I'm Back

February 16, 2004
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

I’ve been pretty much missing in action for a while. I’ve been very busy preparing for the preview screening of The Passion of the Christ in Perth.

I work for the Bible Society and on Saturday night we hosted a screening for church leaders. It was a powerful time and I can assure you that this film will have a big impact.

Many have given the advice that believers should see the film themselves before taking friends. Their reasoning is that they will need to deal with the issues it raises for themselves before taking others.

I wonder if it’s wise to hide our own journey from our friends in that way. I’m not saying that it may be wise to preview the film but I ask if it may be more impacting if our friends witness our reaction and our own search for a response.

The film has attracted an MA rating in Australia with a warning of graphic violence. There’s plenty of that in the film but it’s certainly not violence for entertainment’s sake. This film will shake many people – many of them people who are already believers.

I truly reccomend this film and look forward to the questions it will raise for people around the world.



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Friday Five

February 13, 2004
by Rodney Olsen
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It’s Friday Five time.

1. Are you superstitious?

Nah!

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?

I’ve heard of people missing out on living an awful lot of life just to follow superstitions.

3. Believer or not, what’s your favourite superstition?

My favourite is the belief that in order to have a happy life you must consume lots of chocolate and drink moderate amounts of good red wine. I know it’s not really a superstition but I dare not stop now.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?

Luck is the name given to the results that come from persistence and hard work.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?

No. Life is not governed by the stars but by the one who created the stars.



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SNACS

February 10, 2004
by Rodney Olsen
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On Saturday night we ventured to South Perth to see The Sensitive New Age Cowpersons and Paul Kelly.

The show was part of the South Perth Fiesta.

If you’ve never heard of The Sensitive New Age Cowpersons you’re missing out. They play bluegrass music. Ordinarily that wouldn’t interest me, but when you take into account that they lpay songs by U2, AC/DC, Sherbert and heaps of others, as well as their own very funny songs, you get an absolutely hysterical show with some very clever musicianship.

As expected, Paul Kelly was brilliant too. I would have liked to have heard ‘Leaps and Bounds’ and a couple of others but you can’t fit in everything.

There were some wonderful fireworks to finish the concert. A great family night out.



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Friday Five

February 6, 2004
by Rodney Olsen
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It’s Friday Five time.

1. What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

Got way too close to the edge of the cliffs at the Great Australian Bight. (I’m terrified of heights.)

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?

Cycle all the way around Australia when I retire. (Not that I’ll be retiring for another 20 or 30 years.)

3. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it’s a lifestyle)

About a six I think. I would have said seven but that was too risky.

4. What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?

I asked Pauline to marry me. She said yes.

5. … and what’s the worst?

I can’t think of anything really bad. Maybe I should start taking a few more risks.



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Birdies, Eagles and Sharing Your Faith

February 6, 2004
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

When I attended an education conference in Singapore back in 1986, a professor from Wollongong University spoke about language acquisition (how we learn language).

He talked about three things that need to be present for a child to learn language when they start to talk.

1. They must believe they are a potential doer.

2. They must believe it will further the purposes of their life.

3. They must believe it is safe to have a go.

Are they a potential doer? A child sees that everyone around them is talking so they have no reason to believe that they can’t do it too.

Will it further the purposes of their life? When dad says, “Pass the bread please.” He gets given the bread. Neat trick. “That’d be handy for me to learn.”

Is it safe to have a go? Parents don’t normally say, “Junior, you’re putting the verb and the nouns in the wrong place in your sentences. Talk properly.” Kids know that they can approximate language and develop in their use of it in a safe environment.

I believe these three things also dictate our ability to learn in general.

I heard on the radio that some golfer had birdied 3 holes today. What the? I have heard endless stories on golf talking about birdies and eagles but they still mean nothing to me. Being immersed in the language of golf and seeing lots of it on TV sports stories hasn’t helped me to learn anything about it. Why? I don’t believe that I’m a potential doer. I don’t believe golf will further the purposes of my life. With my coordination, I don’t feel it’s safe to have a go.

Finally I come to the point. When we express our faith, either personally or in our corporate meetings, do we convey those three concepts? Do others really believe that they are a potential Christian based on what we demonstrate as being Christian? From what they see of us and our faith, do they really think it’ll further the purposes of their life to get involved with Jesus? Do we give people trying to explore our faith the license to make mistakes so that it’s safe to have a go?

I might take this one further sometime but the post is already way too long. I’d appreciate your thoughts.



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