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
Often in recent years there have been reports of parents objecting to various supermarkets putting ‘Scary’ Halloween displays in their stores. These displays take various forms ranging from gravestone and skull decorations to ghoulish figures hanging from store ceilings. One parent is quoted as saying that they avoid taking their kids to stores in October … Continue reading Halloween-The Unholy Trinity and the New Paganism
‘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
We are now one month into the new year. I wonder how we have gone with those New year resolutions, all those good intentions. I suspect that for most, they have already gone the way of the ones we made last year, i.e. crashed! As churches in Australia focus their energies on getting back onto … Continue reading New Kingdom Resolutions
‘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
There are times when you not only feel but see the Spirit of God at work. An Unbounded Church group that meets weekly in a Pub experienced such a time one evening recently. The group has been meeting there for about a year but was forced into meeting on-line for several months by Covid-19 lockdowns. … Continue reading Because We Were There -Again!
A relevant re-post on the 75th anniversary of the end of the 2nd World War
Around the world governments have been faced with the challenge of protecting their citizens from becoming infected with the new Corona Virus known as Covid19. With few exceptions they have settled on variations of the same strategy which basically amounts to locking down the population as much as possible in their homes. There are exceptions, … Continue reading Virus Shedding – A (New Normal) Way of Life
‘Let me sing for my beloved, A love song concerning His vineyard, My beloved had a vineyard, On a very fertile hill, He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with the choicest of vines . . . . … Continue reading The Thread of Pain
The first stage of the Missional Community Process (See the Toolbox Tab on the home page) is ‘Connecting’. Clearly this is essential, because if we don’t ‘Connect’ with the ‘Unchurched/De- Churched’, now an increasing majority of members of society, then there is no possibility of entering into a gospel conversation. Thus the Unbounded Church strategy … Continue reading Connecting With Ron – An Encouragement
