There is a general mission-blocking apathy and lack of passion for mission to the Australian community among congregational members. This missionally deadening apathy, which is a major contributor to the missional malaise, is very prevalent and a significant reason why it’s difficult to think that the standard local church model can be reinvented, at least fast enough, to achieve the radically increased mission al fruitfulness so urgently needed.'
‘The spiritual crisis which is engulfing the West is the worst since the end of the fifth century.’
‘He is stolen, and it is not harmless!’ _____________ I entered the large shopping complex and there He was, front, centre and large, enthroned in his palace. There He was, ‘the reason for the season’. The One who is always encouraging the children to come to him, and woe betide anyone who want to … Continue reading Once More We See the Stealing of Christmas
Unpalatable though it may be, and much as many seem to wish to ignore or deny it, the current local church paradigm in the West has not been for several decades, is not, nor can be made to be capable of achieving urgently needed trend-reversing missional goals
Every now and again something happens that can jolt us out of our entrapment in the busy-ness of our lives; lives that are self-focussed on mostly small things and worries many of which generally don’t come to pass. This can happen when some event or incident drags us into the reality of what is actually … Continue reading Hope and the Paradox of the Cross
I recently came across an article in a local magazine. The article was titled ‘Save the Village Chapel’ and related to a building (referred to as our ‘Beloved Village Chapel’) occupied by a local congregation of a mid-sized denomination. The building is around a hundred years old and the congregation small, elderly and declining. The … Continue reading Sadness and Tragedy – A Metaphor
It is 46 years since Cyclone Tracy hit the northern Australian city of Darwin, on that fateful Christmas Eve in 1974. I always remember that event at Christmas time because it was that storm that brought us to Australia in the first place, to work on the reconstruction of Darwin. On that night, the Christmas … Continue reading The Eye of Peace
‘He is stolen and it is not harmless!’ _____________ I entered the large shopping complex and there He was, front, centre and large, enthroned in his palace. There He was, ‘the reason for the season’. The One who is always encouraging the children to come to him, and woe betide anyone who want to … Continue reading ‘The Stealing of Christmas’ Revisited
The result of the current restrictions on social gatherings means that churches have had to cease services as have other meetings such as bible studies where people physically meet. This prohibition has also included Unbounded Church groups, however, as with many other aspects of life, many UC members have moved to meeting in Cyber-Groups. … Continue reading Spiritually Distanced? – A Cyber Option
When my wife and I take holidays that usually means we do some travelling. As we do so we usually take the opportunity to visit a local church or two wherever we might be staying. On a recent trip we ended up visiting a church (disguised in this post) where some friends are regular attenders. … Continue reading An Inconvenient Question!
unbounded church 