Church Blog (Page 77)
Doers of the Word#3 “Problems—Moving on…”
The last thing that you go to church for is more problems. Being surrounded by them everywhere you go, it is natural to prefer that church be a place where you can retreat from them all. Ideally, church should be a pleasant, trouble-free, and uplifting place. And let’s face it, if you arrive five minutes late and leave 5 minutes early, the chances are it will be that way for you. But in the real world, you can’t expect it…
Doers of the Word#2 “Evangelism.”
When I became a Christian, I was surrounded by seasoned soul-winners. Their Evangelistic Methods were simple: They did whatever was needed to bring a lost soul to Christ. They also made deliberate efforts to take the gospel to strangers in the neighbourhoods and nearby towns. Leaflets inviting people to church and/or offering Free Bible Correspondence Courses were hand delivered into letterboxes by the thousands. A practice that is probably underutilized today given that precious souls have been won as a…
Doers of the Word#1 “Faith working through love.”
What are your talents?Have you ever been to a class designed to help you discover your ‘Talents?’ Usually sheets containing lists of ‘gifts’ are handed out to the participants to establish one’s spiritual skill set. Though not for everybody, many brethren have been blessed by these. The best outcome being that everyone finds a practical connection between their abilities and how to best use them for Jesus. Often keen workers find opportunities to serve through existing committees and programmes, and…
Starting to Begin#5 “Image…a step up!”
I found myself sitting next to two pleasant young lawyers on a flight in the USA in 1989. When they told me that they were Baptists I asked them if they had read the book, “Twenty Hot Potatoes Christians are afraid to touch,” by Tony Campolo. Even though they said they hadn’t, I was so excited to be talking to two of the author’s fellow Baptists that I said, “The most interesting chapter, I think, is where he asked the…
Starting to Begin#4 “Schooling.”
My father was born in 1911. His school days were served at The Matata Convent School. He would often say that he went to school until Standard six. Which roughly translated, meant that he joined the workforce when becoming a teenager. His attitude towards Higher Education was typical of most working men of his time. Education was judged by its usefulness—that was it! Advanced education was, in his mind, only for Medical practitioners, Engineers that built dams and bridges, and…
Starting to Begin#3 “You, Youth and Missions.”
If old age is called the ‘Golden years,’ then youth is aptly called the ‘Titanium years. ’Its hard to believe that during the years of the bubonic plague that many people didn’t live past thirty years old anyway. Youth was a luxury reserved for the offspring of the idle rich. Everyone else started work as soon as they were physically and mentally able. Today, you and I are likely to celebrate our eightieth birthdays in relatively good health. Youth disappears…
Starting to Begin#2 “The Journey to That First Sermon.”
.”My first sermon may not be remembered by anyone else but me, but it did have some redeeming qualities: *It was mercifully brief. Only twenty minutes in length, it was easily fifteen minutes shorter than the average Sunday morning sermon of 1978. *It was extremely well rehearsed. I literally stood in the old Otumoetai church of Christ pulpit and repeatedly preached it to an empty auditorium in the dead of night. No ‘off-the cuff’ content included. *When I stood up…
Starting to Begin#1 “Article 365.”
Back in the mid-1980s Dan Martin invited me to write articles for his “Evangelism Dynamics” paper. An offer not made lightly. I appreciated the offer, but I had to decline. I didn’t tell him why, but he could probably tell by the look on my face—fear had gripped me. Apart from assignments at Bible College, I had not written an ‘article’ in my life. And even over the decades to come I would write but a few ‘Bulletin Articles.’ I…
Lost and Found #7 “Found …. then what?”
I was baptised on a Thursday night and two days later I was with my new-found brothers at my very first men’s working-bee. Fred Martin was there. He reminded me of John Wayne and was a painter by trade. He, of course, knew a willing worker when he saw one and he set me to work painting the new wall behind the pulpit of the Otumoetai church of Christ. Not too many Saturdays later, our preacher, Ian Mostert, called for…
Lost and Found#6 “That which matters!”
Four years ago, I became very unwell and in need of an operation to fix internal bleeding. There were days when I was so weak, I wondered how close to the end I had gotten. But during the worst of my moments, I can honestly say, that the thing that mattered to me most was that my children get to heaven. When you are feeling your humanity, it is amazing what matters and what doesn’t. There will come a day…