Archives: col-marshall

Discipleship teams

Everyday Ministry

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“…there’s hardly a church I come across that does not have small groups. It seems that if you’re an evangelical ministry that doesn’t offer small groups, you’re not the real deal and you’re not going to be attractive. Sadly, very little attention is being given to small group leaders…” (more…)

Trellis & Vine Talk 5 — disciple-making: a mental virus

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In this episode: ‘Disciple-making’—who, how, church membership, learning, the basic activity of Christian ministry, gifts, and making a start (MP3).

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Trellis & Vine Talk 4 – all about small groups

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In this fourth episode of Trellis & Vine Talk, Tony and Col discuss the difficulty of summarising problems with small groups, the negative connotations of ‘community’, living the Christian life with other people, mission in a group setting, and the goals of a small group (MP3).

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Trellis & Vine Talk 3 – are evangelistic events worth it?

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This is the third episode of Trellis & Vine Talk, in which Tony and Col discuss fads and trends in evangelism, the value of evangelistic events, re-inventing Sunday night, and going to church twice a month (MP3).

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Trellis & Vine Talk 2 – who is your sheep?

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This is the second episode of Trellis & Vine Talk, in which Tony and Col discuss discipleship gurus, what (or who) exactly is a lay pastor, a shepherds heart, and ministry of the word. Listen to it here, or download the file to catch up on it later (MP3).

Audio MP3

Trellis & Vine Talk 1 – not about small groups

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In this first episode of Trellis & Vine Talk Tony and Col discuss—amongst other things— why the ideas in The Trellis and the Vine are not about small groups and one-to-one. Listen to it here, or download the file to catch up on it later (MP3 | M4A).

Audio MP3

Podcast: Shifting to the personal

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Tony Payne interviews Col Marshall, former Director of the Ministry Training Strategy, about people-focused ministry (MP3).

Audio MP3

Ministry mind shifts

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If we are going to develop people-focused ministries, certain shifts in our thinking must occur. The fundamental shift consists of moving away from an institutional view of gospel ministry towards a personal view of gospel ministry. We need to stop thinking how to build ministry around structures and start thinking about how to build ministry around people. (more…)

Tests and trials for the rich

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As I preached through James recently, I became fascinated with trials and tests. It was not just a matter of idle exegetical curiosity, since by any measure the church I am part of belongs to the wealthiest class of the most materialistic civilisation on earth. We just expect to have whatever we want and I struggle with greed as much as anyone. I concluded that being rich is a trial as much as suffering hardship. This might be a hard thing for someone who is not rich to accept—how can the rich complain?! But this appears to be the teaching of God’s word here in the letter of James.

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Ministry and pornography: some practical help

Everyday Ministry

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As Tony Payne mentioned in his ‘Couldn’t Help Noticing’ column, the Australia Institute has published a report—Youth and Pornography in Australia—the first survey of Australian teenagers’ exposure to pornography on the internet. It shows that 84 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls aged 16 and 17 have stumbled onto sex sites on the internet. In addition, 38 per cent of boys and 2 per cent of girls say they have sought out sex sites. For boys, 73 per cent report that they have watched X-rated videos, with 20 per cent accessing these monthly. 11 per cent of girls have watched an X-rated video.

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