Ministry in General

In his book Separate No More Norman Peart points out that in early Colonial society (the 1600s) English law, which then governed Virginia, required any slave, African or white, to be freed upon conversion to Christianity on the rationale that “infidels could be enslaved as a means of communicating the gospel to them.” This disgraceful [...]

All educational institutions not only teach an explicit curriculum but also a hidden curriculum, which Perry Shaw describes as “the potent sociological and psychological dimensions of education, which are usually caught rather than intentionally taught.” He further explains that the hidden curriculum is made up of “pervasive environmental features”, including: the nature of behaviours which [...]

Tony Payne has written a great article on 19th century American Methodism and the indirect influence it came to have on his own life (Briefing, April 2010, 23ff). He observes that the subtleties of John Wesley’s teaching on “entire sanctification”, a higher level of sanctification through faith, which he never claimed to have attained himself, [...]

I enjoyed reading Lionel Windsor’s notes on “The gospel and ageing” in a recent Briefing. He rightly observes that in our culture we are very negative about ageing because it represents the opposite of our core values: We live in a society that puts a huge value on freedom, choice, fulfilment of desires, strength and independence. All [...]

A friend’s church is seeking to develop a vision statement and, as many churches have done, they are considering framing this in a way that will involve setting a numerical target. My friend asked me whether it was right for churches to do this, given that in 2 Samuel 24 David was punished for conducting a [...]

I was listening today to a podcast by Tim Keller. He made an important point about preaching. It is the people with whom one is speaking during the week who determine the way we will read the Bible when preparing a sermon and to whom we will address our sermon when we preach. This in [...]

This is Powerpoint presentation which provides for leaders an overview of the processes involved in effecting change. I have used and modified material gleaned from William J. Morin, Living at the Leading Edge of Change: A Leader’s Guide to Transition Management (New York: Drake Beam Morin, 1995).

Yesterday I attended a Korean church service at which I had been asked to give a word of encouragement. The occasion was the ordination of two new elders and the honouring of a retiring elder. The auditorium was packed. The music was great. I was able to tell the congregation that I had recognised some [...]

A few months back I heard Bruce Dipple challenged a group of mission leaders to make sure they were being effective trainers. He began with a citation from missiologist Jim Pludemann: “If your ministry is not causing someone to grow or teaching them something then you are either doing something wrong or someone else should [...]

In the course of describing how Jesus fed the 5000 men, plus goodness knows how many women and children, Mark incorporates the following comment: When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things (Mark 6:34). Matthew [...]