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.
As kids growing up, one of the games we used to play was blowing Dandelion seeds from the Dandelion stalk and seeing how the wind took them. Great fun we thought but not Dad who had just dug half a dozen Dandelion weed plants out of his treasured lawn. However, that blowing in the wind game, where we do not know where the wind will take the seed or which will take root and grow, can I think act as a metaphor for how God transmits the gospel.
Most of us at times have had a bit of fun throwing a stone into a pond and seeing the ripples spreading outwards. It has often seemed to me that this, what we might call the ‘Ripple Effect’, is a very good analogy for Jesus’ instruction to his followers in Acts 1:8 where he says- … Continue reading Gospel Ripples
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
Recently a colleague in the United Kingdom contacted me because he had heard about my recently published book ‘Quantum Mission’. His name is Ben Taylor someone I have known for several years and worked with on a number of conferences and seminars in the UK. He oversees a disciple-making movement with the name of Mission … Continue reading Quantum Mission – An Interview
It has been said that ‘A pile of wood isn’t a fire if there are no flames’, and a theological expression of this was made by the famous Swiss theologian Emil Brunner who said that- “The Church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning.” So it is true, although many would like … Continue reading Piles of Wood or Fires
The Covid-19 forced shut down of ‘normal’ Church life exposed a number of things, most of which already existed but didn’t get much attention. One of these things, and the subject of this post is the opportunities that exist for Christian fellowships to meet On-Line. Such possibilities were already available but the shutdown brought them … Continue reading The Online Network
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
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
