Articles, thoughts, essays, and content from Brian as well as students – our budding theologians.
10 reasons why silence is golden…
We live in such a noisy world. Getting ourselves heard can be a real problem. With everyone else so busy talking, no one really seems to want to listen to what we would like to say. Should we care? Here are 10 reasons why silence and being silent can be a virtue… 1) The Psalmist advises: Be still and know that I am God. When we speak too much we often start to think that we are God. Silence reminds us that we are not. 2) When we are silent, we often really hear what the other person is saying, and sometimes even begin to understand why...
read moreSo what is an evangelical, and should we care?
This is a lightly edited version of an article I published in Perth’s The Advocate, in 2012. It in turn was a more radically summarized version of a much longer article on the topic which I published in Churchman in Autumn 2008. With around 2 billion people claiming allegiance to Christianity, it is not surprising to discover that it comes in a wide range of flavours. Those in the know point to the Great Schism of 1054 when the church divided into the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. The latter divided again after the...
read moreIs there a case for a Christian University?
A few groups are working to form an evangelical Christian university in Australia. Is this wise, or is it a case of misguided zeal? Our last post explored the drift from a soft to a hard secularism. In this post I argue that the formation of a Christian university could help to change the missiological climate in which we are currently located. This is an updated version of an article of mine that was originally published in Perth’s Advocate newspaper in 2012. While we could argue as to what constitute the major missiological blocks to...
read moreFrom Deo Volente to Digital Video: The Flight to Secularism
To keep the blog going while Rosemary and I are on holiday, I have drawn on some articles I wrote for Perth’s Advocate newspaper. This one originally appeared in 2012, and I have now updated it slightly. We all sense that the climate in which we practice our faith is changing. This post examines the shift from a soft to a hard secularism. Though at times a little tongue in cheek, the underlying issues are of great significance. Hope you enjoy it… My mother-in-law is a wonderful human being who has almost adjusted to life in the...
read moreFriendships that inspire…
Perhaps you have come across Gordon MacDonald’s classic, Restoring your Spiritual Passion. It originally came out in 1986, and is memorable on many counts, but perhaps the one that first springs to mind is MacDonald’s description of 5 kinds of people that you come across in ministry (and indeed, not just in ministry, but in all walks of life) and the impact they have upon your spiritual passion and zeal. The MacDonald taxonomy describes each of the five types with 3 letters and then pithily summarizes their likely impact on your...
read moreAbout the blog and a holiday…
Thanks for your continued support and interest in this blog. I have been really encouraged by the warm response of so many of you. There have now been well over 6000 visits to the site – it has significantly exceeded my expectations. More importantly, several people have contacted me to ask me if they can use material from the site in church newsletters or in sermons or as resource in a unit they are teaching. My answer is always the same: YES – that is why I write, and I can’t tell you the pleasure it gives me to think that...
read moreThe Spirit that gives life: Audrey’s story
It is possible that at 75 years of age Audrey Francis is the oldest student at Vose – I am not sure. What I am sure of is that she is one of our most engaged and engaging students, and that her life speaks of the reality of God, or of the Spirit that gives life, which was the theme of her recent chapel talk at Vose where she shared her life story. I found it both inspiring and encouraging, and am confident you will too. As you read it, imagine it being spoken in Audrey’s gentle Irish voice. Perhaps as you do, you will hear the...
read moreAbout a book: Could it be God?
Yesterday I received the rather exciting news that a British publishing house, Bible Reading Fellowship, are offering me a contract to publish a collection of my articles from Perth’s Advocate newspaper. I have been producing a monthly article for the Advocate for over 10 years now, and they have selected their 90 favourite columns and will bundle them up into a book entitled Could it be God? The blurb about the book reads: In a series of pithy, poignant and profound readings, this book explores the intersection of faith and life....
read moreConducting a Spiritual Audit: A First Fifteen of Questions…
Have you ever asked, “so how do you measure spiritual growth?” Sermon after sermon challenges us to commit to grow spiritually, or to become more like Jesus, but how do we know if we are getting there? Are there any signs we can spot that reassure us that we are heading in the right direction? Back in 1998 Fred Smith wrote a wonderfully insightful and oft quoted article on conducting a spiritual audit. In it he poses 12 questions we should ask. It is probably because I am writing this as rugby world cup fever heats up, and with...
read moreOn being sure we are not the problem…
I spoke at the Baptist Union of Western Australia’s Annual Assembly yesterday, and thought you might be interested to read the text of my address. You’ll notice that I picked up on a few of the themes we have looked at on the blog in recent weeks. We had a computer virus hit our network at Vose this week. As we called the staff together to look at what had happened and to outline the plan to get it sorted, the natural question that was asked was, ‘So how did this happen?’ As the IT guru outlined it for us, and explained how...
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