When you go on a journey there is always a starting point.  When I head into the city on the train from my home office I usually check the online app to know the train schedule.  On this app I need to state not only my destination, but also what is my starting point?  The same is true when you book an airline flight or use the map app on your phone.   You need to know your starting point. The same is true when it comes to setting direction for your church or ministry?  In my last article I defined strategic...

In Lewis Carroll's story, Alice in Wonderland, one day Alice comes to a fork in the road and as she sees Cheshire Cat in a tree, she asks: “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”  “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where –” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go …” said the Cat.   It is like this in the church as well.  If you really do not much care where you are heading as a church, then it...

Why would anyone aspire to enter full-time gospel ministry?  There are probably a number of reasons, but there is something that what will hinder people from considering ministry as a vocation in life: a negative example of ministry.  Suppose all you see and hear is that ministry is tough.  Ministry involves long hours, minimal pay, massive sacrifices of time and energy, disgruntled church members, and a few breaks.  You probably will choose another path for your vocation in life. In my late teens I saw a positive model of ministry.  Pastor Chuck frequently visited my mother during a very difficult time...

Both theory and practice are fundamental to all learning.  Theory refers to the intellectual understanding of a topic – the studying. Practice refers to actually doing what you are studying about.   This begs the question:  what’s most important, theory or practice?  Studying or doing?   The Bible has an answer to this question.   We read in the book of James:  "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking...

It is one thing to read from a textbook how to do something; it is another thing to have a mentor show you how to do something.  As a teenager I read lots of articles on how to do woodworking.  But into my early twenties I had a brother-in-law show me how to make things out of timber.  A few years later a skilled craftsman in my first church showed me how to build furniture.  What I read in shop manuals and books now made sense.  I think also of the men who worked alongside me in the Volkswagen dealership where...

Is training a normal part of your church?   You might direct traffic in the parking lot, lead in prayer, share your faith, host a small group, or serve on your church council or session.  Have you been equipped for every task you are called to do?  As a pastor or church leader do you regularly meet with people in your church to train them in and for gospel ministry? In the current series of articles we have been looking at our sixfold strategy to raise up gospel workers in the CRCA.  This strategy begins with prayer.  Along with prayer there needs to...

Do you know what God is doing in the world?  What is his plan that has been unfolding since the creation of the world?  And where is everything heading?   Perhaps as you look at the chaotic state of our world you wonder whether or not there really is a divine plan.  We meet Job in the book of the Bible that bears his name, and he questioned over and over again whether or not God really did have a plan.  This was understandable.  He tragically lost just about everything in life.  His children, his wealth, his health, and even the support...

Billions of dollars are raised each year through crowdfunding.  Perhaps you have partcipated in this as well.  Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people.  Many people doing it really tough in life are helped when someone starts up a go-fund-me page or using some other form of crowdfunding. You might consider the giving of money at church as one form of crowdfunding.  Many gospel initiatives are supported when a large number of church members give faithfully.  But in addition to crowdfunding, what we need in our churches...

In our digital and computer world we have increasingly become accustomed to 'copy and paste'.   Pictures, texts, podcasts, videos, and just about everything else.  On social media, for school assignments, at the workplace, and just about everywhere else.  Just 'copy and paste'!  Copy what you see and then paste it. But this is not new!   As human beings we are prone to copy and paste.  We see what is happening around us in our culture, and we are inclined to adapt to our surroundings.  We copy what others are saying or doing!  The practices of others become commonplace in our lives. ...

One of the questions I often ask children and young people has to do with one's vocation in life.   I would frame the question this way, "What do feel God is calling to do when you finish high school?"  Perhaps this kind of question might seem a bit odd or misplaced.  What has our work to do with one's calling in life?  Is there a relationship between faith and vocation, faith and work?  If so, what?  These are the questions I like to consider in this article. We've been looking what we can do as churches to ensure that the next generation...

It takes a whole village to raise a child!   This African saying is believed to originate from the Igbo and Yoruba people of Nigeria.  My son-in-law grew up in the heartland of Africa, and I soon appreciated that this idea that ‘it takes a whole village to raise a child’ is fundamental to many African cultures.   The main idea behind the saying is that it takes a whole community, and not just two parents, to bring up a child.  The extended family have an important role to play, including uncles, aunts, cousins.  In fact, when my son-in-law would refer to his...

Do you understand the culture in which we live?  The Australian culture?   The western culture of our day?  The culture of the current decade in which we live?  In the Bible we read about "the men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command;"  (1 Chronicles 12:32).   This observation about the men of Issachar came at a crucial juncture in the history of Israel, when the power was shifting from King Saul to King David.  These men knew something about the time in which they lived, and this knowledge helped...

Will our children have faith?   This is a question I have been asking ever since I read John H. Westerhoff III's classic book with that same title:  Will Our Children Have Faith?   This question is even more weighty than when Westerhoff first penned it in 1976.  According to today's statistics, if you had 100 youth in your church – 9 of them will become resilient disciples of Jesus;  28 will be church goers – but not real followers of Jesus;  26 will leave the church – might still believe, but no longer connected;  38 will leave the faith altogether.  These statistics...

Every October I am reminded of this one word:  witness!  It is not the only time I think of this word, but 'witness' has an extra punch this time of the year.  And I would like to explain why.   Why this reminder each October, and why this one word ought to be etched strongly in our minds and impact how we live?   Not just in this month, but each month, each and every day! I was ordained into the office of the Minister of the Word on 21 October 1983.  Church members, other pastors, family members, relatives, and friends, from far...

Silence.   This is how I as a child remember Sunday worship services beginning.  In silence.  Gathered worshippers were asked to begin with silent prayer.  I never really knew what to do during those times of silence.  I always thought that prayer had to do with words, with audible voices, not silence.  Over the years I have come to discover, the truth of what Cicero, the ancient Roman statesman, once said:  "Silence is one of the great arts of conversation."   There really is something to silent prayer! Prayer is one of the key strategies of our churches to reach the lost for...

One year changed everything for me.  The year was 1973.  I was 16 years old, just got my driver's license and my first car - a 1970 VW Beetle.  But my new found freedom on the open road was not what changed my life.   My pastor asked me to be part of a group of people who were discussing how we can reach the lost for Christ.   Our church had joined a global outreach initiative called Key 73.  For weeks we discussed how we as a church could reach as many people as possible with the good news of Jesus.  With a...

How would you characterize your church?  Is it your priority to get people to gather in rows or in circles?  With all the restrictions and lockdowns mandated by the government in response to the COVID realities, you might say that your priority is to get people to gather in rows.   You desire that people come to public worship on Sundays, sit in pews, participate in worship, and listen to sermons preached.  And such gatherings are important.   In my most recent article I wrote about the reasons behind public gatherings of worship, and how such gatherings can influence people's lives for the...

What is the one thing that sets Christians apart from the rest of the world?  What is it about the church that makes it so attractive to those outside the church?   You might think it is our faith, our steadfast faith in what God says to us in His Word.   Our belief in Jesus, that he is the eternal Son God, the One who died for humanity's sin, and has opened the way for us to find a restored relationship with God.   The Bible, our Christian doctrines, our confessions of faith.   These set apart believers from unbelievers and others in the...

Why?   Why do you gather for worship with others?   You might meet in a church building, a rented hall, outdoors, or online.  But why gather?  Why worship?  If you are a worship leader or preacher, why would you invest so much prayer, energy, and time in preparing for worship services.   The songs.  The prayers.  The sermons.   The liturgies.   Why? I read someone's tweet this week.  They said:  "Pray for me. The sermon was so bad today that I don’t know if I can attend here anymore. I’ve been here 25+ years. I’ve raised a family here. I’ve struggled here. Served here....

Structures are essential for building.  Without structures a house, an apartment complex, or a factory will simply implode.  Without structures automobiles, motorcycles, and  spacecraft will not survive any thrust or movement.   Without structures your computer, mobile phone, or tablet could not function.  One of my latest projects is rebuilding a small motorcycle.  This is a project I took on with a young boy I am mentoring.  A month ago we stripped the entire bike right down to the frame.   This frame provides the structure to the entire bike.   Without it we simply would have a pile of nuts, bolts, tyres, and...