It was a Sunday night. We were all snugly wrapped up within the walls of our church. Happily we celebrated the accomplishment of our student minister who had recently graduated to “Reverend”. Funny stories were told and fond memories shared. Then the guest speaker rose to preach. It was Michael Frost, a lecturer at the […]
Lord of the Oceans
This song is intended to be a call and a challenge to the modern Church. In contrast to many contemporary songs out there, including Christian ones, this song is not about feeling good, safe, secure or even close to God. I don’t even know if you can technically call it a praise or worship song. […]
Ethics: Conclusions
“First, do no harm.” A young Christian lady involved in her church worship ministry has a creative idea for training and development for the ministry team. She puts together a proposal for a training program and submits it for consideration. She is told that her program will not be used but she is not told […]
Ethics: Leadership
“All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” ― Sophocles We as leaders can set an ethical example in the Church. Our leadership sets the pace and culture for others, for better or worse. As leaders we are […]
Ethics: Boundaries
“Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.” — Carl Jung Personal and ethical boundaries are necessary for daily interaction. They guide us during difficult or tempting situations and help keep us on course. Boundaries […]
Ethics: Fights worth fighting
I’ve been talking with people lately about conflict in church. I’m not talking about disagreements based on preferences, aka “They should paint that wall a different colour” or “The music is too loud.” I’m talking about two people in the body of Christ working against each other; in particular, two people working within the same […]
Ethics: Confessions
Recent experiences have me thinking about ethics in the church and in church ministry in particular. Hence I have started working on a new series on ethics and implications for church life. Today I want to focus on the role of ethics and confession in keeping us in good relational standing with one another. Jam […]
Lamentations Song released online
Here it is! Lamentations Song is now on YouTube for your viewing and listening pleasure! We had fun putting this lyric video together. Most of the photos were taken in a little place called Little Beach, an out-of-the-way intimate bay hidden somewhere on the south tip of WA. We stumbled upon it while on holiday […]
Lamentations Song
Here’s the story behind the writing of “Lamentations Song.” One favourite Old Testament passage for me is from the third chapter of the book of Lamentations. I believe it is quite a well-known passage but I will quote it here anyway: God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. […]
True Lamentations – Conclusions
I have written more than I originally intended about this topic. It has opened up more aspects of Christian living, and of human living, than I first realised. It has been intriguing unpacking these ideas further. I have also received some interesting comments from readers in response to this series on lamentations. One reader noted […]