Great Worship Lyrics July 6, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Worship.Tags: Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, great worship, The Highest & The Greatest, Tim Hughes, worship lyrics
4 comments
Seen as I often lament on this blog about the Me-focussed mush that blights our church worship music repertoire, from time to time its good to be able to balance that out.
We had a young worship leader last night put together a range of songs that had no Me-ism in them at all. The stand out was the Tim Hughes song ‘The Highest & The Greatest”. So, let me start Monday off on a positive note:
Wake every heart and every tongue
To sing the new eternal song
And crown Him King of Glory now
Confess Him, Lord of all
You are the highest
You are the greatest
You are the Lord of all
Angels will worship
Nations will bow down
To the Lord of all
A day will come when all will sing
And glorify our matchless King
Your name unrivalled stands alone
You are the Lord of all
Let every heart
Let every tongue
Sing of Your name
Sing of Your name
Let every heart
Let every tongue
Sing, sing, sing
Lifting You higher, higher and higher
Visit Tim Hughes website, and purchase this magnificent song for yourself. He also has a MySpace page but I would NEVER to link to one of those on here…
New Baptist Logos Leaked July 1, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues.Tags: Australian Baptist Ministries, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Australia
6 comments
Whilst for legal reasons we can’t release the official new logo of the Baptist church in Australia: Australian Baptist Ministries, our sources have leaked the logos and advertising campaign drafts that nearly made it but were passed over in favour of the new Doughnuts for Jesus logo. Here are the runners up: (more…)
Australian Baptists Choose Doughnuts For Their New Logo July 1, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues.Tags: Australian Baptist Ministries, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Australia, new Baptist logo, new Baptist name
29 comments
After retreating to my shed, and spending the last two days in sack-cloth and ashes, wailing and gnashing my teeth at the lamentable failed exercise in contemporisation that The Baptist Union of Australia (or now to be known as Australian Baptist Ministries) has embarked on, I am ready to emerge once again and resume normal life. After the breathless press statement promising the launch of a new name and logo this Monday – silence has followed. I am in possession of the new logo but I’m not game to publish it because I understand that there are still some legal issues to do with registrations that have not been completed yet.
However, summoning all my powers of florid language I will describe to you what your new logo looks like. Lets just say that doughnut lovers of the world will be pleased: (more…)
The Missional Makeover – To Plan Or Not To Plan July 1, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Leadership, Missional.Tags: church leadership, Missional, Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, missional makeover, missional transformation, outreach
7 comments
In Exiles, Michael Frost quotes French pilot and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs and organize the work; teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean.”
I resonated very strongly with this quote, especially because I am under pressure to come up with a blueprint that will provide the way forward to missional success. I have been struggling with this concept because I strongly suspect that any plan I could come up with will greatly undersell what God can actually do, and also possibly limit the potential of our congregation. Instead of looking to God, they can easily refer to the mojo man’s Master Plan for Missional Success. (more…)
Free Beer At Church June 30, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Missional, church.12 comments
Just as I consider my future, news of my ideal church has come to my attention: a church that appreciates men, and appreciates them so much that on Fathers Day they hand out free beer! Now that’s my kinda church, and I’ll drink to that thank you. Men at St Stephen’s church in Barbourne, Worcester, were handed bottles of beer by children during the recent Fathers Day service. A prayer was said for the fathers before the gifts are distributed. The beer was symbolic of the ‘generosity of God’.
Defending this remarkable development in church life, the bishop, Rt Rev John Inge said that: “Jesus created a lot more wine at a point in the party when some thought that there had already been enough drinking. He was all in favour of partying. We give wine away every Sunday, so giving away beer could be said to going downmarket a bit, but it’s an attempt to speak of God’s generosity. Read more about my new church here.
The Missional Makeover – First Verdict June 29, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Leadership, Missional, Pastor's Stuff.Tags: Baptist blogger, Baptist pastor, church leadership, missional church, missional leadership, missional makeover, pastoral reviews
22 comments
In February this year I wrote:
I am in the process of attempting to do something which many feel is doomed to fail: giving a suburban evangelical church a ‘missional makeover’.
Last week, by way of a pastoral review, I got the first comprehensive verdict on whether that process is just a pipe dream, or if it really is possible. (more…)
God Is Back June 24, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Media, Web.3 comments
John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldrige writing in last weekends ‘The Weekend Australian’ summarise their new book, God Is Back – How the global rise of faith is changing the world’. It makes for some interesting reading and the book itself available on June 29) will make for an excellent birthday gift (or justifiable deduction from my pastors expense slush fund).
The quote I found most enlightening in regards to the relationship between the Church and modern media technology seems to indicate that the ecclesiastical world is not as troglodyte as you would be forgiven for thinking: (more…)
A Jesus Manifesto June 23, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Theology.Tags: Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, A Jesus Manifesto, Frank viola, Leonard Sweet
4 comments
Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola have released ‘A Jesus Manifesto’. In the preamble they state:
We believe that the major disease of the church today is JDD: Jesus Deficit Disorder. The person of Jesus is increasingly politically incorrect, and is being replaced by the language of “justice,” “the kingdom of God,” “values,” and “leadership principles.”
Read it all here at their blog, or download it as a pdf here, and tell me what you think. I’ve only read it once so far, but I like it. I think I can use this for myself, let alone anyone else.
Australian Baptists Change Name June 23, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Baptist issues.Tags: Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Baptist logo, Baptist Union, Baptist Union of Australia, Queensland Baptist
9 comments
After 178 years of ministry in Australia, Baptists are doing something they rarely do: update themselves. On Monday 29 June the new name and logo will be revealed. The new logo is especially welcome, albeit three decades late. Much is promised in terms of the new logo:
After a rigorous creative process, a new logo design was showcased at the National Council meeting on 14 May, attracting enthusiastic support. The result is compelling: a unique image, breathtaking in simplicity and symbolic of the energy and creativity pulsing at the heart of our Baptist life and witness.
Well I needed to sit down and compose myself after that! It better be good after that preview! ‘Pulsating’, ‘Breathtaking in simplicity’, ’symbolic of energy’. I can’t wait, although I have a morbid fear that it will resemble the lamentable new logo Queensland Baptists now have to endure for the next two decades. Here’s the press release, with thanks to Markedly: (more…)
The Surprising Power Of Humour In Evangelism June 18, 2009
Posted by Gordon in Humour, Missional.Tags: Baptist blog, Baptist blogger, Evangelism, joy of the Lord, Missional
6 comments
I pulled of a first in evangelism this week (for me at least). I got a guy who doesn’t come to church to do push ups as punishment, much to the amusement of others who don’t come to church either. Not only that, but only a few weeks earlier I totally punked him with a phone prank to try and get him back to our morning running group.
He had started to slack off with the onset of winter and I posed as an immigration official wanting to discuss problems with his recent citizenship application. It frightened the life out of him but once he recovered he was so impressed that he’s come back to training. He now wants to come hear me preach. That’s where the push ups come in. (more…)
