4th living

A recent quality of life survey of 420 global cities ranked Auckland 4th best in the world (tied with Vancouver).  The survey, conducted by Mercer, rated cities based on several different factors.  Honolulu was the top US city coming in at 29.   

Now I happen to think that Auckland is a pretty good place to live.  As far as cities go it's relatively safe, clean, culturally diverse, and on and on and on.  I've noticed though that many native Aucklanders frequently bash their city and talk about how awful it is.  It's a well known fact that many New Zealanders living south of the Auckland region hold a general disdain for the city.  However, in a recent NZ survey ranking the 12 major city centres in the country (comprising 56% of the population), Aucklanders ranked themselves 11th out of the 12.  There are a few possible explanations for this:

1. The Mercer survey grossly overestimated the quality of life in Auckland. 

2. The Mercer survey was correct but there are 11 better places in NZ to live which should be in a higher position on the survey. (Wellington for example came in 3rd place in the NZ survey but didn't even make the top 10 in the Mercer survey.)

3. Aucklanders greatly under-appreciate the quality of life in their city.  

There's certainly other explanations than these 3 but observing and conversing with native Aucklanders leads me to believe that #3 on my list is probably a big part of the issue.  Not that Aucklanders are alone in under-appreciating the city they live in.  I think it's somewhat normal for people to not appreciate the place they live, especially if they've always lived there.  I've heard similar comments by people from St. Louis, MO and Grand Rapids, MI; both of which were places I greatly enjoyed living.  I wonder though if there may be some different cultural values in play that cause New Zealanders, Aucklanders included, to verbally tear down the country's only truly metropolitan area?  Whatever the case, in response to the survey results some local celebrities and musicians got together and produced the video below which is filled  with some classic, good old, self deprecating, Kiwi humour.  

week 26

Just FYI, 26 weeks is 61/2 months.  Unbelievable!

(not so) new ink

So, I meant to put this post up way back in January, at which point it could've been titled just "new ink."  I'm only four months late on this but that means the "new ink" is definitely all healed up.  Anyway, the descending dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit that goes way back in Christian art.  This was the next step in my attempt at gradually finishing off my sleeve.  Both Brooke and I are happy with how this turned out.  I especially like the symmetry of the descending dove on the opposite side of my arm as the rising phoenix.  Many kudos to Nate at Allstar for taking my idea and making it look good.  

secure in my manhood...

If I wasn't would I be willing to put up a picture like this?    

I've actually been meaning to do a lot more blogging than I have lately.  There are several things I've been planning on posting about and simply haven't.  Maybe if I put a list of post titles here it will inspire me to actually get the posts up.  So, with that hope, here are a few titles that you will hopefully see more about soon:

New Ink

What Do You Do? 

4th Best

City Scenes

There.   Now let's see if that actually helps me to get the posts up.

week 25

I tried to put this video up last night but ran into some technical difficulties.  So, here it is just a day late. 

week 24

DISAPPOINTMENT

=

week 23

Brooke put up a ton of pics of Sophia this week so I'll just post a few.  

from the shelf

I'm in the midst of preparing and delivering a six-part series of messages on the nature and role of the Christian church in the city.  Here are some thoughts from this weeks prep.  

“Flight into the invisible is a denial of the call.  A community of Jesus which seeks to hide itself has ceased to follow him.”  - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

“God intends us to penetrate the world.  Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad.  And when society does go bad, we Christians tend to throw up our hands in pious horror and reproach the non-Christian world; but should we not rather reproach ourselves?....  Too often evangelical Christians have interpreted their social responsibility in terms only of helping the casualties of a sick society, and have done nothing to change the structures which cause the casualties.” – John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount

“If the gospel is to challenge the public life of our society… It will only be by movements that begin with the local congregation in which the reality of the new creation is present, known, and experienced, and from which men and women will go into every sector of public life to claim it for Christ, to unmask illusions which have remained hidden and to expose all areas of public life to the illumination of the gospel.  But that will only happen as and when local congregations renounce an introverted concern for their own life, and recognize that they exist for the sake of those who are not members, as sign, instrument, and foretaste of God’s redeeming grace for the whole life of society.” – Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society

week 22

Here are a few pics from today with a very serious looking Sophia.