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The Power of Story Telling, as Evangelism I had a grandfather who loved to share a good yarn. When visiting, I would watch TV with Grandpa Jack and his story telling would often be triggered by something he was viewing.  They were colourful stories of his past experiences and acquaintances, mostly relating to the times he served in the Australian Navy in WW2. Clearly through them, I got to know more about Jack and his life, although I wondered if some of them got more embellished with the passing of time! Most of us love a good story! When someone … Read More

What is the difference between a secular concert experience and a worship service on a Sunday morning? Both can be described as a “spiritual experience,” and I believe they both legitimately are. There is something about gathered people singing together, united for one purpose through music (and other elements of the “event”), that elicits a spiritual experience. Hearts are lifted in both expressions toward something greater and beyond – transcendence. As pastors who are primarily responsible for guiding people on a journey of discipleship, why do we encourage people to attend a Sunday morning worship service rather than a secular … Read More

We all have rhythm in our lives. Habits are rhythms – good and bad. Skills are often rhythms. All kinds of unconscious rhythms – like walking, brushing the hair out of your eyes, checking your cell phone is in your pocket… The question is not whether we have rhythm but what..and the challenge for us is getting past the whatever, the often unconscious and unchosen nature of our rhythms to the what. When it comes to spiritual rhythms, we see Jesus lived a life with all kinds of different rhythms: Early on in Mark’s gospel, in chapter 1, we see … Read More

Discipleship has been the main topic of conversation for the past decade (likely longer) within the church in the West. COVID has clearly highlighted the deficiencies many churches have in this area. I know for myself during the first lockdown in 2020 I felt deep insecurity, wondering, “How is the congregation being discipled?” This question then morphed into another, “Is the Sunday morning gathering the primary means of discipleship, and if so, is this right?” Don’t get me wrong, Sunday morning gatherings are essential for discipleship. They help people establish a rhythm of faithful formation through being deeply entrenched in … Read More

Most of New Zealand was hoping for a very different start to our year. What started as a below average Summer soon became something far more tragic as floods gave way to a cyclone and with it the loss of homes, possessions and precious family members. Thanks to the generosity of Wesleyan Methodist churches and our people, we’ve managed to raise nearly $30,000 to assist with emergency relief as well as longer term support, The most urgent needs came in the wake of the cyclone. We were able to move quickly to help our Napier and Gisborne churches in a … Read More

The year had hardly started when we had the opportunity to live out our Vision and Mission in compelling ways. It started with floods in Auckland and ramped up across the country as Cyclone Gabrielle savaged communities. These are litmus test moments for the church where we get to test whether our Vision to see Transformed People, Churches and Communities OVERFLOWING with Grace and Holiness are words written on a page or on human hearts. These are the moments when we get to see whether our Mission to Empower and Equip Churches and Leaders to Reach, Grow and Serve are … Read More

Piercing Conversation: ConneXion 2022 One of the more surprising practices that John Wesley promoted was the inclusion of Christian “Conferencing” as a “means of grace”, along with prayer, searching the Scriptures, the Lord’s Supper and fasting.  Of course, he meant much more than what we might think of as “Conferences”.  We might frame the term in our day as the means of grace provided by authentic community that we experience in small groups, accountability relationships, local church worship AND our larger gatherings as a movement.  Christian conferencing has been described as: “..piercing conversation about our lives with God, our experience … Read More