I’ve been following Don Heatley’s blog Creatio ex Nihilo lately. Don’s an American pastor who has captured my imagination lately with some very thought provoking sermons. Here’s a thought from his most recent offering: In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. The story sets the scene of a FinalContinue reading “A whacky thought”
Tag Archives: mission
Wearing the flag
This post is part of the Australia Day Synchroblog. Australia Day means many things to Australians. For most, it’s a public holiday that marks the end of the holiday season. Christmas and New Year are distant memories and the kids will return to school in the next week or so. Over the years a fewContinue reading “Wearing the flag”
Missional Tribe launches
I’ve been watching the buzz over the last few days about the new Missional Tribe network. It finally launched today, and there seems to be a bit going on. So what is it? Well, it’s hard to say exactly. Very broadly, it’s about being the disciples Jesus called us to be in the world heContinue reading “Missional Tribe launches”
What real evangelism looks like
A few of my readers would be familiar with Penn Jillette, a gifted illusionist and very outspoken skeptic and atheist. You might have caught his late-night show ‘Bullshit’ (hey, I didn’t name the show!). If you’ve seen the aforementioned show you’d know he can be a little, um, abrasive. That, and the fact that he’sContinue reading “What real evangelism looks like”
If only…
Today I came across the wonderful story of a mega church that decided it was time to stop worrying about buildings and programmes and start concentrating on the people it wanted to serve. This has to be one of the most inspiring things I’ve read in ages. Hiam [the pastor] is now more aware ofContinue reading “If only…”
Church growth: God gets an ‘F’
There’s an idea floating around the Army—and the wider church—that says that if churches aren’t growing the pastor needs to be replaced. I like to call this ‘oikonomic rationalism’—don’t worry if you don’t get the joke! Tom in the Box is a parody site that likes to poke a bit of fun at trends inContinue reading “Church growth: God gets an ‘F’”
A New Christian Manifesto
Obery Hendricks has a fantastic post up over at God’s Politics called A New Christian Manifesto. It’s American, but it succinctly wraps up a lot of what I think the Church in Australia should really be on about. Jesus did not establish bureaucratic institutions, weekly social gatherings, or houses of religious entertainment. He started aContinue reading “A New Christian Manifesto”
Soup, soap and salvation
In those golden days before we all had mission statements the Salvation Army summed up its Raison d’être as ‘soup, soap and salvation.’ The Army’s always preferred pragmatism to deep theology, and I think this is as good a summary of what it is we do as I’ve heard anywhere. In fact, I’ve heard peopleContinue reading “Soup, soap and salvation”
Separated by a common language
Some time ago I had lunch with some pastors from local churches. The conversation turned to the difficulty we all had communicating with those outside the Church. One person bemoaned the fact that it is so hard to walk up to somebody and have a conversation about the ‘claims of Jesus on their life.’ AnotherContinue reading “Separated by a common language”
Spirit Cry 