Evangelism in the 21st century
October 20th, 2014
Evangelism in the twenty-first century 1 – the past
October 13th, 2014
The church I attend has embarked on a strategy of growth by trying to retain more visitors – either those attending weddings and funerals, or people members have invited to attend a church service. The services have been “streamlined”, visitors are welcomed in a systematic way, and the public spaces in the church building have […]
Christians and climate change: don't be fooled again!
October 3rd, 2014
Studies show that christians in the US and Australia are more likely than average to be sceptical about climate change. It appears that they think the scientific consensus is split between those who believe human-induced climate change is a major threat and those who think we just don’t know, and many suspect the scientists have […]
The mission of God
September 24th, 2014
Evangelical christianity in the 20th century tended to see its main task as making converts for Jesus. Sure, we ran mission hospitals and schools, but doing much of that at home smacked of the “social gospel”, which only ‘liberals’ did. There was little need to care for the environment because this world is only temporary, […]
Becoming more like Jesus than like the Pharisees
September 15th, 2014
In a recent post I discussed a 2013 survey which suggested that more US christians behaved like Pharisees than behaved like Jesus. And I had to admit I didn’t score as well myself as I’d have liked 1. So what needs to change?
Christians, non-violence and the Middle East – more food for thought
September 12th, 2014
I posted a while back on this topic. I have just come across an excellent article on the same topic.
Test yourself: are you more like Jesus or more like the Pharisees?
September 4th, 2014
It was done more than a year ago but I’ve only just seen it – a survey by the Barna Group about whether US christians more resembled Jesus or Pharisees. Like Hans Solo said: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” [Note: A reader has pointed out that using Pharisees as a point of comparison […]
There's nothing like a sermon to make it hard for christians to learn and grow
August 31st, 2014
It is well established that lectures and sermons are poor ways to teach and to change – see Sermons – not how we learn best? A good sermon may encourage the congregation, but only a small percentage of people learn that way, and most don’t remember much, especially after the first 15 minutes. More research […]
Don't plant a church, plant a mission?
August 26th, 2014
When I was a young christian, most churches were part of a denomination and most people knew what denomination they belonged to, even if they never actually attended. People didn’t switch denominations very often. When they moved house, they would generally find the closest church of their denomination and attend it. Most new churches began […]
Do we need Matt Chandler to preach the gospel to our friends?
August 19th, 2014
It was a simple announcement in our church on the weekend. Renowned christian speaker and leader, Matt Chandler, is coming to Sydney and will be speaking at an event. We were told that Matt is a great teacher, the gospel would be preached, and it was a great opportunity to bring our non-christian friends. It […]
A list of all blog posts, in reverse chronological order, is on the Blog archive page.