Archives: everyday-ministry

Hymn of the month

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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(Updated with correct link to ‘To God Be the Glory’ and link to Sandy’s post on ‘Amazing Grace’.)

Nothing gets a debate going like opinions on church music. But here’s an idea that’s found very little resistance at church; instead, it’s received lots of support: the hymn of the month.

The idea originally came from Covenant Life Church (founded by CJ Mahaney and now pastored by Josh Harris). Rather than relying just on contemporary songs, they saw value in hymns that have proven themselves over generations as true and powerful. They also saw memorizing hymns as one way to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col 3:16). They used a different hymn over 10 months, providing a brief background to each hymn and also making a recording of these hymns available for MP3 download on a free or “pay what you think it is worth basis”.

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Problems with ‘the call’

Everyday Ministry

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This is the third in our Sola Saturday series on giving up your life for Christ in anticipation of the July/August issue of The Briefing. In our first post, Robert Doyle looked at the concept of giving up your life in the context of worship. Then Dave Andrews tackled the important question “What should I be doing with my time [as I give up my life]?” This week, Philip Miles deals with giving up one’s life in missionary service and the problems with the theology of ‘the call’.

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The greatest expectations (When God comes to church)

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel, Sola Panel

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Once I got to church on time, but God arrived 20 minutes late. On the other hand, occasionally I’ve been to church and God didn’t manage to turn up at all. At least, that’s the impression you’d form if you judged by expectations. (more…)

Dealing with inner demons

Everyday Ministry

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The distresses of the human soul and ‘inner world’ can be many. Sometimes people speak of having to deal with their ‘inner demons’. Most of us can cope when this is simply a vivid metaphor. But what happens when we realize the struggler is speaking literally—that is, they think that their inner distress is due to real demons at work in their soul?

Okay, that’s freaky—so medieval.

Unfortunately not.

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Talking about predestination with children

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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It’s the question that every Christian parent knows is coming sooner or later. I’m driving when six-year-old Thomas pipes up from the back seat. We’re alone, which doesn’t happen often in a family of six, so it’s a precious time for us. Deep thoughts are clearly running through his head: “Mummy, why do some people believe in Jesus and not others?”

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Speaking out against abortion

Everyday Ministry

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It was a glorious Sydney autumn afternoon: brilliant blue skies, gentle breeze with the sounds of children laughing and playing in the background. I was at a party, and I had just met a radiographer. Apparently they do things with X-rays, not radios! As we got talking, she told me about her work doing ultrasounds for preg­nant women. Then all of a sudden, without even realizing it, she led us into some very deep water—although, strangely, I was the only one who was drowning; she floated along quite happily. (more…)

‘Missional lifestyle’: A basic framework

Everyday Ministry

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On a church camp recently (not our own church, but another one), I had the chance to take part in a discussion with a group of women about what a ‘missional lifestyle’ might look like for us in our various life situations. (My husband Dave was involved in a parallel discussion with the men.)

Stimulated by that discussion and a few of the loose ends left over at the end of it, I thought I might turn my thoughts into a short series of blog posts on the subject. I’ll do my best to write in a way that isn’t fixated on the things that are particular to my own situation. Instead, as far as possible, I’ll try and think the issues through in a way that opens up the conversation to other people in different life circumstances. But if the examples along the way tend to be a bit ‘mums-y’ at times, I hope you’ll understand and forgive!!

The basic framework for the conversation at the camp went like this:

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Jars of clay: Blue-collar ministry

Everyday Ministry

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Ben Hunter, plumber

Ben Hunter is a plumber. More precisely, he’s husband to Charlotte, father to Josiah, Lydia and Nathanael, a graduate of Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC), a most-of-the-time plumber and a part-time TAFE chaplain. (In Australia, ‘TAFE’ stands for Technical and Further Education, and TAFE colleges provide a wide range of vocational tertiary education courses.) (more…)

Stranger evangelism

Everyday Ministry

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(Read Peter Bolt’s previous posts in this series.)

What could be stranger than stranger evangelism?

‘Stranger evangelism’ is a misnomer. Forget the comparative; we should use the superlative instead, for isn’t it the strangest evangelism?

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Evangelism and interfaith dialogue

Everyday Ministry

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(Read Peter Bolt’s last post in this series.)

In some missiological circles, if ‘evangelism’ is a ‘boo word’, then ‘interfaith dialogue’ is a ‘hooray word’. Evangelism is so one-way, so high-and-mighty, so two centuries ago. Interfaith dialogue doesn’t assume one ‘faith’ is better or more enlightened than another; nor does it mean that one is telling the other, for it is an attempt at a two-way mutual sharing, and its aim of ‘mutual understanding’ sounds so much better than the ‘conversion’ of another.

I guess Elijah’s encounter on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal wouldn’t be a ‘prooftext’ for such dialogues, nor would Jesus’ uncomfortable words, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

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The problem with pre-evangelism

Everyday Ministry

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I have never really been 100 per cent behind the ‘point of contact’ view of evangelism. Leaving aside the pretty stark dichotomies in the Scriptures (e.g. “what fellowship has light with darkness?”—2 Cor 6:14b), which appear to suggest that there is absolutely no common ground between truth and error, it just seems to be filled with all kinds of problems.

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The Winter Olympics, basketball, Paul and teamwork

Everyday Ministry

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There are very few Mexicans competing in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Well, that is what I assume from the complete lack of coverage here. At least we are being spared the scandals, tears and fashion disasters that usually accompany such an event!

So with no curling to enjoy when I need a brain break, my remote has led me to watch a bit of basketball. Here in Mexico, we get both kinds of basketball: NBA (professional, LA Lakers, Boston Celtics, absurd amounts of money, etc.) and college (university, 18-21-year-olds—many of whom will in a few years be making absurd amounts of money). Now I’m the sort of guy who will watch just about any kind of sport. I’ve also played a bit of basketball in my time, so it’s been interesting to me to observe the difference between NBA and college. Strangely, reflecting on that has helped me understand 1 Corinthians 3.

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Evangelism: A lesson in the blindingly obvious

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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What I’m about to say about evangelism is so obvious, so basic, so humdrum and down-to-earth that I almost feel like not saying it. It feels like a waste of a blog post. But even though it’s so obvious, it’s something that I have only just realized after years and years. And I suspect (and in fact, I know) that lots of other people are in the same boat. (more…)

Do we need a new word?

Everyday Ministry

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‘Mission’ is one of those words that is common in our Christian vocabulary, but that can have a wide and often confusing variety of meanings. Narrowing the definition slightly to the activities associated with ‘going out’, rather than ‘an aim or objective’, we still have a wide usage. We go on beach mission, our church is involved in mission, we are a member of a mission society, and we pray for, send, support and even go as missionaries. But what does ‘mission’ mean in these contexts? Is it time to introduce a new word so that we can be more accurate about what these activities might and might not be and so that our support and prayers can be better informed and focussed? (more…)