Our podcasts, what’s been happening

Hi guys and gals,

Well I thought I’d just give you a quick update/ testimony about what’s been happening in the world of the podcast. (I’m going to start this stereotypically) Firstly, for those of you who don’t know me- my name is Anthony. I’m the PA coordinator for Ablaze service. But for the purpose of this infomercial/ teaching- you can call me Joyce Meyer. For a long time, we’ve been doing the odd recording- often inconsistently and of extremely poor quality. Just being frank (my parents should’ve named me Frank- I’m a very frank person). I recently saw the need to do some more consistent recording, for the sake of those who were serving. It was a humble moment for myself, coming to terms with the fact that on a Friday- I could not possibly pay my utmost attention to the sermon whilst serving/ arriving straight from work.

This is how it really started. I began the recordings as a tool for my personal spiritual growth. Because I already had them, there was little effort in posting them online. I then began doing so, and would sometimes put a sermon recording on a webpage. That week’s team was then notified, via email, of the post. However, this was inconvenient as it required a little bit of effort on the consumer’s end. And let’s face it- in a modern world, we expect technology to do things for us.

I then pondered the thought of putting the recordings on iTunes. However, in order to do so- there were many more steps involved, and strict regulations applicable to quality and content. One weekend I remember spending 12 hours doing research and making necessary ammendments so we could get onto iTunes. After weighing the pros and cons (time required vs spiritual growth of others) I surely gave in. Instead of it taking me 10 minutes to put online, it now takes 30-45 depending on the quality & length of the recording. Instead of 1 step, there’s now about 5.

Is it worth it? Well this ironically fits into our current series- Mission in Our Own Backyard. Without any publicity within our church whatsoever, since it’s formation on June 18, we’ve had over 4500 views and 700 downloads. Our global influence now consists of 14 countries [revised] (descending) Australia, New Caledonia, USA, Malaysia, Zambia, Singapore, France, India, Tunisia, Turkey, Kuwait, Algeria, Jamaica and Canada

Seeing Malaysia and Turkey on the list was so encouraging. After traveling to Malaysia last year, I could tell that there was a lot of silent tension between Christians and the (majority of) Muslims. I really hope we can provide tools for churches and individuals to develop further in depth with Jesus Christ- where it may be hard to do so.

Simply, yes. It’s worth every minute of my time & more. In the last few weeks, we have been a featured podcast on iTunes’ “religion & spirituality” page, and have remained #1 for about 2 weeks.

For those of you who haven’t subscribed, I strongly encourage you to do so. ALL sessions from Ablaze Camp 2011: Radical are online- and have proven very popular (please not file size is 40mb or less for these episodes). It’s so easy to listen to on the bus, in your quiet time, or instead of listening to music while studying. It’s thought provoking and God invoking. All you need to do is go to iTunes on your PC, Mac, or iOS device and search “Ablaze”. Our podcast is named “Ablaze Sermon Recordings” by “Ablaze Ministries International”. I try to compress as much as I can, and most files are under 15mb. You don’t have to think about it, it does everything for you, and will sync with your devices upon plugin. It will appear inside the podcast section of your iPod app on your device, and Bob’s your uncle. The coming of iOS5 wont even require you to plug into your computer to sync.

This link should take you straight there: http://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ablaze-sermon-recordings/id445205246?ls=1

If downloading from a device, note you can only download individual episodes at once, not subscribe. If you have a non-Apple device, please contact me and I’ll help you out.

Please keep this endeavor of ours in prayer, that we would continue to influence countries where it’s unsafe for people to express their faith, and for spiritual growth where it is.
Think global, act local.

Loving this right now :)

Crash & Burn – Lifehouse : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5s2zeNIwd4

All these lights are catching up to me
I just can’t put insomnia to sleep
I close my eyes but all that I can see
Is someone who I’m never gonna be
I hope that you can bring me back
I gotta to make it right

And if I fall and crash and burn
At least we both know that I tried
And as I crawl those lessons learned
Yeah they remind me I survived
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Silence just keeps screaming back at me
The ones I love are lost in memories
And I wish that I could take back what was done
You can only change the person you’ve become
I have to try and find a way
To leave it all behind

And if I fall and crash and burn
At least we both know that I tried
And as I crawl those lessons learned

Yeah they remind me I survived
And I’ve been hurt and I’ve been scarred
At least I know that I’m alive
And If I fall and crash and burn
At least we both know that I tried

All of the things I tried say
All of the words just got in the way
I’m waiting here, I need your help
Don’t leave me down here all by myself

And if I fall and crash and burn
At least we both know that I tried
And as I crawl those lessons learned
Yeah they remind me I survived
And I’ve been hurt and I’ve been scarred
At least I know that I’m alive
And if I fall and crash and burn
At least we both know that I tried

A confession, an apology- whatever you want to call it

If you do not know me personally, as this is a public blog, please do not continue.

I would just like to sincerely apologize to those of you who know me on a personal basis and I’ve been arrogant, self righteous and lah-dee-dah-im-so-perfect to. I have recently circum to the harsh realization that, as easy as it may be to pick apart at others’ flaws and excessively winge about them- I myself probably have more than everyone I know collectively.

However much I decide to call myself a Christian- I must accept the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth. I simply find it so amazing that the one who is perfect, the one who is just, our saviour- is the one who forgives our many flaws, he gives us new breath, he gives us a fresh seed- every time we admit we were wrong. So, who am I to judge? We’re not perfect, so the way I see it- He who is perfect is who should be doing the judging- not us.

My most sincere apologies, I think I’ve been like this across the board- so it would be hard to apologize to individuals- but do approach me if you want to talk more! You know who you are

My goal for the next while: Be a lover, not a hater. Be supportive, not corruptive. Be humble, not cocky.

<3 you all so much!

The Burka… to ban or not to ban? It gets me fired up every time!

I know, long time no post… anyway.

Every time I see some mention of the Burka being a sociological problem, or argument- I cannot help but express my view. I found myself post this just then in a forum- got me thinking for over an hour… Certainly hating Muslim people is not showing them Christ’s love- so why the heck do these so-called Christians criticize them? I must admit- I used to be one of these people, and I currently know many like this. I cannot help but ask myself “how the heck is this going to help the situation? Let alone bring them to Jesus’ and His love!“

 

“Being a devout Christian teenager, my view on this issue is mixed. Whether or not it was an issue until France made their move (I had not heard about the other two countries) is another question. Personally I’m undecided on the matter because I can honestly see where both sides of the debate are coming from. There are really 3 stances that everyone’s taking… and I honestly think the most informed is where I’m at right now- undecided.

Option 1: Undecided (which is what I said I am)

Option 2: Should be banned due to its security risk, cultural rebellion or means of intimmidation. I can see where they are coming from. Let’s be frank, as I have lots of Muslim friends myself- and they are wonderful people! Seriously! You walk into a bank with the full face veil- is this honestly acceptable in a Western country? Now I’m not saying that your normal Muslim female would conceal anything beneath her veil, I’m talking about the crazys here. I am well aware that many larakinistic and misinformed Australians believe that Muslims are all terrorists due to the extreme minority (I wouldn’t call them extremists, I’d call them mentally retarded- as I’m sure many Muslims would too) who have given them a bad name. [After all of this Kuran burning garbage coming out of America I felt how you guys feel- the minority of radicalists ruining it for the rest of you]. So let’s put the typical thought lingering in the back of the “typical Australian’s” mind that “Muslims are going to run around blowing up everything” based on (as I said) the very very very few that pose a risk… and analyse the situaition unbiasedly. Frankly- anyone who enters a bank who cannot be identified on security camera poses a major risk, and who knows- I bet some anti-burqa radicalist will try and stir the pot one day by robbing a bank in one… I’m talking about the risk that is posed by anyone being able to wear any type of face conceiling garment within a high security location. As a previous user said- something about being in Paris when it was snowing and you couldn’t see their face, only their eyes… I think that was perhaps only part of the story- they would be forced to remove it when entering a building. I presume you’re talking about a ski mask- which nobody in their right mind would wear inside.

Option 3: The face veil (not talking about the burqa here- I honestly see no problem with this) should be kept due to certain cultural or religious significance. I must agree with some previous users in saying… “it is feasible that the veil was developed due to climatic and weather patterns [desert sandstorms and the like]. Certainly, this is feasible. I can say we’ll never know why the veil was created, perhaps for multiple purposes. It is, in a way, like saying “Why did the Chinese develop chop-sticks?”… there may have been many reasons. There is, in fact, no religious association with the face veil. It is cultural. Personally I feel that when someone comes to a multicultural country such as Australia (lets leave that debate for another time), they should DEFINITELY keep the majority of their culture, but some adjustments need to be made. How often do we have a sand storm here in Australia? Well once here in Brisbane a while ago, but that was very rare hey. What I’m getting at is that I personally believe that certain cultural adjustments should be made in general, and if there is no legitimate reason for a cultural aspect which distresses the general public (again, I say this in the public’s perspective) to remain, it should be removed.

There have been so many connections made with religion, what you feel and what we know are two different things. If you think shutting yourself out from reality, in a sense (or shutting it out from yourself) by keeping various practices unwanted by the public is okay, then you must be for this option.

In conclusion, it can be seen from 2 sides of the story: Non-Muslim/Arabic “Why do they not remove it? Are they not accepting our culture in removing it?” and Muslim/Arabic “Why do they not accept our culture? Why are they being “racist”?

This is certainly a debate which divides the nation, but in agreement with a previous user- a husband might prevent his wife from going out at all if she were not allowed to wear this in public (interestingly- 2 doors down a guy has 3 wives- they are Muslim. When the husband isnt there, they do not wear their burqas). But certainly, when a man is forcing a woman to do something she doesnt want to, there is a major problem right there.

After going to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a few days recently- I learnt many things about Muslim culture. I remember we had a male Muslim tour guide who said (I still remember this)… “Kuala Lumpur is setting the example for Muslims all over the world how to fit into society and not separate themselves from it”. Certain untentioning needs to happen from both sides of the parties. I think the burqa-haters should be ashamed- because politically and security-wise… there are nothing wrong with these.”

Ablaze! ONE YEAR!

Blogging is the last thing on my mind at the moment, so bear with me. I tend to blog all at once.

I just wanna thank everyone from Ablaze for a momentous year! Coming to know God and indeed you wonderful people, has been an absolute ball! There has been many people who have influenced me over this time- probably the majority of you. To my leaders and IGVO buddies- thanks so much for always being there

Much more is yet to come.