Another Elephant – The ‘Success Illusion’

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

“Hear this Word, this lament I have concerning you. I hate! I despise your religious gatherings;     your church services are a stench to me. Even though you give money in the offering plate, or on-line,     I will not accept it. Though you give offerings for special causes and occasions,     I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your praise songs!     I will not listen to the music of your keyboards, drums and guitars.  But let justice roll on like a river,     righteousness like a never-failing stream!

The First Elephant – Cultural Intelligence – A Missional Necessity

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

The current missional mindset of most local churches, and particularly of those in leadership, continues to be controlled by the assumption, even if subconsciously, that the goal is to reach a still-Christianised society living on what might be termed a ‘cultural Earth,’ whereas the reality is that most of Western society has changed address to a distant ‘cultural Pluto’. The failure to realise and respond to this is a major factor in the missional malaise

The Scissored Bible Version (SBV) and the Mission Mandate

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

Our, now decades long, failure in meeting Jesus’ mandate to ‘make disciples’, will not be reversed until Christians and churches don’t just claim to be ‘bible believing’ but cease their use of the SBV, re-insert the word ALL into the Missionary Verse, and act on it.

Where Would Jesus Be?

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

‘We had rain the other day, real rain, weighty drops falling as tears from heaven. In the rain a picture of God weeping formed. For surely, He must be, weeping that is over this not sun-baked but sin-baked, spiritually dried out land, this erstwhile gospel-shaped country that has been given all the promises of God in the message of Jesus.’

When the ‘Church’ Has Lost Its Way

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

‘Our shared morality, once the glue that held the social fabric together, is being torn apart’.                                                                    Paul Kelly - 2nd March 2024․ *** Around a year ago I wrote this regarding our times; tragically it is even more relevant twelve months later – ‘In the West, we have arrived at Easter 2023 as a … Continue reading When the ‘Church’ Has Lost Its Way

Echoes of the 1930s and the Deeper Malaise

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

We live in rapidly changing times. A characteristic of this is western society's rejection of its moral operating system i.e. Biblical Christianity. This has allowed the return of what those who fought against Hitler's Nazis in WW2 thought they had defeated in western countries. i.e. antisemitism. Tragically this seems not to be the case.

Missional Mathematics and the Pagan Challenge

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

For a quarter of a century at least, survey after survey, data release after data release, census after census, have shouted out the developing crisis in terms of the Church’s dismal missional effectiveness. Yet with a deafness (deliberate or otherwise) to the few voices calling out the nakedness of the missional Emperor, and a blindness to the reality of an ever-rotating kaleidoscope of cultural tribes undergoing tectonic change, we have continued along the same now decades-long road, strewn with ‘Square Wheel’ missional failures.

Isn’t There More to Being a Christian Than This?

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

Even in the face of the well-documented chronic, decades long, serious decline of Christianity in Australia (the West) the experience has been that only a miniscule number of church members will take up opportunities for 'coal face'. local mission.

The Future Lies in Going Back to It!

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

Although not all, the vast majority of western Christians today have the cemented-in mindset that ‘church’ is largely what happens in certain, mostly bespoke, buildings, generally on Sundays. Further, the main Christian activity of most (when measured by time) is something called ‘going to church’, again generally on Sunday. This is because centuries of living … Continue reading The Future Lies in Going Back to It!

‘I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel’ – Or Am I?

Posted on by Dr. Martin J. Bragger

The phenomenon of the ‘Embarrassed-Christian’ syndrome, is in line with recent congregational surveys that show that when asked to select from a list of 14 priorities that they thought their congregation should invest in, ’starting a new missional venture’ came in a dismal 13th, or 2 percent of those surveyed.