A Healthy Church 25 July 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
A Healthy Church
United Methodists in the United States have undertaken a massive research project to identify the factors that lead to healthy churches.
Not surprisingly they came up with four of the usual factors: small groups; worship in a mix of traditional and contemporary styles with relevant sermons; pastors who mentor lay people; and good lay leadership.
The report of the research was a bit vague on what a healthy church looked like, but suggested it had to do with experiencing the reality of Jesus in the church and witnessing to that in their community.
How would we estimate the health of a church? Numbers? Money? Is that like estimating a person’s health by the bathroom scales, or their bank balance? Perhaps. There may be some correlation but we would want a better diagnosis.
How many Bibles do you need? 18 July 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
How many Bibles do you need?
At the Alpha Course this week we heard that the Bible was by far the best-selling book ever. According to one list between 2.5 billion and 6 billion copies of the Bible have been sold. The Qu’ran and Quotations from Chairman Mao come next with 800 million each. The next most popular English language books are A Tale of Two Cities (200 million); Scouting for Boys (150 million) and Lord of the Rings (150 million).
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, so presumably most of the Bibles sold are translations. According to Wycliffe Bible Translators there are more than 6,900 languages in the world. At present at least some of the Bible has been translated into most of these languages. Only 2,200 languages are still without any part of the Bible. In human terms that represents about 350 million people – more than the population of the USA and nearly six times the population of the UK.
Heading Bush 11 Jul 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Heading Bush
We welcome on Sunday the Revd Michael Stuart WA Regional Officer for the Bush Church Aid Society. Although BCA has been ministering in Australia since 1919, it emerged from the Colonial and Continental Church Society (CCCS) which began life in the Swan River Colony in Western Australia in 1836. So it has a very long history of ministry to the people of the bush.
BCA says that it “shares the gospel, builds up the church, and cares for people in regional and remote parts of Australia. Locals in these places are removed from cities, live in sparsely populated towns (sometimes as small as a few hundred people), and often don’t benefit from strong support networks of family and friends. Churches in these areas can struggle, ongoing fellowship can be hard to maintain, and encouragement can become a rarity.”
A Missionary Church [4 July 10]
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
A Missionary Church
We welcome today the Revd Steve Pivetta, who is soon to conclude his ministry as the General Secretary of CMS in WA. He will be replaced from September by the Revd Ray Arthur, presently rector of Maddington. CMS is a large organisation with branches and full time staff in each state.
CMS describes itself as an evangelical, voluntary, lay, church society committed to proclaiming life through Christ. Its website explains it like this:
In love? 27 June 10
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- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
In love?
“Rejoice in the wife of your youth” is one of the great phrases of the Bible. It occurs a few times, sometimes in contexts of warning, sometimes in contexts of encouragement. The wife (or husband) of one’s youth looks back to the beginning of one’s marriage. How far back depends on one’s youth – a year, a decade, a half century ...
The beginnings of love are often confused, but usually full of excitement and energy – full of hormones perhaps. Weddings are marvellous times, when we hope that the couple will “live happily ever after”. Some couples are surprised that the happiness of their romance and wedding doesn’t seem to last forever. “Romantic love” doesn’t usually last without being changed.
It changes from “being in love” to loving. As CS Lewis said,
Which Way to God? 20 June 10
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Which Way to God?
A recent edition of the Colbert Report featured professor Stephen Prothero from Boston University. According to a report on BeliefNet his new book (God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World and Why Their Differences Matter) sets out to oppose the idea that all religions are just different paths to the same goal.
According to the report, ‘the author explained that, contrary to atheists (who see all religion as the same and bad) and multiculturalists (who see all religions as the same and good), he sees them as "going up different mountains with different techniques and different tools."’
Christians have long heard the claim that Christianity is not unique, just one of a variety of ways to God. The most annoying objection to my mind is that all religions basically say the same thing. No doubt there are significant common ethical elements, but when it comes to ideas about God the differences are fundamental.
Another new start? 13 June 10
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- Written by: Dale Appleby
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Another new start?
June seems a strange time to be starting a new year, but it is one of our new beginnings. In this case the start of a new Church Council’s work. The new financial year began on May 1. It feels a bit like New Year in Indonesia where they celebrate three official New Years (with holidays): the Gregorian calendar New Year, Chinese New Year and Islam’s New Year. Although the latter two are lunar years they seem not always to coincide.
Maybe that is like modern life. New beginnings are happening all the time. If you believe the hype about the latest electronic gadgets, wonderful new beginnings are happening more and more often.
Some think that the motto of the Anglican Church is “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be”. But that belongs to a past age. Nothing stays the same. Churches that want to maintain their life as it was are losing it. Churches don’t remain constant any more. They atrophy and die, or else they change and grow.