Preaching is one of the mainstays of Protestant christianity (though not so important in Catholic and Orthodox churches). Bible colleges teach how to do it, websites tell us how important it is, and those considered good preachers can become celebrities. Yet the words “sermon” and “preaching” have negative connotations to many people, jokes about sermons […]
This community-based social enterprise has something to teach christians. There are many Wild Rumpus organisations in the world, but this post is about Wild Rumpus in Wollongong, Australia.
Why young christians drop out, and what we might do to help them keep believing.
“All the people we used to know They’re an illusion to me now Some are mathematicians Some are carpenters’ wives Don’t know how it all got started I don’t know what they’re doin’ with their lives But me, I’m still on the road” Bob Dylan: Tangled up in blue I’ve been attending our very middle […]
Do you ever lose hope, perhaps just for a moment? There are plenty of things we may feel hopeless about – ourselves or our circumstances, the world, politics. One of the things I often lose hope about is the church – it just seems to be drifting, a long way from the teachings of Jesus, […]
North Haven on the NSW mid-north coast, from the top of Big Brother mountain. The reason for showing this photo will become apparent in the post. Photo (c) John Naylor and Google. Christians hold three different views on who gains acceptance with God. I have looked at what the Bible says in detail at Can […]
So far I have looked at two doctrinal issues in this series – Three different views of the Bible and three different ways to read it and Three different views of social justice and the gospel – and each time I have concluded that the truth lies between the two more polarised views. It probably […]
What part do social justice and community welfare play in the church’s mission? Are they something different to the gospel, and not as important, or are they part of the gospel? There are several very different views on this.
Differences among christians We all know there are many, many matters on which christians hold different views. Many of them are merely matters of opinion and taste (though you would sometimes think they were highly important), but they include many important doctrines too. For many matters, there are a range of views, though often times […]
Spiritual principles series Dealing with refugees is one of the most intractable problems facing governments across the western world. Not only is it difficult to control the number of people seeking asylum from crossing borders, but there is the fear that among the asylum seekers may be Taliban of DAESH fighters bent on suicide terrorism. […]