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Yet for MJ I could not hold back a few tears.
Pastor Joyce Chen, Zion Praise Harvest
Fri 26 June 2009...the King of Pop died. Michael Jackson died of a massive cardiac arrest. Stories now raise questions about his dependency on pain-killers (he admitted himself into rehab for drug dependency on pain-killers a few years ago). Even in death the media, world & fans cannot get enough of him. And his sudden passing away has also seen sales of his albums & songs sell out in Australia within hours of the shocking news.
Five of Jackson's solo albums – Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous & HIStory – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No 1 singles & became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time” & Thriller as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. MJ won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award.
Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as Billie Jean, Beat It & the epic, Thriller. MJ's sound, style & dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B & hip-hop artists.
Personally I am not a huge fan of MJ. His music, however, marked my awakening to pop music. It was Beat It that got me listening to the radio as a 13 y.o., & subsequently keeping track of the latest hits in the 80s. His hits bring back memories of my teenage years – carefree yet anxious & self-conscious.
Rarely have I wept at the news of the passing away of a household name. Yet for MJ I could not hold back a few tears. Like I said, I am not a huge fan of his. So why did I cry? As I watched the constant stream of news reports about his life, it became painfully obvious that here was a human being who was trapped by success. Someone (a reporter for ET) made a most insightful comment. He said that although Thriller launched MJ into super-stardom, it was also his downfall. Perhaps MJ – like many others – was not ready for the heavy price of public life that success & stardom generate. The cruel scrutiny of the media, draining demands of adoring fans, & crushing expectations of agents (& ‘opportunists’ in that industry).
As I watched his life unfold on screen, I observed a handsome, extremely gifted young boy who was ahead of his time in the days of Jackson Five. When interviewed after a performance, he answered with the confidence & maturity of someone years older. He was normal then – both in physical appearance & social – emotional stability. But as his fame grew & the years passed, he became reclusive & eccentric. He likened himself to Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, & even named his personal estate Neverland.
So why did I cry over the death of MJ? It is because I see in him ....a very lonely man. Someone who had suffered & endured much pain at a very tender age (4 y.o.) for the sake of becoming successful...only to find that success isolates & attracts the company of people who may only be interested in his wealth, or the ability to bring wealth.
Perhaps that was why MJ trusted & loved children. Children are innocent. They don’t want to get to know you because of your money, to use you or abuse you. Unfortunately he went about loving people in a socially unacceptable way. His life was quite a contradiction. MJ was like a young boy trapped in the body of a grown man. In some ways his thoughts & values were naive & innocent; in other respects he demonstrated his intelligence. He was a musical, creative genius. He was that young boy caught in a time warp, who lost his childhood to hours of recording & concert tours, & woke up as a man who desperately wanted to regain what cannot be repeated.
I cried for his soul. The lost, hurt, lonely, misunderstood soul of a superstar who did not know the joy & richness of human relationships.  How could anyone ever live life without a friend? Yet this is the picture being developed in my mind as news reports piece together MJ’s life. Did he ever really live? Or did he escape reality? Building his own world of animals, amusement rides, collections of antiques, etc...& when these were not enough to mask the deep pain of his heart, there were the drugs. Initially taken to relieve the pain resulting from burns incurred at the filming of a Pepsi commercial, drugs could also provide a temporary relief from the pain of an empty soul. A soul so drained by constant demands & high pressure – whether self-imposed or to gain approval, love, acceptance. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Mark 8:36 [NLT] MJ’s tragic existence demonstrates that possessing fame & fortune is no cure for a wounded, empty soul.
Did anyone ever share the love of a Saviour, One who can be completely trusted, with MJ? MJ referred to God in an interview with US 60 Minutes. But how well he did he know God? Everyone needs a Saviour – to know forgiveness, that they’re loved & lovable. MJ longed to be loved as he was. To be accepted as a human being, not some superstar. I pray that somehow he made peace with his Creator before he stepped into eternity.
The world has lost the brilliance of a truly talented individual. But more importantly, I hope this man’s soul has not been lost for eternity.

Church News:
Jun 21 Hon. John Howard will be the speaker for this year's Menzies Lecture to be held on 26 Aug. He will be addressing the proposed Charter of Rights.

Jun 16 A biology program originally approved in the Australian state of New South Wales to teach public schoolchildren about the “Wonder of Life” before birth has been banned because of its creator's connections to pro-life groups. <more>

Jun 12 Phil Baker, snr pastor of Riverview Church, underwent surgery for the removal of a spherical tumour located in the back left of his brain. Haydn Nelson, the acting Executive Minister, who contacted the body of Christ in Perth to pray on their church's behalf had this to add, " The coming days will have both tears and laughter and, no matter what the future holds, we are ready to walk this journey of faith with Phil and Heather."
Join 3000+ 'Praying for Phil Baker' @Facebook

May 25 Don’t Leave us with the Bill: The Case Against an Australian Bill of Rights published by the Menzies Research Centre, WA book launch comprising a range of essays by Australians of different ages and backgrounds making the case against an Australian bill or charter of rights. Contributors include former Prime Minister John Howard, Professor James Allan, Professor Helen Irving, Senator George Brandis, Cardinal George Pell and ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace. The book will be launched by Member for Bateman, the Hon Christian Porter MLA, on Wednesday 27 May 2009 at the Constitution Centre of Western Australia. For further details including RSVP arrangements click here.
Michelle Pearse, ACL WA State Director

May 15 Charter of Human Rights will effectively transfer responsibility for our values on human rights from elected Parliamentarians to unelected judges. The repercussion on the Church of similar legislation in a number of countries had resulted in judges imposing 'rights' granted to gays, tobacco and pornography interest groups and opening up Christian schools to employment and teaching that may contradict the teachings of the Church. Check out www.makeastand.org.au for more information.


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Run the extra mile
Researchers at Stanford University in California found from a nationwide survey on running club that exercise extending to 200 minutes a week showed significant health benefits as compared to the average 20 minutes a week of an average person. middle-aged members of a runner's club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run. Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease, but of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The Star Online August 12, 2008
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