Monthly Archives: April 2012

Preparing for a wedding, or a marriage?

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

I’m taking my 45th wedding today. Or, as I like to put it, today I’ll be marrying my 46th woman… and my 45th man! You should be able to figure it out . It’s a beautiful Canberra Autumn day, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living, Relationships | 8 Comments

Simple Church

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

Simple Church begins with a story about Pastor Rush who, I was convinced, was modelled on me! He’s aptly named because he’s always rushing from one thing to the next. Preaching, visiting, planning (occasionally), emails, emails, emails, meetings, business, admin, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Leadership | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Patience

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Patience has never been my strong suit. You’ve probably heard about the person who prays, “Lord make me patient, and do it now!” How does God answer that one?! I just want to be better… now! I want to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living, Journey with Cancer | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Biblical way to dodge death

Posted on April 20, 2012 by

As I opened the Canberra Times over breakfast this morning, I was intrigued to read an article on the Bible. Stories about the Bible are rare in the papers, but this one’s rather special. The Bible belonged to Lance Corporal … Continue reading →

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Sticky Church

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

Last year, I purchased the ‘wrong book’, and read it by accident – and I’m so glad I did. Sticky Teams had been recommended to me as a helpful book to consider our organisation and direction as a church, but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Christian living, Leadership, Small group ministry | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Suffering sermons

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

For years now, my family have had to put up with being my ‘go to’ sermon illustrations. Especially when the kids were younger, and didn’t know much about it. I’ve heard that some preachers pay their kids for the privilege … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Journey with cancer 18 Apr 2012

Posted on April 18, 2012 by

Dear family and friends, This has been a heavy week. CT scans on Monday of chest, abdomen, pelvis, and brain. Maintenance chemo on Tuesday with Alimta and Avastin, no more Carboplatinum. Appointment with our oncologist this morning, to interpret scans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living, Journey with Cancer | Tagged | 9 Comments

Humilitas

Posted on April 17, 2012 by

It’s hard to know how to review John Dickson’s book, Humilitas. With humility I suppose, or at least without humiliating myself! It’s hard because I’m not much of an expert on the topic, and it’s doubly hard because the author is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Leadership | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Body Image

Posted on April 16, 2012 by

Having cancer doesn’t do much for one’s body image. Shortly after coming home from hospital I visited a friend’s pool with my family. I’d undergone 2 surgeries and had some good looking scars where the tubes went between my ribs. … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living, Journey with Cancer | Tagged , | 7 Comments

QandA – Dawkins and Pell

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

As I watched QandA last night on television, I was reminded that Australia is a great country to live in. Professor Richard Dawkins, probably the world’s most famous atheist, debating Cardinal George Pell, head of the Roman Catholic Church in … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Deliberate Simplicity

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I confess to buying and reading this book because of its cover! Deliberate Simplicity – How the Church Does More by Doing Less is a catchy title and the … Continue reading →

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Journey with cancer – Easter update

Posted on April 4, 2012 by

Dear family and friends, This week marks 4 months since I was admitted to hospital with cancer and it’s certainly been quite a ride! We are so grateful for your ongoing prayers, support, encouragement and practical help from so many … Continue reading →

Posted in Journey with Cancer | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Sticky teams

Posted on April 3, 2012 by

I’ve been a pastor in an independent church for some time now. We don’t own any property, but we’ve been meeting regularly in community centres, clubs, schools, and universities. Our church is free of many of the trappings and restrictions of traditional … Continue reading →

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Clumsy Christians

Posted on April 1, 2012 by

My experience of Christians is that many of them – including me – are really quite clumsy. Not literally stumbling or falling over ourselves, but often doing the social equivalent. We put our feet in our mouths, we make others … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian living, Relationships | Tagged | 7 Comments