A Spring morning early. Hushed except for a few Lorikeets chirruping in the Gum trees that green-cloak the Escarpment. A hazy rising Sun tries to shine through the mist over the ocean. In Spring morning's glory God whispers His presence yet, 'The Fool says in his heart there is no God' Psalm 14.1
Most local churches have a stated aim to see the lost won for Christ. Commonly, this desire is expressed in the organisation and resourcing of a range of ‘Outreach’ activities. Even though not always clearly articulated, the methods used usually follow the same process that has generally been basic to all mission since the time … Continue reading Unbounded Church – A One Stop Shop
“You Don’t Get to New Places by Following Established Tracks” … Continue reading Gleanings for ‘Unbounded Church’ from those ‘Already on the Road’
It is not uncommon during a conversation about the Missional Communities that comprise ‘Unbounded Church’ networks to be asked what the membership is, i.e. how many ‘members’ do you have? That however, is a question that belongs to the mindset of traditional church thinking where membership can be measured by how many people come through … Continue reading Because We Were There!
I recently came across this quote from Greg Sheridan, the Australian journalist and author of ‘God is Good for You’, who headed a recent article with – ‘The West cannot survive without a re-energized belief in Christianity’ Sheridan’s blunt, but I believe hard to argue with, observation flows from the fact that the socio-spiritual culture … Continue reading A Crisis in the ‘West’
‘The Church is Dead, Long Live the Church!’ ###### Around five years ago I wrote the following paragraph as an introduction to a booklet I was writing at the time. ‘Up to some point on that icy, dark north Atlantic night in 1912, on the SS Titanic’s fatal journey towards the notorious iceberg, there remained … Continue reading Out of the Ashes of This Present Insanity the Phoenix of a ‘Church That Lives’ Can Arise
‘Go (keep on going ) and make disciples’ ***** The goal of the standard strategy adopted by churches for local mission over many decades has been to draw people into Sunday services. Such a strategy has traditionally involved running special ‘guest’ services or other events that will attract non-Christians into the ‘church’ … Continue reading Mission Pluto
‘Wake up the church and . . . encourage it to strengthen itself, while there is still time’ … Continue reading The Cockle-Picking Tragedy
For centuries the traditional Hot Cross Bun was limited in its production to Easter as a sign of the central meaning of that most important Christian festival. However, it is now greatly reduced in its symbolism because it is available everywhere throughout the year, starting the day after Christmas! My local baker told me it … Continue reading Hot Fish Buns – The Bun Strikes Back
There are times when we can feel very alone in our faith. Where we may be the only Christian in a family who may give us a hard time over what we believe and practice. Or we may be the only Christian in our workplace which can create difficulties too, and in this increasingly Christianity-hostile … Continue reading The ‘Behind The Scenes’ God
