Hot Fish Buns – What Easter is Really About

This is an article that I originally posted last Easter and , although it has been amended a little, I thought it might be useful to re-post it in case others might want to use the idea this time around.                                                            ****** For centuries the traditional Hot Cross Bun was originally limited in its … Continue reading Hot Fish Buns – What Easter is Really About

The Biggest Elephant 5 – Formulaic or Flexative

‘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

The Celtic Way – Our Missional Future?

There is a general assumption (even if subconscious) among members of western churches that the way ‘Church’ is done is the way it has always been done, and so should continue to be done. This is one of the reasons for the change-averse and risk-averse thinking that binds the contemporary western church. This bondage also … Continue reading The Celtic Way – Our Missional Future?

The Misshapen Church and the Rabbit Hole to Weird-Land

          “I’m not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.”                                                                           … Continue reading The Misshapen Church and the Rabbit Hole to Weird-Land

The Activity Trap

One of the contributing factors to the general lack of missional fruitfulness by the traditional western church is the mindset that confuses the evangelistic ‘Activities’ designed to produce missional fruit with the desired missional ‘Outcomes’ themselves. This is what might be called the ‘Activity Trap’ We know that Jesus constantly indicated that he was looking … Continue reading The Activity Trap

The Square Wheel Delusion

“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This is a quote from Sir Winston Churchill who was paraphrasing a statement by the Italian philosopher and novelist George Santayana. Churchill went on to say- “We must always look forward, but we have to understand our history in order to not repeat … Continue reading The Square Wheel Delusion

The Shopping Centre or the Town Centre Shops?

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 ‘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’