Rarely but occasionally, one experiences what I call a “My Fair Lady” (MFL) moment. If you have seen the movie, it’s the moment when Rex Harrison, who has been labouring hard to teach ‘proper speak’ to Eliza Doolittle a Cockney flower girl, finally cries out “By George, she’s got it”. It’s the moment a teacher … Continue reading My Fair Lady Moments- A Rarity!
Fiddling While Souls Burn
Again in the last few months a couple of people I know (one a close friend, another who I meet fairly regularly) have been diagnosed with terminal, or probably terminal cancer. This caused me to focus again on the issues in this previous post, so serious concerns re the church and its ever decreasing missional … Continue reading Fiddling While Souls Burn
Red Giants Fading
While certainly being no expert I’ve always been interested in astronomy and the awesome panoply of the star-spattered night sky. With this interest has come some knowledge of the constellations one of which I always look for is the Hunter, Orion. One of the stars comprising Orion, Betelgeuse, is in the class of stars called … Continue reading Red Giants Fading
A Beautiful Spectrum
One of the constant problems I have is trying to explain that the ’Unbounded Church’ is a ‘Concept’ not a model. To really grasp this means understanding that the principles for Christian Community found in the New Testament can be expressed in a multitude of different ways. This means that a wide variety of designer Missional Communities … Continue reading A Beautiful Spectrum
Small Is Beautiful
There is a well-known saying that ‘Small is beautiful’. This is certainly true in the context of mission to our 21st century society retreating as it is at an increasing rate from its Christian heritage. The process of de-Christianization, the evacuation of the gospel from the fabric of culture is clearly indicated in the recent … Continue reading Small Is Beautiful
True ‘Success’ Can Be Replicated
It is not uncommon to be told about a particular church which is very ‘successful’. The story usually contains accounts of growing attendances, thriving youth groups, new families etc, and also sometimes a charismatic leader. Such churches often then become the ‘model’ we are all to copy. Where such a story is true we should … Continue reading True ‘Success’ Can Be Replicated
New Shoots Amid Silent Bells
The small building stands, weatherboard, old and quiet now, a family home- unremarked, but where once hoards of children Sunday chattered. A clue nearby, a small tower and still the bell, but for long years silent. Where once the church, Jesus’ families in numbers gathered, no longer so. But silence and death’s symbol, yesteryear’s relic … Continue reading New Shoots Amid Silent Bells
It’s Groundhog day – Again!
One of my favourite movies is Groundhog Day. This is the story of a man (‘Phil’ played by Bill Murray) who is trapped in a repeated cycle of having to live the same day over and over again. This is even to the detail of getting his foot soaked in the same puddle every morning! … Continue reading It’s Groundhog day – Again!
Mission Failure and God’s No
Prayer is, or should be, an everyday practice for Christians. It is our communication channel with God as well as being one of the essential disciplines for spiritual growth and health. The Bible exhorts us to pray “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), but that always raises the question of how does God answer prayer? One … Continue reading Mission Failure and God’s No
Unblocking the Salt Shaker
Most of us have at some time or other had a problem with a salt shaker. You know the time when at dinner you go to sprinkle some salt on your meal and nothing comes out. This is not because there is no salt in the saltshaker, it could even be full, but because the … Continue reading Unblocking the Salt Shaker
