How Friendly is Your Church?

.

I recently received a tragic email from a listener about his experience with several churches. Sadly, what he wrote is not an isolated occurrence. In my experience, it’s all too common. Here’s what he said …

The Missional Power of Generosity

If I were to ask you, “How much does the Bible talk on the subject of generosity,” what would your answer be? Just a little, a moderate amount, or a lot? If you went with either of those first two options, you’d be way off the mark. In fact, there are more verses on generosity, than on faith, hope and love combined.

And there’s a reason for that:

Meet the Agnostic on Our Worship Team

Yah – I bet that got your attention! And it’s true. For several years, our church has had a “born again agnostic” – Vanessa – on our worship team. How does that make you feel? To tell you the truth, I was uncomfortable about it for a long time.

Good Friday – Easter Art Evokes Anger

Art has an amazing ability to evoke all sorts of emotions – happiness, sadness, awe, anger, excitement, wonder, pain … the full gamut.

As I was walking down Oxford Street Paddington (Sydney) in the week leading up to Easter 2013, this window display in a gay, fetish erotica store caught my eye.

No – ‘caught my eye’ is too soft! It confronted me. That’s much better.

When I saw it, my blood boiled, but …

The Agony and Ecstasy of Church – A ‘Must-Read’

As you can imagine, I receive many, many emails from listeners. Every now and then, one leaps out.

This one from Therese in Scotland will make you want to cry and to rejoice. I’ve resisted the temptation to comment further. Just read the email exchange and be blessed. 🙂

(Shared with Therese’s permission)

The People You’d Rather Not Invite to Christmas

It won’t be long and the table will be set for Christmas. Yippee, but … well, there’s always one person we’d rather not invite, right?

I’m betting that you can picture that person’s face right now!

They’re difficult or awkward. They rub you the wrong way. And there’s every chance they’ll cause friction on what’s supposed to be a perfect, happy, relaxed family day – Christmas day after all.

So here’s the question – what would God have you do with that person, hmm?

Let the Games Begin

In a few weeks, all the hoopla that once was the London Olympics will be but a dim, distant memory. It’s back to the grind for all of us after a welcome distraction. We may give the stunning gold-medal performances of some, a passing thought from time to time, but … you know how it goes.

So would it surprise you to know that for anyone who calls themselves a Christ-follower, there is a call in God’s Word to be, in effect, a “gold medal Christian”?

Is Same Sex-Marriage Inevitable?

Well the hot topic around Australia at the moment is that of same-sex marriage which is due to be debated in the Federal Parliament at the behest of the Green party. So is it an inevitability? And how well is the church handling the debate?

Here’s my take …