This booklet, seeks to provide some conversation starters that we might be able to use in informal situations with individuals or groups. All the examples included have been and are being used by DiscipleMakers in such informal situations.
"C.T.'s life stands as some rugged Gibraltar — a sign to all succeeding generations that it is worthwhile to lose all this world can offer and stake everything on the world to come. (C.T.’s) life will be an eternal rebuke to easygoing Christianity. He has demonstrated what it means to follow Christ without counting the cost and without looking back.”
‘The spiritual crisis which is engulfing the West is the worst since the end of the fifth century.’
‘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 Once More We See the Stealing of Christmas
Unpalatable though it may be, and much as many seem to wish to ignore or deny it, the current local church paradigm in the West has not been for several decades, is not, nor can be made to be capable of achieving urgently needed trend-reversing missional goals
‘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
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’
‘It’s not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change’ Charles Darwin ****** This is the fifth in a series of posts on the topic of what I call the ‘Biggest Elephant’ in the ‘Mission Operations Room’, namely Church Leadership. In this series I have mentioned … Continue reading The Biggest Elephant 5 – Formulaic or Flexative
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
It’s Christmas morning, early. The Cicadas swarm the Eucalypts and their chorus is already very loud. They are joined by Kookaburras, Koels, Friar Birds and even carolling Magpies. It is as if the whole of nature is praising God on this special morning. One of the images that often comes to my mind on this … Continue reading The Thinnest Place
