Ten New Year Suggestions for Missional Fruit

In the light of the now well documented general and longstanding failure of the church to produce significant missional fruit, the ‘Unbounded Church’ concept is driven by the belief that there is an urgent need to do ‘Something Completely Different’. Suggested below are 10 New Year’s resolutions that may be helpful in creating a missionally … Continue reading Ten New Year Suggestions for Missional Fruit

War Zone 2019

Around the year 1748 Czar Nicolai of Russia built a fortress on the island of Suomen Linna in the Baltic Sea. It was built to mark and guard his new territory, the country we now call Finland, which he had gained from Sweden. In the middle of that sea-fortress is a Lutheran Church, and one … Continue reading War Zone 2019

Releasing Technocrats to Missionaries Be!

For some years I worked overseas as an engineer in a very different cultural environment to the one I was brought up in and trained in. There were a few of us expatriates but most of my colleagues were locals and as time went by, I started to notice an interesting difference between the two … Continue reading Releasing Technocrats to Missionaries Be!

It’s the (Insert preference here) Season

It’s coming up that time of year again. But what time exactly? There are many ways people will answer this question (even if subconsciously) – ‘Holiday-mas, Party-mas, Goodtime-mas, Excess-mas, Family-mas, Spend-mas’ and of course the less preferred (but very real for some) ‘Stress-mas’. Which one (or ones) do we relate most to? These are increasingly … Continue reading It’s the (Insert preference here) Season

A Paralysis of the New

Too early for a new Year’s resolution? I suggest not! God is a God of ‘New Things’. A mining of scripture tells us so- For “behold . . . new things I now declare”, “behold I am doing a new thing”, “the new heavens and the new earth which I will make”, “I will make … Continue reading A Paralysis of the New

‘The Forgetting of Light’

This post is substantially the same as an article I wrote several years ago but I think has even more relevance now. Especially so as we draw near to Christmas when there will be a lot of ‘lights’ festooning houses, buildings, streetscapes and Christmas trees. However, increasingly, rather than symbolizing the Light of Christ “which … Continue reading ‘The Forgetting of Light’

Without More Missionaries We Will Lose

I have always admired the Missionaries of previous centuries, for example those who took Christianity to the native tribes of Africa in the 19th Century, particularly the Scottish missionary David Livingstone. A major aspect of the challenge faced by Livingstone and others was the need to penetrate a threatening landscape, often jungles full of threats … Continue reading Without More Missionaries We Will Lose

Unbounded Church Gathering 2018

‘Unbounded Church’ 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 as we haven’t known … Continue reading Unbounded Church Gathering 2018

An Army With Amnesia

“Soldiers of Christ arise and put your armour on, . . . . From strength to strength go on: Wrestle and fight and pray; Tread all the powers of darkness down And win the well fought day”                                     … Continue reading An Army With Amnesia

On Mars the Commodore Just Won’t Cut It!

All of us are familiar with the motor car. It dominates our cities, for most westerners it is considered a normal part of life. Its history pretty well parallels the history of the 20th century, from its origins in the later decades of the 19th century through to the early years of the 21st. Over … Continue reading On Mars the Commodore Just Won’t Cut It!