There’s a problem with a white Jesus …

I collect interesting images of Jesus from Flickr using tags and an RSS reader. Mostly it’s good for a laugh and sometimes it’s even helpful, but today a problem with Jesus being so white occurred to me. I was looking at this picture

and I thought. If people have this picture of Jesus in their heads [...]

Cricket - something of the kingdom of God

So I’m sitting in the car doing some uni work while Gulinder (our refugee friend from Afghanistan) has his first cricket training session. I’m sitting here realising that for Gulinder this experience of cricket training is bringing forth some of the kingdom of God. For those of you who don’t know him, Gulinder fits pretty [...]

Creative Reflection

I had to write a creative reflection for uni about what I would do mission/ministry wise if I knew the world was ending in five years. It’s pretty long, but I thought I’d post it anyway.

What would I do if the world were ending in five years?
I believe that people’s lives are transformed as they [...]

A community meal

Inspired by a whole range of events, circumstances, truths, prophetic words, strategic thinking, obvious realities and God’s heart for those around us, Loam has decided to host a community meal each week. We hope that in time our ability to serve our neighbours will grow. We hope that we will be able to take bigger [...]

I don’t want more Christians

I don’t want more Christians - I want more people around like Jesus.
Mission is not about getting more people to sign up to be in our club. It is about recognising the greatness of Jesus, seeking to be like him yourself and encouraging others to do the same. It’s the about of the kingdom of [...]

Part 5 of Jesus in the Margins

Probably the best post in the series and this one gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling ‘cos it was dedicated to us.
“The Son of Man came exegeting Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and correcting the doctrinal errors of the Pharisees, and all the other factions in Israel.”
Oops, that’s the USAmerican evangelical approach [...]

Part 4 of Jesus in the Margins

John Frye continues his Jesus in the Margins series here.
When Jesus broke bread, he broke Israel.
With his meal-time habits, Jesus was speaking a new language and introducing a new world.
What in our culture is this powerful? Consumerism … Meh, maybe. Lord give me the vision and insight into my culture that you had. Help me [...]

Part 3 of Jesus in the Margins

A few snippets below to encourage you to read the whole thing here.
Jesus didn’t change the margins with ideas. He changed the margins with concrete actions. His meal-time practices were “provocative theatre.” You could see the people, smell the food, hear the laughter, dip into the same dish with Jesus. You could actually live in [...]

Surrender All: A Call to Sub-Merge with Christ. Ash Barker - Action Taken or Intended.

Action Taken or Intended:

I feel that it might take a few years to process the contents of this book. So my plans for action at this point will be preliminary at best.
I need to spend some time reassessing my relationships with God. I’m convinced and convicted that there are areas where this relationship works more [...]

Surrender All: A Call to Sub-Merge with Christ. Ash Barker - Personal Response Part E

Part E - Re-integration: Practical Sub-merging

In this section Ash’s wisdom and insight into the practical implementation of these ideas becomes clear. Using the metaphor of the well to talk about the significance and timing of team health, presence, partnership, discipleship and worship made all these ideas seem somewhat achievable although still very daunting.
Packing a final [...]