Church and stuff
28 September 2006
When thinking about how to run a church that is friendly to newcomers we often look to the best and coolest new programs. We allocate special welcomer people with shiny introductory packs. We even have people on the door who shake hands with everyone as they come in.
I think this falls short for two reasons…
Firstly a large proportion of people I believe choose a church because it is a loving welcoming community.
They look for a place where people have a genuine love and care for each other. These things speak powerfully to a new Christian or non Christian visitor. I reached this conclusion while chatting to a couple of people (independently) last week. I asked them for the reasons why they choose/joined their particular church.
In both cases the reason given had nothing to do neither with programs, nor great Bible teaching, “inspiring worship” or fearsome evangelistic zeal. They choose their church because they felt welcomed into a loving caring environment. In my past church experience we have worked at having great teaching but neglected to work at having a warm loving environment where newcomers and members could feel at home.
You might be feeling a little smug at this point “My church does community very well thank-you very much.” But I’d want to bring you to my second reason… Often we do community in a way that isn’t welcoming.
I’ll explain what I mean with a question. “How easily and readily is a new person incorporated into your community?” So often I have seen communities and been to churches that reassemble impenetrable fortresses where trying to join the “in crowd” is like your Grandma turning up to a rock concert.
I’ve visited churches in Hobart even where I know many of the people but still feel very much left out of the clique and in group (maybe cause I’m not cool). It should also be noted that I’m generally an outgoing person.
To address the situation I have two action points. Firstly we’d do well to learn from some more of the (dare I say it) Pentecostal churches that are warm and friendly and really work at having more caring environments. Secondly we must work on opening our cliques up to new people, watch for them and welcome them in.
supportMIKE wants you to think about how to do church community better.
tags christian, ministry tips, pictures, rant, thinking
Beware!
27 September 2006
Americans might be particularly familiar with the dangerous Australian wildlife.
For example I found this little puppy under the fence in my "backyard" just the other day.
tags pictures
Kinder Surprise... an epic tale of woe
23 September 2006
I bought a Kinder Surprise… and I got this toy...
You can tell I was upset...
...And posted it (this is my "Mum wouldn't approve" look)
I’ll let you know how it turns out...
tags pictures, rant, shameless self promotion, stupid award
Cars, being a nerd and other stuff
22 September 2006
I’m thinking of taking a break from my blog for a bit while I sort out some talks I have to write for an evangelistic camp next month. Apologies if my updates are a little spasmodic.
Things that you can pray about in the meantime
- Finally getting all the paper work sorted for next year.
- That Christians will be generous and give me and FOCUS the money for next year.
- For the talks I have to write and for me not to get stressed out about them.
- For people that I have spoken to and will speak to with regard to working for FOCUS next year.
- For Christine and I to work hard on our relationship especially for me as I think about the future.
Today I have...
- Been out helping a mate get his car Dyno Tuned* (see pic). Most people who read this probably don’t know I’m into cars and to a certian exstent I'm not… anyway the chances are that you won’t know what a dyno is or a dyno is... guessing anyone?
- Written the protocol for editing out website content (finally)
- Thought about making some progress on the talks (they are about half done)
- Filled in some more forms for work next year.
- Chatted with an old school mate.
- Helped my parents battle computer issues.
- Helped Nixter battle Skype issues.
- Battled some more preference settings on Adium (like msn messenger only 1000 times better)
- Updated this blog
- Talked to Christine.. twice
- Gotten angry because AAPT doesn't have a good usage meter for their ADSL plans.
tags cars, christian, ministry, pictures, update
Christine...
17 September 2006
Is coming to Australia... WOOT*
*(Ask Nikki (here) for a defination of "woot")
tags christine, linkage, pictures
This weekends progress...
16 September 2006
This week I have been working hard. My blog has slowed a little, as has my traffic which has allowed me to breath a little more freely. I spent a large ammount of time working on the talks for the camp in October and I'm very happy with the progress.
I also soldered these very nice cables together for my little home theatre system. Here's how I did it...
If you would like any hints and tips on how to DIY I am now a master craftsman and happy to take questions.
For your complete cable needs supportMIKE is your local home theatre wire soldering specialist. (say that three times fast)
tags pictures, shameless self promotion, thinking
How to be better at Evangelism Part 3*
15 September 2006
If you start by praying for deeper relationships, if you start actively getting to know people better, you will end up loving them more, desiring their salvation more, praying for them more often and praying for them more passionately.
If you have deeper relationships with Christians it will be more natural to pray with each other for one another's friends and family. In doing so you will end up growing in your relationship with God and your brothers and sisters in Christ.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism for the final time. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, rant
Stop. Look. Listen and speak...
10 September 2006
Most people would know about Steve Irwin’s death earlier this week. Fewer people will know about Peter Brock’s untimely death. For my international readers "Brockie" was the most popular and well known Australian motor sport identity.
What I noticed was the level of public grief for these two celebrities. Their deaths shocked us, left us numb. This shouldn’t surprise because we convince ourselves that death has no part in everyday life. We spend stacks of money on the anti-ageing cream and hair dye to cover the fact we’re slowly dying. Death rarely enters our suburbs, let alone our streets or homes. It is a stranger—an unwelcome one.
When death does break into our circle of celebrity or family, it comes as a rude shock. It's unfair, it's not time (it's never time) it's too soon, it's too much, it's more than we can bear. Seeing a celebrity die reminds us that we are truly fragile that even power wealth health and prosperity cannot protect us from the final realities of this life.
As I walked around this week I noticed society struggles to come to terms with these deaths. I over heard this just yesterday.
“I mean what can you do or say... I guess he went out doing the very thing that he loved.”If doing the thing you love most is life is all there is, it is the pinnacle of your existence, then I’d agree that is definitely it is the best way to die… But is this all there is? It seems to fall short and is… well inadequate. My feeling is that people comments (for example my mate’s) show this. It just doesn’t explain the pain, the death, the finality of it all.
At this point I want to say affirmatively that there is a point. There is far more to life than just the here and now and the pursuit of what I love. God exists and he himself gives life, meaning and purpose. He gives me the reason to live. It is him I live for not the endless pursuit of enjoyment and doing what I want. It’s him to whom I owe my life in this world and the next. Now what about you?
tags christian, rant, thinking
How to be better at evangelism... Part 2*
09 September 2006
Have deeper relationships with those inside the church.
The more your church is your family, not just on Sundays, the more your friends and family outside the church will get to know that family. As you yourself get to know your Christian brothers and sisters better, you will probably end up meeting and befriending more of their friends and family as well. A relative who might never have been to church on a Sunday may end up having so much contact with Christians that they begin to see the body of Christ in action all the same. Don't segregate your church family from the rest of your life, let them overlap and intertwine.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, pictures, rant
How to be better at evangelism... Part 1*
08 September 2006
Have deeper relationships with those outside the church.
The better you know someone, the easier it is to pray for them, to care for them, to understand them, to love them. The more you are driven by love, the more you accident prone you will be when it comes to accidentally evangelising.
If you have a deeper relationship with a person, discussions of faith will hopefully become inevitable rather than uncomfortable. Friends want to know how each other tick, and they naturally share their lives with each other. Whereas it would be strange to talk about God with a work colleague or your boss, it would be natural in context of friendship. More meaningful relationships often lead to evangelistic opportunities that are not even initiated by the Christian.
Another accidental side effect will probably be an increase in your circle of friends - as you get to know your friends better, you will get to know the important people in their life better as well - and vice versa. On one hand, you will have more people to show Christ's love to. On the other, you will have more Christian friends who know your non Christian friends to help you do it.
(*My good friend Emma (aka "The Poo") guest posts about evangelism. Thankyou Emma.)
tags christian, friends, guest post, ministry tips, pictures
Posts
