At the end of a long dispute the Catholic church has finally decided to excommunicate Father Kennedy. Two years ago the Socialist Alliance posters outside St Mary’s Catholic Church in Brisbane said it all. “Dump Intolerance, not Father Kennedy.” “Who would Jesus sack?” The father in question is Peter Kennedy, the 70-year-old Catholic priest who [...]
Category Archives: Movement lifecycle
Bell’s hell
18 April, 2011 – 8:05 PM
A great deal of what is being published by writers in the religious tradition is a scandal and is actually turning people away from the church. The liberal writers who are continually accommodating and whittling down the truth of the Gospel are responsible. I cannot understand how a man can appear in print claiming to [...]
Getting people excited about CPMs
16 December, 2010 – 11:25 AM
A question from Ray: Hi Steve I’m starting to get a feel for the extent and potential for church planting movements (CPMs). Do you have any suggestions on how to excite an existing church and transition them into a church planting church? Ray My answer: Hi Ray Thanks for the question. It’s an important one. [...]
The shifting sands of Western mission
9 December, 2010 – 1:34 PM
It comes as no surprise that Western evangelicals are redefining mission for the “postmodern context.” We’re moving from spreading Christianity to living it. From “hard-core proselytizing” (al Qaeda in Christian wineskins) to social justice and humanitarian work. Missionaries have become “vacationaries,” going abroad short-term to serve others, rather than share the gospel. Mission means “we [...]
How Missionaries Lost Their Chariots of Fire
2 December, 2010 – 11:42 PM
Western Christianity has been on a century long journey to redefine what “mission” is. Earlier this year, Brad Greenberg reflected in an article for the WSJ on the changing nature of Christian mission since Edinburgh 1910. Here are a few edited points and quotes from the article. I’ll have more to say later. The 1910 [...]
Catholic orders disappearing
21 November, 2010 – 10:35 AM
The monastic and religious orders are the foot soldiers of the Catholic faith. They are one of the most enduring and influential movements in human history. In Australia, and the western world generally, they are in serious decline. Numbers have halved in the last 25 years. The median age is 73. The death rate vastly [...]
Perplexed but not discouraged
9 July, 2010 – 1:05 AM
Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of [...]
Drifting in calm waters
7 July, 2010 – 4:55 PM
Our nature lies in movement; complete calm is death. Blaise Pascal I caught up with an old friend a few years ago over coffee. He confided in me that he wasn’t sure if he believed in hell any more. He was a church leader with an evangelical background. He didn’t seem concerned. After all, he [...]
A case study in decline
6 July, 2010 – 7:32 PM
There is nothing more important to the vitality of a movement than it’s commitment to its core beliefs. Dynamic movements hold both orthodoxy (core beliefs) and engagement with the culture in creative tension. About a year ago my denomination (Baptist Union of Victoria) reappointed its New Testament professor, Dr Keith Dyer. The appointment was supported [...]
The German football revolution
6 July, 2010 – 3:24 PM
So far Germany’s brilliance in attack has derailed the World Cup campaigns of Australia (4-0), England (4-1) and Argentina (4-0). Yet just six years ago the national team returned from 2004 European Championship in Portugal without winning a single game. Jurgen Klinsmann tells the story of how German football was rebuilt from the ground up. [...]
