We are often told that we have too much salt in our diet, that it is bad for our health, leading to increased rates of high blood pressure, strokes etc. However, while this may be true in the terms of our physical health it can equally be argued that, rather than too much, our society … Continue reading Where is the Salt?
The Beast Devouring Mission
One of the aims of the designers of cars, trucks and planes is to make them lighter. This makes them more efficient because less energy, that is fuel, is needed just to propel the vehicle itself and more is available for either more speed, acceleration or a bigger payload. This can serve as an analogy … Continue reading The Beast Devouring Mission
The Pruning Shears or The Axe
Sometimes church leaders are accused of running the church like a business and being too concerned about ‘numbers’, that is too focussed on attendance figures and not enough people. Together with this they may well also be accused of relying too much on strategies, programs, human ingenuity etc to make a ‘profit’, which in church … Continue reading The Pruning Shears or The Axe
Back to the Celts for Our Future
In 563 AD an Irish prince set out with a bunch of friends in small coracles to cross the Irish Sea to the wild west coast and islands of what now is Scotland. The purpose of the dangerous journey was mission, to take the gospel to the fierce pagan tribes of Scotland. He and his companions set up a … Continue reading Back to the Celts for Our Future
Green Shoots in the Melancholy Sadness
During my recent travels through the United Kingdom I took the opportunity to visit, in some cases revisit, a number of famous cathedrals, abbeys etc. as well as more humble local churches. As I did so I felt an overwhelming sense of melancholic sadness, for here was I in the ‘Valley of Dry Bones’. For … Continue reading Green Shoots in the Melancholy Sadness
God’s Toolshed
I recently learned that a very large hardware store is planning to open just over the road from our church centre. This will be I am sure a great delight to all congregational members who are DIY ‘Tragics’, you know the people who just love browsing the ‘goodies’ in such a store. I am not … Continue reading God’s Toolshed
Who Will Be Timothy?
It is my conviction, and the 'driver' of the 'Unbounded Church' concept, that the church urgently needs to be set free from its rigid, cumbersome and change-averse ‘Christendom’ influenced forms and structures in order to be ‘A church as we haven’t known it for a society as we haven’t known it’. For this reason I … Continue reading Who Will Be Timothy?
A Herd of Elephants-‘Conversations’ We Need to Have
The inspiration for this Unbounded Church site is an idea-the idea that the Australian church, if it is to resurrect its mission, needs to be unbound. That is it needs to be set free from its current rigid, cumbersome and change-averse ‘Christendom’ influenced forms, structures and mission strategies in order to be – ‘A church … Continue reading A Herd of Elephants-‘Conversations’ We Need to Have
The Kingdom of God is Not ‘Respectable’
By definition a true Christian is someone who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), an aspect of whose work is to cause us to become more like Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). This being the case how Jesus behaved in His earthly ministry should be what we see developing in our own behavior, both … Continue reading The Kingdom of God is Not ‘Respectable’
Mission and the ‘Einsteinian’ Insanity
Albert Einstein defined ‘Insanity’ as “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result!” I was reminded of this by the experience of a number of our ministry leaders who took a group of teenagers to a regional youth outreach event. The intention was that church youth would invite non-church friends … Continue reading Mission and the ‘Einsteinian’ Insanity
