussion in your workplaces and as parents, many of you will be trying to teach your children about this.
About this time every year, I find myself in discussions about where the apostrophe belongs in Mother’s Day, or should that be Mothers’ Day?!
While the European tradition of “Mothering Sunday,” a day for domestic servants to visit their “mother church” with their own families, stretches back to the 16th Century, what we celebrate as the modern Mother’s Day began in the 19th Century. A lady named Ann Jarvis and her daughter, Anna Marie Jarvis, inaugurated a small commemoration at the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. It should come as no surprise to us that Mother’s Day started in a Christian church. God commands us to honour our mothers. It’s in Exodus 20:12. There among the other 10 Commandments, like, “I am the LORD your God … you shall have no other gods before me,” God says, “honour your father and your mother." In an ancient patriarchal culture, the inclusion of “your mother” is unexpected, even surprising, yet this is God’s command to his covenant people Israel, and it’s repeated by Jesus and the Apostle Paul. There’s no getting around it! Of course how we honour our mothers will look different for different ones of us, varying for example according to whether we’re a child still living at home, whether we live near our mothers or not, etc. But no matter what our age or stage, Mother’s Day is a good occasion to spend some time reflecting on how we can honour our mothers and how we might do it better.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 13 May, 2011
When I write to people who have visited our church, I often tell them how encouraged we are when we have newcomers amongst us.
Newcomers help teach us some really important things about what it is to be the church. We’re reminded that our church gathering isn’t all about us. Sunday mornings aren’t just an opportunity for us to do a range of things the way we like them. When new people come amongst us, we’re reminded that other Christians express their faith in different ways. They have traditions and expectations that are different to our traditions and expectations. We’re also reminded that lots of people in our community have no background in the Christian faith. Some newcomers don’t know where to find a given passage in the Bible. They don’t know at what points in the service we generally stand and at what points we tend to sit. Many newcomers don’t know why we say declarations of faith together or why we pray.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 24 July, 2010
In the few weeks that we’ve spent in Genesis so far, there have been a few dominant themes. One of these has been the focus on God himself at every turn in the creation story. Chapter 1 with its beautifully scripted account of the order and pattern of creation drives our focus not to the creation itself, but to the Creator. From the very beginning when there is nothing but God, to the repeated refrain “And God said…”, to the creation of humans as image-bearers of God, we’re constantly having our eyes turned to this personal, loving, creative sovereign God.
When we come to chapter 2 and the origins of marriage, we find again, that marriage has God’s fingerprints all over it – if I may be permitted such an anthropomorphism! Marriage is God’s idea. It comes into being at his initiative. The verbs (the “doing words”) of this section show God is bringing is purposes and intentions about: The Lord God said… (v 18), the Lord God had formed…, He brought… (v19), the Lord God caused…, he took…, closed up… (v 21), the Lord God made…, he brought… (v 22). As the commentators and scholars like to point out, when God brings the newly-created woman to the man, it is as if God is the father of the bride, bringing her to her new husband. Divine initiative!
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 5 May, 2010
In recent weeks I have been following a discussion between some Christian friends about whether we should commemorate “secular” or “civic” occasions in our Sunday gatherings. The debate hinges on the challenge of acknowledging occasions such as Anzac Day, Australia Day or Mother’s Day in a way that doesn’t seem trite but also reflects our commitment to keeping Jesus at the centre of our gatherings.
Regardless of the debate (which I suspect will rage ad infinitum!) if you're at Trinity Mount Barker this Sunday you’ll notice from the prayer of thanksgiving (amongst other places!) that we’re celebrating Mother’s Day!
The traditions associated with Mother’s Day started late in the 19th Century with Ann Jarvis, her daughter, Anna Marie Jarvis and a small ceremony at the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. It should come as no surprise to us that Mother’s Day started in a Christian church. God commands us to honour our mothers. It’s in Exodus 20:12. There among the other 10 Commandments, like, “I am the LORD your God … you shall have no other gods before me,” God says, “honour your father and your mother."
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 20 October, 2009
Ladies, there's a new blog in town.
in tandem is a blog for ministry wives, with contributions from three women who are all married to men in full-time vocational ministry. Interestingly, the ministries that these men and their wives are involved in are remarkably diverse! As they say on the site, The role of the 'ministry wife' is one of the hardest roles to define, because every marriage is different and because there are so many ways of being 'in ministry'!
As I understand it though, their purpose in writing though, is to explore some of the unique challenges of being married to someone in vocational ministry.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 16 October, 2009
I discovered a new website today - Iamsecond.com
From the site: "I am Second is a movement where signficance in life is shared."
The website features a collection of videos featuring well-known people, like former US Presidential Candidate Mick Huckabee, Brian Welch from Korn and The Biggest Loser's Michelle Aguilar, but also regular people from the cities and suburbs of the USA. These people have struggled with a variety of issues; abuse, affluence, addiction, trauma, racism, war and more.
Posted by: Clayton Fopp
on 30 March, 2009
This is not a book review, as much as a notice of intended reviewing! 
Voddie Baucham's new book What He Must Be: if he wants to marry my daughter doesn't seem to be available in Australia yet since it was only published 3 weeks ago. With the poor state of the Australian dollar I'm reluctant to buy too many books online at the moment, so I'm keeping it to the bare necessities from Amazon, B & N, ChristianBook.com & Monergism Books!
Anyway, being that I'm a father of a daughter, the title of this book grabbed my attention instantly. (OK, so Heidi is only 3, but I like to be prepared!). I've listened to a talk by Vodide Baucham about this topic (in fact, with this same title) and his assessment of what's wrong with much of how relationships are established today is very sharp. He doesn't shy away from pointing out the dangers and pitfalls in common relationship patterns and behaviours, likening the exclusive intimate relationships between teenagers and young adults to going shopping without any money - "either you're going to leave frustrated or take something that doesn't belong to you!" I'm pretty sure I'm going to like the book!
