What Happened to Missions?
D espite the clarity of Jesus' commission to his followers, we have seen a “marginalisation of mission” over the last 2,000 years.
1. Mission has been belittled in the church.
Many Christians have inherited mindset in church that has almost excluded mission altogether or has pushed it to the sideline of what church is all about.… Read the rest
The dominant theme of Jesus' last 40 days on earth was world evangelisation and included a Great Commission:
Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. NIV… Read the rest
When in the USA recently, one of our church staff members visited two large, well-known churches. The facilities and church services were first class, but at both churches … no one spoke to him. Sadly, this is all to commonplace today.… Read the rest
In about a week's time (17th March), Irish people all around the world will celebrate St. Patrick's day, which has become both a religious and cultural holiday in Ireland. St. Patrick is also highly esteemed highly by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Churches. … Read the rest
During the month of November, many churches around the world set aside time to prayer for the persecuted church. Believers in countries such as Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Vietnam face violence, imprisonment and even death because of their faith in Jesus Christ.… Read the rest
Many times it’s difficult to find practical ways to be a blessing in your workplace. Rapid pace, mounting deadlines, or co-worker conflict can often derail even the best of intentions to say and show the love of Jesus at work. Yet, it is important for us to know what it looks like to bring gospel intentionality to our jobs. … Read the rest
Olive Tree Media recently launched the results from their Australian Communities Report conducted by McCrindle Research to discover what Australians really think of Christian faith, Christians and the Church. Held in Sydney on 4th November, the research was launched by Archbishop Peter Jensen.… Read the rest
Practicing Justice
Let's take this first important matter that Jesus mentions: justice. How can we move from believing in justice to actually living it out in practice? It requires as to ACT and that involves three things:
In the Pentateuch, there was as many as 613 different laws or commandments that God’s people were meant to keep – 248 affirmative commands and 365 negative commands. Debates and discussions often occurred as to which were the more important ones.… Read the rest
In Matthew 23, we have a record of Jesus’ strong condemnation of the religious leaders of his day, who had not led the people faithfully and who had become hypocritical and legalistic. Here is one of the seven “woe’s” he gave them: “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.… Read the rest
The God we serve is a sending God. God sent Jesus and then He sends us (John 20:21). We are a sent people. Mission is who we are not just what we do. It is part of our core identity … even if we aren't sent very far.… Read the rest
At last year's Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the speakers was Christopher Wright. In a stirring address, Wright compared in detail the sate of the church today and the church in the generations before Luther.… Read the rest
The apostle Peter wrote the following to some first century followers of Christ …
"… worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.… Read the rest
