This might be a handy resource at some point, audio of bible....

Someone cheats in an exam because the fear of failing the exam is greater than the fear of being caught cheating.

Is it possible that some Pastors cheat on their spouse because the fear of failure in ministry is greater than the fear of cheating on the spouse and thus severely damaging their marriage?

Could a minister actually prefer to put their marriage at risk in order to get out of a Ministry situation where failure would be unbearable?
I think the answer is yes.

We need to honestly reflect on our ministry, and make sure we are not making it more important than it should be. It is not more important than our relationship with God, our wife/husband or our family.
If we fail in ministry, in our job/vocation...that is okay.

(Inspired in part by a post on Monday Morning Insight)

Christians generally don’t take much convincing that life is serious business. But what about the idea that life could be—or even should be—fun? Is that even a legitimate theological question? And who gets to ask such question like that in this troubled world? In the wake of floods, fires, earthquakes and tsunamis, it might seem frivolous, insensitive or even sinful to inquire about such things. Certainly, there is a question of timing—“rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”. But perhaps this is in fact an ideal time to consider the place of fun. If, after all, Australian Christians live in an affluent culture that more or less takes it for granted that space for fun should be a given (some may even say ‘a right’!), looking at a theology of the enjoyment of life ought to have one eye on the realities of suffering and struggle.

We can expect too much from life in the present. But it is also possible to hope for too little. Any Christian assessment of life exists in the messy middle between two horizons: behind us, God’s good creation and benevolent intentions, including human flourishing; and, before us, God’s loving intentions for creation realised in the renewal of creation, or ‘a new heavens and a new earth’. It is possible to get so caught up in the messiness of the middle—where work can become toil, where delight meets disappointment, where friendships can be fractured—and lose sight of those framing horizons that remind us that the world is not out of control but our patient, faithful God remains in charge and will accomplish all He has set out to do.

In the opening story of Genesis, we are invited to see humanity enter the scene on God’s day of rest. Rest is a necessary precursor to work, just as it is a proper end or goal. Living without an appropriate sense of Sabbath rest distorts human life. How many people feel crushed under the weight of workloads that seem to pile up without end, weight that stays with them even when not in the office or on the job site? And what of ministry-without-end? A failure to rest ultimately takes its toll on our productivity but there are more than utilitarian reasons to rest. Marva Dawn speaks of Sabbath practice entailing ceasing, resting, feasting and embracing. ‘Ceasing’ opens for us a fresh space to see a world outside, beneath, above and beyond the logics of economy, productivity and growth. ‘Resting’ renews us. (For women as well as men—let the reader understand.) ‘Feasting’ shows us there is time to celebrate and be thankful. Unthankfulness is a fundamental sin in the progression of the world’s distortion and depravity in Romans 1, leading to a ‘futile mind’. ‘Embracing’ reconnects us with our primary community and family, ties of baptismal water and ties of blood rather than commercial exchanges. It is the time and place of generosity and hospitality.

We need to be released from a false sense of guilt for not being productive, even “for the kingdom”. Even theologies of ‘vocation’ can become complicit in a drive to work, to perform, to achieve. But the One who sought labourers for an imminent harvest in Israel also called those who were “weary and heavy laden” to find “rest”. The Suffering Servant was paradoxically known as one who frequented celebratory feasts as signs of the inbreaking reign of God.

Space to rest is one component of a life that flourishes as God intended. Delight is another. It is ironic that a culture like ours devoted to entertainment finds itself continually bored, avoiding feelings of futility, and looking for the next big thing. The entertainment culture is itself driven and without rest. There is an excess of stimulation and titillation around us—but little delight in the excess of God. Real enjoyment is thus threatened and fun becomes fleeting and unsatisfying. Delight cannot be contrived. If there is such a thing as ‘faithful fun’, then space to cease, rest, feast and embrace and so to cultivate moments of delight in God and God’s world must be a part of that. We must intentionally and regularly seek out this space. And having found it, let intentions fall to the side and let the freedom, spontaneity and surprise of play to take over.

False guilt for enjoying life does nothing to help those in less happy circumstances. It can even reflect a profound lack of thankfulness for being the particular creature you are in a particular time and place. Be thankful for the blessings that you have. And in the space of ceasing, resting, feasting and embracing, delight in the Lord, play before him, and be re-energised for your small part in the ongoing work of justice in the world. Enjoy that which God has allowed you to enjoy with some ‘faithful fun’.

And then think how you might generously share the joy of rest with those who go without.

I found this piece comparing the advertisement for two tablet computers quite interesting. Yes it's an Apple fanboi site, but the core message is true. Even luminaries like Seth Godin have held up Apple as a model for making presentations. Love 'em or hate 'em, they do this stuff really well.

So what does this say about the way we present church?

A church stuck in tradition and years of plateu may find itself needing to 'bottom out' before it is able to make deep painful change.

In a church which has plateued for a number of years you need to 'choose your pain'. The pain of slow death, or the pain of deep painful change.

However transitioning a church is the hardest task in church life. It required deep perseverance, vision born our of pain and prayer and commitment to the long process.
Most churches do not transition well...if at all.

It can be done, and the reward is there for those who try.

But be aware, many of those who begin the journey with you, wont be there at the end. Even good people. The pain of having to discipline church folk, say goodbye to many, change radically your programs, deal with misunderstanding and 'well intentioned dragons' will cause many casualties along the way.

Here is a story of how a football club dealt with it which has parallels for the church community.

"IN THE GAME: It was early 2008. Call it intuition, or perhaps a strategic analysis from an experienced football person with in innate and learned feel for the game and his club, it was nonetheless a sage observation.

The notion of bottoming-out as a mechanism for creating forward momentum is a most challenging concept, particularly for a first year coach and his players, competitive people who are training just as hard as their opposition.

It also a tough time for supporters who suffer the ignominy of loss and an accompanying sense of hopelessness."

more

We live in a world where things are different for the Pastor.
Used to be that people had space in their life for a pastoral visit. They were at home a lot more.
Now in our increasingly busy age, peoples time is at a premium.
For many pastors the same is true.

Facebook is one way Pastors can keep in touch with their church folk and create values.
I am in contact with aproximately a third of our church through facebook. This allows me to put my slant on church, what happened on Sunday, and what is coming up. Its not a case of advertising it, more commenting on it, creating history about it. People read what I am thinking about church, they know how I feel about it.

Church E news is another way. Most of our older folk dont have facebook, but do use email. I send out a weekly enews, not too invasive, with a brief thought on the service just gone, and something about the service to come. It promotes again my 'history' of what has just happened, and anticipation of what is to come.

We may not have the time or opportunity to visit folk one on one much anymore. And that may actually be impossible with growth in church numbers anyway. But we can still communicate....and with facebook and email...it can be a two way conversation.

It's been a bit quiet here of late, I hope you're all thriving in ministry.

I have a question. Perth has a lot of fifo (fly in, fly out) mine workers. Different companies have different rotations and these guys can become very disconnected from Christian community, even with the best will in the world. Is anyone else doing ministry among these kinds of men, or know of any resources for them (particularly Christians, but unchurched men as well)? Just trying to find some ways of helping them connect.

I've just returned from a 10 day mission trip to India. I met Pastor Deva at the Mighty Men's Conference in Perth this year, invited him to stay in our home, and God joined our hearts together. We'd originally planned to take a team of four but in the end only a friend, Steve Dennis, and I could make it.

All I can say is that it was an amazing experience. I was a mish kid for a few years and spent two years on the Doulos as a short term missionary and have been to India before, but this was entirely different to anything I have experienced. We ran a 2 day pastors conference and 5 nights of evangelism crusades. On the first evening outreach we saw a healing and conversion as we preached, before we'd made an altar call or prayed for anyone. God was up to something!

Deva works among the Dalits and in the sort of places that are rapidly becoming passe in mission circles. Certainly among people and in places popular speakers will never deign to venture. This opens up huge possibilities for pastors from smaller churches. Really, Steve and I are nobodies in the scheme of things. I'm a middling pastor in a small struggling church and Steve is unemployed! But God chose to use us, the people welcomed us like angels from God, and lives have been changed. Not least of all ours.

If you're thinking of doing something like this, just do it! We'll be going again in 12 months or so, and are looking to cultivate new partners in Australia (and internationally, God willing), so if this is something you might be interested in, I'd love to talk. Hey, if you just want a coffee and hear some great stories, give me a call (start with the comments below)!

You can also read more on my blog, which I'll be updating with stories over the next week or so. Audio of the report to my church will be up in a couple of days, I'll be posting on my blog when it's up.

This is a great article from RW on Christmas as an opportunity...
"Every healthy, balanced church needs a plan to reach its community for Christ – particularly when the Christmas season comes along. For us at Saddleback, part of that strategy is creating events designed to bring the unchurched to our campus for a non-threatening church experience. These “bridge events,” as we call them, typically bring as many as 45,000 people onto our campus in a weekend – and typically more than 2,000 people accept Christ. They are such exciting weekends!

We have at least two of these bridge event weekends each year – on Christmas and on Easter. What do we do differently for a bridge event where we may have double the amount of people on our campus during the weekend?

1. We have more services. We had 13 services this Easter – and we’re planning another 13 services at Christmas this year. Would one service have been easier? Of course. But we want people to connect with someone while they are on our campus. We also want them to know what a typical service is like at Saddleback. We couldn’t do that with fewer services. We’d have too many people on our campus at one time – and it would be anything but typical.

2. We use a different format. During bridge events, we typically intersperse the music and the message. We call this a “point and play” service. First a point of the message, and then the band and singers play a song. We’ve found that one of the great ways to communicate to large groups of seekers at bridge events is to have about five minutes of preaching, then about five minutes of music, then 10 minutes of preaching, and another five minutes of music. That allows new folks in the audience to take in some of the message and then relax a bit before taking in more of the message.

3. Our services have more music. Around Saddleback, we don’t do pageants or musicals. But we do pull out all the stops for our bridge events. Because we know people like music, these services usually will have more music.

4. We prepare our campus for more people. Obviously, you’re intending to have more people on your campus during these bridge events. That means you’ll have more cars – and, if you aren’t prepared, parking and logistical problems. We typically ask our members to give up the most preferred time to come to the service, so that we have room at those times for people coming the first time. Typically, for us, that means we save Sunday for those who do not regularly attend and ask our members to come on Saturday or other times during the week. If you have two Sunday morning services, consider asking your members to come to the early service so that guests can come to the later one.

You might also consider having the children’s choir sing at the early service. That’s a great way to get your members to attend that service. They’ll want to see their kids sing – and they’ll bring grandma and grandpa. "
More

Tim Keller Argues For Churches In Cities [Lausanne] from Kenny Jahng on Vimeo.

Here's some Christmas sermon ideas from my vault. Please feel free to use and edit them however you please ...

All I want for Christmas is ... Joy
All I want for Christmas is ... Peace
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
An Early Christmas Present

I've had this tossing around in my head for a while and I want to throw it out here for some discussion to clarify my thinking... and maybe challenge yours. No flaming please!

The Bible explicitly forbids women from teaching or having authority over a man because of creation principles (1Tim 2.12-14, 1Cor 14.34). And yet many, if not most, Western Evangelical and Pentecostal churches accept women in ministry

The Bible also tells us that women should not pray or prophesy with their head uncovered, evidently for cultural reasons, but also 'because of the angels' (1Cor 11.10). And yet many, if not most, Western Evangelical and Pentecostal churches would not countenance expecting women to wear a head covering while publicly ministering.

The Bible explicitly forbids divorce and remarriage, labelling them adultery, again because of creation principles (Matt5.31-32, Matt 19.3-9). And yet many, if not most, Western Evangelical and Pentecostal churches at least tolerate divorce and remarriage, even among their leaders.

I know all the hermeneutical reasons and my point is not to argue for or against any particular position.

However, the Bible says the same things about homosexuality, and yet even though the same biblical and hermeneutical principles can be applied (and are by pro-gay Christians), most of those same Evangelical and Pentecostal churches would be opposed to homosexuality.

It seems to me that at the very least we're being inconsistent and something has to give! The question is, what?

Discuss.