Summary of The Minister's Fainting Fits – Charles Spurgeon 

by Craig Josling 31/8/18

Introduction

1. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English Baptist preacher in London. His essay 'The Minister's Fainting Fits' was published in a book called Lectures to my Students. This is my summary of it.
2. “Fainting fits” ie. Time when you are down and out (feeling low).
3. Spurgeon himself suffered deep depression “at seasons by no means few or far between”.
4. He writes this paper and shares his experience of it so “that younger men might not fancy that some strange thing had happened to them” ie. So his young students won’t be surprised if they have ‘down times’ during their ministry.

Why does depression come?

1. Because we are men. Ie. sons of Adam, frail, feeble.
2. So that Ministers “... may learn sympathy with the Lord’s suffering people.”
3. Because we are unsound physically or mentally ie. Each of us has our own bodily maladies and “is any man altogether sane?”
4. To keep ministers of the gospel humble eg. “Had it not been for the broken wing, some might have lost themselves in the clouds.” (Page 2.)
5. The nature of ministry work. Ie. Bearing the weight of souls, disappointment at rejection of the gospel, Christians falling into sin, mentally exhausted after preaching. “ours is more than mental work-it is heart work, the labour of our inmost soul ….. it is our duty and our privilege to exhaust our lives for Jesus. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices….” Christian leadership can be lonely, feel lack of sympathy (no-one understands or cares). Eg. Jesus alone in the Garden of Gesthemane. [That’s why ministers’ fraternals are so good].
6. Sedentary habits. Sitting for so long without exercise, “self immolated victim”. [Get outside and enjoy God’s good creation.] 

When depression is likely to come?

1. After the hour of great success. God uses it to humble us after success. Eg. Paul’s thorn. “the gracious discipline of mercy breaks the ships of our vainglory with a strong east wind, and casts us shipwrecked, naked and forlorn, upon the Rock of Ages (p.4).
2. Before some great achievement. “the sons of Anak stalk before us .. Whenever the Lord is preparing a larger blessing for my ministry … depression has now become to me a prophet in rough clothing.” Scouring the vessel ready for the Master’s use. 
3. One crushing stroke. Eg. a brother most relied upon becomes a traitor, a beloved member yields to temptation, division within, slander. (page 5.) Hard words wound delicate minds. Time toughens us up in this regards. For Spurgeon it was the fire in the Surrey music hall where people were killed. [Implications for people entering full time ministry. Don’t do it if they are looking for the quiet life.] 
4. Causeless depression. Shapeless, undefinable. No person has any answers. “needs a heavenly hand to push it back.”

Remedies

1. Rest. (page 5). “rest time is not waste time. Its is economy to gather fresh strength… in the long run, we shall do more by doing less.”
2. Look to Jesus (page 6). “Jesus is still great, let his servants suffer as they may, piloted me back to calm and reason and peace” after the Surrey music hall disaster. 
3. Understand that God’s way of working is to use weakness, that he may be glorified and we look forward to heaven (page 7).

Conclusion

1. Depression is a normal part of ministerial experience (p7.)Keep going. Live day by day, hour by hour (looking to God) “put no trust in frames and feelings, care more for a grain of faith than for a grain of excitement". Don’t be surprised when people let you down.
2. “Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret. Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are.” (page 8).
3. "Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all provided for by our covenant Head."

Thank God it's Monday

Thank God it's Monday is a must read for:

(a) Christians who are office workers or for
(b) pastors of churches who want to support the workplace ministry of their congregation members.

The book sees the strategic value for the Christian cause of supporting Christian ministry at work. It is full of Biblical wisdom and peppered with many real life examples and case studies. It also offers some very useful analysis and planning tools to help put the principles of the book into practice.

Despite being last updated in 2001 this book is still highly relevant to the modern corporate office environment with all it's stress and uncertainty.

Here is a summary of what each chapter is about (I've deciphered Mark Greene's cryptic chapter headings).

1. Why workplace ministry is so important.
2. What the Bible says about work and rest.
3. The secrets of witnessing: relationships, serving, boldness.
4. Witness through life and words.
5. A ministry plan for work.
6. Work / life balance.
7. Getting support for ministry at work.
8. Case study of leading someone at work to Christ.
9. The importance of working hard and well.
10. Relating to the boss.
11. Examining our attitudes to our boss.
12. Coping with stress / anxiety at work.
13. Truth / honesty at work.
14. Case studies / moral dilemmas.
15. How to be a good boss.

Thank God it's Monday would be a good book to discuss a chapter or two at a time with someone else or in a group of workers. I highly recommend it.

Has science buried God - short summary

This is a shorter summary of John Lennox's book God's Undertaker: Has Science buried God?

Has science buried God? = No. Here's why.

1. There are many scientists who say that their science confirms their belief in God. eg. Francis Collins.
2. Many of the fathers of modern science believed in God. They expected laws in nature based on a God who created an orderly universe.
3. It is a myth that science is constantly at war with religion. Even Galileo's story has been distorted. The issue is rather which world view Naturalism or Theism sits most comfortably with science.
4. Science can tell us WHAT is there (ingredients) and HOW it works (mechanisms) but cannot tell us WHY (purpose). Some scientists claim too much for science=scientism or the Theory of Everything. They re-deify nature by endowing energy and matter with creative purpose.
5. Science points to God in the following ways:

• The rational intelligibility of the universe. ie. the universe is mathematically intelligible with uniformity in nature.
• The evidence that the universe had a beginning (Big Bang) which is consistent with the Bible.
• The fine tuning of the universe=everything on earth is just right for human life.
• The theory of evolution does not adequately account for the complexity of life. ie. micro evolution is proven but not macro evolution. More than blind chance is needed.

eg. especially when looking at the mathematical chances of the building blocks of life evolving in just the right combination. For example a single cell is made up of 100 million proteins of 20,000 different types=like a massive factory of interlocking assembly lines.

eg.2. DNA contains complex genetic software (a code). Where did this information come from? Best explanation is not from a chaotic, random process but rather informational input from a God who created everything through his Word (language). See Genesis 1, John 1.

eg. 3. If an intelligible information code was received from outer space we would conclude an intelligent source. Same argument applies when looking at the code in DNA. It seems that the willingness of scientists who are naturalists to look at this evidence is ignored because of their a priori assumptions.

Conclusion: Science has not buried God ..... but in fact points to his existence.

Summary of God's Undertaker (Has science buried God?) by John C. Lennox

[N.B. I have finally finished the project of summarising this book. My apologies to John Lennox if I have misrepresented his arguments. It is an extremely hard book to digest and chapters don't always build on each other logically. However it contains many gems of logic, reasoning and great quotes from eminent scientists. John Lennox has read widely and has done a great job of being a 'priest' between us and the great minds and ideas of science. My guess is that this book is a response to Richard Dawkin's book 'The God Delusion' and I benefited from reading Dawkins book before this one. Hope the summary helps]

Preface

The question of the book=Which worldview sits comfortably with science – theism or atheism?

Ch 1 – War of the worldviews.

- Dawkins defines scientific belief on publicly checkable evidence and claims that religious faith prides itself on a lack of evidence (blind faith). P.16
- 40% of scientists said in a survey that they believed in a personal God (little change from a similar survey in 1916), another survey though said that among TOP scientists 72% were atheists.
- Some very notable scientists who do believe in God. Eg. Francis Collins (human genome project). p.18.
- also note that statements of scientists are not necessarily statements of science but rather statements of personal belief. P.19.
- naturalist thinkers tell us that science has eliminated God whereas scientists who are theists tell us that science confirms their faith in God. P.20.
- science based on the conviction that the universe is orderly. Comes from the conviction that the universe is governed by a single God and not by the whims of many gods (p.20). Also the medieval insistence on the rationality of God. Many of the fathers of modern science were theists eg. Galileo and Kepler. They expected laws of nature because they believed in a lawgiver. c/c to Chinese thinking. Science freed from Aristotelian method of deducing from fixed principles of how the universe ought to be ie. a priori philosophical principles. Galileo and Kepler went and looked to see what was there. (p.23).
- widespread myth that science has been constantly at war with religion. Eg. Galileo. Many secular philosophers were opposed to Galileo because of his criticism of Aristotle and many religious intellectuals supported him (at least initially). Also politics of catholic v protestant (Catholic church was Aristotelian). P.25.
- the real conflict is not between science and religion but between two diametrically opposed world views: naturalism and theism.
- naturalism c/c super-naturalism. Naturalism says the cosmos is all there is or ever shall be. It is a closed system of cause and effect. Materialists are naturalists but some naturalists hold that mind and consciousness are to be distinguished from matter ie. they are emergent properties. P29-30.

Ch 2 – The scope and limits of science.

- science is international and many desire getting on with discovery away from potential religious division.
- definition of science: that which is repeatable? Doesn’t work in all fields where no repeatable events eg. cosmology or bio-genesis. Better definition: inference to the best explanation. P.32.
- also scientists not all cool, rational and indifferent. They have preconceived ideas and worldviews which they bring to bear on their science. Science inevitably possesses a degree of subjectivity. P.33.
- category mistake made by many because of their apriori philosophical beliefs: natural=rational, supernatural=non-rational. ie. evidence for the supernatural may be rational. Some scientists admit their prior commitment to materialism (blind faith) (p.36).
- most of the time this blind faith doesn’t affect people’s science but sometimes it does eg. bio-genesis.
- can take a long time before an accumulation of evidence favours a new paradigm. Takes a strong person to swim against the tide and risk criticism of peers. P.38.
- scientism=belief that science is the only way to “truth” and can explain everything. But what about philosophy, literature, art, morality. P.40. And how can you tell whether this statement is true?
- Aunt Matilda’s cake. Ie. Science can analyse the ingredients (WHAT) and tell us HOW the cake was made but cannot tell us WHY (purpose). We have to ask her. Ie. personal revelation. P.41.
- Illustration of a Ford motor car engine. Just because an engineer can deduce how the engine works and that Mr Ford is not IN the engine, does not imply that Mr Ford does not exist. P.45.

Ch 3-Reduction, reduction, reduction.

- God of the gaps argument. Eg. God used to explain things that science can’t explain until science comes up with the answer etc. Rather …. God can be used to explain the whole process.
- Ancient Greek thinking of gods controlling the forces of nature. Contrary to Hebrew / biblical thinking of God being outside of creation. But now some naturalists re-deifying nature by endowing matter and energy with creative purposes they cannot be shown to posses (p.51).
- Reductionism (p.52). Split a problem into its separate parts. Till ultimately come up with the Theory of Everything (TOE). But mathematically the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.
- Epistemological reductionism: higher level phenomena can be explained by processes at a lower level. (p.53). Ultimate goal is to reduce all human behaviour to physics. But doesn’t work in every circumstance. Eg. constructing a building with bricks. The bricks do not self assemble, designing the building. Laws of physics and chemistry govern the raw materials but not the design and building process itself. Ie. higher processes guide lower processes but not vice versa.
- Ontological reductionism: human beings are nothing but atoms and DNA (Dawkins). P56. Love, fear, dreams, ambitions just neural patterns in the brain. But this philosophy gives us no reason to trust our brains that this theory is true (p.57).

Ch 4-Designer Universe

- evidence for design and purpose? =
1. The rational intelligibility of the universe ie. a priori one should expect a chaotic world which cannot be grasped by the mind. The universe is mathematically intelligible, the uniformity in nature.
2. Evidence that the universe had a beginning (Big Bang) which is consistent with the Bible.
3. The fine tuning of the universe .. in order for the earth to be able to sustain life. P.70. eg. Distance from the sun, gravity, temperature, rotation. Atheistic ‘faith’ with no evidence that this is all explained by the multi-verse theory. Ie. there are an infinite number of universes.

Ch 5-Designer biosphere.

- How to explain the amazing complexity in nature. Dawkins: the only watchmaker is the blind watchmaker – the blind forces of physics – an undirected, mindless purposeless process.
- William Paley (18C), theologian and naturalist, Darwin’s boyhood hero with his watchmaker metaphor. P.80.
- evolution does not necessarily lead to atheism. Evolution is just a process which God may have set up and many scientists are theistic evolutionists. P.92.
- P94. Can evolution bear the weight of the claim that it alone accounts for all life’s complexity? There is a taboo in questioning this assertion, a no-go area.
-P.96 Lennox’s view is that natural selection does have an important role in the variations we see in the living world but that it can’t carry all the weight put upon it.
- P.97 the reason why many believe in evolution, is not empirical but metaphysical ie. they want it to prove there is no God. C.S Lewis: The philosophy of evolutionism appeared long before the biological theory of evolution. If we start off with the metaphysical hypothesis that all we have is matter/energy and the forces of physics then evolution is the only option. A rare situation where a scientific theory is closely aligned with a philisophical worldview (p.98). Danger of dismissing or ignoring conflicting evidence because of apriori philisophical pressure (p.99).

Ch 6-The nature and scope of evolution

- Definitions of evolution:

1. Change, development. 
2. Micro-evolution: Change / variation within prescribed limits of complexity. Eg. bacteria, eg. the average length of finch beaks recorded during the drought of 1977 were reversed by the rains of 1983. p.101. 
3. Macro-evolution: large scale innovation. New organs, structures, a marked increase in complexity. Many argue macro-evolution by extrapolating the principles of micro-evolution.
4. Molecular evolution: the emergence of the living cell from non-living materials.- natural selection: Definition: the strain in a population that produces the weaker progeny eventually gets weeded out leaving the stronger to survive. N.B. This process is not creative. Selection is made from already existing entities. Ie. doesn’t describe how those entities got there in the first place. P.104.

- There is an edge to micro-evolution. Paul Wesson: ‘Large evolutionary innovations are not well understood. None has ever been observed, and we have no idea whether any may be in progress. There is no good fossil record of any.’ P.108. Paul Erbrich: ‘..all variations have certainly remained within the confines of basic types.’ (p.109).
- One eminent biologist whose research into fruit fly mutation convinced him that there was a limit to what mutation and natural selection could achieve and led him to reject no-Darwinianism=Pierre Grasse. P.109. Grasse observed that fruit fly remain fruit fly in spite of thousands of generations that have been bred and the mutations that have been induced in them. The capacity for variation in the gene pool seems to run out quite early in the process because of the onset of sterility of the exhaustion of genetic variability. Similar research on E.coli bacteria. P.110.
- Sir Fred Hoyle (astrophysicist and mathematician) did some calculations that led him to doubt the validity of extrapolating from micro to macro evolution (p.112).
- There is no trace of the blind watchmaker.

The fossil record
- p.113. There is no evidence of macro-evolution in the fossil record.
- in 1859 Darwin could not cite one example of evidence in the fossil record of transitional life forms. Since then nothing has changed.
- Stephen Jay Gould: ‘The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of palaeontology’ (p.114)
- p.114. Species appear (and disappear) in the fossil record fully formed with no transitional change. So theory of punctuated equilibrium forwarded. ie. long periods of statis (no change) followed by a sudden large macro evolutionary jump. This is in contrast to the gradualist approach of ultra Darwinists like Richard Dawkins who simply extrapolate current observations backward.

genetic relatedness?
- p.117. The genetic relatedness of all living things proved through molecular biology is often used by the neo Darwinists. But it is no argument for evolution. i.e. may just be evidence of a common designer.
- p.118. In fact molecular biology has also revealed how ‘astonishing’, ‘astounding’, ‘remarkable’ (words used by naturalists) is life able to navigate through biological space. Evidence points to fact that more than blind chance (and natural selection) is needed.
- p.120. ‘evolution of the gaps’ is at least as widespread as ‘God of the gaps’.

Ch 7 The origin of life (bio-genesis)

- the vast complexity of the living cell. Also little evidence of evolution among cells (cells are exactly the same in all biological life forms). P.122.

irreducible complexity
- a single cell is seethingly complex containing maybe 100 million proteins of 20,000 different types. A factory that contains an elaborate network of interlocking assembly lines. P.123.
- Biochemist Michael Behe studies molecular machines argues that the tiny acid driven motor that powers the bacterial flagellum is irreducible complex (ie. take away any one of the protein parts and it ceases to function). P.124.
- Darwin wrote that if it could be proved that any complex organ existed which could not have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications then his theory would break down. Behe claims there are many irreducibly complex molecular machines.
- Also argues that Darwinian molecular evolution is not based on scientific authority, ie. there is no proof (published experiments) of how complex structures came to be.

The building blocks of life
- Molecular machines are made from proteins which in turn are made from amino acids. - the probability of building even a short protein at random is 1 in 10 to the power of 60. P.127.
- but then to get the Amino acids in the right order is 1 in 20 to the power of 100.
- P.129. Sir Fred Hoyle compared the odds of the spontaneous formation of life with the chance of a tornado sweeping through a junk yard and producing a Boeing 747 jet aircraft.

self organisation scenarios
- p.130. eg. scientists arguing that order and organisation can arise spontaneously out of chaos and disorder. But experiments which are created to prove this theory only prove that it can be done by intelligent design. ie. carefully controlled, externally organised experiments.

the core problem
- p132. Living things are instructed (organised) internally, by genetic software called RNA encoded into their DNA

Ch 8 - The genetic code and its origin

- DNA=an information bearing macro-molecule. Contained in a cells nucleus and needed to build the proteins in a functional organism. Much more complex than a protein. This is what lies at the heart of every living thing. P.135.
- for the DNA to get out of the nucleus past the membrane and onto the ‘factory’ floor it needs a molecule called RNA (also amazingly complex).P.139.
- conundrum: DNA holds the recipe for protein construction, but information on DNA cannot be copied or retrieved without the assistance of proteins. Which came first (chicken or the egg)? (also p.144).
- only 30,000 genes in the human genome. Surprising given they produce 100,000 proteins. However, it’s more complex than just a one gene to one protein ratio. Genes can be switched on or off. And some genes appear to be ‘smarter’, building more complex biological machines in more complex organisms. p.141. Also more complex information is added by alternative splicing. p.143.
- also cells seems to protect themselves from accidental genetic change (on which evolutionary theory depends). p.143.
- Why then has the central dogma of a simplistic explanation of heredity continued? P.144=it is heresy to go against this theory punishable by ostracism.
- also the genetic lexicon seems to be extremely ancient “not an iota seems to have changed in over two billion years.”
- where did the extremely complex genetic software DNA come from? How did the mutating replicator (on which Darwinian natural select depends) form from non living matter? P.147.

Ch 9 - Matters of Information

- Note: much of this chapter cannot be understood by the average reader.
- the basic gist of it seems to be: information can be syntactic (information passed on without any supposed meaning) or semantic (meaning dependant upon context). ie. there’s a big difference between having information and interpreting it correctly. There can be a lot of information but it might be explained simply using an algorithm (eg. fractal pictures). ie. there might be a lot of information but it’s not that complex.
- Paul Davies writes (p.157) “biologically relevant macromolecules simultaneously posses two vital properties: randomness [a lot of information which cannot be simplified] and extreme specificity [the kind of complexity associated with languages]. A chaotic process could possibly achieve the former property but would have a negligible probability of achieving the latter.” Then Davies uses ‘evolution of the gaps’ and asserts “Clearly Darwinian evolution by variation and natural selection has what is needed to generate both randomness (information richness) and tightly specified biological functionality in the same system.” ie. too intellectually lazy to propose where this information input comes from and just attributes it to “evolution”.
- p.162. No molecular device (biological machine) is capable of generating any information that does not either belong to its input or its own informational structure.
= informational input is necessary for the origin of life.

Ch 10 - The monkey machine

Richard Dawkins contends that unguided natural processes can account for the origin of biological information - no external source of information is necessary. In the Blind Watchmaker he compares it to the claim that apes typing randomly would eventually type up one of Shakespears poems, by chance = mathematical nonsense. (p.163). eg. to produce Psalm 23 by chance it would take 101017 years. Dawkins himself realises that it is mathematically impossible and tries to solve the difficulty by breaking the problem up into small manageable parts (“going around the back of Mount Improbable and crawling up the gentle slopes, inch by million year inch.”) = even this is mathematically improbable. Even assuming there is a continuous path leading from the origins of life to man. (p.165)
- So in the blind watchmaker Dawkins tries to reduce the improbability by introducing a law likeness into the process ie. a combination of chance and necessity. He changes the monkey illustration by introducing a target phrase. Each time the monkey hits a letter it is compared to it’s target letter. The comparison of course has to be done by some kind of mechanism and in doing so Dawkins has contradicted himself because he previously stated that evolution is blind and without a goal. The argument is circular. The simulation is front loaded with the very information that it was supposed to generate. The argument is fatally flawed as an argument to prove that unguided natural processes can generate information. In fact it proves the opposite.

Ch 11 - The origin of information

- DNA has some similarities to a software program or to a human language (p.174).
- inferences to intelligent agency are made routinely in archaeology, cryptography, computer science and forensic medicine (p.175). Also used in search for extra terrestial intelligence. So why the inconsistency in observing the overwhelming amount of information contained in even the simplest living system (p.176)?
- this inference persuaded Anthony Flew to convert from Atheism to Theism (p.176).
- Where did the information come from? God?=consistent with the claim of John 1:1 “in the beginning was the Word”. And Genesis 1 “.. and God said ..”
- information is invisible (not material) although the carriers of information may well be visible=Hebrews 11:3 (everything made out of the invisible).
- (p177-182). What of Dawkins argument that explaining the complexity of life using God means you have to then explain something even more complex? =but we often use complex theories to explain simple things eg. an apple falling from a tree. The thing that counts is not the simplicity of an argument but its explanatory power.
- so what is the best explanatory power of the 3.5 billion letter sequence of the human genome? An intelligent source or chance and necessity? Also Dawkins use of the Multiverse theory to explain our universe contradicts his argument.
-p182. Conclusion that a priori materialism can produce a profoundly unscientific attitude and an unwillingness to follow evidence.
- But who created God? (p.182f)=Christians, Muslims and Jews believe that no-one created God. He is eternal. And God is independent of the created order. Dawkins has more of a Greek philosophical view of God and matter ie. that matter is eternal, emanates out of God and in some sense everything is God. Then where did eternal energy and matter come from? (touche)
- p185. Dawkins hopes that physics will discover the final theory of everything (TOE). But logically chains of cause and effect either go back eternally in an infinite regression, or there is some point where we stop at an ultimate reality (p.186).
- It is not wrong to want an answer to the ultimate question bur rather what fact is ultimate: ‘God’ or ‘The Universe’. Did matter come before mind or the other way around?
- NB. Theism is not an argument of the God of the gaps (in science) but rather what is the best explanation for information rich DNA? ‘God’ or ‘Chance and necessity’?
- p191. The detail behind biology points towards a Logos (Word) behind life.

Ch 12 - Violating nature? The legacy of David Hume

- Conclusion (p.206) that there is no scientific, in principle objection to the possibility of miracles. Debunks philosopher David Hume's arguments against miracles (quotes Anthony Flew). Can’t define what is possible from experience coz may have happened outside of our experience. Debunks argument that people in the first century were primitives and therefore credulous (p.199). The fact that the laws of nature have been ‘broken’ simply points to the fact that there might be someone outside of nature who made those laws and can control them (p.201). Even in science the discovery of an exception to the fact is crucial to the discovery of new things. And ironically it only belief in a Creator which gives basis for the ‘laws of nature’ in the first place (p.205). If there is a God, miracles are possible.

Epilogue: Beyond Science but not beyond reason

Science cannot answer Why we are here (only its materials and processes). However the universe is rationally intelligible and provides some clues that there is a Mind behind it. Has this mind ever spoken? Claim of John 1 that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”. = the Bible gives us this information.

Science has not buried God but points towards his existence and the scientific enterprise is itself validated by his existence.

Looking for answers in the London riots

The recent London riots raise the question of how can we motivate young people to do the right thing? We all know that stealing is wrong. We all know that destroying other people’s property is wrong. But given half a chance, thousands of school aged children joined the rioting and the looting. Many were middle class, university educated who couldn’t resist the temptation of getting a new pair of shoes or a plasma TV for free.

The mother of a young woman filmed looting, spoke of her shame and despair at her daughter's lawless actions. The daughter was seen on TV brazenly trying on training shoes taken from a sports shop in Tottenham, North London. She made no attempt to hide her identity as she joined others rifling through stock.

You may be worried about the behaviour of your own teenage children (or future teenage children)? Do you really know what they get up to on Saturday nights? Are they involved in stealing, graffiti or other anti-social behaviour? What can you do?

How can we motivate a young person (or in fact any person) to be a peaceful and productive member of society?

David Cameron the British Prime Minister proposed two solutions “to mend our broken society”. 1. Getting tough 2. Changing government policies.

Getting tough
Cameron said he hoped courts would use exemplary sentences to deter future riots. He praised the sentencing of two people to four years jail for inciting riots on Facebook – riots that never took place. Cameron has backed calls to withdraw welfare benefits from rioters and to evict those who live in government housing. He also floated the idea of restricting the use of services such as Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry Messenger.

Government policies
Cameron also said that “our security fight back must be matched by a social fight back. We must fight against the attitudes and assumptions that have bought parts of our society to this shocking state.” He went on … “it’s about parenting, it’s about discipline in schools, it’s about making sure we have a welfare system that doesn’t reward idleness.” The government plans to review whether current government programs are strong enough to address the underlying problems.

Prince Charles proposed a more simple solution …. “what rioters really needed was to be tired out with extra-curricular activities such as sport at school.”

Do we really think that government policies and school sports are going to motivate our young people to do the right thing? Anyone with teenage children will know that the problem is more complex and deeply rooted.

A better solution
I’m now going to be radical and propose a solution you might laugh at or may never have considered.

Introduce your children to Jesus Christ in the Bible. The Bible makes a big claim which is also testified to by the experience of many. The Bible claims that getting to know Jesus Christ and learning about his grace (generosity to us) will transform even the most obstinate and selfish person. The apostle Paul wrote: "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."(Titus 2:11-14 NIV)

You want to motivate people to be eager to do good? Introduce them to Jesus Christ. There’s only one way to find out whether this will work or not …..

Work Smarter Live Better

I read a book recently called Work Smarter Live Better. I thought I'd share a few things I learnt from the book.

The book is based on the premise: your time is valuable - don't waste it! This can be done by increasing efficiency and effectiveness.

Increase Efficiency
1. Have an effective filing system and time management system. Don't use your desk or your email Inbox as a filing system or task management system. Don't even leave Post-it notes and other bits of work around your desk to remind you of work which needs to be done. This should be handled by your Task Management system.

2. Don't multi handle information. Decide whether you will do something straight away (short tasks), otherwise diarise when you will do it.

3. Avoid interruptions. eg. Don't check your email several times per day. Set aside one or two times in the day when you will answer emails. If you manage people, only allow them to interrupt you for non urgent tasks at certain times of the day. Work outside the office more. Write out three things which are time wasters and work out a strategy to overcome these.

Increase Effectiveness
There's not much point being efficient (having a clean desk) if you are not effective. Every quarter write out what High Impact Activities (HIAs) you want to concentrate on during the next 3 months. Ask your peers to review these. Then at the end of each week set aside two hours to plan the following week. Do this by reading over your HIAs first. Diarise into your week when you are going to concentrate on these HIAs.

127 Hours

Would you cut off your arm to save your life? I recently watched the movie 127 Hours based on the true story of Aron Ralston whose arm is pinned under a boulder while canyoning alone near Moab, Utah. Aron's water has run out (he is forced to drink his urine), he has little chance of being rescued because he is out of sight and he is beginning to hallucinate. His only chance to live is to self amputate (with a blunt pocket knife) and to stay conscious so he doesn't bleed to death. Many people choose not to see the movie because of this scene but it wasn't that bad because it is in the context of .... I'm going to die anyway  ... I'm going to lose my arm anyway ... so I've got nothing to lose.


The amazing thing is that this accident saved Aron's life in more ways than one. Aron admits to being a selfish loner who didn't care much about his family. While trapped in the canyon, he has plenty of time to reflect on his selfishness and to consider what he really wants out of life. If only he can escape and be given a second chance at life. (See video interview). 


Jesus taught a similar thing re: chopping off your hand in order to save your life in Matthew 18:8. If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.


In order to have life we must deal with our sin problem in a radical way.