Hammonds Newsletter Feb 09

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HAMMOND family M O T I VA T I N G , M E N T O R I N G A N D M O B I L I Z I N G M I S S I O N A L L E A D E R S

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8 Week Summer Break

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After 14 years straight of pastoral ministry & 7 years of church planting & mission training, the Hammond’s are finishing their first extended break. Kim resigned from Forge Victoria & the Junction released the Hammond’s to have a proper break from all leadership responsibilities.

2009 THE YEAR OF TRANSITION TO AMERICA*

My personal health is my top priority for 2009. It is also a priority to find a paid work role. If we are to make the transition to America, we have an incredible amount of things to get done here in Australia before we go, like obtaining visas, renting our home out & raising support for this unique opportunity. Some of the issues we need to confirm for our time in America, are

accommodation, finding a sponsoring agency, purchasing a car and deciding whether to home school the boys or send them to a local school. It was a very fruitful trip and three weeks in America answered many of these questions. I got to rest, the Hirsch’s looked after me & I got to see first hand Alan’s incredible impact on the USA, but it was too long away from Maria & the boys.

Warren’s are beautiful & generous My goal was to see if our dream of people. I also spoke to the Emmaus community, where the living in America & working with Hirsch’s belong, & made some the Hirsch’s could be a reality. I arrived in LA on the 16th of January great friends. While I was there, I and spent the first 6 days with Alan went to the Kobe vs LeBron game. & Debbie at Thousand Oaks, where Then it was onto Orlando for “The roundtable of mega & micro church they live with Michael & Rita leaders”, (I will write about Warren. I loved it there, the

Orlando in the next edition) then I spent 5 days in Hollywood with Dave Harry before another amazing 5 days in Chicago with the Ferguson brothers at the Community Christian Church & their key staff. It felt like home & I loved connecting with them, seeing their work & hearing their vision.

14 year Anniversary.

January 14th 2009 was our 14 year wedding anniversary. Maria and I were both just 20 years old when we married. The two nights we spent at the Novatel in St Kilda was a fantastic break for us. Walking along the beach, drinking coffees on the pier and eating in Acland St.

Three weeks in America.

Why I loved LA & Chicago. LA is far bigger than just Hollywood. If you drive 40 minutes outside of LA central in non peak traffic North/West, you come to “Thousand Oaks.” It reminds me of Mornington without the beach. Malibu 30 minutes away towards the south. Sunny, warm weather, it is desert meets mountains with lush green watered estates, shopping centres, parks, rattle snakes and coyotes. Its weather is like Northern Australia. The people there are families we could share life with and I guess thats why the Hirsch’s haven’t moved yet while they have opportunities to live in any major city in America they want.

The Emmaus Community and Christian Associates in Thousand Oaks.

The night with the Emmaus Community was like being with one of our communities at the Junction. Led by an amazing young leader called Mike Katzenberger, who has worked with Rick Warren and pastored at Calvary Community Church. He leads “Emmaus” with Ed and Dana Rouse. Dana is Michael and Rita Warrens’ daughter (who the Hirsch’s live with). Rita is the Chair of Christian Associates, a mission agency working predominately in Europe, whose office is in Thousand Oaks. The Hirsch’s sit on the C.A leadership team & Phil Graf is C.A’s Europe's Advancement Team leader, and is also good friend of ours. Mike also works for C.A & we really connected in LA. If & when we move, thousand Oaks would be an ideal first location & base for us.

Shorts & t-shirts to a beanie, coat & snow. Naperville Illinois.

After two weeks in LA and Orlando where it was summer weather, I arrived in Chicago to a freezing -10 degrees celsius. CCC flew me out to spend the weekend with their core staff. This began at breakfast with the Ferguson brothers, David and Jon, the founding pastors, to get a feel for their church, their church planting initiative & their residency program for planters. We stayed with Paul & Katy Warner, elders at CCC, who really looked after us. Pat Masek is the associate pastor who is a friend of the Hirsch’s & organized my trip. Pat is a highly capable women who looked after Dave Harry and I.

CCC, New Thing &Exponential. Ultimately, if the Hirsch’s move from LA, where they move too is completely up to them. We have offered ourselves for two years & we will go wherever they say. Alan connected me with the team at CCC because he felt it could be a great working relationship & Chicago is a ideal base for Alan as he fly’s around the country. Several things impressed me about my time in Chicago: The Ferguson's are down to earth, likable, relational men who are “die-hard” Bulls fans. Their office is open plan, when asked what is their church planting strategy, they replied “Multiplication & mission.” They don’t need help running multi-site church better but we can help them with birthing & nurturing missional imagination.

The commitment to “A New Thing Network.”

Not only are CCC committed to local mission, they also lead a national movement of missional reproducing churches. One that embraces all styles, sizes & social groupings. Interestingly they are planting a “New thing” community in “Thousand Oaks” this October. CCC is also part of the Exponential Conference, the largest gathering in America of church leaders committed to church planting. David is chair of the Exponential network and Alan has been a keynote speaker the last two years. (Previous speakers include, Bill Hybels, Erwin McManus, Mark Driscoll, Rick Warren etc.. )

My visit to Wheaton College. Illinois.

Bono, speaking at Wheaton, said is the only University to produce both Wes Craven & Billy Graham. It is a academically rigorous Christian Arts College with a new Evangelism & church planting department led by Dr. Rick Richardson. He communicated to me his desire to see Alan lecturing as an adjunct Professor with opportunities for me to lecture and study while applying for a scholarship to finish my masters and PHD. David and Jon Ferguson from CCC also teach at this course. A long time hero of mine Rob Gallagher (pictured left) has been for ten years & is currently the Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies. Wheaton is about 20 minutes from Naperville Yellow Box CCC.

What have we learned & where too from here. I wanted to be priest when I was a kid going to a Roman Catholic school and a pastor since attending a Pentecostal church from the the age of nine. I went to bible college at 18 years old and was married and on part time staff by the age of twenty one. Not bad for a kid from Doveton, the commission area of our city. Having been in church placed work for over 14 years I am at peace coming to the end of this sabbatical. I have finished as Director of Forge Victoria after a difficult soul searching time. I am in the beginning phase of a changing role at the Junction as team leader and paid pastor (part time). This crossroad means for me a time of rest and reflection while holding in tension, raising recourses for ministry now and in America. I know under stress I do not do well and my health and well being has been directly affect by the pressure that comes with the leadership positions I held. I am now more cautious to take on roles that will cause me to neglect my health and cause unnecessary stress, all jobs have stress but some more than others. This year I need to discern which is the best most effective use of my gifts, while providing an income for my family.

BEYOND TITLES & POSITIONS-SHARED LIFE IN COMMUNITY Focusing on health and well being is no easy task, one I have struggled with my whole life. Coming off a break I am glad beyond books and conferences, beyond blogs and roles I experience true community. I know I have a group of friends & family who love me, and I know they adore Maria, (who doesn’t) & my three boys are something special. You don’t make a decision to move your family away from that kind of experience without a sense of calling or conviction. The next few months is one of the biggest discernment periods in the life of our family. We love the Hirsch’s and would be honored with this opportunity to help them in any way. • What will I do for work this year, that provides resources for us and uses my gifts and calling? • What role do I play at the Junction in this transitional year? • Having the space to properly download & debrief the whole USA trip, options & opportunities. • Reducing stress & pressure to allow time & space to get healthy. Deciding which agency do I sow into over the next few years that allows us to: • Motivate & inspire people with innovative & creative ways of communicating the gospel. • Mentor & equip mission shaped leaders. • Affirm, encourage & mobilize missional leaders committed to a reproducing movement.

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HAMMOND family

HAMMOND family 35 Stirling Circuit Beaconsfeild, Victoria, Australia. 3807. ph:+61 39707 4414 Ml: 0411 104 443

www.thejunction.info [email protected] www.grassrootsmission.com

USA web sites: www.christianassociates.org/ www.communitychristian.org/ www.newthing.org/ www.exponentialconference.org/ www.daveferguson.typepad.com/

Alan Hirsch’s web site. www.theforgottenways.org/