In my personal devotion this morning I reflected on Jude’s beautiful doxology in Jude 24-25, and I spent some time reflecting on the final word of his letter, ‘Amen.’ We say it at the end of every prayer we ever pray. We say it when we agree with what has been said by others, we give a hearty ‘Amen!’ I say it at the end of my sermons. But amen is a declaration that what is said is true and reliable, that it is sure and certain. It’s saying that we actually believe what has been said. I love Reformed Theology,...

  Who has influenced your life?   Helped you become who you are today?   Achieve the goals you have reached?   It might be a parent, a father or mother who were good role models in your formative years.  Or a teacher at school.   Her love for poetry and English composition inspired a passion in your life for reading and writing.   As I think back over the six decades of my life I have a long list of people who have influenced me ... for the better.   My mother who had a deep faith and trust in...

 What is the key to church renewal?   Congregational health?  Missional vitality in and through the local church?  I am often asked these questions in my coaching role with pastors, church leaders, and churches.   People are often looking for the 'silver bullet' that will be a fix all for churches.   But while there is no 'silver bullet' there are some key things about church renewal that many people miss.   One of the key things for church renewal that I suggest to church leaders is that they have to lead spiritually. I know how it is.   In our...

I just travelled through the hill-country of South Gippsland in Victoria.   You cannot be unimpressed with the grandeur of the rolling landscape.   And you cannot miss seeing all the cows. They literally dot the hills.   Cattle beyond number on countless hills. As I made my way on these winding roads I was reminded of Asaph's words in Psalm 50:10  "The cattle on a 1000 hills are mine."   These are God's words, and he reminds us that He is not like the gods of the pagans who seemed to thrive on animal sacrifices.  Everything already belongs to Him,...

  Why do you do what you do?   And how do you do it?   The Bible calls us to do good to others.   For example, we read:  "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."  (1 Tim. 6:18)    As Christians we are to "abound in every good work."  (2 Cor. 9:8)   This is what God created us to do:  good works (Eph. 2:10)   This is all an outworking of Jesus' command to "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love...

Every year we throw a Christmas Party for our local community. We invite our friends, family and neighbours to come along to an evening of fun, food, and fellowship. The big finale is our carols service. Every musician in our church is on board, we have a guitar, bass, drums, keys, saxophone violin, and flute and three singers. We decorate the hall with tinsel and coloured lights. We have amazing visuals on our screen. We sing all the classic carols and rock them up to the max. We have a kids’ section where we hand our glow sticks. And finally we...

  Vision is important!   We just installed room darkening shades on our bedroom windows.   They are great for keeping our room dark, especially on those Queensland summer days when the sun is up soon after 4:00 am.    But they are not great for improving vision.   If I need to get up in the middle of the night I find myself fumbling and stumbling about in the dark.    I just cannot see where I am going. This describes a lot of churches.   They cannot see where they are going.  They do not have a picture of...

I’m not trying to be all existential by asking that question, but rather practical. What is the purpose of your church, of any church for that matter? How we answer that is incredibly important, and there are many different ways to answer it. You could say we exist to give glory to God, and that’s a very good answer. But then I could ask how do we give God glory! You could say we exist to disciple people, which is very Matthew 28, ‘go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Mt 28:19-20)’...

  Church work can at times be a real struggle.   We go two steps forward and three steps back.   There are roadblocks to advancing the gospel.   And Christians can feel frustrated, worn out, and desiring to quit. I've had those times pastoring churches.  I would wonder if ministry was all worth the struggle. There were times when my struggles were drenched in tears. There were forces and people both inside and outside the church that sparked spiritual opposition.  Ministry was not easy.   I know that Jesus warned us that "in this world you will be trouble." (John...

  We have a lot of potted plants around our home.   All kinds of plants.   Large ones, small ones, flowering ones, and lots of potted green plants.   From time to time the potted plants don't look healthy anymore.   We have given them lots of water and fertiliser, but the plants simply stop growing.   In fact, they begin to wilt and die.   Then we realise the problem: they need a new pot!   We remove the old plants from the security of their old pot, trim back some of the roots, get some new soil, and...

Our motto as a church is ‘Believe, Belong, Beloved.’ As Reformed Christians we all understand what we mean by believe, after all we have pages and pages (whole books) written about what we believe. In fact, the tradition in our churches is people could only be a part of our church if they believe what we believe – you have to believe before you can belong. But if we are going to reach our contemporary culture with the good news about Jesus that may be one of the most important mind shifts we need to make.   In a post-Christian culture...

Growing up I wanted to become an architect.  I loved to design and build things.   As a child I loved to build forts in our backyard.   Or boxes made from toothpicks or popsicle sticks.   In my teenage years  I used larger pieces of wood to build furniture I had designed.  I think my dad wanted me to take over his landscaping business, but I did not like doing lawn and garden maintenance.   I got easily frustrated and bored doing the same thing week after week.   Cutting the same lawns, trimming the same hedges, working up the...

We invest in what we think is important. When I was dating my now wife, I’d think nothing of getting her flowers, taking her out for dinner, or buying her jewellery. In fact, I still love spoiling her. She is important to me and she’s worth investing in. Maybe you invest in sports, or holidays, or a particular hobby. If it matters to you, you invest in it. The same is true when it comes to the church. If you looked at your church’s budget, which I’m sure many of you are starting to do, what does it say about what...

I am all about efficiency!   I like to get more things done in less time.   I want to get the greatest amount of fuel efficiency in the cars I drive.   I always look for the biggest bang for the buck.   If I can get more stuff for less money -- well that seems to be a bargain!   Often the focus on efficiency drives politicians when they make election promises.   "We will give you more of what you want, and it will cost you less in taxes," so they claim.  And often this is what spurs...

I remember listening to Wayne Cordeiro at a Global Leadership Summit talking about the moment that changed his life. He shared how he thought his job as a minister was to take God’s truth and give it to God’s people. But after having a mental breakdown he realized that his job as a minister was to take God’s truth, and put it into his own heart, before giving it to God’s people. God wanted to speak into his life as much as the lives of his congregation. That observation changed how I looked at my personal devotional time and my sermon...

How can we as churches strengthen our witness in the world?   For years in the CRCA we have been encouraging churches to GROW:  "To grow healthy churches which nurture and equip their members...."   But this begs the question:  what aspect of increased church health will nurture and equip their members, by God's grace grow the church numerically, plant new churches, and increase their gospel impact throughout Australia and beyond? Almost 50 years ago Pastor Ray C. Stedman alerted the church to a major roadblock to effective witness in the world.   What he says might surprise you?   He...

Sometimes I feel like giving up.   Especially when it comes to prayer.  Why pray?   Does it really make a difference?   I pray for things to change ... in that of my family, for my friends, for the lost, for the world.   But things don't change.   Answers don't come.   Or at least, not in the way I hoped.   Prayer is not easy.  So I feel like giving up.   That's how I feel! But then I read what Luke tells us about Jesus -- that he told his followers a story, a parable, "to show...

The very first time I tried my hand at woodworking I went to my Italian neighbour who lived across the street from our childhood home.   As a builder he knew a thing or two about putting together a wood project.   Many years later I met a true wood craftsman -- a Dutch immigrant who had a way of turning a piece of lumber into a work of art!   He passed on to me a love for building furniture and for many years my woodworking hobby resulted in furniture I built for our home, our family and friends, or...

How do you measure success? How do you know whether or not your achievements measure up? What does “well done” mean? These are questions I keep asking myself no matter what I do. Personally and professionally. Whether I exercise physically or engage in ministry. In my doctoral studies I wrestled with these issues as it applies to the preaching of God’s Word. How do I know whether or not the outcomes of one's pulpit ministry are good outcomes? These are questions I coach many others to think about as they do church work. It might be a ministry a congregation has...

The waitress had just filled the glass cup in front of me. The water in the glass looked inviting. I was thirsty. But as I raised the glass to my lips I noticed a bug floating at the bottom of the cup. No matter how thirsty I was, I was not going to take even a sip. The cup was dirty. I wonder sometimes if God feels the same way when people pray to him. Fervent prayers are made for real needs. A busted relationship. Mounting debt. Troubled economy. Unemployment. Lost people. Real needs. Real prayers.  As Christians we understand the...