Author Archive
My take on “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
One week ago – I had never heard of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I decided to read the book while in transit and I finished it in two sittings. As you’ll probably be hearing a lot more about it over the next few days as it opened as the number one movie in [...]
Tony Payne on Church Programs
My brother sent me an article from Tony Payne (Publishing Editor for Matthias Media) that went off like a bomb in my mind. Take five minutes and read it here. Here’s a quote to wet your appetite: “But what if our mental image of the congregation was not a network of departments or structures or [...]
Literary views on death from a Christian worldview
This week I have a question for the hive mind. What is the most powerful description of death that you have read in literature from a Christian perspective? I would love for you to post the quote or the reference in the comment section. Here’s a few to get the discussion started: CS Lewis wrote [...]
Feeling Rejected?
Charles Simeon is a fascinating character study in rejection. Six years before Captain Cook sailed into Port Jackson, Simeon was an unloved English minister placed in a church where the people wanted someone else and they weren’t afraid to show it. Over a ten year period the congregation tried various things including locking the doors [...]
Reading through the 95 Theses (Part 2)
There is no doubt that the posting of the 95 Theses on the church door is one of the iconic moments of the Reformation. However, a contemporary reading these words would have trouble predicting the role that Luther would play in the years ahead. Two lesson here: 1) Understanding takes time. A flash of lightning [...]
Reading the Sources
I was listening to a Yale lecture on American history this afternoon and the professor referenced Jonathan Edwards and his most famous sermon – “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God.” She took time to read a section from the text so that everyone could get an audible “Jonathan Edwards moment.” I enjoyed the [...]
Does architecture enhance worship?
I enjoyed visiting St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Newtown (Sydney) on Saturday for a wedding. The church was constructed in the 1870s by Edmond Blacket. You would probably be more familiar with his “other” designs – The University of Sydney and St. Andrews Cathedral. While waiting for the wedding to start I took some notes [...]
“In My Seat” – A reflection on 9/11
I highly recommend this video about an American Airlines pilot who was scheduled to fly on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Centre. The story is a powerful reminder of redemption and the grace of God. I recommend the following articles on the anniversary event: Time Magazine – What took so long? [...]
What defines a Christian school?
I attended a Christian school in Sydney for the majority of my K-12 schooling years. Recently, someone asked me answer this question: “How do you know that you attended a Christian school?” I’ve thought through the question and in relation to my experience at the school I could answer it this way: The school name [...]
Projection Software for Church Services
I remember the first time I saw a data projector used in a church service. The unit was the size of a carry-on piece of luggage and it also acted as a convergence device with a built in VCR! Today, you would be hard pressed to find a church without some integration of a data [...]
Controversy… what is it good for?
I’ve missed my last two biweekly posts due to work commitments and a seasonal bout with the flu but I am happy to be back with the Infocus team on a weekly basis till the end of the session. From the basis of page views and comments – it looks like many people have been [...]
Doubt: A Self Examination
This quote from Tim Keller’s The Reason for God has really challenged my thinking over the past two weeks: “A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do [...]
