In the process of promoting Unbounded Church type Missional Communities, I get to talk with many church leaders. It is a privilege to share in their struggles in missional endeavour and perhaps to give some encouragement, but often also a great frustration. This is because, despite a common passion to see the lost won for … Continue reading The Shopping Centre or the Town Centre Shops?
‘The Times They Are A Changing’ and Again and Again and Again . . . .
Very near to the place I grew up in there is a hill which has the name of Barr Beacon, which means in Old English ‘a hill used for lighting fires’. Such Beacons existed on a chain of hills across the United Kingdom each in ‘line of sight’ of the ones next in the chain. … Continue reading ‘The Times They Are A Changing’ and Again and Again and Again . . . .
The ‘Great Commission’ Without the ‘Great Permission’
Many churches quite rightly place a high emphasis on what is often called the “Great Commission” as an essential part of their Mission Statement. That is Jesus instruction to his disciples to “Go and make disciples” as we read in Matthew 28:19. This mission component usually results in a significant effort to make disciples by … Continue reading The ‘Great Commission’ Without the ‘Great Permission’
The Kingdom and the Darkness
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
Communication Equals Transmission Plus Reception
‘‘We need to learn to speak in the ‘Vulgar’ tongue to ‘Vulgar’ people’ Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (in his preface to the ‘Great Bible) In these 21st century times the church faces the challenge of doing mission to its own culture, a culture (I have described in another article as ‘Morphtopia’) in which there … Continue reading Communication Equals Transmission Plus Reception
The Morphtopian Odyssey
It was hard to believe but there it was on the news. A new and previously unknown civilization had been found in the depths of the South American jungle. The people who discovered it named it ‘Morphtopia’. On hearing about this new people group mission organisations decided to make it a priority to send missionaries. … Continue reading The Morphtopian Odyssey
‘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 stop them. They know (for they have been taught) that … Continue reading ‘He is stolen and it is not harmless!’
Multiplication is a Many Splendoured Thing
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian population is growing at the rate of 1.5% per year, whereas church attendance is in significant decline. It is true that in some areas (e.g. the Anglican Diocese of Sydney) attendance is so far keeping pace with population growth, however, this is mostly due to what … Continue reading Multiplication is a Many Splendoured Thing
Holy Discontent In the Strangeness of It
It’s Saturday which means by amazing logic tomorrow is Sunday! Sunday is when most ‘church’ happens in Australia and here are some facts about it all. • Tens of thousands of Christians will be happily filing into their church buildings for ‘worship’ although Amos 5:21-24 might sometimes cast just a little doubt on the unreflected … Continue reading Holy Discontent In the Strangeness of It
The Dead Hand of Apathy
A few years ago, 2008 to be precise, as part of a paper I was writing at the time, I carried out a small survey in regard to the level of passion in congregations in regard to reaching the community with the gospel. The format was that I asked a number of Senior Ministers to … Continue reading The Dead Hand of Apathy
