Day 5. Staying with John and Glena Smith

Moved this morning to John and Glena Smith's house in Boronia, Melbourne. Spent the afternoon with a father and mother of a movement. It was great to talk of the beginnings of the Jesus movement and the beginnings of Concern Australia. We were exploring the very beginnings of the movement with all the stories and tales. It was so important to hear Glena's thoughts on those early days as well. We not only explored Concern Australia but began to talk of the early days of John's ministry to bikers and the formation of God's Squad. I felt that It was a  honour to be here in their home to hear all this. In the coming few days im going to go through some of the 30 boxes of early newspaper and archive material with John that he has kept about those early days. These two John and Glena are in effect the parents of a movement, which has effected lives all over the world more than they know. I think it is important in any organisation that the early vision is revisited and reflected upon for ministry in the present context. It is my belief that if we do not do this deep reflecting on history, then at it's best we may be inventing the wheel and at it's worse we may repeat the failures of the past again. Also God has spoken historically to and through organisations and to ignore this is to be dishonouring to God. I'm looking forward to spending more time talking to John about his writing, and future plans. Keep checking in for more details about my visit to Australia.