In the past little while, we have announced to our Australian partners via our monthly emails that, in consultation with CMS Australia, we will be moving on from St John’s University at the end of this semester to work with the Tanzanian Fellowship of Evangelical Students which is part of […]
Let’s continue the previous thought about the people-intensive scale and scope of ministry. Imagine you’re the perfect church attender. You hear at least 52 sermons a year. In 10 years, that’s 520 sermons! Yet would we expect to see 520 changes in your life?
2 Timothy is a staple text for Australian evangelical Christianity and for many university ministries. It’s about mentoring, fidelity, endurance, and ‘gospelling’. It’s a text I’ve heard preached on time and again, especially in pivotal, rite-of-passage events such as national conferences and ministry camps. And then it was my turn to expound […]
We started a discussion here about how we talk about the professions and ‘full time vocational ministry’. It seems that a great deal of the motivation behind the push for people to go into full time vocational ministry is that we are living in the last days. This is the […]
“Being a doctor is just delaying people’s deaths.” Have you heard this line before? It’s an argument used to encourage people into full-time vocational ministry. The idea is that medicine isn’t worth doing because everyone eventually dies and ministry is more valuable because it lasts into eternity. That sounds like […]
Earlier this week, Arthur and I had coffee and dessert with a couple who have been instrumental in our ministry formation. We were honored just by their willingness to catch up with us. Even more affirming was how the evening unfolded. On paper, this couple are entirely superior to us. […]
In my world, anyway, it’s easier to give than to receive. Do other ministry people feel this way? We spend so much of our lives extending the hand of friendship; proffering hospitality; sitting down listening to others; advocating on their behalf. And I don’t consider that an imposition – it’s […]
