Moving to wordpress....

Hey Readers

I will be moving my blogpage to www.nathanaelbaker.wordpress.com

As such this blog will not be updated from now on.

Good Cheer

Sam Ng, a freind of mine has been recently exploring how to social projects in Wellington. His first project he is implementing is Good Cheer. The idea is this:

1. They pick a project – some type of good deed. For example, buy the homeless a hot lunch.
2. They have a sponsor, for example, a local bakery.
3. They have a reward, for example 50% off your next purchase at that local bakery.

The first project was to give out coffees at the Mary Potter Hospice, and they have been so successful that they are thinking of stopping donations.

Best Practice Series

Mosaic starts a new series tonight. Blub below

Budding out of the hope series comes a conversation about the best practices that lead to life. Breaking the idea of “best practice*” out from its cubicle container into the open air of life:

What are the best practices to live life to the fullest?
Sound big?

Don’t worry this is a series of the small practices, the disciplines, the things you build your life around that build us into the best people we can
be.
Series starts August 1st.
Sundays, 5pm at Massey University
Massey, Wellington Campus,
Lvl 1 Student Union Building,
Click here for location map.
Free parking available.

Area 51 Art Panel

Heres the Art panel that we created on Tuesday night.

Expressions of Community

Last night our flat held its flat night. This is a time for us to get together, discuss things, and also have a bit of time hanging out with one another.

Last night we went to work creating a flat panel. This is a colloborative peice of art by us all. What was awesome was to see our different expressions of art come together, to create a beautiful peice of work. We all told different stories, expressed ourselves in different ways on paper, but the story is interconnected and interweaved.

The artwork is to me is a visual expression of our flat, a group of individuals, made out of different brushstokes marks and shadings from thier different journey, who come together to make something new which is beautiful, interwoven and connected.

Hopefully I can put a copy of the artwork up online in the coming days.

Journey of Area 51

I am hoping to do a running set of posts on living in community and in Area 51 (my flat) in particular.
This is because most of my last 6 months has been figuring out how to create a awesome flat culture and community feel in a flat. This has been a dream of mine since I went flatting. I wanted to be about creating a space where people could live well together, caring for one another and growing in relationship with one another.


I moved into Area 51 (our flat) one and a half years ago. We had a pretty cool group of flatties, but we never wrestled with what it means to be a group journeying together. I tried to gain momentum, during the first year, but failed miserably.

At the end of last year, I began discussions with some fellow freinds who live across the road who have created a awesome community of people, who principly came out a church youth group and have now formed a community of 20 people (from both christian and non-christian backgrounds) who are trying to live well in community together. Principly it started a discussion about whether area 51 would like to house members of the community, but also as a way of develioping a flat culture and community in my beloved flat.

At the end of last year, my now good mate, Chris Silvester moved into the flat. Chris' strength is activation, he lives and breaths the ability to create things, and enjoys new expressions. Me and him went about the process of trying to gain momentum in the flat, and then in March our flat began the process of transformation, when Kate another member of the flat community moved in from across the road.

What I have discovered from this experience has so far has been the importance of partnering wtih others with the same vision. I often crave autonomy, but a key principle for facilitating change and creating moment is to partner with others. Real momentum in area 51 was gained when a greater part of the flat held on to the dream and vision for living well in community. Once thisn ocurred we began change.

Newtown Art Collective

My mate Chris Sylvester has set up the Newtown Art Collective. A space where budding Newtown artists can exhibit thier latest works. Check it out.

RandR

This last weekend I went up to Auckland. The reason I went up was to see Rob Bell speak. But due to unexplained reasons this had been cancelled. I had booked cheap flights on Air New Zealand, so decided it was worth me going up and taking some time out from my busy schedule.

What I discovered from taking this short time out was the importance of rest. I have been so busy lately I have not taken stock on whats been going on.

Another great part of the weekend of spending some time in kingsland with Auckland Mosaic, i had the joy of relating with them and their friends, and had some great conversation with people.

A fail was not to get any writing done, but it definitely was a good time to process ans be thankful for rest,

Learning to let Go

I am writing this blog on my phone on the bus as I go to work so please forgive me if there are even more mistakes than normal.

Last night I led Mosaic expressions. The theme was around letting go. It was inspired from me listening loads to the artist Lauryn Hill, and particularly her song "freedom time."

Lauryn Hills music often tells the story of her struggle with fame, the persona that was put on her by the industry and who she really is, and her spiritual jounrey to wholeness. Which she ascribes to letting go of those things the world held dear and focusing on those things that a true wealth.

Galatians 2:20 sums up this nicely; "Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impressed God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine", but it is lived by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"

One of the great motiffs in film and culture for letting go is to throw a stone out, i led an activity around that idea.

Activity
What unhealthy practices are you attached to (e.g. Unhealthy self talk, sarcasm. Aloofness, temper tantrums)

What response would you like to cultivate instead?

Throw a stone into thhe water to represent you letting go of the unhealthy practice.

New Zealands explaination on the BP Oil crisis management

Great Satire

Dim-Post has a nice little reflection on the political headline of today. As usual, political satire is often the best way to tell the truth in politics

Lower Hutt based Countdown retail worker Richard Loa announced today that he was deeply embarrassed by revelations that he had been taking items from the store without paying for them. 

Loa, a 41 year old checkout operator and frozen foods section assistant team leader came forward today to admit that over a period of four years working at the Wellington supermarket he had taken home bottles of wine, frozen chickens, vitamin pills and razor blades on a weekly basis
.
‘I now accept that this was wrong and I apologise for it,’ Loa said. ‘In my defense the rules around whether or not I could smuggle out bottles of shampoo in my gym bag were vague and unclear.’

It is understood that Loa came forward after Countdown management announced that they had installed security cameras in the staff changing rooms. These showed footage of Loa eating two large boxes of Lindt chocolates valued at $44 while on breaks during a busy weekend shift.

‘That’s when I decided that coming clean and explaining everything was the right thing to do,’ Loa said, adding. ‘The chocolates were consumed while I was doing my job although I concede that the security footage is not a good look.’

‘I would have paid for the chocolates myself but I didn’t have any cash and it seemed more convenient at the time to stuff them under my shirt and eat them in the toilets,’ Loa explained.

Loa announced that he would repay the value of the chocolates and other items consumed but would not be stepping down from his position as frozen foods assistant team leader.

‘I’ve made a mistake and I’ve done the right thing and fronted up to it,’ Loa said. ‘I acknowledge that it’s not a good look but frozen food placement faces a lot of challenges and I have some exciting ideas on how to tackle them so I’d like to put this whole thing behind me and move on.’

This attitude is not shared by Loa’s employer Progressive Foodstuffs who have dismissed him without notice or by the New Zealand Police who have arrested Loa on five charges of theft.

Mosaic: Originals

Mosaic is holding a artistic showcase Mosaic: Originals, on Saturday 19 June 2010.

The aim is to show off some off wellington's unknown and budding talent, and is including performances from
Andrew Fruean,
Leah Hutchison,
My Dear Watson.

The will also be storytelling, poetry and any other original pieces

Entry is free but donations towards helping Habitat Humanity in Wellington can be made at the door.

The Deets are:
Saturday 19th June, starts 8.00pm
Level 1, Student Centre, Massey University, Entrance E, Tasman Street, Mt Cook

It would be great to see you there

The Jesus Manifesto

I was lucky today to recieve an a not so advanced copy of Len Sweet and Frank Violas latest book Jesus  Manifesto (it came out on the 1st in the State). Following through with the publishers desire, I will blog a few thoughts every few days on the chapter.

The Jesus Manifesto's writers conviction is that Christology is the central to our modus operundi as communities of faith. Sweet and Viola's beleif is for communites of faith to rediscover thier purpose, they must rediscover Jesus. Sweet and Viola state that "to faithfully represent  Jesus in our time requires re-presenting him."

This idea follows through a conviction I hold dear, from some hard learned experience - for us to be faithful to the message of Jesus we must know Jesus and continue to dive into knowing who Jesus is. For us to do this, we often have to cut through layers of filth and grime, put in place by religiousity and past christianese. We often have to become like archeologists cleaning away the grime, to rediscover the beauty beneath. This is often painful. Through the expereince of trying to follow Jesus - I have learned what my prejudices are, where my selfishness plays out, and how far I will really go to care for my neighbour (often not far enough.) I have learned that I continually try to domesticate Jesus, so that I can continue living my blase life.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book. Should be interesting

Communication fails...

As some of you I have recently taken up playing ultimate with a group of mates regularly. Its a way to keep me fit and get to know a group of people better.

We had a game yesterday - and some interesting developments occured in this game. Our team was not doing very well and two of our players who were both passionate about the game started to try and sor the issues out. But what happened was an amazing example us failing to communicate. The two were trying to sort out the issues, but began talking past each other. Both were annoyed at each of other and thier team mates as they felt as if they were not being appreciated by the others. 

You could see both players get increasingly frustrated and angry with one another, leading to a failure in our performance as a team.

 What was interesting was how the conflict permeated through the rest of our team as we were playing. Another member of my team, who was suffering from a bad cold did something that on the face of it was small but was blown up to needing a negative remark.  Another player at the end of the game was remarking with disconcertion about the fact that everything was being blown out of proportion for what was a social game.

The lack of cohesion in our team was a result of our lack of communication. We had no communication for most of the game. When we did communicate and talk and take stock, we played loads better and scored some great points.

Communication is so key for community, and for teams. We need to learn to be healthy communicators, this means being proactive listeners and sensitive communicators with one another.

Gulf Coast oil spill

This is a useful site for comparing the significance of the Gulf Coast disaster - 
http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/#

I have created one for Wellington, New Zealand, my home city, here - 
http://paulrademacher.com/oilspill/#Wellington

The Challenge

Ok, I will let you, my readers into a little secret. I want to write a book, it may not be published, but I want to write a book.

I have decided I will use some of the material that I produced during my time doing lent this year.

The challenge for you is to identify which posts from the lent series were your favourite, and let me know why. You can either email me, or put your posts up on the blog.

Feel free to identify any other blogs that I have written as well.

Peace out.

Nathanael

Untitled

Look at all creation, it is good. God created it for his pleasure.

Look at yourself, past the outwards appearance, past your inward feelings of awkwardness and anxiety, you were created by a loving God, for his good purposes.

To be someone of change

You are more than just a number to God, more than just an avid consumer, to be had by the market. You are his child, to be in relationship.

God he sees past the pimples, the freckles, the blochy makeup.

God loves to see your inquisitiveness, he loves to see you create, make. He loves seeing you grow.

New eyes

I wrote this poem for an expressions session a couple of weeks ago back for Mosaic. I don't really think its that good, I was stressed and tired when I wroted this poem, and the next poem, but I thought I would share them with the world anyway.

Fresh eyes

Have new eyes – see the world through kids eyes.

When a kid views the world, they see unseen possibilies.

When an adult looks at chairs and tables, they see them as objects to sit on. When a kid sees a chair and table, he sees the possibility to build a fort to fight away his enemies, and to hang with their friends.

When an adult sees a pile of mud, they see a inconvenient pile of mud, when a kid sees this mud, he ses the ability to make mud pies.

When we see lines, we see constraints, kids don’t worry about the lines, they see the possibilities

Sexy Coal

Dismantling Me

Dismantle me Lord.
Make me new-
take the scales out of my eyes, make me see a new again
Let me have fresh eyes, for all your creative beauty

Let me not view the world through my eyes -
damaged through years of cynicism.
my eyes which have become too sensitive to your light and beauty.
replace them, be the optometrist.
give me new eyes,

Let me see the beauty in those who mourn, let me see beauty in the poor. Let me see beauty in those who long for justice, let me not see the beauty in those who long for you.
Let me not focus on the temporary, but focus on that which is last, faith love and hope