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Pastoral

This category contains 260 posts

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‘Let no one who is not eager for truth and peace enter here’ (Plato)

Articles on this site express varying points of view, to encourage mature thinking on serious issues. The assumption is that you will want to study a controversial topic from various angles before you arrive at a conclusion, rather than simply believe what someone told you when you were impressionable! (So some stuff here is ‘hot’. Proceed at your own risk!). See the Statement of Faith for John Mark Ministries' theological stance.

Vanishing Clergy (Martin Marty)

By MARTIN E. MARTY

The 10 personality types employers avoid

BRITTNEY HELMRICH AND CHAD BROOKS BUSINESSNEWSDAILY NEWS.COM.AU JULY 16, 2015 Pete Campbell, Mad Men character brags and lies to colleagues to get ahead. Picture: Supplied IS YOUR company hiring? Don

The Imitation Game: review

The redemptive oddity of Alan Turing  by Nils von Kalm http://nilsvonkalm.com  “Sometimes it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” And so – as this tagline of this brilliant movie describes – it was with Alan Turing, the man who was abnormal, who was different, who […]

Divorce hearings: a visit to the Court…

As a pastoral counselor I occasionally make forays into the law-courts of our city, to be an advocate, or simply a friend/encourager, when clients are in trouble. A recent excursion to the Federal Circuit Court was one of the most interesting – and challenging. The sign on the door read ‘Divorce List Only’. There were […]

Embrace Uncertainty

Take a risk and embrace fresh career opportunities Date January 17, 2015 Jim Bright The challenge is how to make the transformation from being to becoming, from the known to the unknown.Illustration: Kerrie Leishman A new year, a new you is a gratingly irritating phrase that I can’t help mishearing as a new ewe.  The […]

Check-list for Pastors: High standards for a high calling

A ‘profession’ is a group of people engaged in an occupation or calling whose competency depends upon specialised knowledge. A pastor’s ‘specialised knowledge’ is theology – knowledge of/about God. So their professionalism is enhanced by disciplined and prayerful reflection on how Christian faith impacts specific situations in the lives of people.   Pastors and other […]

DOUBT: is it good or bad for your faith?

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at St Paul’s Cathedral last year. Photo: Bloomberg London: The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, has disclosed that he questions whether God exists. Britain’s most senior churchman, who is effectively the leader of almost 80 million Anglicans worldwide, admitted that there are moments when he asks himself […]

What TEDx Speakers Do That Preachers Don’t

Ever seen a TEDx talk? They’re pretty great. Here’s one I happen to enjoy, and have used in a couple of sermons. I’ve wondered for a long time, “How in the world do each of these talks end up consistently blowing me away?” So I did some research and found the TEDx-talk guidelines for speakers. […]

BLACKBURN BAPTIST CHURCH: fond memories…

CROSSWAY’S 60th (14th September 2014): Some notes in preparation (with four other senior pastors of this church throughout its history) for an interview this Sunday, based on two questions: [1] What was the church’s focus at that time? [2] What do you believe God was doing in the church? Update: (A day later: Monday September 15, […]

Words that build or destroy

by Nils von Kalm http://nilsvonkalm.com On the morning of September 11, 2001, theologian Miroslav Volf was just finishing a talk to the International Prayer Breakfast of the United Nations in Manhattan. The time was 8.34am. The topic was reconciliation.   The minutes following would see some of the greatest chaos and turmoil ever on American soil […]