So, we decided to make the Waratah facebook page a public page and obviously, folks have liked some of the content as we’ve had a few requests to join. Firstly, that’s hugely encouraging and it’s great to see crew liking the content. However, some who have tried to join may have noticed that their request […]
Read more "Why we don’t just click ‘accept’."We often have a tricky relationship with music. You may be aware that when hymns first came in they were seen for many years as heretical because they were basically too musical for a community used to chanting. Today, one tradition seeks to possibly over-utilize the emotional power of music in their worship out of […]
Read more "A Song about Music"I was attending a church meeting the other day where the leader was announcing a replacement of the church’s road-front signage. I suppressed the urge to shout, “Hallelujah” and backflip off my chair at this announcement. As he spoke about the new LED sign that would be arriving I overheard someone a couple of seats […]
Read more "If it ain’t broke…"So last Friday I attended the Safe Woman, Safe Family forum. Before I get into a few takeaways that I would think helpful to church folks, let me share some preliminary reflections I had. There were about 130 registrations ranging from local politicians to delegates of non-profit and support organizations. Of those, I was one […]
Read more "Learnings from the Safe Woman, Safe Family Forum."I wonder if we had a ‘how nervous are you about your visit?’ form in our info pac that people receive when they come thru the door at church? Would people fill it out? Would they fill it out honestly or tell us what they think we want to hear? Would it be more than just visitors, but also some regulars that would surprise us by filling it out?
I guess this is the main question; if every visitor did fill one out, what would be the average score?
Read more "How nervous are you about your visit?"So I am of course no longer engaged in youth ministry. However, a few may not be aware that I do still wear the hat of volunteer youth worker at a local primary school. I find this invaluable as it is such a breath of fresh air from the Christian fishbowl that ministry can become. […]
Read more "Free Parking"So recently at Waratah, I have been on a bit of a bandwagon of empowering lay people to step into more spaces of ministry leadership. I am completely aware that in doing so I am possibly running the risk of crafting some well fashioned rods for my own back in future. More on that in […]
Read more "Just go with it."