Ministry
Have You Heard Of These?
If you lead or help in a church ministry, here are four Australian resources which can assist and encourage you.
Matthias Media is a local evangelical publisher with a distinct focus:
“We’re not the slightest bit interested in adding to the already monumental pile of Christian books churned out each year by the Christian publishing industry. The [...]
Evangelism In Australia
Have you ever wished your church was more effective in evangelism? Or that your church could connect better with your community? You might be interested in these statistics. The 2006 National Church Life Survey found that:
Only 16% of those surveyed actively sought opportunities to talk about their faith. Around half of the respondents felt “mostly [...]
Endowed by a Creative Giver
The Bible indicates that we are given more than just one of the available spiritual gifts.
This makes perfect sense when so many other scriptures command all believers to do things like:-
-preach and teach;
-encourage and minister;
-give and serve.
God also determines the measure and extent of our giftedness and the results that follow. It is likely that [...]
The Gifted Ones
Unless we are genuinely talented, or have a very high esteem of ourselves, we tend to think of others as being the gifted ones. We often long to have the same abilities, looks, talents, opportunities, education or wealth of others.
Yet every believer is supremely gifted of God. More in fact than we could ever imagine.
When [...]
On Bono and other lame fads
I debated whether to post this today.
In the end, it’s not about singling out one guy. But sometimes dealing with a real situation can make a truth appropriately pointed. So here goes…
The pre-story
I recently read a post by an Australian pastor boasting that he was going to preach on Bono on Sunday.
I commented urging him [...]
Advice for missionary teams
Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Great joy in a missionary meeting for prayer and testimony.
Spoke afterward with Carl Johnson of Congo. He counseled Pete and me thus:
1) Never let the sun go down on the slightest miff between us.
Walk in the light with no darkness between us;
2) Always be willing to abase yourself before a native.
“We think and [...]
On Christian Weddings
Dale Morgan married tonight, and as usual, I came away soured.
Twentieth-century Christian weddings are the vainest, most meaningless forms. There is no vestige of reality.
The witnesses dress for a show. The flesh is given all the place. The songs are absurd if one paid any attention to the words, but no one [...]
Love Mercy
How is your social conscience? In your thinking is “humanitarian aid” nothing more than the theological liberal’s version of the gospel? Should we as fundamentalists be deeply involved in societal needs outside our own congregations, or are humanitarian concerns out of the realm of our biblical duty? Gerald L. Priest, in an [...]
Meet James Fraser
I had not heard of English missionary James Fraser until a friend lent me his biography. Here’s an introduction:
James Fraser’s parents were Methodists but had separated during his teen years. James grew up with his mother and demonstrated a love for challenges, once walking over 70 kilometres in a day to London and back, and [...]
I’m Going Back To School
Your church probably reaches out to children through teaching Scripture classes in public schools, or an AWANA club, or the occasional holiday Bible club. You might already be involved in one of these outreaches. If you’re not, perhaps you should! Here’s a couple statistics to think about:
1. More than 70% of Australian Protestant church-goers said [...]
Long live the workers!
Every now and then I hear those in full-time ministry or others aspiring to it make comments that infer that believers who work in regular employment are not as committed to the Lord, are unspiritual, or have an inferior calling.
What nonsense!
While it could be argued that there is no more sobering call than to preach [...]
An Investment in the Soul
I am just back from attending a Bible conference.
The conference lived up to its name: we heard one Bible saturated message after another. 16 of them in fact.
I was away from home for 6 days. It was a substantial investment, whether judged by time or money spent in getting there. But it was an investment [...]
