Starting this month, we are re-introducing a monthly wallpaper. February’s wallpaper features an Impala, and comes from Nairobi National Park just outside the City of Nairobi, Kenya, where some of our team are currently just finishing off a training program with another fantastic group of Church Planters. Keep on the lookout for an update on how that program went in the coming weeks! I made this image late June last year, when we were in Kenya to train a previous group of Church Planters.

Click on the small image above to access and download the wallpaper. Enjoy!

At the rise of a new year, so many of us set grand resolutions of things to be accomplished. Usually, let’s be honest, those resolutions are fairly self-centred: loose weight, get a new job, make myself more comfortable / happy, etc… All good and noble pursuits.

But have you considered, as you approach 2012, how many of your pursuits are of eternal significance? Among all that you are aiming for this year, have you allowed space to contribute to the world in a meaningful way?

Even for the most committed of us, it is very easy to let the passion wane while we focus on the immediate demands of life. I am known by my friends as the one with the grand and passionate aspirations to ‘save the world’. And yet, in my present state of mind I could very easily lay aside the convictions that have stirred my heart in the past, relegate them to a ‘not relevant at the moment’ shelf, and comfortably pursue my many other, perfectly noble, desires. You know, the ones that don’t require too much investment, or my heart to be open to the deep discomfort of being broken by a cause so much bigger than me.

Given that you are reading the Metamorphic blog, it is my suspicion that you, like me, have already had your heart stirred by a cause that calls for your sacrifice.

And, because life is what it is, I would bet that there are times when the everyday distractions of life have shone brighter in your vision than the deep convictions that have stirred your heart.

And I wonder where you are placed on that journey as you begin this new year.

It seems to me that passion and purpose require intentional pursuit; they are not often our default disposition. As I drag my reluctant brain out of holiday time, I am very aware of the need to remind myself again of the things that are most important.

My first step to that end is to keep myself in the path of information, and be aware of what is happening in the world. Information like the fact that more than 3.5 million people die each year from preventable illnesses because they lack access to clean water, and 84% of those deaths are in children under the age of 14. That’s about 1 in every 8 people in the world.

And then I remember that all of the statistics and stories, news footage and photos, represent fellow humans, just like me. Imagine 1 in 8 people in your neighbourhood dying from a lack of clean water! Although those who suffer across our world may look different to me, when I have held their hands, sat in their homes, looked in their eyes, and listened to their stories, I have seen hearts no different to my own. It is a deep awareness of our common humanity – our common, and God-ordained, value – that keeps my heart soft.

I think that Jesus was also connecting to this idea of a common humanity when he said, ‘For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me… When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25:35-40).

What interests me is that this encouragement immediately follows the parable of the talents, where Jesus admonishes us not to bury the talents and resources that we’ve been given, no matter how small they seem (Matthew 25:14-30). Though the need is great, we are never asked to give beyond what we have. But if I can invest a talent, or a dollar, or an hour of my time to champion the cause of the oppressed, do I not have a responsibility to do so?

The exciting news is that the seemingly small and insignificant actions that we take can have powerful and lasting impact, when we work together. Just think, a mere $20 can provide 4 people with water for life!

There are a whole bunch of precious lives soon to be turned from powerlessness and despair to hope and a future, through the work of Metamorphic this year. And it is your support that makes this possible.

There are many ways that you can partner with us in 2012. Firstly, we would love you to share our blog, Facebook and Twitter posts with your own networks. You can also partner financially, or contribute your skills and resources to one of our projects, such as Water 4 Water. We invite you to take a look at our website for information on our projects and, if something strikes a chord, we would love to hear from you.

We pray that you have an abundantly blessed, fulfilled and purposeful 2012. May it be your best year yet!

We have now planted 2300 Churches in 10 years, helped more than 40,000 people gain access to clean safe drinking water, and this year embarked on a HIV project in Burundi that saw more than $1,000,000 in pharmaceuticals distributed.

But the best part of this year has been the people, not the projects. So many valuable individuals, team members, volunteers and prayer partners. And then there are the precious people we serve – the disenfranchised, poor and marginalized. For me, it is the greatest honor to serve each of these people as, together, we make the world a better place.

2011 has been amazing. 2012 will most definitely be awesome!



This has been a great year for Metamorphic in Africa. In 2011, we held two church planting programs in Kenya and one in the Congo. In Kenya, we had 40 great church planters who received training. The men and women who attended came with a desire to plant churches and left with fresh vision and strategies to reach their communities. One of my favorite things when we train these men and women is listening to their visions and dreams for the churches they want to create and the communities they want to transform. I am constantly amazed at the passion they carry and their belief that with God they can achieve anything!

Image by Tim Humble

Metamorphic has also become involved in helping some orphans in Kenya. These young boys and girls were all orphaned due to the civil unrest following the election in 2007 / 2008. Most of these children saw horrific things and, if not for the generosity and help of our partner in Kenya (Word of Faith Church), they would have been left on the streets to fend for themselves. Metamorphic have now started to obtain sponsors for these children so they can get an education and look forward to a bright future. This year we have around half of the children sponsored and are hopeful that we can find sponsors for the rest in the new year. (If you would like to sponsor any of the children please contact us or visit our website.)

Image by Tim Humble

This year we implemented our first ever full program in the Congo, and we are excited about the possibilities that exist in this nation. The men and women who attended the training went away blessed and expecting to see great things happen in their communities.

Also this year, we had the privilege of being able to ship a quantity of HIV medicines to Burundi. A high percentage of the population of Burundi are HIV+, and most live below the poverty line and are unable to afford the much needed medications. While I was in Burundi, I had the opportunity to meet with some of the people who would be receiving these medicines. Most of them were women who had contracted HIV during the war from soldiers who had attacked them. They told me that their biggest concern was for their children, and what would happen to them if they died. They then said that now they were able to receive medication they could, for the first time, look forward to a brighter future.

2011 has been a fantastic year for the African region and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported the work that Metamorphic do in this great continent.

Yet as good as 2011 was, I believe that 2012 is going to be even better! We will start the year by running two more programs in Kenya and Burundi in January. Also in Kenya, we will bring together ALL of the men and women we have trained over the past few years and spend time with them, encouraging, inspiring and celebrating together. I can’t think of a better way to start the year than that! And if that’s how we start, imagine what the rest of the year is going to be like!

Once again, it has been a busy year in Asia for the Metamorphic crew. This year saw us focusing our energies on Cambodia and Myanmar, where we have seen around 40 new churches planted. On top of this, we were also able to assist several thousand people in Cambodia to gain access to safe clean water for not only the first time in their lives, but for life. Additionally, it was pleasing to see previous church planters initiate disaster relief plans in their provinces when floods hit in the latter part of the year. Metamorphic was excited to jump on board with these guys and assist them to provide and distribute over 1000kg of rice to families in desperate need as a result of these floods.

Exciting opportunities have opened up in both of these countries for next year. In Cambodia, we will run two programs and start planting churches in the northern areas, while in Myanmar we will run one program and train 80 church planters from around the entire nation. In Myanmar we are also launching a pilot project that will provide several thousand people with access to safe clean water for the first time ever.

We are looking forward to 2012, with so much already planned and plenty more in the planning and proposal phase, including an HIV program and a large scale sustainable agricultural venture in Cambodia, as well as continuing to expand our partnerships to deliver safe clean water to thousands more people.

2011 has seen the continuation of our water program in Cambodia, with many more families gaining access to clean, fresh water for the first time. Thanks to many of you and your fundraising effort and donations, the Metamorphic Water4Water Initiative was able to achieve the following over the course of the year:

Here is what the Rarm Kim family from Prey Choul village in Takeo Province, Cambodia had to say about their new well:

There are many families around my village who come to use this well. Previously, they used to go so far away to collect water and sometimes a well would run out of water because there were so many families around my village going to get water at the same time.

Now this well is also popular and busy every day because a lot of families come to use it. It helps our family so much. I want this program to continue to help people in different villages. Some of our family members live far away from this well. I wish that they could have clean water like we have as well.

We also used to buy water. Now we can use this water for many things. For example I use it to shower, clean, wash clothes, to water the animals, and for growing vegetables.

It is a big blessing for our community. We are thankful.

On behalf of  all of us on the Metamorphic team, I would like to extend a big THANK YOU! to all of you who have donated and raised funds for our Water4Water initiative in 2011. Some achievements of note include:

• The Vineyard Co-Op raising funds for a whopping 10 wells over the last 18 months!
• St Andrews Anglican School selling more than 1000 bottles of Water4Water in their school tuckshop!
• Donation tins placed in five Dominos Pizza stores across the Sunshine Coast! We are now preparing a proposal to Dominos Australia to partner with them throughout all Dominos stores.

Well done to everyone involved. Let’s look forward to making an even bigger impact on the global water crisis in 2012. Wishing you much happiness and thankfulness as you celebrate Christmas and look ahead to the new year. We truly are priveleged to have the simple joy of clean, safe water here in Australia. I leave you with a selection of photos from our Water4Water work in Cambodia. Merry Christmas all

Image from Prosper Your Mind

The last topic in this series is probably one of the hardest things for leaders to do consistently. Leaders and people with vision often get so caught up with the passion of the dream, so focused on everything and everyone else around them, that they don’t take the time to build themselves. If we want to accomplish anything great, we need to make sure we are building with longevity in mind.

Tragically, we hear so often of great leaders, either in politics, business, or in the church, that have burnt out or have made some error, moral or otherwise, and are no longer in their positions as a result. These situations not only can have massive economical or political implications, they also generally end up affecting the lives of countless others as well.

There are several things that I believe are imperative for any leader to understand and implement that may reduce the chances of things like this happening.

First, I think that every leader should know themselves, and should understand where their breaking point is. Someone once told me that we need to understand how to read the “gauges” of our lives. Often, it is when we allow stress, fatigue or any other element to go unchecked, that we open ourselves up to trouble and bad decision making. We not only have to identify when our gauges are dropping, we also need to identify what it is that rejuvenates us. This will be different for everybody. For some, this will be spending some time away, either alone or with family. For others, it may be doing some hobby or extreme sport. I know for me, riding my motorcycle through a twisty road, or watching a great movie, traveling somewhere new, prayer, or even dinner and laughter with great friends, are all ways I recharge my battery.

Secondly, I believe that, as leaders, we should always be trying to sharpen our skills and always be learning. Most of the Metamorphic team have made the choice to continue their education by doing further university training or taking courses that help them increase their current skill sets. This not only helps them to stay sharp and broaden their knowledge, it also adds to their effectiveness with Metamorphic and increases the productivity of the organisation.

Another thing I have noticed over the years is how a number of leaders have limited their effectiveness, or even had their time in leadership cut short, due to them not taking time to look after themselves physically. Leadership demands discipline; discipline, not only in time management or in setting goals for the organisation, but self-discipline in relation to exercise, proper diet, and even in making sure to get enough rest. I have seen too many pastors and leaders burnt out or driven to early “retirement” just because they did not look after these simple things.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not the start that determines your success or otherwise, it is how you finish that will determine how people remember you and your influence. If you are a leader, can I ask you, will you take the time to make a personal plan for your life? Set goals for your physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual well-being. I guarantee that if you do that, and you discipline yourself to follow it, you will have a far more effective career or ministry, and will set yourself up for a bright and long future.

Image from: David Walker

Someone once said that God gave us two ears and one mouth, and we should use them in that proportion. But the truth is, often we speak before we listen. I heard a story once of a man who was on a train and, just as the train pulled out of the station, another gentleman sat down next to him. The man who came and sat down was accompanied by two children and, as their journey commenced, the children ran up and down the carriages screaming and yelling and generally making a nuisance of themselves. This man recounts how he watched as these children ran around and noticed that other passengers were getting annoyed. He looked at the gentleman that sat next to him and thought, “Doesn’t this man care that his children are running riot? Has he got no parenting abilities? I should say something and make him realize that he needs to take action.” But something made the man stop and first ask, “Excuse me Sir, are you ok?” The man with the children was just staring into space, and looked like he was snapped back to reality. He answered, “I’m sorry, what was that?” The first man said, “Are you ok? I just noticed that your children are running around and you didn’t seem to notice, so I just wondered if you were ok?” “I’m sorry” said the man, “we have just come from the hospital where my wife, their mother, just died and I don’t know what I am going to do.” The man suddenly saw the situation quite differently and was then able to counsel the gentleman with children.

It could have been very different. The man could have ripped into him and his children and made a bad situation even worse, but thankfully he took the time to stop and listen first. I have lost count of the amount of times as a Pastor, or even in my work in the marketplace, that my initial reaction to a situation was not the correct one. I have learned (the hard way unfortunately) that most of the time it is better to stop and listen before responding or speaking in situations. More than once, I have gone into situations as a Pastor, ready with my arguments or what I was going to say, and have changed my entire view of the situation after having chosen to first listen to the other person’s point of view.

There is power in learning to listen. The truth is that people everywhere have a need to be heard and, not only heard, but understood. John Maxwell wrote a great book called Everyone Communicates – Few Connect (worth reading if you get the chance). In this book, Maxwell highlights the fact that as a society we are obsessed with communication: the internet, Facebook, Twitter, social networking, mobile phones, video calling, etc, etc. Never before have we had some many ways of communicating with people. However, communication does not equal connection, and meaningful connection is what most people are really looking for. Have you, for example, ever been speaking with someone and you can tell they are not listening because they are constantly looking over your shoulder trying to see the next person they are going to talk to, or they interrupt you all the time, or finish your sentences? I don’t know about you, but that says to me that the person does not really care, and leaves me feeling like I don’t matter. Or have you ever attended a conference where several different speakers were presenting, yet one has everyone on the edge of their seats and seems to be able to make everyone feel comfortable and like he is speaking only to them? Thats connection!

If we truly want to be successful in business, in church, in building teams or even in family life, we need to learn how to not only listen but to understand – to truly connect. The best teacher, the best bosses, the best leaders, the best speakers, are those who learn the discipline of listening. This (like everything we have spoken about) takes a deliberate choice. A while ago, I was in an organization and there was one person who just drove me crazy. In fact they drove everyone crazy, so much so that people would go out of their way to avoid them. One day I decided that I really wanted to work on truly connecting and really listening. I felt challenged in terms of this particular person and realized that by my avoiding or rushing my conversation with this person I was effectively devaluing them, and that was a bad thing as I believe all people are valuable no matter who they are. So I made a decision that the next time I met this person I would choose to stop and listen, truly listen, give them my full attention and engage with them. This person, as it turns out, has some great things to say and in the time since has often encouraged me when I needed it most.

The art of listening is a skill that I believe should be at the top of all of our lists as leaders, as parents and, to be honest, as people. I encourage you, next time you meet someone, to stop and really listen to them. Practice not just communicating, but connecting – you may find some surprising results.

I love watching sport: NRL, AFL, Super 15s, Moto GP, Superbikes and, of course, special events like the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics. In most sports of course there are winners and losers. In fact, as a society, we are taught very early on that in everything we should seek to win no matter what because winners are the ones that society holds in high esteem. Now while this idea of “there is only one winner” is fantastic in sport (except in strange sports like soccer – after 80 minutes the score can be 0-0 and no one wins!! – how does that work???!!!), it is a terrible idea when it comes to relationships or trying to achieve anything with people.

Generally, there are three ways most people approach relationships:

Win / Lose – this says, “I’m right, you’re wrong” and, “It’s my way or the highway.” People who approach relationships like this are usually very strong, dominant people and only feel validated if they get their way.

Lose / Win – says, “I don’t want to rock the boat” and, “I will agree to anything to keep the peace.” These people are always the victims and always give in.

Win / Win – says, “It’s not my way or your way, but a better way.” These people understand and value others, and always seek mutually beneficial outcomes. People like this usually are very successful in life and are seen as great leaders.

One of our team members explains these principles very well using an illustration from his childhood. Apparently when he and his brother were growing up they both shared a love of cake (what child doesn’t!). Anyway, sometimes the unthinkable would happen and there would only be one piece of cake left and they had to decide who was going to get it. Inevitably, they would argue over it. Sometimes the older brother would grab the cake and lick it so his younger brother would not want it (win – lose). Other times, the younger brother would feel like he couldn’t be bothered fighting for it, so would just give the cake to his big brother (lose – win). And, sometimes, they would grab a knife and cut the piece of cake in two (win – win).

If we want to do anything in life of any significance, or we want to build significant relationships and teams, we need to learn how to develop win win relationships. Win win does not mean that we approach life as a committee or even that we try and please everyone all the time (anybody who has tried this will know the futility of that approach). It is more of a mindset that places value in people rather than winning. It’s an approach that determines to find the best outcome and results, to find the best way not just ‘my’ way. To create win win relationships will take work, it will necessitate making the choice to do it, but it’s a choice that will bring fantastic results to you and to those around you if you make it.

Image: Your Personal Leadership Development

I work with an amazing bunch of people. The Metamorphic team are some of the most dedicated, talented and gifted people I have had the pleasure to work with. We all have a single purpose and commitment to see nations changed, one person and one community at a time. The truth, however, is that we are all very different people; we all have very different backgrounds and characters, we all like different foods and hobbies, and we all have different skills and abilities.

One of the guys in our team, for example, has a fantastic creative ability and his photography is amazing (check out: www.timhumble.com). I watched recently as he took some photos at an orphanage in Kenya, and the shots he produced were simply stunning. I, on the other hand, have the creative abilities of a rock and when I take photos I think it is great if it is not out of focus and is of the actual subject that I was trying to capture!

One of the other guys on our team has an amazing ability to capture and remember detail, and produce great documents and reports. He is also skilled in carpentry and other practical work. I, on the other hand, wouldn’t know what end of a hammer to use and nearly killed myself mixing concrete when I was leading a missions team in Thailand (the team ended up politely giving me “other” duties to do). I do, however, love computers and seem to have an ability to understand most technical related things, while most of the others in our team think computers are frustrating and illogical. We are very different!

Individually, I have no doubt any one of the men and women in the Metamorphic team could achieve great things. But here is the truth: together we can achieve so much more! As a team, we celebrate and utilise each other’s differences. We recognise that our differences don’t make us weaker, they make us stronger. We understand that unity is not conformity. We don’t all have to look the same (a fact the rest of the team is very grateful for I am sure!). We don’t have to speak the same, we don’t even have to think the same on everything, as long as we are committed to the one purpose and the one vision. See, I understand that there are skills that I lack, but the good thing is that I have people around me who have those skills in large quantities.

Some years ago, I pastored a church in NZ. I enjoyed being a pastor and loved the people we had in our church. But I have a confession to make: when it came to counseling and listening to people’s problems, I was really not that good at it. The great thing was, however, that I had people on my team who loved to counsel; they had a gifting in that area and did a fantastic job of it. I could have said, “No, I’m the Pastor, I must counsel all of the people.” But if I had done that, several things would have happened: first, I would have hated every second of it; second, the people I was counseling would have missed out on the help they needed; and thirdly, the team members in my church who were gifted in this area would never have been released and would have ended up feeling frustrated because of it.

I have seen and been a part of many teams where it was a team in name only. The reality was, the head leader or pastor did everything and the team was just there to fill up space. This is a bad way to run any team, and certainly no way to build people. In teams that don’t function well, ultimately everyone ends up missing out.

Team and team work is always the best way to go and, with the right people, you will discover that it leads to greater productivity and may even make your job easier. Jack Johnson was right: it is better together!