Oh Yeah!

August 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

cadent_1.jpgThere comes a point when it’s no longer helpful to throw good money into maintaining an old bike. You end up spending a lot of money and still having an old bike.

I guess I got to that point earlier this afternoon when I made the decision to buy the Avanti Cadent 1.0 from Ward Cycles in Morley.

They let me test ride it yesterday on the way home and back into work this morning. I realised then that there was no way they were getting their bike back.

For the technically minded, it’s a carbon fibre road bike with Shimano Tiagra componentry all the way through apart from a 105 rear derailleur. It’s not the best bike in the range but it rides like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

With 98.5 Sonshine FM moving across the other side of the city in the coming weeks I’ll be riding a lot further each day and I’ll need a dependable bike for the journey. This bike won’t just be dependable, it’ll be an absolute pleasure to ride.

Fuel prices continue to rise and so this purchase will pay itself off in fuel and maintenance savings fairly quickly. On top of that, the weather is getting better every day so I intend putting a lot of kilometres on the new bike over the coming months.

If you live in the Perth area and are looking for a bike shop you can trust, check out Ward Cycles and mention my name.



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Replacing our families with faith

August 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
12 Comments

I had an interesting email from a reader a few days ago. He said that he no longer considers himself a Christian because he doesn’t agree with living “some of the ways we should live as Christians”.

He says doesn’t feel bad or guilty about it, in fact he feels happy that he’s doing what makes him feel happy and what makes his family happy and secure.

He made a very interesting point.

I feel that so many Christians are so wrapped up in God, church, activities for the church, giving money to the poor, helping people in the church that they lose sight of their own brothers and sisters. It seems to me that Christians are too busy with all this Christian stuff that they forget about spending time with their own family (Mum or Dad, brothers or sisters and extended family).

While he didn’t want his name mentioned, he wanted me to throw this one out for some comment.

What’s your experience?

Have you encountered this kind of attitude in Christians? Have you found yourself so wrapped up in church stuff and ministry and everything that goes along with it that those closest to you have missed out?

Here’s part of what I emailed back in reply.

I’ve seen this kind of attitude far too often in far too many Christians. People get so taken up with what they see as their ‘Christian duty’ that they lose sight of what I consider to be their greatest ‘ministry’ and calling – their family.

This kind of attitude is especially prevalent in those working in full time ministry such as pastors. I made a decision when I started working in a Christian workplace that I would ensure that my family would remain a priority. I also make a point of not getting so wrapped up in ‘church activities’ that I don’t get to spend time with those who aren’t what we might call religious. A lot of the time I prefer the time I spend with those outside the church.

My relationship with God, through Jesus, is supremely important to me but all the extra stuff that people try to add onto Christianity isn’t.

The writer of the email is smart enough to know that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.

Maybe this doesn’t apply to all people, but it makes me feel unhappy with my own biological family. I have tried to talk to them about this in previous years and some change was there, but not enough to build a better relationship. Do I have to go back to God to have a better relationship with a member of my own family? Is this going to change anything? I don’t think it will.

What do you think?

So what are your thoughts? Are many Christians neglecting their families because they’re too busy doing what they think God wants them to do? Would God really want us to neglect family relationships? Are you able to maintain the balance between faith and family?

I think a lot of the answer could be found in the difference between what we ‘think‘ God requires of us and what he actually does require.



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I'm sorry … I'll read that again

August 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

I saw a headline from an online news service yesterday saying “Man in coma after bowser attack”.

When I first read it I thought it said “browser attack”.

I immediately blamed IE. Firefox wouldn’t do stuff like that



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An almost perfect Perth weekend

August 18, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
6 Comments

We experienced some more magnificent conditions over the weekend in Perth. It feels like spring has arrived early.

I managed to get out on my bike for my Saturday morning ride with friends for the first time in a few weeks. It was great to be able to push myself a little harder than I normally do on the daily ride to work and back. I’ve had back pain which has prevented me riding too hard for the last few weeks and while my back isn’t feeling 100% it is certainly a lot better than it was.

The scenery we get to take in on our ride is such a bonus. We live in the heart of suburbia yet it always amazes me that in just the fifty kilometres we ride together we get to experience the magnificent Swan Valley then paddocks of cows and sheep out through Hazelmere and Helena Valley before we head back into civilization to grab a coffee. I reckon it’s the perfect way to start a weekend.

On Saturday afternoon I headed to Bassendean Oval to see Swan Districts Football Club play a brilliant game against Subiaco … at least for the first three quarters. The mighty black and whites were slightly ahead until five minutes into the last quarter when Subi ran away with it. Oh well, it was a great day for watching football.

After church yesterday we headed into the Swan Valley to the Margaret River Chocolate Company. It was beautiful weather for sipping coffee in the valley but unfortunately the venue left a lot to be desired. I love going to the Margaret River Chocolate Company and sampling their wares but they were extremely busy and no one was bothering to clean up the tables in the outside cafe area. Time and time again we saw waitresses carry orders out to patrons before walking empty handed back to the cafe. Would it really hurt to grab some of the piles of dishes on your way back?

On top of that they had three reasonably talented musos playing some live music. They’re repertoire was pretty much ‘golden oldies’ but they sounded OK. Unfortunately management decided the best place to put them would be right next to several of the cafe tables. The only table we could find when we first arrived was near the ‘band’. While they weren’t turned all the way up to eleven, it was still way too loud for us to be able to chat. If I want to go to a concert, I’ll go to a concert. I don’t mind a bit of background music but if I’m sharing a coffee with family I want to be able to hear the conversation. My tip – never go to the Margaret River Chocolate Company on a nice day when they’re likely to be busy.

Now that my whinge is out of the way, it was good to catch up with family and overall the weekend was a good one.



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Gambling on God

August 15, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

dice.jpgIs it right to gamble on God? If we’re not absolutely convinced that God even exists does it make any sense to live as if he does?

Many people will say that they are absolutely convinced that God is real and that they know him. Others seem equally as convinced that God doesn’t exist. What about those who aren’t completely sure one way or the other? Is there a place for stepping across the line and living as if they believed one way or the other? If so, which is better, to live as if God is real or to live as if he is a fabrication of human imagination?

Blaise Pascal’s posthumously published writings, known as Pascal’s Wager, suggested that knowing absolutely isn’t a prerequisite for faith.

Pascal’s Wager (or Pascal’s Gambit) is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher Blaise Pascal that even though the existence of God cannot be determined through reason, a person should “wager” as though God exists, because so living has potentially everything to gain, and certainly nothing to lose.

Pascal figured that if the person who lives as if God is real is wrong, they’ve lost nothing, but if the person who lives as if God doesn’t exist is wrong, they lose everything.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

This week we discussed the idea of gambling on God and Ross recounted stories of people who came very close to believing in God but there was still a gap between what they’d been told about God and what they truly believed. Many people have felt that the gap to God is smaller than the gap away from him and so they’ve taken the step to believe and then felt an enormous confirmation within their spirits that they’ve connected with the Creator.

You can hear our conversation by clicking play on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

What has your experience been? Have you stepped across the line to belief in God? Did that come after you were totally convinced of the truth of who God is or did you still have doubt? What happened after you took that step?

Maybe you’ve heard people talking about God but you’re not sufficiently convinced that the evidence stacks up. What would it take to convince you that God exists?



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