come alivean online magazine for young christian kiwis |august-september 2015 | issue six

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EDITOR GRETA YEOMAN

DEPUTY EDITORSNICOLA FROUD EVONNE KEY

THE ALIVE TEAMMATT JOILSKAZ YUNG

SUB-EDTIORSEVONNE KEY (GRAMMAR)ASHLEIGH MANNING (GRAMMAR)GRETA YEOMAN (DESIGN & LAYOUT)

enquiresCOMEALIVEMAGAZINE@GMAIL.COMWWW.ALIVENZ.WORDPRESS.COM

COVER PHOTO BY EVONNE KEY

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INSIDE

Live & Loudpg 24

Poems By Evonne Keypg 17

Opinion: Fear of Doubtpg 15

Mascara For Sightpg 7

40 Years of TEARFundpg 8

Hillsong Conferencepg 10

New Songs for Strahanpg 6

FEATURE: Doubtpg 19

also inside.... bobbie houston interviewed in sydney, live below the line, festival one update + more

10 Great CS Lewis Quotes pg 18

“sometimes doubt isn’t necessarily a step back but possibly one forward.’’

We would love your thoughts on any of our doubt pieces, your own thoughts on the doubt debate and/or any other comments you’d like to make. Please email them in to us at comealive-magazine@gmail.com or find us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Annomously or not, we would love to hear from you and we would also love to run some com-ments in the next magazine if you want.

I wrote a bit of this editorial as a pre-note to sharing my opinion piece on doubt on the Come Alive team Facebook group. I also just thought I’d share it here. It really just sums up my dream for this magazine. ‘‘It’s taken me a long time to be able to confidently write this piece and even more

share it out. I think we as a team of writers and readers, and as a magazine in general, need to be more honest about our questions, doubts, emotions, faith etc. That is my wish. It’s not that we become known for having millions of readers. It’s that a small portion of New Zealand Christians came to find our magazine as a source to hear their questions voiced, find a number of opinions to questions they have, hear issues raised that may be shied away from. It’s why I, even amongst great anxiety, stress

and pressure from all sides, chose to run the God & Being Gay arti-cle back in January. (Note: though I am a staunch LGBT rights sup-porter, our team has mixed views on it, so the article was written neutrally). It’s why Doubt is this issue’s theme. It’s why I’ve walked away from so many thoughts,

events and discussions because they don’t leave room for doubt. They don’t leave room for ques-tioning, alternative answers. And I want Come Alive to be that space. When we Come Alive by fully acknowledging that faith isn’t just having a faith, but that we’re all at different stages and sometimes doubt isn’t necessarily a step back but possibly one forward, then we can fully live in faith.’’ All love and hope and faith to you all. xSee you in October, Greta.

editor’s note: on doubt

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“Leave.

Roll the word around on your tongue for a bit. It is a beautiful word, isn’t it? So strong

and forceful, the way you have always wanted to be. And you will not be alone. You have never been alone. Don’t worry.

Everything will still be here when you get back. It is you who will have changed.”

— Donald Miller

A need to explore new way of expressing what God had been doing in his life lead ‘folk-psalm-ist’ Strahan Coleman to the inspi-ration behind his new EP.The Auckland-based musician, who performs simply as Strahan, has graced the stages of Parachute Festival for many years, toured in support of TEAR Fund and released a previous EP and album.After releasing his 2013 album ‘Posters’, Strahan saw a need to approach new songs in a different way.“I approached my songwriting differently and based every song on a vision; dream or word God had given me in the time since that album,’’ Strahan said. “It’s been an incredible season in my life where I’ve experienced a beautiful new conversation with God and these songs are a true re-flection of the themes and images that new walk has brought with it.”The EP name, and title track, Feel The Night drew from some-

as one of the local acts at Festival One, that will surely be the case.He didn’t perform at the debut of Festival One earlier this year, playing instead at Cloud Festival, but is excited for Festival One.“I think we’re totally on the same page with our dreams for music in New Zealand and for the people of God.’’Strahan has recently been touring with Dan Bremnes, in support of TEAR Fund - who he describes as “amazing’’.“Every tour I do with them I become more proud of the way they go about bringing God’s love to the earth. I really believe child sponsorship is a tangible answer to the question ‘who is my neigh-bour?’” He said he learned recently that TEAR Fund were found to be in the top 1% of all charities regard-ing financial accountability and integrity.“That’s worth taking notice of.”

thing God spoke to him, and as to where Strahan believes He is leading the church.“The thick of night is the perfect time to lift your eyes to the hori-zon line in hope.’’He wrote the songs over a six-week period.“I would pick up my guitar and just be taken away with inspira-tion and these songs would pour out of me.’’Strahan recorded the EP with Dave Baxter of Avalanche City, in Dave’s ‘Treehouse studio’.“I’ve loved working with him again, he’s a great guy and a good friend,’’ Strahan said.His favourite song off the EP is ‘Feel The Night II’, which he says sounds how his life has felt over the last few years and captures much of his anticipation of what is to come.He would love to tour in support of the EP’s release, but is heading to tour Iceland and the UK in October.He is certain people will get to hear the songs live eventually, and with the recent announcement

feel the night: strahan’s new songsby greta yeoman

LOCAL LEGENDS

greta yeoman is the editor of come alive. The ep is out aug 5th.

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Experiencing life in another place can be challenging, and rather life changing in a variety of ways. For Bonnie Howland, of Indigo & Iris, her time in Vanuatu definitely made an impact. While visiting, she heard of a woman who was blind from treatable causes, and witnessed the reality of how that affected peo-ple’s livelihoods, such as a child dropping out of school to support a family member. Quite a contrast to growing up in a small North Canterbury town.Bonnie soon moved to Auckland for university, and worked behind the scenes of New Zealand Fash-ion Week - an area that she really enjoys. With a 51-billion-dollar annual industry worldwide, she saw some great potential in changing the lives of our global neighbours who lack access to basic healthcare - through make up.With the support of family and friends, Bonnie boldly put her

cara due for release by the end of year and a US Department of State selection to the Global Entrepre-neurship Summit in Kenya. Not to mention speaking at Festi-val for the Future in September.Faith also matters – especially in those times where Bonnie has had to dig deep, providing a space to wrestle and work through the hard questions, and a sense of peace and trust.For those of us who strive for a better, just world Bonnie’s experi-ence speaks volumes, and plenty of inspiration. “It’s about doing the things you love, and not letting fear get the better of your dreams.” Moving forward is the develop-ment of a full range of beauty products that provide access to healthcare, so that things such as treatable blindness might become eradicated.

Event Management study on hold and moved to Wellington to pursue her dream through Indigo & Iris, a make-up brand, set out to change the world. Mascara For Sight, is the first in the Indigo & Iris range. The eth-ical mascara raises funds for the blind, partnering with organisa-tions including The Fred Hollows Foundation, ensuring a high-qual-ity organic & vegan product, including an organic & sustainable coconut oil from a co-operative in Samoa.

Inspired by many things, paired with an interest in Human Rights, it’s no surprise to find this young, grounded CEO passionately head-ing up Indigo & Iris. Despite the many people who talked about how hard it would be, perseverance has led to some early success.“It will be difficult at times, it will even hurt – but that’s because it matters.”And that perseverance and hard work is paying off, with the mas-

mascara for sight: indigo & irisby kaz (karen) yung

LOCAL LEGENDS

kaz yung is from wellington. find indio & iris on

Facebook.

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40 years of faith, hope and help have passed as TEAR Fund New Zealand has become a global face in world aid.The aid organisation has gone across the globe, responding to natural disasters as well as setting up child sponsorship programmes and other projects.The New Zealand branch began in 1975 with a $10,000 donation from their TEAR Fund UK bud-dies.Come Alive talked to TEAR Fund NZ’s Media and Communications Coordinator Madina Turgieva about the organisation. “In the early 1970s, New Zealand churches heard the call to respond

away the best local talent from local endeavours,” Madina said.“We find organisations that are doing good work, and work alongside them. We empower, not control.”In 1984, they started child spon-sorship. Since then, 35,000 New Zea-landers have sponsored children through TEAR Fund’s partnership with Compassion. “In the late 1980s, we averaged 90 new sponsors per year. In 2014, it was 1927 [a year].’’One of their other milestones was being the fastest charity to appeal for victims of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.“Kiwis donated a total $1,630,000. With government input, a total of $2,770,000 was raised. TEAR

to global humanitarian crises and the ongoing need to serve the world’s poor,’’ Madina said.“So in November 1975 TEAR Fund was born. Our first project with an overseas partner provided $2,000 to construct a village well in Guinea Bissau.”“From small and humble begin-nings... we have grown to become one of the largest aid agencies in New Zealand.”Today, they raise $14,000,000 in a year for work overseas and have 29 active, community develop-ment partners in 26 countries. “A key distinctive and strength is our partnership model – one that does not impose. You will not find TEAR Fund setting up shop in our partner countries, with expensive offices and expatriate staff drawing

hope and help: 40 years of tearfundBY Greta yeoman

LOCAL LEGENDS

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Fund’s previous CEO Steve Toll-estrup and the international pro-grammes staff slept in the office to get things done.”In 40 years they have responded to over 45 disasters.They began Poverty Cycle in 2011, racing the length of the country on bikes and in 2014, they began leading the fight against sex traf-ficking, partnering with anti-traf-ficking organisation Nvader.Poverty Cycle returns for 2015 on August 30. It is a road race (short-er than the original race) from which all money raised challenge goes towards TEAR Fund an-ti-trafficking work, as well as two local partners in New Zealand who work with vulnerable and at-risk youth.They are also involved with Live Below the Line - an event that encourages Kiwis to live on only

$2.25 a day for their food and drink from September 21-25.Madina said one of the stories from the organisation that stuck out to her was from her recent visit to Vanuatu.“I [recently] visited our Cyclone Pam recovery project in Vanuatu ... the story of May Isiah stands out the most.”Following the cyclone, May Isiah’s house crumbled to the ground. Three months later, May is still sharing a small outroom in the back of the church with her pastor husband and five small children. She hasn’t had time to rebuild her home, because she was busy helping others in the com-munity.  “My heart aches for the people in my community,” May said.“I want to help them first

being part of TEAR Fund was helping to make change all around the world.“The best thing about being a part of TEAR Fund is being involved in the world arena and making a definite impact in the lives of our brothers and sisters all around the world. It is also incredibly humbling to see the lengths our supporters, our partners and fellow staff go to in order to serve others,” Madina said.

and that’s why I put my needs second.  Shortly after the cyclone, I was able to teach more than 80 women to preserve food. . . this way many people were able to feed their families before food aid arrived.” She had also been busy setting up women’s groups, teaching peanut processing techniques and helping women make a small income. Her strategy is simple - she teach-es women the right techniques, then selects a leader in the group and moves on to teach more wom-en. “This way I can help more people in the community,” May said. She had four women’s groups be-fore the cyclone that she trained, after the cyclone she set up six more - within two weeks of the disaster she had trained 80 women on food preservation techniques.Madina said the best thing about

“From small and humble beginnings...we have grown to become one of the largest aid

agencies in New Zealand.”

“We find organisations that are doing good work, and work alongside them.”

tearfund is celebrating 40 years of global aid.

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seasonal feature

HILLSONG CONFERENCE

sydney 2015BY NICOLA FROUD and EVONNE KEY

Hillsong Conference 2015 ex-ceeded the weeks of anticipation prior and every time I stepped into the bleachers I was remind-ed of how much of a privilege it was to go and worship amongst 20,000 others, and be encouraged by the faith of the masses. I left the conference both convict-ed and weightless – and with a stockpile of notes and one-liners feverishly scribbled as I hung onto every word the preachers for the week breathed. Hillsong chose an exceedingly high calibre of preachers and worship leaders for the week, and speakers who conducted seminars - ranging from a creative’s use of television in a church service to helpful and practical serving and leading seminars, and I – as media – was free to roam and drink from the wisdom of them all. Joseph Prince had a huge number of his Singaporean congregation fol-low him to Australia, - indeed, a worker at the airport whom I was chatting to had noticed the influx of Singaporean arrivals the previous weekend! As all the con-ference-goers commuted to and

from the event each morning and night, there was a unity of all the people taking that first train being of the same faith and having the same agenda, - and 20,000 people didn’t feel quite so overwhelming. The Hillsong album for 2015 was recorded, and on it, our voices, lifted up amongst those of the masses in beautiful melodies, all new for me, and most from the previous Empires Hillsong Unit-ed album. More were introduced each night, and there was a space after the night rally each night for an extended time of singing. The spiritual food on offer for the week was a smorgasbord of sermon and song and seminar, and to take back with us, all were given a copy of Brian Houston’s 1 July released book, Live, Love, Lead, - the pay-ments for all those books being put straight to use in India. 20000 books were passed from row to row and hand to hand until we were all equipped to return home and lead lives of love.Each night the arena became a space that welcomed the public, and every time the arena - and two overflow marquees - were filled,

the queues for those last seats beginning halfway through the afternoon! Between all that was going on was the chance to photograph and enjoy the vibe of the con-ference, grab seats, catch up with others – and witness the proposal that occurred onstage on the Thursday night! With this, all the women in the crowd were on their feet before even a ‘yes’ could be uttered, and it was one of many moments in which such a massive crowd felt a little more real - and a little more like a community. Hillsong realised the importance of this, and speak-ers frequently asked for those of different nationalities to identify themselves with a cheer; the na-tional anthems of many countries were sung, and New Zealand was represented in anthem on the last evening, as Kiwi voices from all around us piped up. Conference goers were indeed from far and wide, and the most impressive thing was an international event feeling as it should be - like one church, with one faith, and one God.

“The spiritual food on offer for the week was a smorgasbord of sermon

and song and seminar.’’

BY NICOLA FROUD

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“Friday was even more full on, having had only four and a half hours sleep the

night before due to praying till two in the

morning, I was running on what I like to call

‘Jesus Juice’, that is, the grace and power of the

Holy Spirit.’’

When you’re significantly more introverted than extroverted, hate large crowds and hate hype even more, going to a Christian conference that lasts four days and five nights and hosts some-where between 20 and 30 thou-sand people, is not really on one’s bucket list. So despite the fact that it was a miracle I was even there at all (Free Media pass to Hillsong, the week after I’m vis-iting a friend in Sydney? I smell a rat with divine intentions), I was more than a little nervous as to what to expect. I hadn’t really been bothered by the prospect of Hillsong in previous years; I grew up in this tiny Christian school with a music teacher obsessed with Hillsong songs, and then moved onto a night church ser-vice in my late teens, with similar Hillsong-enthusiasts, and to be honest, I didn’t like most of their songs, and couldn’t’ care either way about the conference; mean-ing that I was initially just going because I could. I had no idea what it was like, or what I was getting into, I was unprepared, and more than a tad cynical. And my views didn’t change overnight either. Don’t get me wrong, open-

ing night was amazing, but it was also exhausting, especially for an already shattered asocial body. So halfway through Day Two, I took a breather and made the decision not to go to the evening and afternoon events. The next day I had planned to meet up with my dear friend, instead of going to any sessions that day either. And I don’t regret that. Firstly, because we spent four plus hours talking like we’d never talked before, and secondly, by the time that day was up, I was rested, well fed, more organised (in body and mind) and excited for what Thurs-day and Friday could bring. I’d had a taste of what it could be like, and I now knew how to navigate the crowds, and the trains. Thursday could only be described as Fantas-tic. With a capital F. Five sermons in one day, all great speakers? It was amazing. Friday was even more full on, having had only four and a half hours sleep the night before due to praying till two in the morning, I was running on what I like to call ‘Jesus Juice’, that is, the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. I think when it comes down to it, all hype, fame, celebrity presence and money aside, Hillsong Church has its heart in the right place,

and its heart is for people. And when you take time to step back, outside of all the excitement, you realise what a special thing it is to be standing against the roof of an arena with 25 000 Christians spread out below you.Who are all singing at the top of their lungs, to the same God. And in that moment, you can find a quietness beyond human crea-tion. You’re in a crowd, but you’re also there, alone, to worship God, and God has this incredible abil-ity to turn the most familiar and ordinary moments into some-thing of His design. So standing on the seat, at the very back of the stadium, above everything and singing my quiet wee heart out? That was my favourite moment from Hillsong Conference 2015. I enjoyed the teaching immense-ly- it was soul fulfilling and even challenging at times. I (mostly) enjoyed the music. Especially when Martin Smith, the ex-lead singer of the English band Delir-ious? pulled out a U2 song in the middle of worship. But most of all, I enjoyed that incredibly loud, and yet incredibly quiet time, at the top of those 45 degree stairs.

“I enjoyed that incredibly loud, and yet incredibly quiet time, at the top

of those 45 degree stairs. ’’

BY evonne key

12Photos: Evonne Key

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She’s a pastor of one of the biggest churches on globe and a voice for female leadership in Christian ministry. Bobbie Houston, co-leader of Hillsong Church, is a firm be-liever that the presence of female leadership in the church is pivot-al.“I think it’s the way God intended it,’’ she said.“I just think that the church is stronger when you’ve got men and women in the equation; there’s a lot of fabulous deposit and gold within the feminine heart and I think that society needs that.”The church, she commented, is stronger with its unique giftings and strengths. Bobbie said young women in the church, particularly those inter-ested in getting involved in the church, should look for a sense of ‘planting’, of where one should be.She said the conviction of that ‘planting’ that would be differ-ent for all of us but then people should be faithful with what has

already been placed in our hands. The second thing that she indicated was of importance was a person’s heart to serve and the attitude of, “I’m here to help, wherever I can”. God, she said, takes care of the rest.“Psalm 92 says that those who are planted in the house of God shall flourish in life.”“And then, just honestly, have a heart to serve.”“If you’re faithful [with what’s in your hand] then invariably God opens up the next door and pro-motes you and fulfils the dreams of your heart.”She’s been the driving force behind Colour Conference, Hillsong’s an-nual women’s conference.First triggered by God about it more than twenty years ago, she saw the need for an environment that believed in women and told the gospel - all in the company of other women of all ages. Bobbie sees sisterhood as a pow-erful dynamic and a provider of a space where women can know that they are not alone and they would not be judged.“I really felt like God spoke to my spirit … to create an environment

that believes in women; I felt like I had a God whisper where I felt like God say, ‘create this’.”“Tell them that there is a God in heaven that believes in them (which is rather lovely), and not only that, but in company of others.”“They need to know … that they are not alone in life, and I think that that is the power of the sister-hood … I just think that it is a re-ally powerful dynamic of women doing life together, and cheering each other on, and believing that together we can make a difference in the world.”

bobbie houstonINTERVIEWED

IN SYDNEY

“Tell them that there

is a God in heaven

that believes in

them.”

BY evonne key & nicola froud

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photo: Supplied by Hillsong

I have to be honest, when the crap comes, I run. My faith never increases in difficult times. It dies. That may be why I haven’t dared to write an opinion piece here for many months. It may be why I had one of the hardest times of my life when putting out the first issue of Alive, while also considering packing in the whole plan all in at the same time. But I didn’t. I’m not really sure why. But after reading Donald Miller’s latest book ‘Scary Close’, I realise as editor of this magazine, I can’t hide behind this thing. I actually have to be honest with my team and with those of you who read this thing.

I know of people who just have faith. They just know it’s all true. Whereas I’m the opposite. I think a Dave Dobbyn lyric sums it up perfectly, ‘doubt and fear of doubt’. I was afraid to doubt. As editor of a Christian magazine, dude what are you doing doubt-ing?! Did you hear of the metal worship musician turned atheist? I think he encountered the same problem I did, but he couldn’t discuss his lack of faith. When you entrench yourself so deep-

ly into a belief in some way or another that if you can’t discuss it, you feel trapped and the only way out of it is to flee it complete-ly. But then you can never leave it behind and you dwell in this in-between world where you hate both sides of faith, living with it and living without it. But I have come to realise I haven’t been honest with you guys. I’m sorry. I want this magazine to ask the questions no-one wants to ask, the raise the debates everyone’s too afraid to have. This is our role in life. Don’t take things for granted. Ask. Question. Read. Write. Seek. All I really want to say is that faith and life in general will flour-ish if we are actually able to voice our doubts without receiving sympathy that you’re doubting or having a ‘crisis of faith’. You’re just asking questions. Trying to see the world a little clearer. The thing I love about the disciples is that they are epitome of flawed people. I see a part of me in everyone of them. Far out, if the people who were some of Jesus’ best mates could have that much doubt about Him, why can’t we ask questions and debate things? A little faith is good but if maintaining this ‘faith’ almost kills us in the process, what’s the worth of that?

opinion: Doubt & fear of doubtby greta yeoman

greta yeoman is the editor of come alive.

‘‘The thing I love about the

disciples is that they are epitome

of flawed people. I see a part of me in everyone of

them.’’

live below

the line

by greta yeoman

There are currently 20 mil-lion people trapped in human slavery.That’s more people than any other time in history. You can help change this sta-tistic by participating in Live Below The Line. Running for five days, from September 21-25, you can live on $2.25 a day to stand with those in poverty all around the world, while getting your friends and family to sponsor you. The money raised will help the estimated 4.5 million people trapped in human trafficking. That’s round-about the entire NZ population. The vast major-ity of trafficking victims come from backgrounds of extreme poverty and live on $2.25 a day or less. Their financial desper-ation makes them more sus-ceptible to traffickers’ schemes and deception.By giving up your daily com-forts for a working week and raising funds, you can make a difference to the lives of thou-sands of vulnerable people. For more information or to sign-up, visit www.livebe-lowtheline.com.

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If the post on the official Hillsong Movie page from June 23 is any-thing to go by, the Hillsong movie, Let Hope Rise, will be released 61 days after August 1st. So if we calculate that (I’m a journo, not a

mathematician) ... that should be, what, around October 2? But, as you will know if you’ve followed our updates, the date has changed numerous times. Here’s hoping.

update: hillsong movie

a punctuation

tattootrend

There are many misspelled tat-toos around in this world, just have a search on Google. But a new grammatical tattoo trend is emerging that has nothing to do with words. ‘Project Semi-colon’ was started by Amy Bluel after losing her father to suicide. It’s been described as a “faith-based non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-inju-ry. Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire.’’The trend of people tattooing themselves with semi-colons has been growing, and if they keep on popping up on-line,that’s why. “A semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life,’’ Amy Bluel said in an interview. I am personally not one who would get a tattoo that is a trendy symbolic design; I would see it as a painful reminder of a past phase. However I can see the importance of a symbol that represents not giving in, harm-ing or even ending something as precious as life. What do you guys think of the semico-lon tattoos?

the pope’s thoughts on prayer.

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She was the Lighthouse Keep-er’s daughterhe was ambassador for the Kingshe guided the ships homehe taught the stars how to singhe saw her onceon an errand for his Lordand he stopped to hear her singas she was walking along the shorehe watched her onceas the waves lapped her feeteven the shells were silencedby her silver voice ever-sweethe saw her oncebeneath the twilight skyshe danced with the wildflow-ersunder a falcon’s midsummer cryhe met her onceon the Lighthouse stairclothed in finest lily white silkNot a clasp in her golden flax hairhe saw her oncesmiling down at himthe starlight laughing in her eyesa silver circlet round her waist slimhe danced with her thenon the shore bathed in Moon-lightfeet spinning in the sandeyes on each other, long into the Nighthe courted her onceand drew her down lanes of whitewhere blossom fell and stars sangand swans over the lake, took flight

a poem or twoby evonne key

evonne key is a writer and deputy editor for come alive.

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and he wed her onceone silver eve long gonethe flowers danced and the trees swayedand diamonds adorned the midnight lawnhe loved her onceupon a age so clearhe gave her daisies, and kissed her handsand prayed above, that he might not leave her herehe lost her onceto the beckoning stormshe breathed her last, sweet precious breathand the veil over the world was tornhe wept for her oncethat she might endurebut she was gone to fields afarleaving him alone, to his quest so purehe dreamt of her oncethat she rode a white horseand she bore a pale sworddown the starlit river coursehe saw her oncewith laughter in her eyesand she took him by the handto dance under the skiesFor she was his foreverand he was hers aloneand together they would wandertill the King sat on His throne

The heart of the mountain is stoneThe spine of the river is rockThe wold runs wild with seams of black earth

The blood of the mountain is molten lavaThe veins of the land run with goldPlasmatic obsidian and liquid diamond

The lungs of the ocean are a pearl in the skyAnd the breath of the air is the heat of its skinEnergy coursing, salt flowing, electrifying

Dust and ashes, smoke and boneBlack stone and white waterCracking, splitting, bursting, breathing; living

The tears of the sky fall upon the dark groundAnd its eyes cloud with shadow There is torment and sorrow beneath the flesh

The roots of the world are twistedAnd the bones of the earth are brokenGlued back together with blood and fire

But the soul is the song of the stars in the skyThe hush of butterfly’s wing, a single strand of spider silkAnd the smile of the sun as it sets in the west

the star knight’s lover

“We are made of the bones of

the earth” (Inspired by

J. R. R. Tolkien)

10 GREAT CS LEWIS QUOTESpicked BY GRETA YEOMAN

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“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

“I have learned now that while those who speak about one’s miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.”

“Let’s pray that the human race never escapes Earth to spread its iniquity elsewhere.’’

“Aravis also had many quarrels (and, I’m afraid even fights) with Cor, but they always made it up again: so that years later, when they were grown up they were so used to

quarreling and making it up again that they got married so as to go on doing it more conveniently.”

- The Horse and His Boy

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5“If you love deeply, you’re going to get hurt

badly. But it’s still worth it.”

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“Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.” (Puddleglum) - The Silver Chair

“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say ‘my heart is broken’.’’

“The great thing to remember is that though our feelings come and go God’s love for us does not.”

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“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comforta-ble, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”

10“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

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DOUBT

Chris Spark greets me warmly in the hallway of the parish office, an old building that was probably once a home. He is a husband and a father of three small chil-dren and sometime musician. He is also an Assistant Minister at St Saviour’s and St Nicholas’ in south Christchurch. White robes hang on hooks on the wall, ready for service. He guides me

to his colleague’s office- it will be tidier, he explains. We sit on a comfortable blue couch and get to business. I am here to pick Chris’ brains about doubt.What is it? “Doubt is the upsetting uncer-tainty which comes on us when we experience things that con-tradict our understanding of God and his world. ““The trouble with doubt is that I

don’t think it’s ever simple.”Chris is someone who has experi-enced doubt intimately. His voice betrays a passion to see many others come through it too. He re-flects that though it is a hard time, it can be a valuable experience.“[Doubt] can be good in the sense that through it you can grow and be challenged, you can discard beliefs that are wrong, it can make you look into Jesus and the Scriptures and thinking in general

FOCUS FEATURE

why are we so afraid of it?

by matt joils

18

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more carefully, and especially it can humble you and make you realise your own limitations. However, we can overemphasise the goodness of doubt: “There is an attitude that is often around today that says ‘if I am doubting it is because I am humble, and maybe I am smarter than other people who aren’t doubting, or more sensitive, or generally more hip’.”Chris wouldn’t go so far as to idolise doubt. There is a whole lot at stake when considering the truth of Jesus’ claims. Deliber-ately sitting on the fence doesn’t make you better. In fact, it is disrespectful to leave your verdict permanently at maybe.He thinks of it more as a sickness. “When someone is sick we don’t say ‘oh that’s great you are sick, I am so happy for you’. Rather we try to help people through it - but at the same time don’t simply condemn them for it.”Parts of the Church “have at times made doubt such a shame-ful thing, or such a taboo topic, that when someone is struggling with it they feel like they are the only one, when lots of people are struggling with it, and that needs to be said so that they’re not on their own.” Many things are like that. But there is hope: “It is a thing, I feel, I feel strongly about this, that the church is getting better about.” Why are we so afraid of doubt? Sometimes people treat it this way because of inexperience. “When you go through something yourself you have more sympathy

toward someone else who goes through it- and that’s with any, any difficulty, I think.” Another reason some people try to squash doubt is “because peo-ple are threatened by doubt.’’“So someone’s asking questions that they’re not sure about and they don’t want to face. So they say ‘No.’ ‘Don’t ask those ques-tions or else I have to deal with them.’ […] But I think that’s a dangerous reason to try and squash doubt, because it’s dishon-est. With yourself.” Chris’ personal experience of

lowing another link and another link without really considering the wider issues and arguments. There were times when I let is-sues run around and around in my head without getting them down in writing, and they seemed much bigger than they actually were.”“And spiritually it definitely had an effect - the way I read my Bible and prayed changed a lot. I was often angry as I read, de-spairing at not getting the answers I was looking for and just finding more questions.’’“Prayer was sometimes me just railing at God for not answering me or sort of turning issues over in my mind, sort of addressed at God. Sometimes I handled it ok spiritually, other times not so well at all, though in God’s kindness he didn’t let me go, even when my attitude was at its worst.”Chris’ road out of that situation began with openness and honesty.“I was at theological college, so I decided they could handle it if I was honest. People would ask ‘how are you?’, and I would say ‘pretty rubbish actually’ (or sim-ilar), and they would ask why, so I’d say ‘I’m not too sure about Je-sus’. Which was a shock at times. But at college I am so thankful for the way people reacted. Not once did someone say to me ‘oh, just get over it’, or condemn me. Not everyone understood it, but they all wanted to help and care for me. My theological lecturers were particularly helpful - both in generously spending an inor-dinate amount of time with me to help me, and in encouraging me to keep asking honest questions.”Chris still recalls how some friends helped him respond to a particularly faith-shaking article.“One of them emailed the article around and encouraged the others to read it and that we get together and talk about it. He said first of

“We’re not supposed to go through difficulties on our

own. We’re a community, a body of people called together by God. Humans in general aren’t supposed to go through stuff on

their own I don’t think, and Christians particularly.”

doubt started intellectually. From questioning the resurrection of Jesus, more questions arose, and it began to affect him emotion-ally and spiritually. Some “full on stuff” happening in his family certainly didn’t help his state of mind.“There were times when I be-came obsessed over some is-sue, and didn’t try to get it into perspective - it can almost be addictive at times to keep fol-

“There is a whole lot at stake when considering the truth of Jesus’ claims. Deliberately sitting on the fence doesn’t make

you better. In fact, it is disrespectful to leave your verdict permanently at maybe.”

all that if I was right to be doubting because of it, they all needed to know, and second that I shouldn’t be going through this alone. The fact that they were willing to risk going through what they saw me going through still moves me to this very day - out of love for me. Extraordinary.”“I had read a lot of sceptical stuff that said if you start doubting, Christians will drop you and push you away. I guess part of all the sharing was also me testing that out. And I found it very untrue. My Christian friends didn’t drop me, they were keen to help me in whatever way they could.”Chris is adamant that being open about our struggles is the first step in getting through them. “…going through doubt on your own is a disaster. We’re not sup-posed to go through difficulties on our own. We’re a community, a body of people called together by God. Humans in general aren’t supposed to go through stuff on their own I don’t think, and Chris-tians particularly.”If someone chooses to come to you with their doubts, please listen. Try to understand where they’re

coming from. Don’t just shut them down. Many have found it par-ticularly unhelpful “when people have just said ‘get over it’ or ‘just have more faith’, as if it were that simple.’’“That makes a doubter doubt even more I think.”“I think it’s a big step to do, it’s of-ten very personal, and so I think it is a privilege when someone comes and speaks to you about that, and trusts you enough to do that.”

If you’re experiencing doubt, talk to someone. “Talking to others … often helps put things in per-spective, in terms of how big our questions actually are. So chat to someone. And if they aren’t help-ful, talk to someone else!” Keep reading the bible and praying, even when it’s hard. “in the end it helps to stay honest-ly putting God’s word before you. I remember when I told an older wiser friend of mine that I was listening to lots of different voices in my doubts (Christians,

atheists etc), he said ‘that’s good, do make sure you are listening to Jesus’ words too’. That was great advice. Ask your questions. Put them into words and hear them answered. “Don’t be afraid of your ques-tions. God isn’t, so you don’t have to be. Christianity has been around for 2000 years now, and there have been a lot of very smart people who have wrestled with deep and hard questions

about Jesus and his gospel, and still stayed true to him. Write your questions and issues down, look into them without panicking as much as you can, listening to both sides of the story, and do so with the help of Christians with more experience who you trust. There are lots of resources out there. There’s a book to address almost any question you can have. A great first port of call is people. People are an excellent resource. “You’ve got to talk to someone, and particularly talk-ing to and older, or more senior Christian person can be really good, whether that’s a minister or someone older in the church. A lot of times people have gone through hard stuff of some kind, so they have some empathy.”

“I think it’s a big step to do, it’s often very personal, and so I think it is a privilege when someone comes and speaks to

you about that, and trusts you enough to do that.”

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matt joiils is a christchurch-based student & writer for

come alive.

“Christianity has been around for 2000 years now, and there have been a lot of very smart people who have

wrestled with deep and hard questions about Jesus and his gospel, and still stayed true to him.”

17

get us on your phonedownload the issuu app now!

PREVIOUSLY DWELLING IN SOUTHERN QUEENSTOWN, HOLLY ARROWSMITH

RECENTLY SHIFTED TO AUCKLAND AND HAS FOLLOWED UP HER 2013 EP ‘THE RIV-

ER’ WITH HER DEBUT ALBUM “FOR THE WEARY TRAVELLER”. HER FOLK SOUNDS

HAVE EARNED HER PRAISE AND SUPPORT SLOTS WITH SOME OF NZ’S FINEST

FOLKERS, INCLUDING LUKE THOMP-SON & AVALANCHE CITY.

For The Weary TravellerHolly Arrowsmith

not one to limit himself to an al-bum, switchfoot’s jon foreman has

released the second of his new ep series. “Shadows’’ follows up “Sunlight”, which was released earli-er in the year. there has also been con-firmation of a new switchfoot album out this year, which

will follow up their ‘fading west’ album

in 2013.

ShadowsJon Foreman

another kiwi album, from duo joseph & maia. if you had

compare their sound, it would almost be lady antebel-

lum-like, while they still remain pop

and kiwi-sounding. this 7-track record

follows up the duo’s debut ep from 2013. joseph is the bro of

musician luke thomp-son who we inter-

viewed a few months ago.

Runaway DaysThe Warratahs

i had to include this one. if you don’t

know of the war-ratahs, you will know their stuff. they sung the original version of the interislander

ferry song. yeah. that was them. but anyway, they are back with a new album, follow-ing up their 25 years

of the warratahs compilation album.

there’s also a sweet vid for “mount victo-ria rain” on youtube.

SorrentoJoseph & Maia

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IN OUR EARS

SCRIPTURE UNION LAUNCHES BIBLE APPIt took about 18 months from plan-ning to the launch, but Scripture Union’s National Youth Min-istry Leader Neville Bartley is proud of the outcome of the work - a Scripture Union Bible app.He thinks the most exciting feature of the app is the daily read-ings done by Kiwi youth and being in

both English and Te Reo Maori.“Being able to have our events [such as their popular camps] adver-tised and for young peo-ple to be able to register from the app is amazing also,’’ Neville says.The built-in audio Bible is an “awesome feature’’ as well. “I think another exciting thing is that we have offered it for free, as we don’t want anything to

BY Greta yeoman

live and loud

stand in the way of a young person being able to use it.”He says the daily Bible readings will also soon be available in Samoan.Neville thinks it is “awesome” that it is helping young people engage with scripture on a daily basis.“Mostly I hope it helps people connect with God, if it can do that I will be very happy.”

engage is available from google play (android) and itunes (apple) stores.

local talent festival one line-up announced!

This may become our standard Festival One magazine slot until Janu-ary rolls around, as we’re a bit excited for its return, if you couldn’t tell! And no wonder, with some of the local acts an-nounced recently, it looks to already be a pretty sweet line-up. With folk musician Stra-han and South Auckland Poets Society in the schedule, accompanied by Juliagrace and [shift], it already looks to be a great weekend. [shift] (who our Deptuty Edi-tor Nikki loves after she interviewed them for our Music Month special) return for their second year, while Strahan makes his One debut, taking a slot at Cloud Festival last summer. Juliagrace was also a Cloud performer, but, like Strahan, will return to the familiar territory of Mystery Creek this sum-

mer, having performed at many of Parachute’s pre-vious festivals at the site. Festival One welcomes back the South Auckland Poets Society, winding up the initial 4-act line-up announcement. The line-up was announced

with a wee comment from Festival One “What’s more Kiwi than pavlova at Christmas, jandals at the beach or a three way handshake at the Rugby World Cup final? Well, the answer to that would have to be the first Festival One

homegrown announcement.’’ I guess we can look forward to many more revelations like this in the lead-up to January 29, 2016.

“What’s more Kiwi than pavlova at Christmas, jandals at the beach or a three way handshake at the Rugby World Cup final?”

BY greta yeoman

songs for mercy ships - peter woolston

Making an album just isn’t enough of a project in this day and age... and if you’re Peter Woolston you change up your al-bum process by donating

50% of the profits. “Hope on the Horizon” will have half its profits donated to Mercy Ships, a floating medical hospital which is mainly based around Africa. Peter is the Musi-cal Ambassador for Mercy

Ships NZ, something he enjoys. “It’s a privilege to finally be able to do something tangible for Mercy Ships NZ,’’ Peter said.Hope On My Horizon is available on CD & iTunes.

By greta yeoman

festival one returns for 2016. get your tickets today!

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A thriller set on our world’s highest mountain and based on the real life events of the 1996 Ever-est tragedy, this movie is not for the weak hearted, nor for those who expect a happy ending. However, it is a tragedy that hits close to home as one of the main characters is Rob Hall, a famous New Zea-land Mountaineer. re-search it online before-hand, so not to induce any unwanted tears..

Everest

This action adventure set in the years of the Cold War seems like it will be a fun ride for any Bourne or Bond fans, but expect a bit of a humor-ous twist, rather than a Bourne-thriller feel or some of Bond’s more serious tones, in this spy-com (I don’t know- is that a thing?) as a Russian and American spy team up to face a common enemy.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

‘70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site.’ – IMDB This may be classed as comedy, but this star-studded cast film looks like it could pack quite the emotional hit, if the trailer is anything to go by.

The Intern

Our featured video comes from former Dukes front-duo Matt & Lauren Barus (aka LA Mitchell). Now married and turned to more of a folk sound, they’ve recently released their debut single as Terrible Sons. Find the single ‘Neptune’ on YouTube and keep an ear and eye out for their debut album to come later on this year.

featured video

Donald Miller is an author with a growing understanding of faith, freedom of doubt and questions and an endless deeper discovery of him-self. Not one to shy away from confronting topics or being brutally honest about life and its ques-tions, his new book Scary Close is another stand-out from the American author. I first found his writings when my cous-in sent me a copy of his book Blue Like Jazz. I’ve

been hooked on his writ-ing, thoughts and obser-vations ever since. There is nothing else I’ve read that makes me confront the deeper realisations of my thoughts and emo-tions. It is also scary how similar I find my thoughts to Don Miller’s. It feels like someone has read your mind and spilt it out into a letter to yourself. If you want a confronting book about relationships, friendships or otherwise, and how you either build or break relationships often unintentionally, this might be the book for

you. I picked up a copy from Manna Chris-tian bookstore but it could be ordered in if you couldn’t find it in another store. ‘Scary Close: Dropping the

BY greta yeoman

live & loud

review: becoming scary close

Act and Finding True Intimacy’ is another powerful book from Don Miller, and as with all his other writ-ings, I highly recom-mend it if you can hunt down a copy.

source: Christian Memes on Facebook

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Christian Bible Wallpapers offers downloads of some sweet options for your screens. For a daily remind-er of hope or just because you can, check out this app for some new pics for your gadgets.

FEATURED APP

Parabola West has won theaudience.We interviewed Pa-rabola West, aka Amy Tucker, for our May Music Month special, where she was heading into her second consec-utive month of daily voting competition theaudience. Spon-sored by NZ on Air, the competition gives the winner $10,000 to record a single and a

music video. She lost out in April, coming second, but won the second time around with her song ‘Fire’.“It still feels absolutely fantastic,” she said of the win. “I think that coming in second place the month before made me realise how much it meant to me, so winning in May was a wonderful feeling. I am so humbled by the sup-

port I received, it was amazing.”She said it was “a lot more” intense than she had expected. “To win it you really do have to run a full campaign in addition to having a great song.”Amy has just finished her first tour, will record the video for ‘Fire’ in August and is working on a follow-up album to her debut EP.

in the meme time

parabola west wins on theaudience

The Instagram of Brisbane-based photographer and woodworker Isaac Chatter-ton, Chaisaac features beaut photos while a lot of the ‘grams are accompanied by equally stunning quotes or thoughts. For some goodness in your Insty feed outside of selfies and food pics, check out this guy!

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Interested in writing for come ALIVE? Contact Greta at comealivemagazine@gmail.com

STILL THE SAME.JUST RE-NAMED.