I enjoyed this reflection on Pentecost and our tendency to want to domesticate the Holy Spirit:
For Aussies, our best image for the Spirit is of an uncontrollable bushfire - the raging and terrifying breath of God upon us. Probably not domesticated enough to come down every night at 9pm when human beings call upon it. […]

According to this article, I shouldn’t put my new iPod through the washing machine, and if I do then I should not attempt to fix it with a screwdriver. Because it will explode. Must make a note of that. However, the best part of the article is the comment by the firefighters […]

Over at neurotribe, Stephen Said is hosting a discussion on the value or hindrance of paid staff in the emerging church
This was my comment:
If the emerging church is essentially about the “worship event” then I agree there is little need for paid staff. But in my experience if you want to be involved in church […]

So Steve is here for a couple of days on a whirlwind tour. Last night we had the Melbourne book launch of out of bounds church during which Steve shared some thoughts about the challenges for those wanting to “do” church in a post modern context and about the difference between “peg” and ethical […]

Well, time for a little comment on Costello’s tenth budget announced last night, largely centred around the so-called “welfare to work” measures, and $21.7 billion in tax cuts, which will mostly end up in the pockets of higher income earners. Now I know that $21.7 billion sounds like a lot of money, and it […]

Sometimes (ok, often!), others say it much better than you can and this is one of those moment. Check out dogfightatbankstown post on how people are being imprisioned in our detention centres incorrectly and are being deported by mistake.

Rev Mike on a new marketing strategy… perhaps a bit of rewriting of the text too.
If I Were Writing the Bible …
We’d have a little more truth in advertising, to wit, John 3:17 would be revised to read, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; that’s the church’s […]

Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro, authors of Culture Shift (Jossey-Bass, 2005) write:
“many pastors we both were talking with seemed to be worn out by more and more
programs. They were tired of trying to find a “quick fix” solution for their churches when their
real issues were much deeper. We became increasingly convinced that only a fundamental
shift […]

Over my holidays and in between gardening and generally chilling out, I have began to flick through Steve Taylor’s new book “The out of bounds Church”. Steve will be launching the book at nccc next Wednesday (11th May at 7.30pm). Details on the book launch are here.
The book is designed as a set of postcards […]

Garth posts up a media piece on Hillsongs.
The oldest and largest Pentecostal church in Australia is planning to increase the number of its churches nationwide by one third to 1500, appoint 2000 more ministers and erect 100 church buildings in the “short term to medium term”.
Before an audience of about 2000 church organisers, Mr Houston […]