Adam Hince

The musings of Syndal Baptist Church's Gen Y and Beyond Pastor

The Principle of the Path… Part 2

Posted on | October 7, 2009 | No Comments

Its rare these days that I read a whole book in one week – two kids make life far too much fun to have my head in books as much as I used to ! But I did read the whole book “The Principle of the Path” last week. One reason that I did is that this whole idea of having a vision, a sense of life’s direction and even of knowing the purpose of my life is on my mind a lot.

Its not on my mind because I lack such things – in one sense, I’ve always found that kind of “vision” easy. Without having a head full of pictures … I find that a clear sense of direction for me personally has flowed most often from two sources – understanding what it is that I value, and understanding what is important in the eyes of God.

What I value is something I test myself on often – as I find that my schedule, my conversations and my thought life tend to indicate that what I value,  isn’t what I would choose to value all the time. A book called “Chazown” by Craig Groeschel broadened my understanding of this. I can tell what I value when I consider what I love doing, what I hate seeing, what causes me to respond quickly, what frustrates me, what I miss most and what I am passionate about. The more I read about “passion” the more I sense that passion is not just a “feeling of being alive” when I do something – it is equally a belief that something is worth suffering for in order to do.

What is importantin the eyes of God is something that on one hand is painfully simple – Jesus make it clear when he said that I needed to Love God and Love People… but I love the fact that the bible speaks so specifically about Gods heart too. There is no doubt that for me to care for those less fortunate than me is part of Gods will for my life. There is no doubt that God wants me to love my neighbors unconditionally. There is no doubt God wants me to be a husband, father and Pastor with integrity…. The list could go on!.The more I read of the bible, the clearer my sense of His direction becomes.

But what is important can also be complex when it feels like the lists are getting longer, the expectations getting higher and the pressure is mounting. I find freedom and energy in asking myself often “what does Jesus want me to focus on this week”. The answer to that has never come from a burning bush or writing on the wall … it usually comes through reflecting on the week past, looking at my surroundings for any gaps or failures on my part and working through those things I know to be part of Gods will for every life and seeing what tugs at my heart the most.

My sense of His direction is also enhanced by being around other visionary people, by being part of activities and causes that are all about a “vision from God” and by being around people who in the absense of any kind of feeling that says “this is for me” – will do things because it is the right thing to do. I think my generation can learn a lot about this from generations older than us… in a way its good that we ask “why” a lot – but we miss out when we discount the value of doing things because they are “good” or “right”  things to do only.

Personal vision is something I would love to do some speaking about next year … and in the lead up, I’d be really interested in hearing peoples thoughts about.

                If you have one… can you share it with me?

                If you lack vision …  what would you love to hear?

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Flash Forward!

Posted on | October 6, 2009 | 1 Comment

Quick confession… I’m a sucker for new TV shows that start with a “bang”. I don’t watch heaps of TV (except for sport and films!) but when I do, I get a bit obsessive. “FlashForward” grabbed me last week… if you didn’t see it, you should! Its a story about everyone in the world “blacking out” for 2 minutes and 17 seconds – during which time people have these “Flashes Forward” to life 6 months ahead of time. It seems the series will focus on how people react to those visions… one great line from the show was “If we know the future, maybe we can change it?”

Another confession – I’m hopeless at waiting for the end of things! I went and got the book on which this TV series is based… and while I haven’t quite finished it (and won’t spoil it) – its better than the show! The ending is really challenging for all.

Last Sunday night – I spoke to the Syndal Baptist 6pm crowd about “The Principal of the Path” … an idea formed by Andy Stanley and articulated brilliantly in his book and messages of the same name. The Principal of the Path says that “Your direction determines your destination”. I see many links between this principle and the ideas I saw in FlashForward.

Films like Click, Back to the Future and even the Philadelphia Experiment (for those my age or older) all pose to me the same question … “if I knew the future – what could \ should \ would I change now to make the future better?”

I’m challenged to consider any “paths” that I and my life are on that are not healthy, not wise or not what I would choose if I knew their destination.

I don’t beleive in fate, destiny… even in the Force if you really press me! I beleive passionately in a God who knows my future, and I beleive that I have a big role to play in bringing that into reality with His help.

Something that has changed my life greatly is the fact that Jesus Christ is strong enough to bring change to any part of my life. Where I seek his help – there is not a path I find myself on that He cannot help me find freedom from.

I’m asking myself this week… “Is there any path I am on right now, that I must get off?”  I’m looking at my habits, the trends in my spending, the way I use my time, the people who get the best of me and even what I eat through this lens for a while… just to see what I want to change.

If you follow the link to my message from Sunday, or to the message series shared by Andy Stanley you will hear this expanded on well. If you have time – I highly recomend the book “The Principle of the Path” as an easy, yet very challenging read!

The Principle of the Path

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My first Blog…

Posted on | October 5, 2009 | No Comments

Hi world… whilst having no idea whether anyone other than my wife and children will read this - I’m nervously stepping into the cyber world in a new way!

I’m increasingly daunted by how much contact people have with the “online world”. During the church service I was involved in last Sunday night – I noticed a number of people on their phones during the service. I wondered if they were on Facebook so checked… and found that 15 people were and that 3 updated their status during the time!! I think three created Facebook addicts and has a lot to answer for!

Anyways – each week I will try to keep this interesting. One of the key things I will write about often is the messages that I share with Syndal Baptist Church on a Sunday. I’m really keen to hear questions, debate the issues and explore what some aspects of the message shared might apply more specifically. I’ll put an abbreviated version of my notes up as well as a link to the mp3 for those who are especially keen.

Feel free to drop me a line!!

Adam.

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