Category Archives: Leadership

Encouraging leaders to step up

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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A young man doing MTS recently emailed me to ask this question:

I’ve just read your blogs and review of Leadership on the Front Foot and I had a question. As your review stated, it seems to be a book aimed at new ministers of the gospel. So, having not read the book, I don’t think it seems to be a good book to get information on encouraging young men (university age) to step up and lead. Here lies my question: is my assessment a fair one and, if it is, can you recommend a book that would/could be useful in the situation I’ve outlined?

Before you read on, what would your answer be? What book would you suggest to enthuse a man in his late teens or early twenties in taking responsibility in leadership in gospel ministry?
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The masculine mandate

Review

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The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men
Richard Phillips
Reformation Trust Publishing, Florida, 2010, 175pp.

The Christian world needs a collection of good books for men, so that we can work out how to be God’s men in a fallen world that seems hell-bent on confusing us. The Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips should be one of these books. (more…)

Something funny is happening to our Bible readings

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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Something funny is happening to our Bible readings at church. I noticed it last week.

We use the NIV at St Michael’s for our public reading of Scripture and preaching. (And Scott, please note we have at least two readings at every service, and three for our early morning service!)

Everyone on our reading roster knows we use the NIV.

But last week some of the readings were different from what we had in front of us. And others noticed too. What was going on?

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The power of example

Pastoral Ministry

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Mexico in the 1940s was a country trying to come to grips with the 20th century. While discoveries of oil and a developing infrastructure encouraged foreign investment, basic social indicators like literacy rates, health care and basic wages demonstrated that for the vast majority of Mexicans, life was still a great struggle. It was in this context that Ávila Camacho was elected president in 1940.

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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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Leadership on the Front Foot 3: Operational issues (part i)

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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In this post, I continue my series on Zac Veron’s Leadership on the Front Foot (see parts 1 and 2). The third section of Zac’s book focuses on six principles that he categorizes as operational for ministry that is typically already happening in a church. We’ll deal with the first three today and the last three in my next post.

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Leadership on the Front Foot 2: Personal issues

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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After a delay, I continue to blog through Zac Veron’s Leadership on the Front Foot—a series that I began some time ago.

In his introduction, Zac explains that

I can be very black and white! I have strong views and I express them in a fairly matter-of-fact way. (p. 7)

I’ll try to review similarly! But my style probably errs towards precision and details. This is a roundabout way of saying sorry to Zac for where I’ve not dotted an ‘i’ in my review.

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Day 3 of Synod – what if you disagree with a matter of wisdom?

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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The main item on the agenda at Synod yesterday was the expenditure side of the financial ledger.

But first we made some minor but important amendments to our Discipline Ordinance—the way in which the Anglican Diocese of Sydney deals with complaints about paid church workers and volunteer leaders who are accused of breaching our professional standards, especially in the area of sexual misconduct or child abuse.

I mention this as a reminder for all church members and leaders to pray for those with the heavy responsibility of overseeing their church’s or denomination’s safe ministry standards. Jesus says we must protect those who cannot protect themselves. Pray for those who oversee your denomination’s professional standards or act as chaplains to victims.

But back to expenditure. What do you do if you disagree on a judgment matter made by a leadership team or decision-making body you belong to?

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Your most important ordinances?

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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Think about your denomination for a moment. What are the most important pieces of legislation governing your denomination’s assembly and churches?

We call them ordinances. Not the “ordinances of the Lord which are sure and altogether righteous” (Ps 19:9, NIV); ‘ordinances’ is our fancy Anglican name for the rules that govern our denomination. Every earthly organization (and that’s what denominations are) has to have some sort of rules by which to function.

Now the latest printed edition I had of the Acts, Ordinance and Regulations of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney ran to over 450 pages, and listed 47 ordinances, not to mention several Acts of Parliament and various regulations.

What do you think are the most important ordinances governing your denomination? See if you can write down your selections before reading on.

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Neither panic nor paralysis (Sandy Grant blogs from the Sydney Anglican Synod)

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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For better or worse, the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, along with Moore Theological College, is seen as one of the most conservative and influential dioceses in the Anglican world. And many friends outside our area like to know what’s going on.

For this reason, Sola Panel will be running an extra post reporting on Synod (= our denominational ‘parliament’) for the five days we sit over the next two weeks.

Our first day of sitting was yesterday, and it featured mainly set pieces to get things rolling:

  • the presidential address from our Archbishop, Peter Jensen;
  • a fascinating ACL dinner break interview with Alfred Olwa, Dean of Bishop Tucker School of Divinity and Theology, Mukono, Uganda;
  • the Synod service sermon from Rev Paul Harrington, Rector, Holy Trinity, Adelaide (an evangelical bastion in the heart of the Australian “city of churches”—churches which are now often literally or spiritually empty).

Here are some highlights …

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Leadership on the Front Foot

Review, Sola Panel

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Leadership on the Front Foot by Zachary Veron--cover Leadership on the Front Foot

Zachary Veron

Anglican Press Australia, Sydney, 2009. 204pp.

Pragmatism is always dangerous: passages like 2 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6 and 2 Timothy 4:3-4 warn against certain methods that seem to get results and gain listeners for your message. But pragmatism is also commended: passages like Matthew 10:16 (in the context of a gospel preaching mission) and Luke 16:8 (in the context of using money to make friends for eternity) recommend ‘shrewdness’, rather than stupidity, in ministry dealings. (more…)