Category Archives: On Church

communicating with young people

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These days there are many different ways in which we can communicate with others, most of it electronic. In recent years, with the introduction of social media and “smart phones” communicating with others has becoming even easier, but so very complicated as well. Rather than simply accessing one place, like email, we now need to check our Facebook accounts, Twitter accounts, long-in to various sites that we are signed up to and much more.

Having said this, it has enabled a lot more contact with others and perhaps contact that one wouldn’t normally have if these things weren’t around. This has positives and negatives.

Over the last couple of weeks i have been working through some electronic guidelines for youth leaders and other people who come in to contact with young people through our churches. In most cases the interaction between people within the church is positive, and many of these communication tools are great for connecting with young people. There are, however, responsibilities that youth leaders, pastors and others who work with under 18s need to be aware of. Sometimes it is as simple as stating common sense, other times there needs to be detailed advice given because some people don’t think about what they say or how it can be perceived.

I have come across some guidelines that have been put out by various organisations, which has been positive. However, there isn’t much out there that is overly detailed in guiding youth leaders or pastors. Hence, I’ve made my own. If you wish to see them then feel free to contact me, other wise wait for about a month before i will upload them onto the site – once they’ve been polished up a bit more.

If you’re a youth leader/pastor, how do you deal with the increase in social media when it comes to connecting with young people? What guidelines do you have yourself when dealing with young people through the internet or over the mobile phone?

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ministry ideas

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Where do you get ministry ideas from? Do you get them at all?

Last Sunday we had a bit of a brain-storming session regarding our evening service for 2011 and perhaps beyond. I have only very briefly had a look through them but there are some great ideas there.

When 25-odd people come together there is a chance of having more ideas and better ideas to work with. Ideas need time to fester, space and time in people’s heads is required so that ideas will flow. There seems to be a bit of a zone as to when ideas start popping up all over the place. While i’m not really up with any scientific thoughts on ‘ideas’ for me there are a number of things that help me to get into this ‘idea zone’. Examples of these would be reading a blog post about ideas others have thought about, reflecting specifically about a certain work that needs to be done or problem that needs to be sorted through, simply writing out my thoughts, using a mind-map to see where my thoughts lead etc. All of these things help in giving me the space to start to think of different ideas.

Quite often ministry workers, whether that’s in churches, missions, or para-church organisations don’t really have the time to think of ideas. Ministry ideas are sometimes few and far between when there are plenty of other things taking up ones time. In between service and sermon preparations, pastoral care, organising weekly events, bible studies, and generally dealing with the week where is the time to think of ideas? They are cramped out due to other things.

Lately i have been encouraged by reading a book, Linchpin, by Seth Godin. In it he talks about trying to be the person within your company to solve those problems, think of new ideas, and drive the company forward. In many respects it is rather business orientated, but i thought that there were some good things for churches and ministers to employ too. Ideas don’t have to be big, they don’t have to be perfect, but they need to be tested – ‘thrown out into the marketplace’ so to to speak. What better place to test out ministry ideas than in a church where you are the minister? What ideas for ministry have you thought of lately?

afraid to belong

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I think you’re afraid of belonging.

Belonging to something goes against the grain of our culture. We’re meant to be individuals. We’re meant to be concerned purely with the self. We’re meant to do what we like in this day and age. Life is for our own pleasure, our own enjoyment, and our own fun. Why then would we belong to anything?

Despite our individualistic culture there is something about us that wants to belong. Look around, football clubs have members, Facebook has friends, Twitter has followers, wars have armies, politics have parties, institutions have chapters, and beer drinkers (or parma eaters) have locals. With belonging comes a sense of being part of something bigger. There is a feeling of commitment and mutual appreciation. There is a knowledge that other people are like us, they are centred on the same things we are. There is a togetherness, a mate-ship, a team bond.

This might all be well and good but there is also something within us that makes us afraid to belong. Belonging means we have to be investors, investors of time, energy, and emotion. Belonging means we are exposed, vulnerable, and out in the open. Belonging means disappointment, hurt, and heartache. Belonging isn’t easy and that’s why we’re afraid.

When the footy team never makes the eight, when the political party is stuck in opposition, when the family is in turmoil, when colleagues aren’t pulling their weight – situations like these make belonging hard. The same goes for the church, to belong to a local congregation is going to be hard. When 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people, when the offering decreases, when the rosters aren’t being filled, when the people won’t turn up, continuing to belong to a church is tough.

In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about the church being like a body. And in v14-16 he says,

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body.” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And, if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.” that would not make it any less part of the body”.

Paul is telling us, whether we like it or not, that there is no excuse for not belonging to the body. While the church may be made up of people with a number of different gifts there is still a responsibility to belong. Not everyone is going to be the preacher or the Sunday school teacher or the offering steward but that doesn’t mean we are excused from belonging.

We like to belong to something but we don’t like to commit. We like to belong in quiet ways. After all, it’s nice to sit up the back and hear pleasant music and words wash over us for an hour. But hey, getting involved in the constitution committee, having people around for lunch, building a relationship with a teenager, helping out with crèche, playing the guitar, or (dare I say it) beginning a new ministry, well, that’s not nice – that’s messy! That actually means it’s time to get our hands dirty, invest time and money, invest emotional energy.

So, whether you’re part of the 20% that does most of the work or the person who wafts in and out of church buildings each Sunday perhaps it’s time to evaluate where you’re at. Perhaps it’s time to commit to belong, truly belong, or are you too afraid?

my dose of The Don

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Over the past 10 days i have an an extraordinary privilege and dose of D.A. Carson (“The Don”). He’s been out here in Melbourne as part of Ridley College’s centenary celebrations and i have been lucky enough to attend a couple of things that he has been at.

I attended the Ridley Preaching Conference last week where he gave 5 expositions on various Psalms (Ps 1; 2; 40; 48; 110) as weel as running 3 workshops for “seasoned preachers”. Some of the most beneficial times were the Q & A after each address and quite simply exposed how smart the guy is.

This week Carson is giving evangelistic talks at Storey Hall, RMIT. There are two nights left and so far the place has pretty much been packed to the rafters (so i hear, i only went last night). There have been a number of decisions made for Christ and a number of people indicating that they are wanting to know more about Christianity – this is very encouraging. If you haven’t gone yet, then i’d encourage you to go, check out the Ridley blog for details.

Yesterday morning The Don also gave a couple of talks to a few evangelical Baptist pastors and students in Carlton. Murray organised it and it was great to here an exposition on Luke 16:19-31 and then an address on ‘Evangelicalism’. Both were very enlightening.

The question begs though, what did i get out of all this time w/ The Don?

1. I learnt more about God and how he uses us to spread his name throughout the world.

2. I learnt, once again, that the preaching of the Word of God is central to bringing people into the Kingdom.

3. I learnt that there are a number of like-minded guys and gals in this city wanting to see people come to know Jesus.

4. I learnt that i need to be patient and faithful in my learning, growing and development as a Christian, preacher, pastor, missionary.

5. I learnt more about the Psalms in this past week than i have ever before.

6. I learnt how historical and practical theology work and ways in which they can be helpful as a preacher and pastor.

7. I learnt, once again, of the importance of Scripture and the Gospel.

8. I learnt how important it is to have theologically like minded people around you that can encourage you.

9. I learnt that Anglicans like a drop, even at “church camp” type settings

10. I learnt that The Don only bought one set of clothes with him (well, that’s what it looks like anyway!).

cafe church review

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Ok, so it’s time for a bit of a review from Sunday night’s “Cafe Church @ Maling Room Cafe”.

Before heading into the review I should state that I don’t actually think that what happened on Sunday is actually church. I would prefer to call it an outreach event or a social night or something like that, but of course, you can’t get as cooler name if you call it something like that.

Anyway, I haven’t had too much feedback about it thus far. When I bump into people I ask them what they thought and if they bought a friend along what they thought of it also. So, if you were there on Sunday night and would like to give feedback either write it below of send me an email or something.

So, these are my thoughts:

What worked well:

- The space: It was a good size and held everyone in nicely. There were seats for all even though people chose to stand most of the night. People could spread out and chat to “different groups” of people. It’s the Maling Room, the space just worked well.

- The numbers: I was somewhat blown away by the number of people who came. It was great to see everyone seemingly get behind the night. In total we had nearly 60 people, which included a few kids. It was a good start i think.

- The food: The spread that was put on was amazing. All feedback that I’ve got about it was that it was impressive. Small hamburger rolls stuffed with different fillings, dips and crackers,olives, gherkins, sun-dried tomatoes, fruit platters and the quiche’s were excellent. Can’t complain too much about the food, nor so the drink.

- The vibe: People just sitting around and chatting with the live music in the background made for an excellent vibe. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and meeting new people or catching up on old news.

- The testimony: Bean’s testimony was excellent, concise, challenging and to the point made for an excellent explanation of the Gospel. Loved it.

- The live music: They were brilliant musicians and we were very fortunate to have them there. There music was good for the style and type of night.

What could work better:

- The live music: This is nothing to do with the actual music but the volume being so loud has been the consistent “could be improved” feedback that I’ve had. The way the Maling Room is set up and the acoustics of the rooms don’t do anything that great for live music. A possible change in position might help or just having very soft or unplugged music might be the way to go. Not sure how one can get around this too much. Having said this, if the volume and type of music was changed would it have changed the vibe?

- The cost: For people who came it cost $10 but we were being charged double that ($20 p/p). It’s not that the cost needs to be improved as such but more of a realisation that to put on something like this, which i think is a quality and culturally relevant event then that will cost money. If people are keen for it then what price is acceptable or how can the difference be constantly be made-up? Should i be seeking a benefactor or should people pay more or should the church continue to trump the difference? Positives and negatives on both sides there i think.

- The bringing of friends: I can’t complain too much, it’s the first time we’ve done this. I suspected that people were coming firstly to suss this out. Sort of saying, “What is Coombsy actually doing here? What does he mean by having an event a Maling Room? How is this going to work? Am i going to be comfortable bringing my friends to this?” They are the type of questions i suspect people were asking before the night, now I hope their “fears” have been relieved. In total there were 9-10 visitors who came from people about 5-6 people inviting them along. No doubt there were people who asked friends to come along and they just didn’t come – no worries. But, the litmus test of an event like this is how many friends/visitors did come. The event shouldn’t just be for the people within the CBC community, it’s not aimed at us or for us. We’ll just need to see how the next one goes.

Summary:

I think that covers most things that i can think of. I haven’t gone into depth about my talk – it’s always hard to do and can come across a bit arrogant really. I think i preached the Gospel and did so in 10-12mins. Hopefully when people have a coffee next they think of Jesus and perhaps that will move them forward. I think the night went really well and was really happy with it. So buzzed from it that i was up till 1.30am that night (and i don’t think that was just the coffee!).