Free Church Teamwork Motivational Video November 20, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Humour, Teamwork.Tags: church leadership, Christian blog, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Teamwork, church unity, church vision, church direction, church staff
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Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you are working as a team, if you are heading in the wrong direction it’s a waste of time. This from the very funny site Fail blog.
Baptist Church At Centre of Storm November 20, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Missional.Tags: baptist church, Baptist Union, Queensland Baptists, Christian blog, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Ashgrove Baptist Church, Brisbane Storm
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Ashgrove Baptist Church in Brisbane has found itself at the centre of a storm that has seen it feature in headline television news for two nights running. (more…)
The Life & Times of Pastor Brian #2 November 19, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues, Humour.Tags: Baptist Union, Queensland Baptists, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Female Ordination, Baptist ordination
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Baptist Pastor In ‘Hell’ Controversy November 19, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Pastor's Stuff.Tags: Baptist Union of Australia, Baptist churches, Christian blog, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Independent Baptists, Pastor Kevin Harris, Fundamentalist Baptist
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One of the things Independent Baptists in Australia have never been blessed with is diplomacy. In fact Christian fundamentalists the world over regard that as an overrated virtue. Pastor Kevin Harris of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church [Independent] probably agrees. The news.com.au site is reporting that he caused a great deal of offence by telling some Jewish leaders [albeit in private] that Jews were going to hell and faced a fate worse than the Holocaust. The report is entitled ‘Baptist Pastor Raises Hell in Jewish Dialogue’. (more…)
Baptist Liturgy #5 - The Pastoral Prayer November 18, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Pastor's Stuff, Worship.Tags: Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Baptist liturgy, Baptist worship, Christian blog, pastor, pastoral prayer
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Baptists have few immovable objects in their loose liturgy. The Pastoral Prayer is not one of them. Leave that out and you will need to have some nifty WWWF skills to make it out alive after the service. It is possibly the most likely point in the service [after notices] that will send people to sleep. All too often the pastoral prayer resembles a list of aches and pains that include family or friends of friends of family of someone in the church who has got a friend who knows this particular family that this person is in….. [lost yet?].
Another key feature of Pastoral Prayers is that many requests for ‘mentions’ are made seconds before the start of the service, or handed to you on a scrap of paper seconds before you head up on stage to deliver the ‘pastoral prayer’. These notes are usually cryptic, barely legible, and missing crucial bits of information so that you can’t put together a coherent narrative.
The importance of being ‘mentioned’, or having the person you want being ‘mentioned’ has taken on divine symmetry. Failure to ‘mention’ someone is regarded as an act which places the prospect of any answer from ‘normal’ prayer in peril, and as a pastor you lose ‘re-appointment votes’ on the spot. You may as well fill in the application to join Amway or plan for some other kind of career if you put together a sequence of ‘pastoral prayer ommissions’.
I’ve tried to do something about this, and I am having some success: (more…)
Top Ten Innovative Worship Leaders November 17, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: worship leader, Christian blog, Baptist blog, Worship leading, Baptist blogger, Innovative Ministry Leader, Top ten Worship Leaders
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Are you hungry for new ideas and innovation when it comes to worship leading in your church? The helpful people over at Innovative Ministry Leader have compiled their own top ten innovative worship leader list. It is a treasure trove of links and will have you reading for hours. Nice work!
You can check out the list here.
The Christian vs Public School Conundrum November 17, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Education.Tags: Christian blog, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Christian Schools, Christian schooling
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One of the questions that faces Christian parents here in Australia is whether you send your kids to a Christian school or to the public system. The public system is increasingly unpopular with parents from across the socio-economic spectrum. The notion that only rich people send their kids to private schooling no longer applies.
Parents have a range of choices in terms of private schools, most if not all are religious options. The evangelical/pentecostal schools are fast growing and providing more opportunity than ever before for Christian parents. The question that many face is whether to take their kids out of the public school system and change or for younger parents whether to enroll them in private education from the start. The choice could play a significant factor in the future of each child, either for the negative or the positive - in both sectors of education. (more…)
Church Membership - Why Bother? November 17, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues, Church Stuff.Tags: baptist church, Baptist Union, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, chruch membership Church constitution
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A NeoBaptist blog reader: PJ, asked if I could do a post concerning the vexed and perennial topic of church membership.
He wrote:
Why should I become a fully fledged voting member of my church? I periodically get “followed up” with by whichever elder feels like they haven’t done enough on this topic lately to become a ‘member’. I’ve attended this one church for over 5 years, am an active and regular participant in church life, I am a long-serving member of one of the support ministries … yet I am not on the official role. This means I can’t vote on church business, but I’ve watched church votes over the past few years and not one has occurred without a near unanimous vote … and I’m not a great fan of church democracy anyway.
OK PJ, here’s my rationale. I think you need to sign on the dotted line. (more…)
Developing Young Leaders November 17, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues, Leadership.Tags: Baptist Union, Queensland Baptists, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Baptist Union of Queensland, Neo Leader, neoleader
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I’ve not had cause to write about the development of young leaders in Queensland for some time. In fact, this is the first. I have lamented on numerous occasions about the lack of desire, intent and action from our Baptist Union on the issue of leadership development.
Today I am rejoicing: (more…)
How To Make A Great Church Website November 17, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Web.Tags: Christian blog, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, church website, church website resources
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If you want to know what constitutes a great church website then head over to the website for Internet Evangelism Day. They have an evaluation resource which provides a tool for you to analyse your current site, but at the same time provides an excellent run down of how your site should be. The questions cover a number of important aspects of a website, from language to technical issues.
Here’s some great examples:
Question 14: Is there a purpose statement displayed on the homepage which, while perhaps good at motivating your members, could be off-putting to some non-Christians because it is all about ‘reaching others for Christ’? Or do other aspects of the site give the impression ‘We are out to convert you’, rather than ‘We are a family of flawed real people, please come and share the journey with us.’
Question 21: Within the norms of your culture, does the writing style of the website demonstrate informality and self-deprecating humor?
Try the tool here for yourself.

