Loneliness is more common than you think.   According to a report out of Harvard University, more 50% of people say that they are lonely.  In an August article in Scientific American, before the COVID pandemic, more than two-thirds of Americans considered themselves lonely.   A loneliness report,published here in Australia, might sound a bit more encouraging, noting that one in four Australian adults are lonely.  The reality remains, there are a lot of lonely people. It is natural to be lonely sometimes.  It really is part of being human.   But when you’re chronically lonely — when you feel socially isolated or disconnected for...

Where do you find support in life and in ministry?   The popular adage is true:  we are better together.   We are not meant to do life alone.   In fact, our creator God made this abundantly clear when he created the first man.   In the opening pages of the Bible God declared that "it is not good for the man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18)   And so God created a "suitable helper" (Genesis 2:20) for him.  A woman.  As my wife Jeannie likes telling me, "When God made the first man he realised that man needed help, so he created a woman."   This might...

You hear the word 'evangelism' and this might conjur up all kinds of images and ideas.   Today, as I hear the word 'evangelism', I immediately think of Billy Graham who for almost 60 years held evangelistic crusades all over the world.   Or those who hand out gospel tracts at community events.   Or the people that knock on your door and ask you all kinds of questions.  Your might think of sandwich boards draped over somebody or a billboard on a pole somewhere -- each proclaiming a message or quoting a verse from the Bible.    We have been looking at the Biblical...

Disciples are not born - they are made!   This is what Jesus told us in what many call 'the great commission.'   After his death and resurrection, and before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his followers that they are to "go and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19)   Make disciples!   This is our God-given mission in this world.   As churches we understand that this begins by evangelism and continues by equipping all believers to be disciples of Jesus.    In a previous post we looked at evangelism.   Evangelism is telling others the good news of Jesus with the intention of...

Your church has a postal code.  It is situated at some crossroad in your community.   Suppose one day you spend an hour or so at a local cafe near your church.   You don't go there to have your soy double shot latte.   Oh, you might order a coffee, but you are there to ask people walking by one question.  This question:   "What impact has name of your church made on your life and name of your community?"   If you spoke with 100 people, would there be 50 who tell you the difference your church has made in their lives, or  that of your community? ...

If there ever was a key emphasis in the life of Jesus, other than the glory of God, it was the kingdom of God!   We see these priorities in the prayer Jesus modelled for us.   He begins with the  glory of God (hallowed be your name) and follows this up with the petition:  "Your kingdom come."  (Matthew 6:9)  And if there is ever a key emphasis among Reformed churches, other than the glory of God, it would be the kingdom of God.    Yes, our chief end in life is to glorify God!  (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.1)  This so clearly summarizes...

What is your outlook in life?   Your outlook as a church leader?   What about your church?  On what do you set your sights?  These are important questions in life and ministry.   And your answer to these questions will greatly impact what you do with your life, how you steward everything that God has given you.  Not just you, but also your church. We have been looking at the Biblical values that shape the culture of the CRCA, a contemporary, Reformed, gospel-focused denomination.   We have already looked at the values of being Contemporary Reformed (confessional and contextual ) and being Word-Based.   Last week we began to look at...

This next core biblical value of the CRCA should not come as a surprise to you.   We are Word-based.   We are committed to biblical preaching, teaching, training, and equipping. In this series of blogs we are looking at the Biblical values that shape the culture of the CRCA, a contemporary, Reformed, gospel-focused denomination.   We have already looked at the first value:  Contemporary Reformed.   As churches we are both confessional and contextual.  This blog will consider the value of being Word-based. Remember this list of core biblical values we are looking at is not a new list of ideas that a committee came...

Your ministry's context gives shape to your church's ministry.   In this blog I want to share with you why this statement is true and essential for effective gospel work.  And I am not just referring to reaching the lost for Christ.   This statement is just as true and essential for nurturing and growing your church members. I have been writing about our values as churches, those Biblical values that shape the culture of a contemporary, Reformed, gospel-focused denomination such as the CRCA.   Last week we began to look at what it means to be Contemporary Reformed as we considered the value...

So who are we?   I have had that question asked of me many times throughout my life.   From birth to the present I have always been a member of a Christian Reformed Church (CRC).   I have lived in three countries and on two continents, but I have always been a part of the CRC.   In my youth the school I attended was across the road from a Reformatory.   When I told other children that I went to the Reformed church they thought I was attending a penal institution.   It got confusing.   So who are we? This question has to do with...

What do you value?   Why do you do whatever you do?   If you have lived for any length of years you have noticed that not every person is the same.   No family is completely alike.   No community is identical.   The same is true of churches.   There are differences, and these differences are based on what people or organizations value.   Values have to do with one's identity, the core DNA or the specific culture of a group of people. If you ever come to our home or spend any length of time with me and my wife Jeannie, you will soon notice...

At times I get overwhelmed by the simple volume of tasks I have to achieve.   And I am not alone.   Every pastor and church leader has a keen sense that there are just not enough hours to do all that needs to be done.   When I served the local church as their minister, there was always another sermon to write, another visit to make, an email to respond to, some planning to organise, a meeting to prepare for, and a book to read.   On top of all the tasks to do, there were spiritual disciplines to engage in, relationships to foster,...

Speaking with the pastor I immediately realised what he was struggling with.   The heart of his struggle was the complacency in his church.  In spite of the ongoing decline in the church and the lack of conversions, most of the people in his church stood for nothing more than more of the same.   People were not interested in doing a church analysis, and even less interested in implementing any change.   People in the church readily admitted that they might be struggling a bit, but so were most neighbouring churches.  And this pastor is not alone.   I speak with elders, other church...

When was the last time you followed a plan?   You planned to do something, like make a birthday cake for someone.   You wrote up a list of ingredients and headed down to your local shops to pick up the flour, baking powder, sugar, and everything else you needed.   You mixed all the elements in a dish and put it in the oven to bake.   What a joy later on when you saw the smile on people's faces at the birthday party as many enjoyed the cake. My wife Jeannie and I had a plan.   We needed to do something with the...

The COVID pandemic has forced many of us into isolation for a long, long time.   The reality of our current situation has strictly limited the contact we have with others.   We make contactless payments at the shops.   We can pick up supplies at stores without making any contact with anyone.   Even McDonalds will drop off your burger and fries at your front door - all contactless.  But we are not meant to do life alone.   This is God's assessment on humanity from the beginning:  "It is not good for man to be alone." (Genesis 2:18)   We are created to do life...

The real push again this year is for you and I to join the frenzy!   The frenzy seems to begin earlier every year.   The main event was last week with a long list of retailers and brands offering discounts across technology, fashion, homewares, beauty and more.  There were 4,000 deals from more than 800 Australian and international brands.   This homegrown retail event is one of the biggest sales events of the year - Click Frenzy!   So many other retailers have jumped on board with their own online frenzy sales.  It is all a bit madness, isn't it?   This is really what...

There is an urgent need for us to raise up gospel workers in the CRCA.   In a previous blog I clearly outlined the need that exists.  To put it simply, over the next ten years we need to raise up 40 men to pastor our churches and to plant new churches in Australia.   Currently we have 42 ministers serving our churches.   Given these statistics where will these ministers come from?   How can we effectively raise up in the next decade a number equal to the total of those serving our churches now? These are the questions that the TRAIN Workgroup has been working...

Church is changing!   At least, church as you and I know it.   Or have known it.   As we draw close to the end of 2020 the fallout of the COVID pandemic has impacted churches, here in Australia and throughout the world.  The church as we know it at the end of 2020 is much different from the church as we knew it at the start of year.   Church in-person attendance was non-existent for months.   Where restrictions on gatherings have eased the return of attendees at public worship, for the most part, has been slow.   So where is all of this heading...

Our world needs prayer!   There is a cry for mercy in the midst of the COVID pandemic that God would bring healing and that the virus would end.   Our home church (Bray Park , QLD) and many other churches are teaching on the topic of prayer, calling people to a greater prayerfulness.  There is a sense of the urgency of prayer.  From the viruses, floods, and fires, to world unrest, economic instability, and political uncertainty -- our world needs prayer.     This sense that our world needs prayer is not restricted to churches, ministers, and followers of Jesus.   Our world knows...

It is always good to do a reality check!   A reality check is when you recognize the truth about a situation, especially about the difficulties involved in something you want to achieve.   From time to time it is good to personally do a reality check; it is also good to do that as a church (and as churches). In the lead up to the CRCA Triennial Synod in May 2021 I put our denomination through a reality check.   In my role with Ministry Formation, this is what I am tasked to do.  When it comes to the CRCA missional vision and related...