It’s amazing how culture changes and we don’t notice it. The practices that one generation took for granted become unknown, and slightly shocking, to a later generation. Even for those of us who live through the change it happens too incrementally for us to observe it. It is when we revisit the old times that we detect how much we have changed—sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and often without any real difference. (more…)
Archives: everyday-ministry
Teaching children to pray
Everyday Ministry, Life, Sola Panel
Graeme Goldsworthy…
Teaching the children to pray and praying for the children
Christian parents have a vital ministry in the church. The Christian nurture of children is primarily the responsibility of the parents, not the day school (even if it is a Christian school) nor the Sunday school. Unfortunately, in our modern society, mothers who stay at home to care for their children are often considered to be unemployed and to have sold out on the right of women to pursue a career. There can be no nobler career than nurturing Christian children to be well-adjusted citizens of our society and to be faithful citizens of the kingdom of God.1
Evangelism fundamentals for reaching Muslims
Everyday Ministry
We discover in Scripture that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Rom 1:16) and God has given us the staggering responsibility to preach this message. So we must spend some time thinking about the process of evangelism. Most people I know consider the task of evangelism to be a difficult one, however if I ask them what the gospel is, most will quote me something from a book on Systematic Theology. For example, Wayne Grudem, in his excellent Systematic Theology, says that the facts of the gospel are:
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Can The Trellis and the Vine be a Trellis?
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
In April I had the privilege of serving alongside Marty Sweeney at the Matthias Media booth at the ‘Together for the Gospel’ conference in Louisville, KY. In addition to improving my geographical knowledge (who knew you could sleep in Indiana and walk each morning to Kentucky?) and enjoying good fare (thank you Troll Pub!), the time at T4G gave me helpful and encouraging insight into the impact of Matthias Media and its resources. It will probably come as no surprise to this blog’s readers that the resource mentioned most frequently by those who stopped by our booth was The Trellis and the Vine. In fact many of the conversations I shared went something like this: (more…)
→ Some singing in church
Link
We’re publishing a major article on singing in church by Rob Smith in the September Briefing, but if you’re in Sydney and want to hear some singing by Rob Smith before that, try this …
Are ministry ‘trellises’ a necessary evil?
Everyday Ministry, Pastoral Ministry, Trellis & Vine Talk, Sola Panel
I asked this question recently to a bunch of young ministry trainees at a ‘Trellis and Vine’ workshop, and I was delighted at their answer. (more…)
Dangerous love
Everyday Ministry, Thought, Sola Panel
flickr: MousyBoyWithGlasses
Just recently I came to realise that I had been treating a part of the Bible like a Mr Squiggle picture. Mr Squiggle was a kids’ TV show I used to watch. Children throughout Australia would draw little random squiggles–a couple of lines or curves on a piece of paper–and mail them in to the TV network. During the show, Mr Squiggle–a marionette puppet with a pencil for a nose–would add extra lines and curves to the squiggle, from his own imagination, to transform it into a recognisable drawing of something nice for the young audience (a cat, a house, a bunny rabbit). It was riveting viewing. Really. (more…)
Five – or possibly six – more tips for going to church with your family
Everyday Ministry, Life, Sola Panel
Did you see last week’s link to Christine Jensen’s Growing faith: Ten tips for going to church with your family? It’s such an excellent little post, it sparked a few reflections of my own. (I’d also like to second her point about letting kids see you enjoying church.)
Here they are, five six more tips for going to church with your family.
Teaching preaching
Everyday Ministry
I wish I could say that the idea to begin a ‘teaching preaching’ course at our church was part of a deliberate and well-planned strategy to equip people for ministry. The truth is I stumbled across the idea out of desperation as I tried to cope with ministry demands, but I want to share it with you because it is the most significant ministry training I have ever done in a local church context.1 (more…)
→ Growing faith: Ten tips for going to church with your family
Link
Christine Jensen:
Growing up in a family that didn’t go to church, I was determined when I married for ‘church’ to be the centre of our family. Of course, this was idealistic, and there were many moments when I thought it would have been easier to stay at home.
I hadn’t realised that this goal of mine wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I wanted my children to go happily, for church to be a delight to all family members. But this does not always happen. We certainly had a revolt on our hands for a couple of years, by a couple of teenagers who simply did not want to go to a Bible Study on Friday nights in addition to one on Sunday afternoons with church to follow! I know that we should just go to church come what may as we want to meet the Lord, but are there any tips we can share about creating a positive attitude to what is a pretty important activity?
Devoted to ministry and prayer
Everyday Ministry, Life, Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
flickr: notsogoodphotography
You know those times when you read a Bible passage so familiar that you barely see it any more? Then a word or phrase jumps out at you, your perspective shifts, and you see it clearly. It’s like those 3D puzzles where the picture suddenly comes into focus.
After the NIV, then what? The NIV.
Everyday Ministry, Life, Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
Some time ago I wrote about choosing a Bible translation for public use in church. At my church, St Michael’s Cathedral in Wollongong, we’ve decided to go with the 2011 version of the New International Version (NIV11), recently published by Biblica (a.k.a. the International Bible Society). I’d like to follow up on my previous article to tell you about our decision, and why.
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Authentic wine tasting
Everyday Ministry
“Thank goodness that’s over,” you sigh, laying your head on your pillow. As the organiser of your church’s ‘wine tasting’ event, your day had been very full. First thing this morning you had been to a number of superstores to chase down the twelve required varieties. As the rain poured down, you loaded the cases into your little old car. Puddle water soaked through your shoes, but you reminded yourself that it was all for the gospel. You arrived at the church and helped arrange the room with a small number of volunteers. Just as you sat down for lunch you received a call from the expert who was going to lead the tasting but now needed to pull out. A few hours, a lot of anxiety, and many phone calls later, you found someone who could fill in for him. Your phone beeped again as you received a message from the friend you invited. Unfortunately she could no longer get away from work in time and wished you a pleasant evening. You felt really disappointed. However, having an official role made it much less awkward for you than for other members of the church family who arrived without a non-Christian. (more…)
A different centre of gravity
Everyday Ministry
This heartwarming feedback just came in from Dave, a pastor here in Sydney:
I’m not a teary kind of bloke. Last night, though, I was almost at the point of crying as we went around the room and people shared what they’d got out of doing The Course of Your Life. In the week following the weekend away one lady has told virtually everyone she’s met about Jesus and started praying all the time; another lady has cut back her excessive work hours and is praying far more frequently; three men shared how they’ve started speaking about Christian things in conversations at work where in the past they would’ve kept quiet; one of them gets in the car a few minutes earlier each day so he can pray for opportunities to speak about Jesus at work; another guy can’t stop reading Colossians because it’s just so exciting.
What I have learnt about the ministries of women
Everyday Ministry
What follows are some of my personal reflections on the ministries of women, whether they’re staff members in a church or involved in everyday ministry with others. Some of what I have to say is more applicable for women employed as a member of a pastoral staff team, but most of it is also about normal Christian discipleship and ministry in any context. These thoughts are what I’ve come to see as important not only for women in ministry roles, but also for men who wish to support them in their ministry.
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