Billion Dollar Chair March 31, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Missional.Tags: Baptist blog. missions, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe inflation, Zimbabwebound
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The people of Zimbabwe are waiting. The world is watching. What will the outcome of the weekend elections be? In the meantime a young Australian couple living in Bulawayo provide a unique insight into everyday life in Zimbabwe with their latest post about a project to rejuvenate a tired old dining table chair. The chair can be seen above. 1 billion dollars later the chair was recovered… (more…)
Preaching To The Subway Generation (Part II) March 31, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Pastor's Stuff.Tags: Baptist blog, sermon length, preaching. sermons
5 comments
A prophet is never accepted in their home town, or at least that’s the biblical and conventional wisdom. I am a case in point. In my own home, replete with a coterie of daughters and a wife in cahoots with them [rather than me], my preaching is not rated. My younger colleague gets the vote ahead of me. It is because, as all my daughters agree, he is ‘easier to understand’.
Apparently I use ‘big’ words and “say things which we don’t understand”. I can’t even get a rave review in my own home let alone church! I am in possession of a vocabulary that is no longer understood. Language is changing and we need to learn how to speak to the Subway Generation. (more…)
Preaching To The Subway Generation March 30, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Pastor's Stuff.Tags: Baptist blog, sermons, preaching, sermon length
8 comments
How long should a modern sermon be? One bright chap said a good sermon should be like a short skirt: short enough to arouse interest but long enough to cover the essentials. Whoever he was he is rude, I would never say anything like that…
Given what we know about effective communication, and with our modern understanding of the post-modern mind- is it not time that Baptists seriously revised what they are trying to achieve with sermons and thereby the length?
My growing attraction to shorter sermons is demonstrated no better than the typical experience I have whenever I order a sandwich at Subway. (more…)
McChurch Debate March 28, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Uncategorized.26 comments
Over at neoLeader, an interesting debate is developing concerning the rise of McChurch:
Recently Granger Community Church announced that it was going multi-site. They already average over 5000 people a Sunday, but they figure they can reach more people if they open 10 new satelite congregations in local cinemas. Each of these cinema congregations will be watching the entire service on the big screen (no live music, no m.c., no preacher, etc).
How would you feel if you were a local pastor and the Mega-church in town was opening a satelite congregation near you? (more…)
We Who Are To Be Pitied March 27, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: Baptist blog, Spirituality, Zimbabwe
4 comments
We have it so much better than the early Christians don’t we? We may well have to endure boring sermons and clichéd worship from time to time [well not in MY church!!!] but we aren’t exactly going to be lashed to a post and have tar poured all over us and set alight are we?
We may come into close contact with lions but it will be from the relative safety of a safari land rover. Similarly we have it so much better than believers who live in the third world don’t we? Perhaps we don’t. Perhaps our spirituality is dulled by the refinements of our lives and the need not to have to trust in God for life’s most basic needs. Perhaps we who live in comfort in the West are to be pitied in comparison to our fellow believers who live in dangerous and poor countries? (more…)
Easter Sunday Experiential Worship March 25, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: Baptist blog, Easter Sunday, interactive worship, worship leader
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This Easter Sunday I reeled from the shock of an unexpected development in our morning service. We had a drama that was most unusual and significantly different from the average evangelical church ‘skit’. It had no ending. Yep, that’s right. It had no cheesy sucker punch, no Holy Spirit dove mimed by two conjoined hands flapping away from the main character’s heart. Nothing schmaltzy, nothing that would remotely cause you to reach for the sick bag. (more…)
7 Habits of Highly Ineffective Pastors - response March 25, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Pastor's Stuff.Tags: pastors, Baptist blog, ineffective pastors
4 comments
Dan wrote an interesting and lengthy comment on the original article, here’s my response: (more…)
Silencing The Pastor March 24, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: Baptist blog, preaching, sermons, Worship service
2 comments
I did something unusual for myself, and I suggest many other Baptist pastors on Good Friday. I had NOTHING to say. That’s right, I had nothing to say. No sermon, no talk. I simply allowed the Scriptures to speak. I didn’t do it easily. Baptist folk come to hear a good sermon, and not providing one is like serving up a vegetarian dish in a steakhouse. Perhaps Baptists have far too much to say, and perhaps its time to give God some elbow room in between all our sermonising and apologetics? (more…)
Marillion - Easter March 24, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Uncategorized.Tags: Baptist blog, Marillion, Easter
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For all you 80’s tragics, this is Marillion’s take on Easter. The lyrics are beautiful: (more…)
Easter Sunday Video March 21, 2008
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: Easter Sunday, Easter video, Resurrection Sunday
3 comments
Mark Edwards who lives at Markedly is pretty handy with mixing videos. This is his Easter Sunday offering. Great work Mark!
