My husband Dave and I have three young children (6, 4 and 2), and one of the things we like to do with them at Easter is learn a memory verse together. This year, we chose to do Romans 5:8. (more…)
Author Archives: The Briefing
Flexibility and where to apply it
Pastoral Ministry
The training of a minister takes a long time. Once upon a time, length of time was no problem. It was a necessity that bred quality. (more…)
Christian modelling part II (Factotum #10 continued)
Pastoral Ministry
Last week, our Saturday post spoke about five people or groups that the Bible encourages us to look to as models: (1) God (2) Christ (3) the apostle Paul (4) Christian leaders (5) other Christians. This week turns to examine the implications of this thinking about Christian modelling for those in Christian ministry.
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The benefits of Earth Hour
Life
On Saturday night, our family participated in Earth Hour. My eight-year-old daughter was very keen to do so. These are some of the thoughts I had during Earth Hour:
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Flexibility and the theological college express
Pastoral Ministry
Apparently the (or a) problem that is restricting churches growing is now the ‘inflexibility’ of the theological college. If ever we want to grow better (read ‘bigger’ or ‘more’; these words are now interchangeable) churches then we need to have a ‘flexible’ theological college.
To mourn or not to mourn?
Life
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who told me this story:
I was in a prayer meeting this week with a lady who asked us to pray for her relationship with her parents. They were getting divorced after having been married for several decades. She doesn’t live at home anymore. And she talked about the whole thing quite matter-of-factly. I told her that that was really sad, and the sharing of prayer points moved on to the next person.
Christian modelling (Factotum #10)
Everyday Ministry
This week’s blast from the past raises the issue of what models we look to as Christians. Enjoy.
Who are our models?
Who should Christians be looking to as models or examples of the Christian way of life? The following section provides a Bible search on the subject of modelling and imitation. You might like to work through it in a study group.
Talking about money in church
Pastoral Ministry
The regular ‘money spot’ can be one of the most awkward and divisive moments in the life of a church. The time comes for the person responsible to update the church on its financial health, and in most cases, to urge an increase in giving to meet the shortfall. That update begins to increase in frequency as the urgency of the situation intensifies. (more…)
All we like sheep have gone astray … from basic Bible literacy?
Life
All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.
So wrote GF Handel in the second chorus of Part II of his great oratorio Messiah. Keen readers may have spotted that this is not an original thought; Handel drew on Isaiah 53:4-6. In fact, Messiah is fundamentally a musical Bible study on the saving work of Jesus, and it is often performed at Easter, so get along if you can. (Here’s a performance for Sydney readers.) (more…)
Culturally engaged?
Everyday Ministry
In my post a little while ago about Driscoll’s New Calvinism, I noted that I had some more things to say about the current catchphrase ‘cultural engagement’. Given that the spur to write about cultural engagement came from Driscoll’s post, it might be reasonable to assume that my beef is with him. So I guess I want to say at the start that my comments about this aren’t directed particularly at Driscoll at all; it was just that he happened to use a phrase that, I admit, I find a little unhelpful. It’s a line that everyone everywhere seems to be using. And apparently it’s good if you do it and bad if you don’t, but what I want to know is what on earth does it mean? (more…)
Grace abounding to the chief of cynics
Life
Steve Young takes a look at bitterness in ministry—its causes and its cure. (more…)
“What do you say when…?” Bus stop graffiti
Everyday Ministry
Appreciating access
Up front
Last year Cathy and I had the opportunity to go and see Australian Idol live in the studio. (To tell you the truth, I’m not that into that whole thing.) But whether you’re into it or not, I have to admit it was kind of fun. We didn’t just go as part of the crowd, but as VIPs. We have a friend who works for one of the corporate sponsors of the series, and she got us the tickets. When we arrived, there were two lines to gain access to the studio—the long line for the plebs and the short line for the corporate sponsors. So while hundreds of people lined up behind the barricades, we ambled leisurely along the red carpet and were ushered straight to our seats while everyone else was kept standing outside. It’s funny how the human heart works: we weren’t special—there was no particular reason for us to be there, except that we had a friend; but I could really get used to being treated like that. It’s fun to feel important. (more…)
ShareThis
Interchange
Just wanted to say how impressed we were that you have an option to share old articles in your library via Facebook. Although personally I think Facebook is a tool of Satan, my wife loves it, and being able to quickly share articles for discussion and use in the church is a great benefit. Thanks for your technological insight. (more…)