On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, I undertook a course at the United Theological College entitled Fundamentals of Transitional Ministry. Effectively, it was a three-day course on the basics of how to lead a congregation through change. It is actually part 1 of a three-part process to become an accredited Intentional Interim Minister, […]

Evangelism can come in many different forms. There’s a tendency to assume evangelism is ultimately about words that we say. But whilst words can be very important, we shouldn’t forget about other forms or models of evangelism – for example, the evangelism of presence. As part of my ministerial formation, I spent 6 months working […]

Throughout history, the method by which the church responded to Jesus’ Great Commission has been propelled by technology. For Paul, it was the Roman road system. For the Reformation, it was the printing press. And for us today, it is the power of the Internet literally in the palm of the hand of almost every […]

Among many heavy decisions that were made at last week’s Assembly meeting in Melbourne, one was the following: That the Assembly resolve: to affirm that the First Peoples of Australia, the Aboriginal and Islander Peoples, are sovereign peoples in this land. Not many words there, but big implications for us. What does this statement mean? […]

I’m back! Hello! It has been quite the whirlwind few months of maternity leave for me; in some ways I can’t believe a full six months have passed, and in others I can’t believe it has only been six months! Anna is just the joy of my life, and it has been such a blessing […]

It’s really hard to fathom that Christmas is only three weeks away. It is perhaps harder to fathom that my baby girl will be here in around six weeks. Those two events seem to be coming like freight trains, and yet there is still a sense of twiddling my thumbs, and waiting, and waiting, and […]

Over the last few weeks, I had the great privilege of co-teaching a short course on Sacraments, aimed at candidates for ministry and potential lay presiders in rural communities. Alongside Rev. Bronwyn Murphy, I got to talk about the Uniting Church’s theology of sacraments, and then train these potential presiders in the actual acts of […]

The most famous quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi says: “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” What I think he means by this is that our lives should be a sermon – the way we act, interact, give, share, decide, and so on. Words are but one part of the […]

Today, on Spring Into Action day, I wanted to offer a refresher on one of the Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations that we explored in last year’s Discipleship Month: risk-taking mission. That is: what’s the point of Spring Into Action, and activities like it, that pull us out of our comfort zone? Churches have historically […]