Nice. I had to look up “Bucket list” ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bucket_List ). It’s the list of things to do before you “kick the bucket.”

It’s an interesting question that speaks to my passions, my drive and passions, my priorities and call, and how I see accomplishment. I am in a season where I need to dwell on these things and so thankyou for the question.

Here is a quick initial response. It will not be my final thoughts. You might want to ask me again in six months or so. 🙂

I have categorised the list somewhat:

1) FORMATION
* Spend a season (three months minimum) of on-the-ground travel, in two continents, with my wife.
* Do more study (of a deeply applied theological sort.)
* Spend a season of apprenticeship to a good and godly Christian leader (not necessarily of a church) of significant calibre (happy to receive suggestions as to who.)

2) ACHIEVEMENT
* Witness and be present at significant moment’s of my children’s life (I’m not going to specify what – for that’s their story, not mine).
* Teach something significant to teachable people.
* See at least one leader, whose formation I have participated in, impact a nation/society in a significant way.

3) NOSTALGIA
* Return to England with my own family, while the children are still young, and meet family members I have not seen in a long time.
* Shake Bob Hartman’s hand ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Hartman ) – his work was incredibly formative to me as a person.

4) FUN
* Learn to ski
* Cook a meal with Jamie Oliver
* Experience a hot lap of Mt. Panorama
* Discover, in real life, the following places:
– the most awesome natural vista on earth
– the most awesome architecture on earth
– the most peaceful place on earth
– the wildest place on earth

Originally: http://www.formspring.me/briggswill/q/846278649

This seems to be a good answer: http://www.gotquestions.org/God-change-mind.html

If you could point me to the exact texts you are talking about when you I could interact in more detail.

Sometimes there is difficulty in language. For God to regret something, for instance, does not conceptually preclude the immutability of God.

In other instances, for God to “repent” of his anger (e.g. Nineveh in Jonah) what looks like change is actually an expression of his _unchanging_ mercy etc.

I think in the end the point of contact between the theological concept of the immutability of God and everyday life is the question: Can God be trusted? Does he have integrity?

This puts the issue in relational terms – where overly-rationalistic and overly-narrow semantics actually miss the point.

Think of a person who you would consider trustworthy and stable, a person of integrity. One thing you trust about them is that their response to other people will be consistent and not contradictory with their previous behaviour.

Place that person in a situation where they are interacting with people (particularly imperfect people) then we would expect the exercise of relationship – including initiation and RESPONSE from that person. We might say that the person has been MOVED by those around them. We may even describe that movement as “repentance” (simply meaning to change direction) or “change” – even change from voiced intention. But really that person probably has remained consistent with their character – they, themselves, as a person, is unchanged.

That’s the heart of immutability I think.

Originally: http://www.formspring.me/briggswill/q/720324852

Thanks for the question. It’s taken me a while to get to it partly because it is worth pondering and took some pondering.

What is a Christian? The quick answers is from Romans 10:9 – “…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” I can infer from your question that you are still confessing with your mouth, and you have not, in a rational belief sense, denied him.

But I think the crux of your problem is that you “don’t feel” your faith or “experience” God. It would relate to Romans 10:9 at the phrase “believe in your heart.”

I think my push-back to you here would then be – “Well, what does being a Christian feel like?” Or, more specifically, “What does faith feel like?”

Sure, sometimes it feels like joy, gladness – even euphoria at times. I assume you are not feeling these things.

Sometimes faith feels likes determination, or pain, or burden (for me, personally, occasionally to the point of nausea). Faith is to trust in God which means trusting him as you face everything from temptation, sadness, hurt, betrayal, and guilt.

The path of faith is when God calls you, “come and die.” He will take you to the place where you are not yet Jesus-shaped, or to an area that is crucial to how he has called you – and to follow him will literally hurt. Many of us stall here, go into denial, go “around the mountain” until we have to face it again, for he won’t let us go.

It is often in these places that we don’t “feel” our faith – because our faith is being tested. And it is often in these places that we don’t respond in faith but try to cover up the hurt with the false comfort (that is no comfort at all) of sin.

So I guess my advice to you is a mixture of determination and abandonment. Be determined to be fully reliant on God. No matter the cost, no matter the pain, no matter how much it _feels_ like a path or difficulty – determinedly choose to abandon yourself to his purposes.

Put that into action. Put aside any idols you have. Be honest about what he is calling you to face, and face it.

God bless you.

Originally: http://www.formspring.me/briggswill/q/741629010

I’m an online pastor?

Depends what you mean about “online” – their are plenty who are socially networked (and plenty who were before my time).

If you mean Tasmanian pastors that blog: I was probably pretty early in the piece but I’m sure not the first. And there’s quite a few now. Just some that I know of (sorry if I’ve got things wrong or missing).

Bp. John Harrower: http://imaginarydiocese.org/bishopjohn/
Luke Isham: http://post-apocalyptictheology.blogspot.com/
Joshua Skeat: http://skeatnet.net/
Mikey Lynch: http://www.thegenevapush.com/christian-reflections/
Chris Bowditch (formerly Tasmanian): http://www.youthministryandme.com/
Staff at Wellspring Church (hardly used though): http://wellspring.org.au/blog/
Alan Reader: http://www.readeral.com/blog/
Alistair Bain: http://paradoxspeak.blogspot.com/

Online/offline is getting to be a false dichotomy. I am a pastor. I bring that to my interactions with people – and that happens online, IRL and in a fuzzy overlap between the two.

Originally: http://www.formspring.me/briggswill/q/853282008

Not sure. Somewhere quiet. With my family. And I would teach my heart out.

Originally: http://www.formspring.me/briggswill/q/846505371