I recently came across an article in ‘Quadrant’ magazine that in part described a bygone world- a nowadays strange world even quaint to many. It was a description of the decline of the suburban church post WW2, specifically in the major city of Melbourne, however the description could have been of any city in the … Continue reading There Was a Kindness There
“You Don’t Get to New Places by Following Established Tracks” Carlo Rovelli At talks or seminars given on the ‘Unbounded Church’ concept there are regularly the same questions asked or issues raised. One of these is the issue of ‘Models’. Nearly always someone will say something like “Well give me some models so that I … Continue reading Mission in the Future that Turns Up When You Get There
I get to talk to a lot of Pastors of mainline congregations. Some show interest when I explain the Missional Community (Unbounded church) vision, and a few, a very few, come along to the seminars I run from time to time. Of those that do come, it is depressing to see that while showing interest … Continue reading Time for a Break Not Cherry Picking
In our house I am surrounded by Leggo. This is a result of having a family, now of several generations, who are Leggo fanatics. I reckon you name it and we can make a Leggo model of it! As the family gathered over the most recent Christmas it looked at times like it was the … Continue reading Time For Leggo!
John Stott the famous evangelical preacher used to say that when preparing sermons it is necessary to hold the bible in the one hand and the newspaper in the other. His point was that the Christian message is not to be taught or proclaimed in a cultural vacuum. Rather the receiving culture, while not changing … Continue reading ‘Cultural Intelligence’ – Understanding the Times
There is a failure “to in fact go deep enough to examine, much less challenge, deep-rooted ideas about what church is” As almost everyone will know, even if only from a brief glimpse on a news bulletin, that this year is the 500th anniversary of what is known as the Reformation. This was the time … Continue reading The Next Reformation
There is a story about Air Chief Marshall Dowding commander of British Fighter Command during the critical stages of the Battle of Britain in World War 2. Reportedly, an officer rushed up to Dowding with what he thought was exciting news regarding the number of the enemy shot down on the previous day. “That’s good”, … Continue reading Leadership of a Star Trek Kind
Regrettably, despite several decades of increased missional endeavour the result has been continuing decline in the numbers of those being won for Christ in Australian society, with a consequent decline in the standard church. It is evident that we urgently need to develop 'Another way' of doing church and mission for the sake of the … Continue reading Unbounded Church Gathering
Rarely but occasionally, one experiences what I call a “My Fair Lady” (MFL) moment. If you have seen the movie, it’s the moment when Rex Harrison, who has been labouring hard to teach ‘proper speak’ to Eliza Doolittle a Cockney flower girl, finally cries out “By George, she’s got it”. It’s the moment a teacher … Continue reading My Fair Lady Moments- A Rarity!
Again in the last few months a couple of people I know (one a close friend, another who I meet fairly regularly) have been diagnosed with terminal, or probably terminal cancer. This caused me to focus again on the issues in this previous post, so serious concerns re the church and its ever decreasing missional … Continue reading Fiddling While Souls Burn
