How to Help At Risk Youth

“At Risk” youth are young people who are at risk of a variety of things.  They risk perhaps facing dangerous circumstances posed by the family environment they are in, or circumstances out of their control.  Or they risk missing out on opportunities for their life which normal people would receive or even expect. 

Three ways we can help youth at risk are?

1. Learn more about them


2. Model it in my/our own life


3. Manage difficult behaviours

Learn more about them

Taking the time to understand youth in general, and also individual youth will help me to be able to help them.  Understanding leads to a greater compassion which is important as a motivating factor.  Also, whilst help can be given in situations as a choice knowing its important, without understanding, or without compassion, these qualities help to make it more genuine to the youth themselves. 

Undertaking this YMIS course for me is actually a process in learning more about at risk youth.  Even though this course is only at the beginning for me, already I feel challenged and am learning many things which will be helpful in my schools. 

Model it in my own life

I’m probably surrounded by many at risk youth and opportunities to help them that I’m not aware of, but trying to take the opportunities that do present themselves helps reach out to other youth, as well as make a difference for those already being helped. 

Two years ago my wife and I fostered a boy at the Primary School we work at.  His mother was unable to care for him due to drug and alcohol problems and we took him into our home for 9 months.  As a result of this, his results in school picked up, he began to get a handle on reading and writing, his anger problem settled down and he came to know Jesus through attending church with us, and our example at home.  This is an extreme example, but we do try to help and model help when we can. 

Manage Difficult Behaviours

Discipline (the right kind) provides security and when difficult behaviour is managed well, it gives at risk youth a feeling of being cared for, and they feel safe.  Whilst this seems counter intuitive at first, it makes sense.  This is an area I would like to understand more and work better in. 

 

Book Review - Israeli Apartheid

Do you remember many years ago in South Africa there was a lot of racial tension and separation between “whites” and “blacks.”  The South African people had a name for that – apartheid.  This basically means people kept apart and one group usually mistreated. 

We were all horrified that such a thing happened in South Africa and when Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island, he came out of that jail after 27 years with no bitterness and was able to be used by God to bring healing to that whole nation. 

Sadly, according to Israeli Apartheid, such a situation of racial separation and tension exists in modern day Israel between the Israel and Palestinian peoples. 

In South African, a lot of obvious issues were what Ben White calls “petty” where there were separate toilets, separate shops and so on.  However in this book Ben White explains that the situation in Israel is more serious.  The Israel jews seem to have all the advantages and benefits, whilst many Palestinians suffer with things like poor quality water, sewerage dumped on their land, random house demolitions, injustice in the courts and amongst other things the separation barrier that is being built to keep Palestinians out. 

This book is an eye opener, and you would have to say that Israel are doing themselves no favours when it comes to the quest for peace in the Middle East.  If they want peace they will have to try harder to be nice to their neighbours.  We have much to learn – may God give grace.  Book available at Amazon. 

The First Shall be Last and the Last Shall be Last

Not so long ago we tried to explain to our children about what Jesus said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  We decided to start rewarding proper behaviour.  So we would give out a special treat and if someone showed a little self restraint and selflessness in letting others go first, they would actually get to go first.  The children very quicly cottoned on and all started wanting to go last – so that in reality they could go first. 

In other words – they were still wanting to be first, but were getting it by trying to be last. 

When Jesus said this he was not talking about actual places in a line, but about an attitude of the heart.  Those who are willing to serve and love and give themselves up for others by putting others first, will be rewarded and honoured in Heaven.  On the other hand, those who only think of themselves “first” will find that Heaven is not forthcoming with blessing for them. 

So no matter if you are lining up first or last – if you are “thinking of yourself first” then God will make sure you are last.  So we may as well say, that if this is the case, the First shall be Last, and the Last shall be Last too. 

 

Ferdi Miltenburg on Zambia

Last Friday night at church we had Ferdi Miltenburge, a carpenter who has been to Zambia a couple of times to help build clinics and repair “hospitals” and other mercy mission work.  Ferdi also challenged us all to realise that we are missionaries too.  We are missionaries right where we live. 

However in addition to that, we are also called by Christ to be workers for the sake of the gospel to the ends of the earth also.  That means we need to take a deliberate position and ask ourselves the when, where, how and what questions about our involvment in missions.  Ferdi showed footage of a maternity ward in Zambia – and I will post this footage soon in an additional post.  Ladies Beware… after seeing this footage you might want a home birth. 

Talent Night - That's Debateable

The Youth Group of our church in Rockhampton had a talent night last Saturday and a number of very entertaining items and presentations took place.  I did a Tiny Tim impersonation of “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” with my ukelele.  It was greeted by more laughter and enthusiasm than was reflected by my “talent level.”  A good time was had by all. 

Goat Meets Great Dane

On the weekend we heard a great amount of barking coming from our yard.  When we went out to see – PRESTO – there was a goat.  My son promptly named it “Olivia.”  We have no idea where this goat came from, but it was super friendly and followed us around everywhere.  Just one small snag however – our dog had never seen a goat before and was fascinated.  He kept following “Olivia” around and for his trouble got head butted on the nose a couple of times.  Sadly, we were not able to keep “Olivia” and she has gone to the Pound. 

How to Make a False Christian

As well as being a chaplain, I’m a pastor too.  At home in my filing cabinet I have evangelistic response slips from a number of evangelistic events I have held in my home town of Mt Morgan.  Some of these slips are for kids actually in my schools.  Every single person on these slips has said the “sinner’s prayer” and been told by a well meaning believer that “You are now a Christian.” 

The sad part is that not a single person out of those 500 slips actually attends any church.  I concluded recently that there is something wrong with the way most of us believers think about evangelism and the gospel. 

So how to make a false Christian:

1. When a person asks to become a Christian enthusiastically help them say the sinners prayer repeating after you. 


2. Ask them if they were “really sincere.”


3. If they say yes, then declare them to be “a Christian.” 


4. Finally tell them that God has forgiven them all of their sins and that they are now definitely going to be in Heaven when they die. 

I guess I have realised that there are many reasons “why” a person wants to become “what they think a Christian is.”  Some people are not sincere in thier approach to God, and some people are ill informed about what is required and are thinking they are getting something different.

In both cases it’s a mistake to declare someone saved and going to Heaven because if their belief about it is wrong, or their motives are wrong, they might be still going to Hell.  In fact, telling them they are saved is like a “death sentence” because now they won’t be seeking salvation anymore.  They are what Charles Finney used to call a “False Convert.”

This brings me to this weeks Online Task.  When someone asks spiritual questions, why do most Christians respond in their usual way?  Simply because that is how they have been trained to resond.  We are often more focused on what we want to say (because it’s so important) rather than focused on hearing what the other person has to say. 

Do I think that our counselling skills would be useful? Definitely.  Taking time to listen to what people think and feel and to reflect those feelings and thoughts back to make sure we understand is a great beginning.  Then we not only have an opporunity to talk, but have a basis for our words to be valued also. 

If a young person came up to me…  I guess for me the best way to answer their question is to actually ask them some questions and to let them begin talking.  My desire would be to find out what they know, what they want, and the reason why they want that.  This would help me to decide what to tell them and where to lead the conversation.  I would also not be in a rush to “convert them.”  To me that is the job of the Holy Spirit and the little I get to say, He will use to great effect in their mind to make the changes He wants. 

So I’ve been learning how not to make false converts here in my town.  I don’t know if I’ve learned all that much actually, but I’m just glad this course, and a few life experiences thrown in are helping to make us all the people God wants us to be. 

PS Here is an interesting mp3 by Ray Comfort on False Conversion. 

 

Rockhampton Masjid & Islamic Centre

On Friday 16 April I visited the Rockhampton Mosque.  Technically it’s not a mosque because it doesn’t have minarets and some of the fancy features of Mosques in Islamic countries like Pakistan and the like. 

This visit was part of my chaplaincy at school.  We are asked as part of the YMIS youth work diploma to identify minority groups in our schools and seek to understand them.  I have identified a small number of Muslim students and I felt that attending a Mosque would give me a better understanding of their culture and religion.  I think it did.

Islam has struck me as a sombre religion and everything is very serious.  I recall during the Imam’s sermon that he said that if Muslims strove to be good that Allah “might” forgive them. 

The men I met were good men in every normal sense of the word.  They are sincere and seem to be kind hearted.  I appreciate my opportunity to visit them and the kindness shown to me.  My prayer is that the Lord will reveal himself to them and that they might find salvation and grace through Jesus Christ. 

 

DO NOT VISIT THIS PAGE

I’m guessing that you couldn’t help yourself, and somewhere you have clicked on an ad or a link that said “Do NOT Click This” or something similar. 

Curiosity can be a killer can’t it?

We all love to find out about the unknown.  A long long time ago someone was in a very similar situation – they just had to know what would happen if they did something they were told not to do. 

The ladies name was Eve and God told her she could basically do anything she wanted, but just couldn’t eat the fruit of this one tree.  So out of curiosity, or something similar, Eve did exactly what she was not supposed to do and the world descended into chaos.

It wasn’t the fruit that was the problem, it was the disobedience and deciding to refuse to do what God said.  And Eve (Adam too) wasn’t the only one, the whole world is full of people that today still don’t want to do what God says – including you. 

The Bible says that before disobedience came into the world via Adam & Eve everything was perfect – but after they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil – they found out about evil all right – evil things became a part of our personal experience.

So in a kind of a way you were tricked into coming here.  But in another way, it was an act of disobedience on your part and you did something you were told not to do. 

Let me be very honest with you.

Disobedience to what God wants will send you to Hell, a horrible place.  Hell is not a place of fun, or time with friends.  Hell is a place of torment and pain where “the worm never dies” and where people “gnash their teeth.”  Not a nice place in other words. 

However a person who desires to follow God and obey is on a different path entirely.  One that you need to be on. 

God gave us Ten Commandments to live by and here they are in today’s language (taken from the Bible – Exodus 20)

1. God must be the most important thing in your life


2. Don’t idolize other things other than God


3. Don’t use God’s name as a swear word


4. Set aside time for God in your life - take time to rest.


5. Respect your parents and treat them well.


6. Don’t hate anybody (which is the same as murder)


7. Don’t lust after anyone (which is adultery)


8. Don’t steal things (ie downloaded movies, a pen from work)


9. Don’t tell lies (not even itty-bitty white ones)


10. Don’t be jealous or envious because other people have got good stuff. Be glad for them.

Most people fail every single commandment and yet they think that on the day of Judgement when they stand before God to explain their lives, that He will be nice to them and just “let them into Heaven.”  They will be mistaken.

If God lets everyone into Heaven who breaks these laws – Heaven will be no better than the world we are living in now.

So basically you need to change your approach to God and decide to live by His rules and standards.  You need to make God a priority in your life and start giving time for Him.  You need to begin by saying sorry to Him for the many times you have disregarded Him.

There is good news however. 

Whenever someone turns their heart in God’s direction – something wonderful happens inside of them.  It’s called conversion - and God changes them so that now they want to do what is right and they start to hate what is wrong. 

God is also very merciful to people like this and when they confess their wrongs to Him, he forgives them, and its as though they never did anything wrong in the first place. 

And even better – now this person is not headed to Hell – but as a new found freind of God’s – He wants you to be in Heaven with Him. 

Start today with a prayer

“God I ask that you would forgive me for my sins – I don’t want to do them anymore – help me to now keep my mind on what you want from me.  Take away my faults and help me.  Give me eternal life and a place with you in Heaven.  Amen.” 

If you have prayed that prayer then I would like to send you materials to strengthen you in faith.  I would also like to pray for you too.  Please send me your details so that I can be in contact with you.

Did you?

• Pray this prayer for the first time


• Not Interested Thanks

Finally – Would you consider helping out this site so that it is able to help out other people – here is how.

Mount Morgan Markets

Last year as you know we changed our church services to Friday nights.  This is a much more relevant time to have church in today’s culture.  Who wants to wake up on a weekend morning and get dressed up for a meeting?  So anyway, it has left us free on Sunday mornings to do other things.  Most of the time we actually attend church in Rockhampton because we value the community of believers there and love being a part of them – and they really are community.

However last week I went to the Mt Morgan Markets and set up a stand to sell books, cds and give away some Christian dvds.  It is all in the name of the Lord.  I was pleasantly surpised to give away 15 dvds and to have many good conversations with the unchurched.  It was a good morning. 

Silent Movies Incorporating Live Entertainment - SMILE

Recently I did some webdesign work for a friend Ivan Richardson. Ivan is a a fabulous organist who has a business playing live accompaniment to silent movies. He is popular, good at what he does and his shows are entertaining.

Ivan compiles all His own scores and adds in sound effects to time in with the movies.  He plays to Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and others. 

Last week, Ivan invited our famly around for a private show, and we took the kids and they lay on the floor on his rug and we had a wonderful evening of silent movies with Ivan’s fantastic accompaniment.  Thanks Ivan – very much enjoyed.

Page Rank Calculator

Just for fun,  I enjoy reading about Search Engine Optimisation and doing a little tinkering with my site to see if I can improve it’s listing on Google and the like.  My site is new and since Christmas I have seen it go from Zero on Google pagerank to One.  I’m hoping to go to Two at the next update.  Here is my handy dandy chart that will help you calculate how to get the page rank you desire. 

This picture is free of copyright use – you may reproduce it, but only so long as you link to this site and acknowledge my authorship. 

Kelly's Landing Fishing Trip

When we were kids our Dad used to take us to Corio Bay regularly and we always went to Fishing Creek.  Our friends used to go also, but always went to Kelly’s landing.  Last week for the first time in my life I got to fish from Kelly’s landing with my friend Darren Shepherd. 

During the course of the day we caught ten fish between us, only one of them was big enough to keep, a Trevally.  We did not stop getting bites all day, and it was a fun day out – hope to go again. 

The road in to Kelly’s landing is a bit rough – 4WD only, especially if you are carrying a boat or other trailer.  Some parts of the road are big ditches full of water.  If you do want to launch a boat into Corio bay the best place is Corbetts Landing up in Byfield – which has an all tide boat ramp. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shipwreck off Capricorn Coast - out from Great Keppel Island

Early this morning a coal carrier ran aground on a reef at Douglas Shoal east of Rockhampton in the Great Barrier Marine Park.  This is our part of the world and my brother who works as a pilot for Peace Aviation was given the job of flying a reporter out over the ship for the purposes of photography.  Here is my brothers photo from his iPhone.  For proper photographs you will need to purchase the Morning Bulletin for April 5. 

Whilst this ship ran aground at 2:00 am this morning – already there are 411 articles on Google News and a Wikipedia page called 2010 Barrier Reef Oil Spill.  Not band for only 18 hours later.  We live in a remarkable world. 

In many places on the Great Barrier Reef it is compulsory for a Pilot who is a specialised driver for large ships to guide the big boats through the reefs.  However in this part of the Reef, no pilot was required and the 250 metre long vessel ran aground. 

Jesus is the captain of our souls and without him we would definitely run agound.  In fact many people have made a shipwreck of their lives – they are lost, ruined and destroyed.  Christ is the answer for these people. 

Stay tuned for more news – keep your eyes on that Wikipedia page. 

 

Rockhampton Website

Watch this space – Our church in Rockhampton will soon have a website up to be a blessing to the City of Rockhampton. 

Internet Evangelism Day

On April 25 (which also happens to be ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, is Internet Evangelism Day.  This is an annual event designed to encourage Christians and church congregations all over the world to make the most of the internet to evangelis. 

In the past, to reach people with the gospel in many places you had to be physically present.  Whilst this is still true to a certain degree, the internet has opened up many possibilities for evangelism that never existed before.  There are a number of aspects to online evangelism that are worth considering.

Firstly everyone in the world (well almost!!) is now on Facebook.  Facebook is a very natural place to talk about what is important to you, and all your friends, and sometimes friends of your friends can get to see it.  Jesus said “shine your light,” and Facebook is an easy place to do this.

Secondly there is room for churches to be evangelistic and this gives a place for curious and interested people to “check out the church” without having to actually come and see it for themselves.  This non threatening environment can help bring people to Christ – if the website is built with this in mind. 

There is also a place for deliberate online missions, and attempts to reach people with the gospel in various places and languages.  There are a number of websites already doing this, and believers and churches are encouraged to become online missionaries. 

David Alley is a partner with Internet Evangelism Day and is proud to support the great work that the people there do.  This year as part of IEDay our church in Rockhampton is going to be broadcasting live video to the web a special presentation on Internet Evangelism.  I will be the speaker. 

You may watch the live broadcast, at 10:30 am (GMT + 10:00, Brisbane) on Sunday April 25.  An archive of the video will be available a few days afterwards. 

What is a School Chaplain?

A chaplain is a person who works either in a school, hospital, jail or sometimes in the armed services (army, navy, air force) with the aim of being there for people.

In a school, a chaplain is a member of the staff whose job is basically to listen to students and be a trusted friend who is an adult.  Chaplains like to hang out with the students, and may visit classes or play sports with them – which are things counsellors don’t usually do. 

A chaplain will listen and try to help even if the problem has nothing to do with school.  Sometimes there are things that you might not want to talk about with your other friends because it’s not cool.  Or sometimes you might not want to talk with a teacher because you might be worried about getting busted.  A chaplain can help in these kind of situations too. 

David Alley (which is me) is the school chaplain at Mount Morgan High School and visits the school every Wednesday morning and Thursday.  You can come for a private chat – or just a ordinary chat about anything at his office in Room 11.  If David is not there, talk to Lis or Melvene in the office and they will let David know. 

Mayoress Gail Carter Donates to Chaplain

Last Friday the Mayoress of the Rockhampton Region Gail Carter donated money to the work of chaplaincy at the schools here in Morgan.  It was a great blessing to have the help.  The story made it in yesterdays Morning Bulletin (March 31, page 53) and a clipping is reproduced below. 

Our son Xavier Alley is also in the photo and we are putting together a “time capsule” for when he is older of nostalgic things from the time of his birth.  Yesterday’s paper will be in the time capsule.