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.
In 'The Man Who Planted Trees, Jean Giono describes his experiences that flowed from a chance encounter with a Shepherd when he was on a walking holiday in the French Alps. He recounts how after about three days of walking he came to a barren and colourless stretch of land where almost nothing grew and … Continue reading A Forest of Kingdom Outbreaks
A friend of mine who lives in Darwin at the ‘Top End’ of Australia had in his back yard a very large and beautiful Mango tree, that is until the day he went outside only to find the tree crashed to the ground dead. The problem, one not unfamiliar to those who live in the … Continue reading Amos and the ‘Church is Great Today’ Delusion
In Northern Europe, where I grew up, in autumn it is often possible to see wild geese flying south to winter in warmer climes. Recently I was reminded of this when I came across a talk I had given a few years previously in which I used the southward flight of the wild geese as … Continue reading It’s Time for the Geese to Fly Again
A baby comes, hours new, a cause to meditate on purpose, meaning and mortality. What is this space between entrance on this mist-like, ephemeral stage (stage right) and our inevitable exit, also mist-like (stage left)? What is Time’s blank canvas given by God’s Grace, and what should we paint upon it? What is our part … Continue reading What Shall I Paint Today?
One of the constant problems I have is trying to explain that the ’Unbounded Church’ is a ‘Concept’ not a model. To really grasp this means understanding that the principles for Christian Community found in the New Testament can be expressed in a multitude of different ways. This means that a wide variety of designer Missional Communities … Continue reading A Beautiful Spectrum
It is not uncommon to be told about a particular church which is very ‘successful’. The story usually contains accounts of growing attendances, thriving youth groups, new families etc, and also sometimes a charismatic leader. Such churches often then become the ‘model’ we are all to copy. Where such a story is true we should … Continue reading True ‘Success’ Can Be Replicated
The small building stands, weatherboard, old and quiet now, a family home- unremarked, but where once hoards of children Sunday chattered. A clue nearby, a small tower and still the bell, but for long years silent. Where once the church, Jesus’ families in numbers gathered, no longer so. But silence and death’s symbol, yesteryear’s relic … Continue reading New Shoots Amid Silent Bells
Most of us have at some time or other had a problem with a salt shaker. You know the time when at dinner you go to sprinkle some salt on your meal and nothing comes out. This is not because there is no salt in the saltshaker, it could even be full, but because the … Continue reading Unblocking the Salt Shaker
A year or so ago I visited my great grandmother’s church. A very old stone building set in a stonewalled, grave-filled enclosure in an English hayfield. Weather-faded headstones spoke of centuries of ‘saints’ that had walked this place. But it was on the inside, in the cold, small space of worship that the ‘overwhelming’ happened. … Continue reading The Kingdom and the Darkness
