Leadership
8 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor
Simple acts that feed a shepherd. by Victor Parachin Sometimes pastors are the loneliest people in the church. Often their hours are long, the pay minimal, the criticism considerable and constant. Feelings of disappointment, discouragement, and defeat may begin to plague the best of them. Paul’s admonition to “serve one another in love” (Gal. 5:13 […]
Does the Australian Church Have a Future?
Dear Rowland Your article ‘Does the Australian Church have a Future?’ was e-mailed to me today and I must admit it was interesting reading. Certainly Bruce Wilson asked a similar question 20 years ago in his groundbreaking book ‘Can God survive in Australia?’. And I have been asking the same question for the past 20 […]
Why People Don’t Go To Church!
Why People Don’t Go To Church! … – 80% Australians affirm belief in God/Higher Being Yet many looking beyond Christianity … Decline in Church attendance across Australia Growing unchurched population Growing number of non-believers Australian Community Survey 8000 Australians surveyed Feedback on past & present church attendance, feelings about spiritual issues/beliefs, church involvement, worship services, […]
No Excuse Sunday
To make it possible for everyone to attend church this Sunday, we are going to have a special “No Excuse Sunday”: Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, “Sunday is my only day to sleep in.” There will be a special section with lounge chairs for those who feel that our […]
If worship is for God, why are so many songs about us?
It’s All About Who, Jesus? If worship is for God, why are so many songs about us? by Brian McLaren If a Martian visited earth and observed earthlings at public worship in contemporary or nontraditional settings, what would he/she/it report back to the home planet? (A similar exercise could be imagined for more traditional churches, […]
Lament
Weep, weep for those Who do the work of the Lord With a high look And a proud heart. Their voice is lifted up In the streets, and their cry is heard. The bruised reed they break By their great strength, and the smoking flax They trample. Weep not for the quenched (For their God […]
A good prayer for writers and preachers
Forgive these wild and wandering cries Confessions of a wasted youth; Forgive them when they fail in truth And in thy wisdom make me wise (from Tennyson’s ‘In Memorium’)
Lack of Trust in Clergy
August 27, 2004 SURVEY: EUROPEANS, NORTH AMERICANS REVEAL LACK OF TRUST IN CLERGY Europeans and North Americans trust teachers, doctors, soldiers and police officers more than church representatives, but the clergy enjoy a higher reputation than lawyers, journalists, managers and politicians. These are the findings of recent opinion polls carried out by the Germany-based GfK […]
Electronic Parish
You know your parish has gone over the electronic communications edge when: – The pastor reads his sermon from a palm-held computer “notepad” – There are cell-phone chargers next to the pew-pencil drill holes – MCI takes out full-page ads in the parish bulletin – At the parish flea market, used cell phones and answering […]
Characteristics of Healthy Religious Groups
… Healthy congregations do not claim to have an exclusive lock on salvation and truth in absolute terms To affirm confidence in one’s salvation and at the same time to acknowledge that those in other churches may also be saved, demonstrates a higher level of spiritual formation and grasp of ultimate truth than many have […]
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