‘If I was trying to minimise growth in the church, I would get everyone to speak a totally different language that no one understands. That is what the Church is doing.’ Russel Evans, Global Senior Pastor of Planet Shakers. ****** In Luke’s Gospel (Chapter 16:19) Jesus tells a teaching story (parable) in which … Continue reading Mission Basics 101 – 1 The Great Chasm
On a recent road trip from Sydney to Melbourne we pulled off the motorway to have a break on what is a very long drive. The place we stopped at was a small, quite undistinguished village with a number of houses, a community centre and a café. There was however one more significant building. This … Continue reading Has God Left the Building? An Hypothesis
‘When I run fast, I feel His pleasure’ Eric Liddell The above quote is attributed to Scotsman Eric Liddell who won the gold medal for the 400 yards (400m) in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. He did this after refusing to run in his best event the 100 yards, as well as other … Continue reading Making God Smile
The Covid-19 forced shut down of ‘normal’ Church life exposed a number of things, most of which already existed but didn’t get much attention. One of these things, and the subject of this post is the opportunities that exist for Christian fellowships to meet On-Line. Such possibilities were already available but the shutdown brought them … Continue reading The Online Network
As churches sleepily emerge from the Covid-induced shutdown it seems nearly all are happily climbing back onto the down escalator they had been on for decades pre Pandemic. This longstanding downward trajectory has most certainly generally been given a Covid-induced fresh impetus in terms of loss of service attendees and income. The opportunity provided by … Continue reading Vain Hope Or ‘The Irish Way’
‘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
‘As much we may be convinced that a particular new form of structure will remedy existing deficiencies, there can be no guarantee that it will still be appropriate for the further changes in society yet to come. And such changes, no doubt beyond the range of present thinking, will most certainly occur.’ ****** There is … Continue reading When the Answer is Not a Square
“The United states, and the West, are caught in the slowly asphyxiating Grip of a decadence they do not understand, and have been there for50 years . . . We are not standing on the cusp of decadence. The US, and Australia, have been decadent for half a century or more. The culture wars … Continue reading Descent into Dystopia -Reposted
It comes as a great shock to many ‘church’ members that Jesus is recorded as using the word ‘church’ only twice and in neither case did he mean a physical building. Yet that is what legions of church members have been conditioned for centuries to mean when they use the word ‘church’, i.e. the building … Continue reading When is a ‘Church’ Not a ‘Church’?
“It’s more missionaries we need, without more missionaries we will lose” ****** In my previous post on the ‘Biggest Elephant’ topic I mentioned a number of characteristics of the Australian church (discussed more fully in the 'Something Completely Different' booklet) which are to various degrees causative factors in the Church’s chronic lack of missional … Continue reading The Biggest Elephant – Challenges Yes – Excuses No
