Sometimes one feels all alone!   There might be hundreds of people around, if not more, but you still feel alone! That’s how I felt as I made my way to Victoria this week to catch up with pastors, church leaders, and then move on to Adelaide for several speaking engagements on the weekend. Perhaps it was leaving my wife and home, knowing that many days will pass before I return.   I do sense the distance from family now that we live in Australia, especially from children and grandchildren. But we just had been with them on our annual leave, so I...

David Cook was recently asked, "Do you have any deep convictions about developing the future leaders of the church?"   You would think that David Cook has a view ideas about this question.   He is the Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College, where he served for 26 years.  David Cook is also the featured speaker at the upcoming Preaching Conference at the Reformed Theological College in Geelong (more info)  This question asked of David Cook tweeked my interest since developing future leaders is something I constantly think about.   At the crux of the CRCA missional...

What is discipleship all about?   How do we reach out to the lost, help people come to faith, encourage spiritual growth, and equip followers of Jesus to disciple others?   People gathered in Campbelltown CRC to explore what it means to make true disciples.(see more photos)   There were senior members who had a real concern to pass on their faith to their children and grandchildren.   There were uni students exploring what they might do to engage fellow students in the claims of Christianity.   Children were there thinking how they might use an iPad to learn about what it means to love Jesus...

Sometimes one feels all alone!   There might be hundreds of people around, if not more, but you still feel alone! That’s how I felt as I made my way to Victoria this week to catch up with pastors, church leaders, and then move on to Adelaide for several speaking engagements on the weekend. Perhaps it was leaving my wife and home, knowing that many days will pass before I return.   I do sense the distance from family now that we live in Australia, especially from children and grandchildren. But we just had been with them on our annual leave, so I...

David Cook was recently asked, "Do you have any deep convictions about developing the future leaders of the church?" You would think that David Cook has a view ideas about this question.  He is the Moderator-General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College, where he served for 26 years. David Cook is also the featured speaker at the upcoming Preaching Conference at the Reformed Theological College in Geelong (more info) This question asked of David Cook tweeked my interest since developing future leaders is something I constantly think about. At the crux...

Peter van der Schoor and I, Jack De Vries, have just returned from a week in Solomon Islands.   We met with the leaders of the local churches including the Archbishop of Honiara Adrian Smith (pictured here with Peter van der Schoor and Eric Maefonea).  The clear message from the partner churches and agencies in Solomon Islands is that the ministry of SWIM (the CRCA mission in Solomon Islands) is needed, is valued, and the partnership we share in the gospel is one of trust and hope.   These affirmations were also echoed by our SWIM missionaries, staff, and gospel workers. In the duration of the week,...

I sat down with a senior manager of an international company and I asked him, “What insight have you gained about management in the past year?”   He thought it was an interesting question, but that was why I asked it.   He then shared with me the insight he had gained. This was the insight: you need to set high goals for the people you manage.   He then went on to give me an example.   In the company he manages they wanted to improve efficiencies.   The area they looked at had an efficiency score of 4.5.  The highest efficiency scores ever attained...

A Christian disciple is someone who follows Jesus Christ. As they follow Jesus they learn from him and take on his way of life.   When we talk about discipleship, we refer to the ongoing call to growth which is laid before all followers of Jesus (Eph 4:15; Col 1:28; 2 Thess 1:3).   This growth is really the outward expression of our ongoing growth in holiness or our ‘sanctification’. It is an expression of our ongoing transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:1-5:2; Phil 2:12-13; Col 3:1-17). While we live on this earth, this work is never complete....

The power of the gospel! This is what the apostle Paul reminded the church in Colossae. He wrote to them: "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." (Colossians 1:6) Bearing fruit and growing! As churches of the CRCA we believe this to be our God given mission here in Australia: To multiply Bible-based Christian fellowships and congregations which equip and nurture their members and grow throughout Australia and beyond. This is the power of the...

My father-in-law was an avid gardener!   Not only did he cultivate acres of vegetables and greenhouses full of tomatoes and cucumbers, he had a knack and reputation for growing healthy young starter plants from seeds.   I knew this firsthand.   See, as a teenager, before I was married, I spent many weekends in the spring working for him in the greenhouses.   He kept reminding me, since my name was Jacob, that if I was ever to marry his daughter Jeannie, like the Biblical patriarch, I would have to put in at least seven years of work.   Well, like the Biblical Jacob, I was able to convince him to give me...

PrayerPoints2015.pdf    LettertoSessions2015.pdf As churches we have committed ourselves to pray for the lost.   This is our first task:  "To call upon God for such an outpouring of his Spirit that his people will be assured of his love through his Word, seek to please the Saviour in all things, manifest the godly life and be filled with prayerful and sacrificial compassion for the lost in all the world." As a denomination we are deeply thankful for God’s grace to us as we have been engaged in planting churches for more than 60 years in Australia, in just about every state and territory. ...

The power of the gospel! This is what the apostle Paul reminded the church in Colossae. He wrote to them: "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." (Colossians 1:6) Bearing fruit and growing! As churches of the CRCA we believe this to be our God given mission here in Australia: To multiply Bible-based Christian fellowships and congregations which equip and nurture their members and grow throughout Australia and beyond. This is the power of the...

One of my favourite spots in Brisbane is the Botanic Gardens near Mt Coot-tha.   There you can wander through moist bamboo groves and arid areas that look a whole lot like sub-Sahara Africa.   There are waterfalls, a tropical greenhouse, and the largest collection of Australian native rainforest trees in the world.   But the best parts of the gardens are the resting spots. I love gardens like the Brisbane Botanic Gardens where you can rest, relax, and reflect on life and what you see around you.   You cannot rush through these gardens.   You need to stop, look...

One of my favourite spots in Brisbane is the Botanic Gardens near Mt Coot-tha.   There you can wander through moist bamboo groves and arid areas that look a whole lot like sub-Sahara Africa.   There are waterfalls, a tropical greenhouse, and the largest collection of Australian native rainforest trees in the world.   But the best parts of the gardens are the resting spots. I love gardens like the Brisbane Botanic Gardens where you can rest, relax, and reflect on life and what you see around you.   You cannot rush through these gardens.   You need to stop, look...

I long for revival! I long for the day when revival comes to Australia and to other western nations. I long for the day when the presence of God is realized in the midst of our nation, when God is seen in industry, commerce, politics, in national and international affairs! I long for revival! "God our Saviour, ... will you not revive us again?" (Psalm 85:4,6)   This prayer of the sons of Korah is the cry of my heart!   I long for the great awakenings that marked the 18th and 19th centuries in America and Europe.   Recently I read how in 1791 the...

Are you ready for an experiment?   A radical experiment?   An experiment that will turn your life upside down?   In one year?   And not just you -- your church as well?    Well, pick up a copy of David Platt's book Radical and take up the challenge he gives in this book.   I dare you!   More about that later. Last year I did a book review  on Platt's more recent book, Radical Together.    I knew of at least one church that was using this book to help leaders and church members become unleashed for the purposes of...

It was very encouraging to gather with over 30 people from across Australia, New Zealand, and Solomon Islands to explore future ministries.   This happened 22-24 October in Geelong, at the Reformed Theological College(RTC).   The conference delivered what it promised.   It was stimulating, interactive, and practical. The Explore conference began with a wonderful sit down evening meal.   One of the classrooms was tastefully decorated and everybody had a chance to meet each other over some very good table fellowship.   It was a great way to begin this two-day event, especially after many had to travel significant distance simply to get to Geelong....