THE RUSH HOUR LIFE

Pictured: The rush of a Kenworth Road Train on the Capricorn Highway at sundown a few weeks ago.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:33-36

The years of life are so fleeting. The older I get the more I learn that without God’s presence in my life daily the more of an uncontrollable rush it seems to be. If I don’t make time at the beginning of the day to read from the bible and spend some time in prayer I find myself making rushed decisions, which only ever brings on anxiety and frustration. We live in a world where people are obsessed with blaming someone else for their problems and looking for either a handout and a quick fix. It doesn’t work and history shows us it never will. 

When life feels like a mad rush its time to stop and acknowledge you need to take some time to hear from the one who created the heavens and earth. He is the God of all time and it’s His timing we need to order our lives and accomplish the stuff we are on the planet for.. 

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27: 13-14

Thanks for your support. 

Steve

LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH

Pictured: Steve and Kerrie with Glenys Ryan who pastors the small country church in Springsure, central Queensland.

30 people turned up for church in Springsure a couple Sunday’s ago. That may not sound like much but for pioneers Glenys and Warrick Ryan it was a great milestone in the church’s history.

We loved spending five days in the town of Springsure. I had the honour of singing at the annual ANZAC Day memorial parade to 900+ people, I sang to 20 elderly folks at the local retirement village, we did a mens shed night to a bunch of local blokes plus met with many of the town locals. 

Thank you Glenys and Warrick for your faith and endurance to keep loving the people of a small country town. We look forward to returning.

MEN'S CAMP

Pictured: Blokes doing life out bush. A Men's camp at Brendallen Station north of Aramac, QLD.

This is authentic down to earth men’s business done in a true blue outback setting. Apart from the archery, motorcycle barrel racing, hunting, wake boarding, and campfire yarns there were some empowering messages from  legendary missionary evangelist Ps Graham Sercombe. It was a gathering of fathers and sons keen to know more of God’s ways and willing to discuss the realities of life and the challenges of being a man. 

It was an honour to take part in the camp and we sure appreciate the faith and vision of the local blokes from Longreach, Aramac, Blackall and surrounding region for their enthusiasm.

TRUE CHAMPIONS OF THE FAITH

Pictured: Steve with Pastor Danny Gugglielmucci and Pastor Steve Kennedy and his pride ’n' joy Ford F100 ‘Big Bird’ at church camp.

It was a great honour to share the stage with two of my heroes over the Easter weekend. Champions Church in Redland Bay hosted their annual church camp and Ps Danny Gugglielmucci and I were the guest speakers!! As friends we go back to the early pioneering days of the Youth Alive movement which started in the late 80’s. Danny founded and Pastored the EDGE church in Adelaide but in recent years has developed a global ministry as a mentor to leaders, churches and organisations. Danny’s messages over the weekend were profoundly impacting and empowering for everyone. His honest stories of life and gentle love for people is inspiring. Thanks so much to Pastor Steve and Suzie Kennedy for your amazing support and encouragement. 

THE FAITH OF A FARMER

Pictured: Dion and Ian "Sambo" Sampson hard at work planting a wheat crop in the black soil of central Queensland.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Within days of planting seeds in the rich black soil and dried debris of last season’s chick pea crop, the green shoots of wheat appear in their rows by the multitude. It is a miraculous sight and a picture that inspires me for life. Zero till farming is very common in these parts. The less you dig up the soil of last season means you retain the precious moisture in the ground that sustains the new crop in its infancy. Paddocks of dead stubble from previous crops may look unattractive but it all helps to produce a new harvest.

God is a farmer. He delights in planting a humble seed of faith in our hearts and watching it mature into a bountiful harvest in our lives. That is His plan for us. Not to give up in discouragement or harden our hearts to His ways… But to pursue His best at all times and believe He will help us achieve our dreams. After a few years of drought and setbacks it takes a mountain of faith for a farmer to once again plant a new crop and believe for a better outcome.. But without faith it would all become failure. Keep believing in your dreams and keep putting God to the test in faith. He is faithful.

It was such a great joy to spend a couple days at Glenora Downs south of Emerald a few weeks back. The Sampson family have farmed this land for decades and are a wonderful example of God’s steadfast faithfulness through good times and tough times…

Don’t ever give up on all God has called you to.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10

TOUR PLANS 2017

Pictured: Making plans for the months ahead!!!! Finally.

Due to Steve’s health earlier in the year we’ve been a bit slow confirming concert and shed night dates but with the release of the Slim Dusty Songs album in July things are now moving ahead!! And we are excited about some of the doors that are opening up. It looks like June and July will be designated to Queensland and then we plan to head south as we’ve got plenty of invitations in Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. Yes, South Australia too!!!

If you and your community would like to host a concert or Shed Night in the coming months please make contact. It will help greatly with our planning. The Slim Dusty Tribute Tour will be a seperate project all together as we expect to structure the events as ticketed concerts targeted at RSL Clubs and Country Town halls. We are hoping to put a band on the road for these tours as well.

Thanks for standing with us in the vision to reach people for Christ and excite the local church to missions across Australia!!!

AFTER THE FLOODS

Pictured: Live in concert at the Billinudgel Church last weekend. Mal King with Jordan and Steve and Dave from Gateway church on blues harp.

The town of Billinudgel was inundated by flood waters following the catastrophic onslaught of cyclone Debbie. As we drove to the church last Sunday afternoon the streets were lined with destroyed furniture, refrigerators, bed mattresses, and written off cars. The entire town was taken by surprise and the devastation was evident everywhere you looked. Like many other towns the dismal and depressing aftermath of floods is hard to deal with. 

But the locals turned up for a free BBQ and concert presented by the Eastgate Church of Byron Bay. The appreciation among the people was high and the church, which only escaped being completely flooded by 30mm, was filled to capacity. It was a wonderful opportunity to pray with locals and work on practical ways to reach out to the hurting community.

Thanks so much to the church family at Eastgate for your generous hearts and creative evangelism. Thanks also to the YWAM teams who served up a fantastic BBQ!!!!

THE PIONEER SPIRIT

Pictured: The official opening of the Mt Tawa airstrip in the Southern Highlands of PNG. With a successful landing of a Cessna 206 to celebrate with the remote tribal group.

A photograph taken in 1992 of a completed airstrip built by Hap Skinner in the Southern Highlands Province of PNG. These airstrips opened up remote tribal regions for healthcare, education, trade and Bible Translation. I greatly admire the men and women who dedicated decades of their lives serving the peoples of Papua New Guinea and its 861 known language groups. It is one of the most mountainous and treacherous nations on earth and yet the people in every province received the good news of the Gospel and today consider themselves to be a Christian nation.

Next time you meet an old retired missionary take some time to sit with them and be inspired by their wild stories of the early missions days in countries like PNG. You will be inspired. Get involved in supporting the great work organisations like Wycliffe Bible Translators are doing in developing and war torn nations across the globe.

THE HUMBLE HIGHLANDS HERO

Pictured: The passing of a humble hard working legend and pioneer missionary.. Uncle Hap Skinner.

Back in the 1960’s Papua New Guinea was still a very primitive developing nation recovering from the conflicts of WWll and the strategic part the island nation played in the victory in the Pacific region.

It was men like Harold ‘Happy’ Skinner who used great innovation to transform equipment and vehicles once used for war into practical machinery that would be used to construct roads, airstrips, buildings and homes for the work of healthcare, education and Bible Translation. He was a larrikin, a leader and a pioneer who knew how to get the job done in difficult circumstances. 

Uncle Hap Skinner was one of my heroes as a boy growing up in the jungle highlands of PNG. Back then he seemed larger than life in his old Landrover or driving the logging truck to the saw mill. His three sons were my school mates and at times my arch enemies!! But the Skinner boys were just like their Dad… unstoppable when it came to a good cause.

Last week we buried Uncle Hap in Mossman North Queensland and celebrated his magnificent life. A true legend for the cause of Christ. It was a great honour to be able to lead in the singing of Hymns and the memorial and mourn with the family. Uncle Hap was buried with his beloved ‘Eternity’ cap as he reckons that’s the first thing he’ll put on in his new resurrection body when Christ returns!!!  Thank you Uncle Hap and the Skinner family.. For Eternity.