Faithfulness, big and small

Life, Sola Panel

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Late last year, Gavin wrote about the importance of being faithful in the small things. I’ve been pondering Gav’s insights, and I’d like to offer a couple of further comments.

Jesus himself directly teaches the importance of faithfulness in small things:

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply “Yes” or “No”; anything more than this comes from evil. (Matt 5:33-37)

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More on generosity

Life, Sola Panel

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Following my post on being generous to fundamentalists and not so generous with others, I’ve had some interesting conversations about its implications. A good friend asked me whether my suggested attitude towards non-evangelicals of ‘supping with a long spoon’ meant that certain authors should not be read. Should we have a book burning in the Moore College courtyard? And would my friend be a heretic by association if, for example, he found reading Karl Barth a stimulating and a positive experience, even though he disagreed with Barth at a number of points?

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“But God …”

Everyday Ministry

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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…)

The end of the world as we know it

Thought, Sola Panel

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Today, millions of Christians across the globe will join together to celebrate the end of the world as we know it. I’m talking, of course, about Good Friday—the celebration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This is an event of cosmic significance—an event in which the world as we know it came to an end and the new creation came into being. (more…)

Flexibility and the theological college express

Pastoral Ministry

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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.

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To mourn or not to mourn?

Life

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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.

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The fear of man

Life, Sola Panel

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Nicole’s challenging thoughts on appreciation and approval have motivated me to finish off a little post I’ve had sitting in my file for several weeks. It’s about the same topic, but from the opposite side—not so much the praise and approval of man, but the fear of man. (more…)

Christian modelling (Factotum #10)

Everyday Ministry

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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.

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Talking about money in church

Pastoral Ministry

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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

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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

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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…)