Business as Mission: A New Way of Thinking…
One of the great delights in my role as principal at Vose Seminary is that I get to see students grapple with fresh ways to live out the Christian faith in both the church and the world. One area that is now receiving an increasing amount of thought is the way in which business can be a vehicle of mission. A related issue is that of the hybrid church, where churches not only engage in classically ‘spiritual’ activities, but also run activities that might operate at a surplus, helping to fund other areas of mission, or which might provide a platform for mission in their own...
Read MoreMessy church, messy mission…
You might know that in addition to my role as principal of Vose Seminary, I serve as the pastor at large and chair of the board at Carey – a school and church planting movement which by providing excellent community services wins the right to speak into the lives of thousands of people who would otherwise have no church contact. Sunday was our annual commissioning service – a wonderfully celebratory event, especially as the staff from our newly opened Forrestdale School were present, as were many of the staff from our fairly recently opened Timber Café (the rest were busy working...
Read MoreChurched, Un-churched or De-churched
A shorter post than usual today, but it poses some pertinent questions about those who are de-churched… Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. If you’re up with the discussions on the future of the church you’ll know that commentators distinguish between people who are un-churched (as in never had any significant contact with a church) and those who are de-churched (as in once were involved, but no more thank you very much). While the church has always worried about those who are unchurched (they’re the reason for the missionary movement), the de-churched have had a mixed...
Read MoreThe refugee, my housemate: On opening our hearts…
Vose student Alan McGrechan recently shared something of his story at a chapel service… And what a story it is – of cultural readjustment to Australia after his time in Mozambique, of loss of purpose and confidence, and then of finding new challenge and meaning in opening his heart and life to others, others who in this case were Afghani asylum seekers. I find it inspiring, and I am sure you will to… It fits seamlessly into our current series on ethics, ‘Deciding what’s right…’ Currently I live in Midland with sixteen other people in a shared house...
Read MoreThe Reason for the ‘Go…’: Reflections on Matt 28:16-20
Several people said they found the sermon notes from last week Is Cross Carrying Passe helpful. So I thought I’d post this weeks notes as well. This is the message I preached at Carey Baptist Church, Perth, today. As always, feel free to use them any way you find helpful. If you pass them on, it is always nice if you credit the source as brianharrisauthor.com In this series we have been asking the question, ‘Why Jesus?’ – but now we finish on a slightly different note. ‘If it is Jesus – so what? What difference should that make in my life, and how should it impact what I do.’ The last...
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